People buy from those they like and trust and the only way to build that trust is to learn about your customers as people not just cash in the register.
This became clear to me during a recent trip to Venice, Italy in which I visited a shop, Arte Venexiana, near the Rialto Bridge. I was looking for a unique piece of jewelry to commemorate my trip. I found a lovely glass necklace and asked the salesman if I could look more closely.
After handing me the necklace he got on the phone. Moments later, Elise entered the store – the designer who had created the piece I admired. In her hands…matching earrings. She asked my name. Learned I was traveling with my Mom and daughter – who were also in the store and she sought them out, exclaiming at my mother’s beauty.
She explained the process of her jewelry design. Told me about the Artist who made the glass beads. She personally put the necklace around my neck.
Exquisite. But pricey.
I thanked her and said I had to think about it. She gave me her card – made eye contact – pressed her hand to mine and told me how glad she was to meet someone who admired her artwork.
I shopped the rest of the day but her necklace and the warmth with which she treated me was ever present in my mind.
I returned. She came running out from behind the counter. Kissed me on both checks and told me how glad she was I’d returned. I made the purchase.
As she wrapped the necklace and earrings, she talked to her artwork, “you are so lucky, my baby, you are going to America.” She told me glad she was glad that I was the one who’d purchased something she was so proud of.
I felt like we’d become friends.
I returned the next day to purchase gifts for friends and family. She remembered me and greeted me warmly – giving my daughter a free pair of purple earrings – she’d overheard that it was my daughter’s favorite color.
In parting she asked that I send her a postcard once I’d arrived safely home.
Imagine if every purchase we made was handled in such a personal manner. Imagine how good we’d feel about the value of our purchase. Would we return? Would we refer the establishment to our friends?
You betcha!
Look back over my interaction with Elise at all of the little things she did to build a relationships with me. She knew I would leave and most likely not come back any time soon. What reason did she have to go out of her way to build a relationship? Yet, she saw the value. It set her apart.
Taking steps to build a relationship with your customers may seem time consuming, but the efforts and future benefits far outweigh the energy it takes. If you want loyal customers – become their friend; even if the friendship is only for a single moment in time. The experience will be remembered and the beginnings of customer loyalty will be established.
We were seated at a window table and pulled out our cameras to take pictures of each other and the view. Sasha, our waiter, came to introduce himself - saw the cameras and decided that his first role would be that of photographer. Selecting Mom’s brand new Sony 10.1 MP camera, he posed us - then made an adjustment to the camera and began snapping. Mom said - oh - what did you do - you found a new feature to my camera! Our waiter was a photo teacher as well.
Soon he brought flutes of champagne - on the house - for us all (Emily received a flute with pineapple juice) and he led our first toast. Thus began the most enjoyable meal I’ve ever had. Yes - the food was fantastic - but his treatment of us was what put the night over the top:
He joined in our celebration - making us feel special, not like silly tourists
He treated my daughter as an adult, including her in the decisions and the explanations and served her pasta with butter sauce with as much flourish as if it were the chef’s greatest creation
He validated our choices with specific information - not just “oh that is a good choice” but rather providing new information. Our wine choice turned out to be one of the top three Chardonnays of Italy (Cabreo - wonderful)
He anticipated our needs, bringing moist toilettes for my Mother after serving the King Prawns and opening the packages as he knew her fingers were messy with shrimp
When the check came - trust me it wasn’t a small number - the credit card came out without hesitation. It had been an evening worth every Euro.
FOLLOW UP: Of course we raved about our experience to our fellow tour buddies and five families went the next night and all but one had a similar experience and none had Sasha as their waiter. Each server had been trained to provide a memorable experience. One family asked if Sasha would be their waiter. They were told no, however, within minutes of being seated - Sasha came to their table to greet them warmly and thank them for asking for him. Although he was not able to serve them - shortly after greeting them, he sent to the table a complimentary appetiser with his best wishes for a wonderful meal. Now that’s classy!
Our tour was jam packed with activity and along the way our tour guide, Ellen, gave us little insights into the minds of Italians. We also learned a few of our own. Here are three I learned the day we visited the Coliseum, Roman Forum and St. Peter’s Baslica:
1. Make eye contact with Italians when you enter their place of business. Owners believe it is important to make eye contact with every customer. In fact, if you enter the store and appear to want to have a conversation rather than make a purchase - that makes them the most happy. If you enter a store and the workers are not welcoming - leave - don’t reward them. There are too many other places to make a purchase where you will find someone friendly. Two points here: the shop owner who is most successful puts building a customer relationship ahead of the sale. And competition is fierce - don’t reward bad or indifferent customer service. Wow!
2. Know your customer. I passed a vendor outside the Coliseum selling tourist favorites (t-shirts, mugs, key chains, etc) and as I passed he said “Prego, souvenirs cheaper than Target.” Now according to the Target website there is a store in Italy, SC and Italy, Texas and you’ll find items depicting Italy if you shop at a Target in the United States, but I didn’t find a Target in Rome, Italy. The vendor understood his customer and crafted a pitch that would get my attention and be immediately recognizable to me. I learned later that other vendors used the same phrases and substituted KMart and Wal-Mart.
3. Plant the seed for additional purchases. I went to a snack shack for a Coke. They also sold other snack items like pizza, paninis, pretzels and pastries. I just wanted a Diet Coke. So I greeted the sales person and said “Coke Light, please?” And he said “And….” He didn’t assume the sale was ended with my request - he assumed there was something else I wanted but just hadn’t asked for. In truth, I just needed a Coke - I was thirsty. But his prompting to add an additional purchase led me to order a pretzel before I even realized it was what I wanted. Clever.
Simple stories - powerful messages.
Andiamo! (Let’s Go!) We are off to Florence - Firenza.
I just returned back from a once in a life time trip to Italy with my Mom and daughter, Emily. We began our adventure in Rome where we hooked up with 38 other Americans experiencing Italy with cross-generational family members. Tauck tour groups has a series of tours called Bridges in which Grandparents and their Granchildren can experience a new country together.
My 12 year old daugher has wanted to go to Rome since Hillary Duff filmed the Lizzie Mcguire movie and so away we went.
During our first day we experienced the Vatican museums and the Sistene Chapel. In the grand hall leading up to the chapel we encountered this painted tablet. Our tour guide, Richardo, informed us that it was advertising in its earliest form.
This tablet is about 4 feet sqaure and was painted outside of the restaurant - informing passers-by what type of food they could expect to enjoy should they venture indoors. Advertising as early as 2 AD.
While I was traveling, I took notes of some of the sales, marketing and cutomer service experience we encountered. Over the next few blog posts I’ll be sharing some of my insights. Suffice it to say - my Earning Customer Loyalty speech is going to be revised based on the lessons I learned from the Italians I encountered.
I invite you to share the experiences you’ve had while traveling abroad of if you live in another country - please share your culture as it relates to customer service.
I sometimes think that Americans believe they have it all figured out when it comes to sales and service and yet I found an entirely different truth while in Italy. It was eye opening!
I had to have an MRI today. I’m struggling with back and leg pain and after months of other treatments the doctor said “I think it’s time for an MRI.”
NOT THE COFFIN THING. I cried. You see I have a little bit of an issue with small spaces. Being a rather large person - tall and big boned, if you will - small spaces give me the creeps. But I’m tired of the limited mobility and wanted some answers. So my son took me to the doctors because they said they’d give me something to relax.
The nurse took one look and said “Hmm, we usually only give one pill but you look like you need two.”
I climbed on the table as she explained the procedure and what to expect. Tight space, no movement, really loud jack hammer sounds. She placed radio headphones on my ears, squeezed my shoulders and told me it would be okay.
Soon, I heard her reassuring voice in my ears through the headset. The first test was to last for five minutes. It was the longest five minutes I’ve ever experienced.
“Could you count down the time for me,” I asked before the next test began.
My nurse, Denise, was really understanding and encouraging and said all of the right things, but the one thing she missed was just how long five minutes can be. From then on she let me know as each minute passed.
Just four more minutes, you are doing great.
That little extra information was what I needed to finally calm down and make it through the following four tests.
She told me afterwards that she hadn’t realized I would be able to hear her over the noise of the machine. However, her voice and the message of how much longer I had was a life line that I strained to hear. It was a little thing - as great customer service details are - and yet it truly was the make or break moment for me.
Some times our customers have to go through a bunch of steps to use our products or services. We know the process by heart and for us it doesn’t take any time at all. But for a customer who hasn’t ever experienced working with us - they might need a little update now and then.
Sometimes just communicating that you don’t have anything new to tell can be of value. Think of how long you wait for a car repair. They tell you 45 minutes and round about an hour you start to wonder if they’ve forgotten you. Giving our customers little updates along the way shows we care - we know their time is valuable and we haven’t forgotten them.
Is there a customer service moment you can offer - one small increment at a time? Take the time to do it - it can make all the difference in the world.
I was blown away by the new GM commercial last night. The one minute marketing segment introduced the Reinvention of GM.
Call me Pollyanna (many do) but I liked the fact that they started by admitting some of the wrong directions they’d traveled and then firmly, clearly stated the new direction:
Fewer, stronger brands
Fewer, stronger models
Greater efficiencies
Better fuel economies
New Technology
In short “leaner, greener, faster, smarter.”
I loved the statement “we aren’t going out of business, we’re getting down to business” and “the only chapter we’re focused on is Chapter One.”
Of course, in the process of seeking out a copy of the commercial to share, I found the Spoof version which slaps the face of all those hoping to see GM turn around - for the company, for the employees and most importantly for our country.
But no matter how you feel about GM, their marketing campaign or their business practices, here are a few things we can all take away from the commercial:
1. We need to look at how we do business - are we trying to be all to everyone and therefore not succeeding to be anything to anyone? Fewer brands. Fewer services. Niche message - that’s the way of the near future if we plan to be successful.
2. Are we efficient? Are there ways we can do more with less? Do less but do it better? Spend less. In the most recent issue of Advertising Age, the lead article is entitled “Marketers fear frugality may just be here to stay.” Okay, from a marketing perspective that’s bad - but really if we look at how we spend our time, money and energy to strive to be more efficient and more effective - is that such a bad thing?
3. In the midst of utter failure - the executives of GM (well, at least those that write their marketing copy) are “getting down to business.” They are focused on success. They are going to do whatever it takes to remain a viable option in the competitive auto industry. The message is one of passion and commitment. We can all use a little of that passion for our own business - our customers - our future success. If you had to make a statement with the greatest conviction about your business - what would it be?
I once had a franchisee whose store was in the snow belt of America. Winter months brought few customers and even fewer dollars and during those months he’d refer to himself as “Dead Fred.” The reference signfying that he was unable to pay his bills - ‘dead in the water.’ It was his annual “giving up” season.
Have we given up? Have we given in to the recession - oh well, it is the economy - nothing we can do. We’ve been doing business this way for years - can’t change now.
Certainly that could be what the auto industry in general and GM specifically could be saying but if we are to believe their new commercial, they aren’t going to give in. No Dead Fred here.
I hope the new advertising message is more than a campaign - rather the new way of doing business. Just like each day I need to look in the mirror and see what my New “GM” - my new way of business will be based on the changing environment.
I attended a committee meeting last evening at one of the member’s homes. During the meeting the phone began to ring. She excused herself to take the call and was soon back at the table. Again the phone rang and the process was repeated.
This happened five times. The rest of us continued talking and ignored the ringing phone but finally she filled us in.
“I’m so sorry but my son just did a great thing at his baseball game and people are calling to tell me about it.”
That’s great! A homerun? A no-hitter? A triple play? We all speculated as to what this wonderful thing could be that would cause so many people to call.
“No. A little boy on the other team threw himself on the ground after being struck out. His team members left him there but my son went over, helped him up and told him it was okay and then walked him to the other team’s bench.”
We were all silent for a moment. Dante, the boy in question, is only eight years old. The other player had thrown a temper tantrum, as young kids are apt to do, however, most kids would point and laugh. Not this young boy. Dante felt the pain of his competitor and reached out a helping hand.
It was a little thing, really. Almost not worthy of a blog post. But the message in this story seems rather large to me.
Reaching out to help the competition is newsworthy
At the end of the day; helping others is more important than the end result
You are never too young to understand the value of putting yourself in the other person’s shoes
Lending a helping hand might not be the popular thing to do (witness his team mates who left him crying on the field) but it is always the right thing to do
Compassion and empathy live on in our next generation
Little eight year old Dante is my hero today. I wonder if put in a similar situation if I could have been brave enough to do the same thing. If I saw a competitor struggling or a customer having an ackward moment - would I step in or pretend I didn’t see? How about you? What can you learn from this 8 year old?
I was just reading the latest newsletter from John Tschohl, customer service trainer, who talked about the fact that the need for customer service training is just as prevelent today as it was thirty years ago when he wrote his first training program:
Customer service frankly is not much better today than it was 30 years ago. The objections are still the same. If I train my employees they might leave. The solution is to put a big sign on each door to your business that says, “None of our employees have been trained”. In realty, that is what most organizations do.
Companies still have unlimited marketing money. Very few organizations understand it is 10 times cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one. Empowerment does not exist. Employees are NOT allowed to make decisions that might keep a customer. Their decision might be wrong. Waiving a $39 late fee is too expensive, but the same organization will spend $300 to acquire a new customer. Few companies know the lifetime value of their customers.
There are two great points in that short portion of his newsletter:
1. The fear of losing employees keeps some employers from providing training
2. Employers fail to understand the value of their existing customer base
In my most recent newsletter I ask the question Do you build marketing plans or customer relationships. Nurturing our existing customer relationships is a critical component to growing our business in today’s competitive environment. Failing to recognize the value of those who have done business with us - adopting an attitude of “Oh - WE HAVE THEM - must move on to gaining new faces” is setting us up for failure.
Customers can tell when we assume that they will stay loyal. They can tell when we’ve lost interest in wooing them. How many marriages fail because the couple fails to look their best, act their best and put their best foot forward. Is it so different with our existing customers?
Now compound the problem by not training and TRUSTING our employees to do the best for the customer.
One of the reasons people point to the Ritz as an example of customer service is because they:
Train their people
Give them the tools to ensure a great customer experience
Trust their employees to do what is necessary to fix a problem
Empower their employees to represent the brand in a positive way
Do the powers that be worry about losing their staff? Maybe. But that doesn’t stop them from doing what’s right with respect to their customer.
Here’s a wacky thought:
What if every employer trained their employees to treat every customer as they’d like to be treated.
What if we treated our existing customers like a new love interest - doing everything we can to be the one they keeping choosing year after year?
I just upgraded my Verizon phone. Why did I do that?
I’m guilty of being one of those people that is tempted by the latest and greatest gadget. There was nothing wrong with my Motorola Q - we were good friends. But I switched to the Blackberry technology.
YUCK!
I understand there is a learning curve. I’M TOO OLD TO LEARN.
So I am forced to get out the manual. I’m already frustrated and it seems like “giving in” to resort to reading the manual but here I am - manual in one hand - phone in the other.
“Go to the Applications screen”
“Click on Show Tunes”
I go to my phone - no where on my phone does it say “show tunes.” Even if I turn it sideways - still doesn’t say “show tunes.” It says “Show Ring Tones.” Close enough? Guess what - it doesn’t work. It’s empty.
Now I’m angry. I can’t get the phone to work and what the manual says to do is INCONSISTENT with the product.
How many times have you angered your customers because your communicate is inconsistent? Do you use different terms for the same thing. Does one department call a “widget” a “thing-a-ma-bob?”
If different people/departments develop products/services then those that write the instructions - do you have consensus on what you call things? There is nothing that will tick a customer off more than making them feel stupid.
Guess what? Inconsistency makes people feel stupid. If they don’t get it - they surely won’t get you. And then what happens? They dump you and go to the competition.
Don’t lose a customer over something as simple as clear, concise, CONSISTENT communication.
Need help? Hire a copywriter - they are skilled in making sure that the same words are used throughout a communication piece.
Just read a post on Dennis Snow’s site in which he reminds us that social media now allows unhappy customers to tell millions about their bad service as it happens. In the past the negative word of mouth would extend to 7 or 9 or 15 people and now in a blink of a text our mistakes, mis-steps and ineffective service can be communicated round the world!
Dennis suggests that we train our front line employees to ask themselves:
“In every customer interaction you have, imagine the customer is going to immediately ‘tweet’ about their experience. What would they communicate instantly to all of their contacts about their interaction with you?”
How would that change your approach to building customer relationships? Should social media be added to your customer retention strategy? When we think of social media in general or rather Twitter in particular; we say “I don’t see the value” or “I don’t have time for that” or “How can it help my business?”
We dismiss Twitter as a silly thing the young people do to waste time and miss altogether the fact that it doesn’t matter if WE USE social media. Our customers DO! And very effectively.
Although customer service ENDS at the customer/sales associate interaction - it BEGINS with management. In this economy companies are down sizing. In some cases they are treating their employees like an expense item on their P&L rather than as the greatest asset in their arsenal. Bosses let employees know they should be grateful they have a job rather than encouraging, training and thanking them for hanging in there during the tough times.
Fewer employees are having to cover a greater number of tasks and all of this leads to declining customer service. In an age when customer service should be the number one focus; with increased competition and fewer spendable dollars, we should be doing everything we can to help customers spend with us!
Yet -if the employees who actually interact with customers are beaten down, feeling overworked and under valued - they aren’t going to see the need to do anything extra with each customer experience.
The combination of declining customer service and increased communication abilities through Twitter is a disaster waiting to happen.
As a manager - an owner - an entrepreneur - we need to recognize Twitter for the opportunity it is to create awareness and build customer retention.
Not long ago I talked about Ramon DeLeon - the owner of several pizza shops in Chicago and how he stays connected with his customers via Twitter and other social media venues. Through the use of Google Alerts and Twitter search plug-ins - you can stay connected and learn when people are talking about you. At the very least make sure you follow conversations about your business so that you can respond.
However, a more proactive customer retention strategy would be to actively engage your customers in conversation via social media. For more information about using social media to connect with customers, check out Becky Carroll’s post called Where Does Social Media fit in?
At the very least - go back to Dennis’ question and ask yourself - just what is the customer I’m talking with RIGHT NOW going to Tweet about this experience?
Interested in tips for building customer relationships? Sign up for the monthly Make or Break Moments newsletter offering examples and practical tips for creating customers for life.
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People buy from those they like and trust and the only way to build that trust is to learn about your customers as people not just cash in the register.
I felt like we’d become friends.
I had to have an MRI today. I’m struggling with back and leg pain and after months of other treatments the doctor said “I think it’s time for an MRI.”
I attended a committee meeting last evening at one of the member’s homes. During the meeting the phone began to ring. She excused herself to take the call and was soon back at the table. Again the phone rang and the process was repeated.
Just read a post on 
