Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 25, 2010 under Connecting Moments, Greeting | 
I was at lunch today with another woman business owner and we were talking about the different generations and their approach to communication, business and customer service.
She’d read that this newest generation was taking on traits of their grandparents; embracing the homemade handicrafts.
“They are looking to learn how to make or purchase things made especially for them,” she said.
Well, you know how sometimes you hear something and then later in the day it is confirmed by a different source?
I was reading the posts over at Small Business Trends (something I highly recommend you do) and ran across an article by Barry Moltz entitled the 10 Customer Service Trends of 2010.
One of the trends is called All About You:
It’s All About You. Technology has allowed companies to personalize my visit when I go to buy from their web site. When I visit Amazon’s site, they welcome me back by name and suggest things I might want to buy based on what I bought in the past. This is the type of personalization I come to expect when I go to any face to face retail establishment. When I check into a hotel, I want them to greet me by name if I have been there before or I am a member of their frequent buyer program. This always happens when I visit the Portland Paramount but at The Nineshotel in the same city, they never remember who I am. With the immediacy and personalization of this fast paced Internet world, great customer service is only what the customer says it is at a particular point in time.
Not homemade, but still that warm and fuzzy feeling of a simpler time when we knew our neighbors and the grocer greeted us by name.
I agree with Barry about the whole personalization thing. I know that when I go to my fitness center I’m going to be greeted by name at the front desk and in the workout room by the trainers. The swimming instructor knows my name too and makes you feel at home; like family.
I take advantage of the caller ID on my phone to greet my customers by name rather than with my standard “Thank you for calling AllWrite Ink, how may I help you.” Instead – with joy in my voice and a smile on my face – “Hi Chris! How are you?” hopefully makes my customers feel glad they gave me a call.
In what way can you add personalization to your relationship with your customers?
p.s. I made the little bear above using scraps from one of my father’s old shirts – a wonderful keepsake of someone I’ve lost – speaks to the desire for personal handicrafts.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 23, 2010 under First Impressions, Perceptions, making a difference |
I was visiting Custom Auto Body in North Canton last week for a meeting with Lance Runion, VP and General Manager. We are working on a project together and it was the first time I’d visited his shop. Expecting a typical auto repair store with worn carpet, car and truck magazines and ugly metal chairs I was pleased to walk into an inviting waiting area; warm, clean, comfortable.
Even better – the magazines were more to my liking with a recent copy of People Magazine. But before I could pick it up and delve into the latest Tiger Woods, Bragelina, Brittany scandal, my eyes fell upon a scrapbook/photo album.
I opened it to find page after page of before and after pictures of the cars they had repaired. Accompanying each picture was a handwritten thank you note from the customer.
If I was there for an estimate or to have my car repaired – what a wonderful validation that I had selected the right place to have my car fixed. The before and after pictures were a powerful marketing message that clearly showed their ability. The testimonials added to their credibility.
Sometimes we just need a little validation that the vendor we’ve selected is the right one. What simple visual tool can you put together to help your customers know the value you provide?
Do you ask for testimonials? Think about your best customers – would they be willing to say something positive about your business? Follow these simple steps:
- Give them a call and ask if they’ll provide a quote.
- Offer to write it for them. (have them approve before you publish)
- Think of one specific thing you’d like the quote to be about and write the sentence with that focus (responsive, quality, knowledgeable, great listener, experienced)
- Amass a library of quotes; each one focused on a different aspect of your abilities
- Use the quotes in your email signature (rotate a different one each week/month)
- Put quotes on each of your website pages
- Include a quote in your e-newsletter
Make it easy for your prospects to decide to be your customer by giving them visual proof that others have been pleased. Do you have a creative way you use customer testimonials? Share it with us here!
For more ways to use your testimonials – read this article from Copyblogger offering ten ways to use your testimonials.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 22, 2010 under Employee Moments, Expectations, making a difference |
I’m a member of the Customer 1st LinkedIn group and about three months ago Teri Yanovitch posted this discussion starter:
Attitude of indifference by employees
Being treated with the attitude of indifference is as bad if not worse than being treated with rudeness.
Now usually someone will post a discussion point and there will be comments for a few days and then people move on to the next topic but this discussion has been continuing as one of the top items in the group for the entire three months. Everyone agrees that indifference is just as bad as outright rudeness. The discussions have talked more about the root of the problem. Some blame the economy or a lack of training or a lack of motivation or hiring the wrong people or bottom line management but the general consensus is that there is a growing problem with the attitude of our nation’s employees and how they treat customers.
My take? It is a culture thing. If the company culture is one that focuses on sales and profitability before customers – then sooner or later the customer becomes a distraction or an interruption in the day rather than our reason for being.
However, if everyone is dedicated to uncovering and resolving the customer’s needs then the sales and profitablity will take care of itself. Customers remember when they’ve truly been seen as important rather than cash in the register.
So I ask you – what do you think? Is it just this younger generation that doesn’t understand the value of the customer? Is it a lack of training and focus? Are we hiring indifferent people?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 16, 2010 under Customer Moments, making a difference |
If you are a parent, you’ll be able to relate.
“Mom, did I tell you I need to bring a copy of Treasure Island to school tomorrow?”
Okay, let me set the stage. It is snowing in blizzard proportions, it is 6pm on President’s Day and we’ve had all weekend to shop for the book. NOW she tells me? I was just starting supper. I was thinking about a glass of wine and maybe a fire in the fireplace. NOW?
I start by scouring the shelves of books we have and realize that the copy I am SURE WE HAVE SOMEWHERE can’t be found. So I call the local bookstore, The Learned Owl. As the phone is ringing, I tell my daughter – it is after 6pm on a holiday – they aren’t open.
“Good evening, thank you for calling the Learned Owl.”
YOU ARE OPEN??? Do you have Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson?
“For Mr. Standley’s 7th grade English class? Yes we do. We’ll be here until 8pm.”
Now I wish I could say that this is the first time this has happened, but sadly – it is apparently the only way both of my children operate because I’ve lived this same event at least 10 times in the last six years. And EVERY SINGLE TIME The Learned Owl has been there for me.
They partner with the teachers in our school system and have all of the books at great prices. Sure they are small. Perhaps they don’t have all of the books you’ll find at the mega-book stores. They don’t sell coffee and you won’t find a guitar player performing on a Friday night.
But they serve their community BEAUTIFULLY.
Not only do they partner with the English teachers to stock the latest required reading, they also work with the music/drama department and carry tickets to all of the school events at a pre-order rate. They sponsor book signings for local authors as well as nationally acclaimed authors.
They are first in line for community actitives to lead, sponsor and/or participate. Our town boasted the biggest Harry Potter celebrations thanks to Liz Murphy, the owner of the Learned Owl and her leadership of bringing together all of the other local businesses to make it a town event.
In this economy, so many small businesses are saying they can’t compete with the big box stores or Wal-Mart and yet here is a local shop that serves its community brilliantly.
Thanks to the Learned Owl – it was just a short 20 minutes before I was back to my dinner and glass of wine and my daughter had a brand new copy of Treasure Island in her backpack!
Do you serve your local community as well? So often we try to reach the global community (be bigger than our britches, my grandma would say) when we can do so much more within our own backyard.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 15, 2010 under Customer Moments |
On Monday, February 14, 2005 I opened the doors of AllWrite Ink, a freelance writing business. Having worked in the corporate world more than 25 years I decided to give it a go as an entrepreneur. I had experience. Working side by side with Pearle Vision Franchise owners had taught me a lot. But oh, what I didn’t know then….
As I look back on five years a few lessons come to mind and since this is a customer relationship blog – I’m going to talk about the one big lesson I’ve learned.
PICK THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS
When you first start out – or even if you’ve been around awhile but times are tough – you want to say YES to any customer and to any project. Here are a few I said yes to than I learned quickly the error of my ways:
- A European company bringing an adult porn telephone service to the U.S. They needed content for their marketing material. At first I thought – one product is just like any other – it is all about the customer’s needs….that’s as far as I got. I realized that although the company sounded like it would be successful and the people I talked with were great – I wasn’t so sure I wanted to align my company name with theirs. So I quickly said “I wish you all the best but I’m not sure I’m the best writer for the project.” Lesson Learned: Align your company with those that match your mission, vision and values.
- A website project for a company managing liquidation sales. The guy was awesome. The company terrific. The challenge was in writing styles. He wanted Harvard Business Review and I offer People Magazine. We tried. But it was stressful for both us. We finally said “best of luck” and I gave him a recommendation for a different writer. Lesson Learned: There is such a thing as a “good fit.” Make sure you are the right solution for your customer – you’ll both be happier.
- A small business with a limited budget and big ideas. The scope of the project creeped and creeped until he wanted four times what we’d originally talked about for the original price. This was my fault. I didn’t set boundaries. I didn’t fully explain the value of the original project. I completed the project but the next time he called I was more confident about what I offer. We didn’t work together again. Lesson Learned: if I don’t value what I offer – neither will the customer.
One other lesson I learned was about positioning with my customers. As a writer I thought it made perfect sense to offer my services to web developers. One of the biggest complaints I hear from developers is that they are forever waiting on website content from their customers. It seemed like the perfect solution. I would offer that content. It never took off.
I was walking the track at the gym recently with a developer and said – why didn’t this idea make sense?
“What did you offer the developers?”
“Content.”
“Ahhh, that’s your problem.”
“But that’s what they need.”
“Yes, but you didn’t show WHY they can’t live without it. What you were really offering them was SALES.”
“How do you figure?,” man, sometimes I’m dense.
“If they have great content, the reader stays longer and then picks up the phone or emails or places an order, right?”
“Yes – that’s what I offer. Words People Read.”
“Nope. You are offering them sales. You didn’t position it right so that the customer truly understood what you could do for them.”
Ahhhhh.
Light Bulb. So I’m always learning. What has your business taught you about your customer relationships?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 10, 2010 under Customer Moments, Websites |
Glenn Ross over at AllBusiness: The Customer Experience recently shared nine customer service blogs he likes to read. He offers up:
Amazingserviceguy By Kevin Stirz
Business Is Personal By Mark Riffey
Customers Rock! By Becky Carroll
CustServ By Meikah Delid
Maximum Customer Experience By Kelly Erickson
People2People Service By Maria Palma
QA QnA By Tom Vander Well
Return Customer By Joe Rawlinson (Joe and I both started customer service blogs in April 2005.)
Service Untitled By [Well, he never mentions his name so I won't:-)]
I would like to add a couple of my favorites that I follow from the Alltop Customer Service Page:
Do you have a favorite?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 8, 2010 under Customer Moments, Resolving Conflict |
Boy, Toyota has sure had a run of back luck recently. Accelerators that stick and brakes that don’t work. A bad combination.
So how are they handling the situation?
Check out the video commercial about how Toyota is focusing on customer cars FIRST. “To restore your faith in our company.”
- They aren’t hiding from the issue
- No excuses are being made
- They outline what they are doing to fix the problem
- Every employee and dealer is involved
- Number One Goal – Restoring Trust
I applaud Toyota’s approach to a bad situation and feel confident that they will find a solution to the immediate problem and in the long run, they will continue the relationships with their customers and will probably gain new customers because of how they handle a crisis.
Do you have a crisis management plan for your organization? With Real Time Reviews a number one trend for 2010, you need to be ready to respond to online comments and concerns from customers. Jonathon Bernstein offers 10 suggestions for using SEO in a Crisis situation. Communication is key.
Customer-focused communication, like Toyota is using in their ads is the best.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 4, 2010 under marketing |
Jean Gianfagna, marketing strategiest and business owner of Gianfagna Marketing recently started a blog entitled: Smart Marketing Strategy. Great name and as it turns out – great information.
I just took a visit and found an interesting blog post on connecting the customer data gathered with the marketing message delivered. In the post, Why Customer Data is Essential for Effective Marketing – Especially for Your Customers Jean shares a personal example of how Disney and Chase bank missed the boat when it came to using the historical customer data they had on file.
Generic marketing message sent to existing or prior customers without taking advantage of the weath of personalized data sends the loud message WE DON’T CARE TO TAKE THE TIME TO SEND YOU A MESSAGE PERSONALIZED TO YOUR NEEDS.
In Jean’s case, Chase sent a message that missed the boat on a variety of levels. Her advice for how they could have captured her attention more effectively:
Dig deeper into the customer file and find all the Charter Cardmembers who are lapsed customers. Append those recordswith current demographic data to see how many are families with grown children or adults who are now grandparents. Send these empty-nesters a direct mail package promoting the fun and value of the Disney experience for adults, or a package targeting grandparents with grandkids for that segment of the mailing list. Most important, acknowledge and celebrate the customer’s prior relationship with Disneyand demonstrate — in a way that’s relevant and real — why restarting that relationship now, at a new point in the customer’s lifecycle, is an unbeatable offer.
Jean’s point – take the time to match an appropriate message to customers based on the information already gathered. It is the rifle approach rather than the shotgun. A targeted message is more likely to connect with the customer and inspire them to take action.
If you are going to gather the data – why not use it to build a customer relationship?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 2, 2010 under social media |
I’m preparing for a series of four classes I’ll be teaching on social media - especially how social media can be used to connect with your customers. So I thought I’d just jot down a few of my thoughts and maybe even start an Internet meme.
- Blogging – sharing my thoughts about customer service and learning from others about topics I’m interested in.
- The Global Conversation. Is it just me or do you find it cool that you can meet and develop a relationship with people anywhere in the world? Following Ian Usher who sold his life on Ebay. He lives in Australia but for 100 weeks he is accomplishing 100 goals. He was just in Easter Island – the one place on earth I really want to go to and we conversed via the comments section of his blog WHILE HE WAS ON EASTER ISLAND. It doesn’t get cooler than that.
- YouTube – let’s face it – when you need a break from work, there’s nothing like viewing the funny/stupid videos of the day. However, it is also a great way to communicate your message in a visual fashion.
- Twitter – I am amazed by the famous people I have had the opportunity to tweet with and the connections I’ve made in just 140 characters or less.
- The immediacy. Gone are the days of waiting for the daily paper to arrive on your doorstep. If you missed the recent episode of the Bachelor – you can find out right away who didn’t get a rose. Plus, you can listen to comments from your customers the instant they have something to say.
- Sharing of pics, videos and fun stuff. I love that I can upload a video of my daughter’s flute recital, photos from my trip to Italy or, an Animoto video of my customer service book and share with customers, friends and Tweeple.
- It’s just so simple to connect with customers!Jump in with both feet. Bite off a little or a lot, but really the applications are point-and-click easy.
So what are your favorite things about social media? I’d love to hear all your answers, but specifically I’d love to hear from Chris Brown, Ron McDaniel and Drew McLellan. Tag you are it!
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on February 1, 2010 under Customer Moments |
Are you a multi-tasker? I am the Queen of doing seven things at once and inevitably doing none of them well. That’s why one of the feature articles in the recent Manta Sales newsletter caught my eye. The article is entitled 6 Ways to Build Rapport but it starts with a story in which the author, Larry Prevost fails to build rapport because he is trying to do too many things at once.
As he reviews the details of the conversation, which didn’t go well for either party, he realizes something:
“…I could easily see that I had failed to establish rapport at the top of the call. Both of us were preoccupied with other tasks and wanted to complete the sales process so we could check it off our to-do list.
One of the most important elements in the sales process is establishing and building rapport with your prospect or client. When you have rapport, the sales process moves forward easily. When you don’t have it, every step becomes a struggle.”
Building rapport or as I like to call it, building customer relationships, does start from the first hello. (Remember Jerry Maguire?)
If we are conversing online or over the phone – the desire to multi-task while we talk can be overwhelming, but if you read Larry’s article you can hear just how wrong that decision was. As he goes on to discuss the 6 ways to build rapport, they involve in person interaction or at the very least the ability to talk over the phone and hear their vocal cues.
But what if you are trying to build a relationship via email or through an online customer instant message?
I didn’t find a lot on the Internet to answer that question – sure would love your thoughts – but I did find an old article by Darren Rowse on Problogger offering IM Etiquette tips. Most involve contacting a blogger of which you are a fan but some can translate to building relationships with customers over the computer:
1. Introduce yourself. Make sure you take a few sentences to briefly identify who you are, your role within the company and then turn the tables and ask the same of the customer. It helps to add a little personal touch to the conversation before jumping into the question or issue at hand.
2. Keep your conversations on task – brief and to the point. Rather than try to communicate multiple thoughts in a single message – talk through one item before moving on to the next. This helps to ensure the customer thoroughly understands what you’ve said before tackling another issue.
3. Avoid jargon. We can get wrapped up in our industry and forget that most normal people don’t live and breathe our world and as such – probably aren’t familiar with our abbreviations or jargon. Keep that in mind – don’t assume they know what you are talking about.
4. Some things don’t convey well in writing. Oh man am I ever guilty of this. Humor and sarcasm do not translate well. Keep it to the facts – questions and answers.
5. End the conversation well. The pleasantries we learned in Kindergarten still work well. Please and Thank you are very appropriate.
But the biggest thing to remember is STAY FOCUSED ON THE CUSTOMER. If you are conversing on line or over the phone – put aside distractions. They can hear them in your voice and in the background and it sends a message loud and clear that there is something else you’d rather be doing than building rapport.
Hard lesson. I am so guilty. How about you? Any stories like Larry’s in which your multi-tasking efforts have sacrificed a customer relationship?
I was at lunch today with another woman business owner and we were talking about the different generations and their approach to communication, business and customer service.
