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.
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?
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!
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?
There is nothing worse than silence. Whoever said “no news is good news” or ”silence is golden” must have been the parent of a new born because as an entrepreneur and the mother of a college student – there is nothing worse than NO NEWS.
It’s Friday. The end of the work week. I should be wrapping things up – preparing for a girly weekend with my middle schooler, but no. Why?
SILENCE.
On a personal front, my son is facing the consequences of his actions today and I’m awaiting news. His phone is turned off – probably to avoid my text messages – and the silence is killing me. So I focus on work. Except, guess what?? SILENCE.
I am presenting a series of four workshops on Social Media scheduled to begin February 10 and follow for three additional Wednesdays. I’m very excited about the events and have receive great feedback from potential attendees.
Using the social media I so strongly believe in – I set up registration for all four classes on Events Bot. It was a fairly simple process and even included HTML code for spreading the word and creating cutsie REGISTER NOW boxes. Except here’s the rub. Sign up for my class and get charged an unexplainable shipping and handling fee of $19.80. What needs to ship? Who are we going to handle?
So I contacted the help desk. The email gave me no answers.
I sent another message to the help desk. Nada.
So I sent a message to the abuse email. Nothing.
I changed my account and paid for premium service thinking that maybe there was a glitch in the free service. I got a lovely canned welcome email. It included another customer service address to contact. So I sent them a message. No return message.
This is my first time using their service and could have been a long and mutually beneficial relationship as I am now using their premium service. But no communication isn’t sitting well with me. I see from the reports that a really good number of people are clicking on the events. If only 10% of them purchased, my classes would have been filled yesterday. So how many are getting to the invoice – seeing an additional $20 charge and cancelling out on their reservation?
Silence from Events Bot is not helping my business or theirs.
I was reading a recent post by Drew McLellan on follow up and the importance of being available and touching base and being responsive to your customers. HA.
How true is that?
So once again, I’m hoping social media will work for one of two things:
1. You might know of a different event site I can go to and set up my events – please share and quickly.
2. Events Bot has a Google alert set up for their name – will see this and finally give me an answer.
Cuz here’s the deal. I’m new. This is my first time. It could very well be my fault. In fact, I’m sure it is. I’ve probably clicked something I shouldn’t have. But TELL ME.
As for my son? Prayers.
Okay. don’t be silent – help me out here. Anyone have advice for me? Thanks a bunch!
Yesterday morning I attended the monthly ABC meeting: Akron Bloggers Connect and we had a wonderful turnout w ith some friendly, familiar faces and a few that were new to the group.
Chris Brown of Branding and Marketing (Marketing Resources and Results) led us through a packed agenda. But first we went around the table and introduced ourselves. It is an electic group of bloggers and blogger-newbies:
and Jill McCauslin and Mary Helscl who are just getting started.
We talked about creating FAST content for the web that is a constant task master wanting more and more words of wisdom. We talked about using Market Samurai to research key words and the value of finding the right niche product to connect with targeted prospects. We shared resources and websites/blogs that we’d found of value like Nathan Kievman with Link Strategies Group and Frank Kern’s videos.
In the end,we all commented about the wealth of information that had been shared and in particular, how some so experienced, were willing to share what they knew with those just starting out.
It was a make or break moment in my mind.
We’ve been taught to hold our cards close to our vest. If we find out something new and exciting – we should keep it a secret so that we have a leg up on our competition. Yet isn’t there some value in sharing what we’ve learned so that we can all become better in business, better using social media, better with our customer relationships?
So do you hold knowledge as a closely guarded secret or do you share the wealth?
Are you local? Consider joining us for our lively discussions. We meet monthly at the Mocha Joe’s in Stow - last Thursday of every month from 9:30-11am. Hope to see you there.
Photo courtesy of Chris Brown and her amazing camera!
So I’m going through my stack of articles that I rip out of magazines and save for the “some day” that I’m going to do something with them and came across this article about the top 50 Innovative businesses of 2009 that appeared in the March 2009 issue of FastCompany.
Amazon comes in at #9 with a tagline piece of advice “what’s dangerous is not to evolve.”
The article is about the incredible sales of the Kindle. Of course, almost a year later, the Kindle isn’t new news but there was a statement in the article that was important enough for me to circle it and save:
“There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you’re good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.”
It is rare that a company begins its life or expands its offerings by first asking the customer what they want or need. If we start with the customer first – how would that change what we offer or how our business evolves?
I talk with many entrepreneurs who ask “how many years did it take you before you refined your niche market.” Or other veterans of business who say “my business today isn’t anything like what I thought it would be when I started.”
If we started with the customer first…would we get to our ideal business sooner? Do you have a customer focused business?
I love conversations with Leslie Ungar. You know her. I talk about her often. That’s because she always has some interesting little tidbit to share that speaks volumes. Today it was the retelling of something Bruce Nordstrom (Grandson of Nordstrom’s founder) had to say when visiting Northeast Ohio a while back.
Someone asked him if people took advantage of Nordstrom’s famous return policy. You’ll all heard the story about the customer who returned a tire to Nordstroms and they didn’t even sell tires. But the associate smiled and happily gave the customer a refund.
Well, first off, my Dad - another person who always had great stories to tell, said that there was a Nordstroms location that did in fact sell tires, but the point of the story is that Nordstroms takes their customer at face value and does whatever it takes to make them happy. (p.s. the tire return took place in an acquired store that had sold tires before being owned by Nordstroms)
So how did the founder’s grandson reply? “Yes. There are some people that take advantage.”
He went on to say that only about ten percent of their customers took advantage of Nordstroms policy to make customers happy. “You don’t make policy based on ten percent,” he was quoted as saying. “You make policies based on the 90%.”
I’ve often heard of the 80/20 rule. You know – the rule that says 20% of your customers bring in 80% of your revenue. That 20% of your employees generate 80% of the work. That 20% of the whiners take up 80% of your time.
But here, the rule is even stiffer. Make policies based on 90% of your customer’s needs. Nordstroms has been in business over 100 years and their customer philosophy has remained the same – regardless of the change in economics:
The company’s philosophy has remained unchanged for more than 100 years since its establishment by John W. Nordstrom in 1901: offer the customer the best possible service, selection, quality and value.
What else has remained the same for over 100 years?
Okay – let’s get back to your company policies. Do you make your policies based on the few that try to take advantage or the many that build your business? I can remember in school there would be obscure rules and the teacher would say “It is because of the actions of a few that we’ve had to change the rules.” Didn’t you want to punch “the few” in the nose for making it more difficult or less enjoyable for you?
Our customers feel the same way. Imagine a world where companies created a culture around the many. So look at your customer service policies. Are they based on the few that try to ruin it for the rest of us? Or have you positioned yourself like Nordstroms and created policies around the 90% of your customers who just want a good quality product/service at an affordable price?
I normally focus on the customer at Make or Break Moments, but today I’d like to shine the spotlight on our NUMBER ONE ASSET – our employees.
How we treat our employees and how we make them feel directly impacts how they treat our customers.
I remember a store visit I once conducted with Pearle Vision. The franchisee owned three stores but worked primarily out of one of them. This store visit was to a store he rarely visited. It was a small store in size and sales volume and only had three employees. On this particular day there were two associates working. As was my practice during my visit, I kept an open ear to the customer conversations to see how the customers were treated and to critique the sales conversation.
Were they asking questions about lifestyle?
Were they making recommendations based on those facts?
Were they suggesting a second pair purchase?
Did they recommend lens treatments like scratch protection, tinting and ultraviolet ray protection?
During a lull in the afternoon, I mentioned the fact that they really just filled out order forms. They didn’t ask any questions and they made no recommendations. For me it was an “ah – ha” moment. This is why sales are so low in this store. The opportunities were incredible. Until I heard the associates response.
“Oh sure, we know what we could be doing to improve sales but why should we bother? The owner clearly doesn’t care about this store or these customers. He certainly doesn’t care about us – he never visits or calls or asks us questions or allows us to attend training. If he doesn’t care – why should we? We get paid either way.”
Talk about the real “ah – ha” moment in this store visit.
Yesterday during the sermon, our minister, Rev. Dr. Peter Wiley, shared a letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians in which he likened our body to that of the Body of Christ – each part has a role, each role no more important than any other but without the whole – we don’t function. As part of the sermon he talks about how people each carry a bucket. And we can respond to each other’s bucket in one of two ways:
1. We can fill each other’s bucket with words of praise, recognition and encouragement.
2. We can drain their bucket with criticism, negativity and judgemental comments.
That really hit home for me. At the end of the day, Peter asked, can we look back and say we spent more time filling buckets or emptying them? On any given day, for me, it could go either way. I find that the people I am closest too, the ones who mean the most, I spend more time being critical. I assume they know their value and how important they are to me and how proud I am of their accomplishments.
Do we do the same with our employees? Do we assume they know their value and therefore, we spend the most time finding things wrong that they could be doing better/differently? Or do we ignore them entirely which is another way of emptying their bucket?
How our employees feel is directly related to how they treat our customers. If they were asked – would they say you spend more time FILLING their bucket or EMPTYING it?
p.s. we need to ask the same question of ourselves with all our relationships.
It’s hard to build a relationship on the Internet. You can’t make eye contact. You can’t ask questions and if you could – you certainly wouldn’t be able to hear the answers.
Yet the Internet is where our prospects and customers seek information and make decisions about potential vendors or companies with which they’ll do business.
So how do you tell your story? How do you communicate your vast knowledge and experience without a bunch of WORDS PEOPLE WON’T READ?
YouTube offers a platform to share your story – but you have to be creative if you want to capture the attention of viewers and hopefully create a message that “goes viral.”
In a recent edition of Advertising Age, Teressa Iezzi of Creativity Online shared the top creative picks of 2009. I’ve talked about one of them in an earlier post – the musical stairs in Stockholm. But this time I want to share the story of Johnnie Walker in their historical, yet extremely creative video called “The Walk” which chronicles the history of one of the greatest adult beverages known to man.
You have a unique story as well. One that people would be interested in hearing. Have you considered using YouTube to tell about how you got started? Or maybe your start-up story is ordinary, but how you came to focus on a particular product or service is unique.
For more information on how to connect with your customers and share your story using YouTube, check out this video from Small Business Trends by Jim Kukral with 101 ways to use YouTube and this article from Meryl Evans on the 34 ways to use YouTube for Business.
Be the First to Comment 
Boy, Toyota has sure had a run of back luck recently. Accelerators that stick and brakes that don’t work. A bad combination.
