Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on January 19, 2010 under General | 
Did you hear about the new prices at Starbucks? I have to confess. I don’t like Starbucks coffee – too acidic, but I do love their frappuccinos. But the budget just can’t handle the cost and my waistline can’t afford the calories.
So here is my midmorning gift to you. Actually, this is from a Weight Watcher member Joan Lawrence who provided this sugar free recipe for Mocha Frappuccinos and I am enjoying one right this minute!
1 cup skim milk
2 T Splenda granular (or your choice of sugar substitute)
2 T sugar-free mocha instant coffee (General Foods International – I’m actually using the decaf, sugar-free French Vanilla)
1 T instant coffee
1-1/2 cups ice.
Blend about 30 seconds and then ENJOY!
Some times we need to take a little break from serving customer’s needs and cater to our own!
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on January 1, 2010 under Attitude, General |
Last year at this time I wrote a post about the 5 ways I would screw up 2009. And I was successful!
This year I am taking a more positive approach
For several years Chris Brogan has started each year with a focus on three words. Last year I selected three words, which were Bite, Charge and Follow-Up.
This year Chris has selected Eco-systems, Owners and Kings to focus on for 2010. Using the three word system forces you to narrow your resolutions or goals for the year down to one word a piece -something you can remember, like a mantra. If you can remember it, you will do it. Each day as you set your agenda you can balance the list of tasks, networking events and busy work against your three words to see if you are remaining focused.
I am still working on my three words for 2010 but my first word is NARROW. Just like the Italian alleyway pictured above, I need to ensure that my focus is narrow, razor sharp, niched to a specific client/a specific service.
What will your three words be? How will you manage the resolutions you’ve established for this new year? If customer communication or social media is on your list, I hope you’ll give me a call. I can help. 330-414-8792.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on December 25, 2009 under General |
Just a minute ago my first born was this precious, innocent child filled with excitement for the season.
Everything viewed through his young eyes was fresh and new. He wasn’t cynical or skeptical; he took things at face value.
Remember when we were young and couldn’t wait to close our eyes and go to sleep because we knew the next morning would be Christmas and there would be surprises and great joy at every turn?
Remember when your business was young and you had that same sense of excitement and innocence about the possibilities?
Well, I don’t know about you – but my kids are no longer those young innocents believing in all the secrets and excitement of Santa. But we still manage to create MAGIC together.
We continually look for ways to make it FUN. I have found that it is the simpliest pleasures that bring the most joy.
Our customers feel the same way. It is the simple touches – remembering their name or how they take their coffee. Their favorite product line or their favorite booth in the restaurant. Or just greeting them with pleasure in your voice so they know they are valued.
The other day I went to a nursing home with several other friends to sing carols and it was our silly jingle bells, Santa hats and joyful spirit that brought smiles to the resident’s faces (it sure wasn’t our singing).
Here’s hoping that today and every day you can find the simple joys to bring to your life and the lives of your customers. It really does make a difference!
I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas day. May it be filled with all of the fun, simple pleasures of your youth.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on December 15, 2009 under General, marketing |
I can remember sitting around the executive table at Pearle Vision with the competition ads in front of us. We would scour over their wording and product focus and even their color scheme to see how we could position our message to stand out.
Then one time and gosh I wish I could remember who said this – we threw out the competition material and decided to look with a fresh, clean slate. “If we only compare ourselves to the competition then we force our thinking into a rigid box. We need to just compare our performance and company to ourselves and then begin to think outside the box.”
I just joined a gym. Yes – I’m paying good money for all the pain I am in. I look around the room at people 20 years older than I am lifting weights, working out on the machines going a mile a minute and it is hard not to be intimidated. But the trainer that helped me get started gave me some great advice.
“Don’t look at them. Don’t compare yourself to them. Don’t look and see what someone else is doing, just focus on your own progress.”
And I am making progress. I can see it in my clothes and on the scale, I can feel it in my knees and I am enjoying a greater sense of energy than I’ve had in the past, but it is hard not to compare yourself to others.
When we compare ourselves to others we do so without all of the information. We don’t know their strategy or what they have planned for the future – we can only see the tip of the iceburg and therefore in our comparison can make invalid assumptions. Whereas, when we only look at our own performance for comparison, we do have all of the information. We know about the great margin discounts we received from a supplier or we understand the unique needs of our customer or the fact that we just invested money in a customer service training program for our sales staff. We can see what the results are based on the effort and focus we put forth.
So rather than comparing yourself to the competition – hold the mirror up and ask yourself a few simple questions:
- How am I doing based on the customer’s expectations?
- Has my referral or repeat business increased?
- What percentage of my customers are returning customers?
- Has my average transaction increased?
- Have we improved relationships with our vendors?
- Has the number of complaints dwindled?
- Has the number of compliments increased?
- How is the employee morale versus last year at this time?
Just like Mom always said “keep your eyes on your own plate” when I’d complain that my brother didn’t have to eat as many peas as I did – we need to just focus our attention on improving business based on our own performance rather than that of the competition.
What benchmarks do you have for your business? How do you compare and measure success?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on November 3, 2009 under Connecting Moments, First Impressions, General, making a difference |
I have company coming for Thanksgiving and as I make a list of all that needs to be done before they arrive, I realize the carpets need to be cleaned.
The cleaner I used to use is no longer in business so it was back to the Yellow Pages to make a few calls. I called the standard choices and explained the same thing:
I need two rooms, stairs and a hallway and two pieces of furniture cleaned.
My company has an allergy to cats and so I wanted to make sure that the bedrooms and furniture were free from cat dander.
Each of the traditional companies (Service Master, Stanley Steemer and Sears) had similar pricing. They didn’t tell me what I would receive, they just quoted a price. The prices were comparable within $15. Nothing set them apart.
I’ve used each of them at one time or another over the years and remember that often on the actual day of cleaning, additional options would be made available like scotch guard for an additional price.
So I decided to call a local shop: Special Touch
- She asked drill down questions about the rooms and the furniture
- She priced each room and item (very competitive rates)
- She informed me that it would include moving furniture and scotch-guarding the carpets and furniture
- She asked what day would be convenient
- She asked if I had a time preference
- She told me that I would need to vacumn before they came and move any small or breakable items and they would take care of the rest
It was a thorough conversation after which I felt confident that her company knew what they were doing and would take care of all of the aspects of the job for me without incident.
I booked an appointment right away. Then she asked when I was doing the general cleaning of the house before my company arrived. She suggested that we schedule the carpet cleaning for the day AFTER I cleaned as cleaning would send dust particles into the carpet. And she suggested the visit occur the day BEFORE my company arrives to allow for plenty of drying time. She said they had different cleaning methods but since my biggest concern was cat dander – she recommended the steam process. All of this great and helpful information for the same price as the competition – actually a little less.
Great Value! Great customer connection. She listened to what was important to me and made recommendations based on those needs. Color me one happy customer and they haven’t even come to clean the carpets!
It’s hard to set ourselves apart when prospect are comparing prices over the phone. But if we take the time to ask additional questions we often learn valuable information that we can respond to, thus setting ourselves apart from the competition.
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on September 30, 2009 under General, making a difference |
The finalists have been announced in this amazing competition that focused the spotlight on small business.
NBC and American Express have combined forces to create a competition in which three finalists have been selected and how YOU can to vote on the winners:
Sacred Wind Communications out of New Mexico
Happy Baby, organic baby food company from New York City
Beacon Paint and Hardware – serving customers for 109 years!
Voting ends October 16, 2009
Shine the light on Small Business – the foundation of our country. Read their story. What are they doing that has put them in the spotlight that you might copy?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on September 21, 2009 under General |
Business Week announced their 2009 Customer Service Champs; the top 25 businesses offering the best customer service experience. This is the third year Business Week has ranked businesses based on the quality of staff, efficiency of service, likeliness to refer and the percentage that will make a return visit.
Leading the pack this year is Amazon.com. No surprise there – their understanding of what the customer wants and making it easy to obtain is a key to their success. Interestingly enough – they didn’t even make the top 25 in the first Customer Service Champs list of 2007.
In the article spotlighting customer service in a tough economy by Jena McGregor, she says that many companies are struggling with their service as they face layoffs which make it more difficult to offer the higher level of service consumers are demanding. However, she says that those on the top of the service charts are finding ways to make cuts other places beside programs and policies that focus on providing great customer service:
…the best performers are actually doing more to safeguard service in this recession. Bruce D. Temkin, principal analyst for customer experience at Forrester Research (FORR), says about half of the 90 large companies he recently surveyed are trying to avoid cuts to their customer service budgets. “There’s some real resilience in spending,” says Temkin.
That’s especially true for many of the winners of our third annual ranking of Customer Service Champs. Top performers are treating their best customers better than ever, even if that means doing less to wow new ones. While cutting back-office expenses, they’re trying to preserve front-line jobs and investing in cheap technology to improve service.
If anything, the tough economy has made starker the difference between companies that put customers first and those that sacrifice loyalty for short-term gain.
Now is the time to stand out from your competition by understanding the customer’s expectations and providing what they need and expect! As you look down the list of this year’s top 25, I think you will find yourself nodding in agreement with the selections. Businesses like The Ritz, Nordstroms, Trader Joe’s, and JetBlue Airways. If they can do it – why can’t we?
Interested in making comparisons?
2007 Champs
2008 Champs
2009 Champs
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on July 27, 2009 under General, Resolving Conflict |
In the August edition of Entrepreneur we are reminded of the Wendy’s customer who claimed she found a finger in her chili.
After an investigation insued, the truth came out – she had planted the offending digit, but as Entrepreneur reminds us – the damage had been done. Sales fell. Franchise owners suffered.
To-go coffee cups have been forever altered – either with hot warnings or with the additional of insulted hot pads encircling the cup after the woman was burned by her McDonald’s coffee and sued the behemouth franchisor.
And who can forget the Tylenol scare of 1982?
Through no fault of their own, these large household name companies suffered greatly in the media due to “customers” who weren’t playing fair.
Call me Pollyanna but I like to believe that customers are coming with a need and a desire to find a solution which hopefully we can provide. Each day we quietly and successfully help countless customers and that doesn’t make the news. But it is that one irate customer that can ruin our day and in worse case scenarios – ruin our reputation.
John Jantsch wrote a post recently asking if the Customer is Always Right. His short answer is “no” and suggests we reword that phrase to be “the RIGHT customer is always right.”
But what do we do when the wrong or bad customer has an impact on our business?
Web Word Slinger offers a great list of actions to take if someone writes bad things about your company on the Internet in the post There’s No Such Thing as Bad Press.
Not long ago I wrote about how one business owner used Twitter to combat bad press in his community.
Botttomline – when bad customers happen to good companies – you have to face the story head on – reach out to make it right if possible, share your side, offer examples of customers who have been satisfied – collect and publish testimonials and happy stories. Don’t be afraid to ask a customer, that gushes about how you changed their life, to put it in writing!
What ideas have you found word?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on July 21, 2009 under General |
I know I usually talk about customer service – but bare with me for a moment. Great customer service comes from a culture focused on customers led by leaders who understand that the customer is what drives business. So let’s look at the leader for a moment.
I found it interesting that two blogs I follow both had lists outlining specific types of people this week. John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing writes about the 7 Uncommon Traits of Entrepreneurs while Dean Rieck over at Copyblogger writes about 11 traits of the Creative Person.
Often we think of the creative person being behind the scenes – glued to their computer writing, designing or developing the next great slice of bread. While entrepreneurs are out in front, thinking at 40,000 feet, dealing with venture capitalists. See what you think:
Entrepreneur Creative
Curious Expressive and playful
Risk averse Motivated by risk
Planner Find order and solutions
Trusting Intuitive
Non-judgemental Challenging assumptions
Spatial Pushing the envelope
Pragmatic Test and make connection
Dean added “courageous” to the list for creative individuals, but I’m sure John would agree that entrepreneurs are also courageous; to go out on their own, try the untested.
I don’t know if there is really a connection, but I thought it was interesting. In the corporate world when Myers Briggs tests are given (at least when I experienced the tests), those who were analytical, big thinker, risk takers and scored low on the feeling part of their brain were touted as the born leaders. Those of us with a little creative bent were seen as support members of the team. We were given the “touchy feely” part of operations.
These two lists indicate to me that creative types have similar qualities of entrepreneurs. And when you think ”entrepreneur” don’t you think leader? Or am I all washed up?
I believe that a true leader has the qualities John talks about - sees things from a variety of angles, organized, understands the break even point and its importance in success, but also has the ability to understand their customer, imaginatively find solutions to their problems and express their ideas visually and with words.
So were you surprised by the connections between the two types of individuals or was it a “duh” for you?
When you think leader – do you think creative type?
Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on March 12, 2009 under Customer Moments, General |
A friend of mine works for a large, highly recognizable insurance firm. We got to talking about customer service and she shared the fact that in her company the historical culture was the opposite of customer focus.
“We were the only place certain people could obtain insurance and so they were lucky we even took their call. We didn’t need to offer service because they needed us more than we needed them.”
However, as time went by, competitors began to offer insurance to those same “uninsurable customers” and so her company had to expand their customer base.
“We’ve learned that it costs a lot to advertise and attract new people but costs almost nothing to resign an existing customer. However, resigning a customer requires we offer services we just aren’t trained or encouraged to offer.”
So what do you do when there is a disconnect between company culture and doing what is best for your customer?
I guess it depends on where you are in the management hierarchy. If you are in a position to make changes – then you need to make a case for a change in philosphy.
“Companies spend 6 to 10 times more to acquire new customers than they do to retain existing customers. But a 5% increase in customer retention can have a bottom-line profit increase of 75%, depending on the industry.”
-Don Neal, Director of Business Development for Hallmark Business Expressions
That fact alone should be enough to start the conversation about changing to a more customer-focused culture. For it is only through exceeding our customer’s needs that we gain their loyalty. And when customers are loyal they remember – refer and return.
Still unconvinced?
“Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project
or service and that bring friends with them.” – W. Edward Deming
Although some may still view customer service as touchy feeling and not measurable – the opposite is true. Just ask your customers. Exit surveys and Mystery Shop programs will help uncover how your customers really feel about you. If referral-based marketing is 80% effective in persuading someone to try your company then isn’t it important that what is being said about you is positive?
But here’s the kicker – just deciding to become more customer-focused won’t change a thing. Every person within the organization needs to understand the value of customer service. Every function – every role needs to support the customer-focused strategy. Every training program needs to be centered around meeting/exceeding customer expectations and ultimately compensation should be tied to customer service.
If bonus programs are still tied to profitability or sales dollars – then the focus will be on making the register ring. Not the customer. Customers don’t want to feel like a transaction – they wanted to be treated as people. They need to feel like they matter. If you are too busy ringing the register – the customer becomes the means to an end.
Big companies are in a world of hurt right now. They may realize they need to make a change but the process of actually changing will take herculean efforts. However, entrepreneurs can turn on a dime. If your focus has been on the bottom line and you realize that customer service needs to play a more important role – today is the day to start your new focus.
Gather your staff and ask them:
- What does our customer want?
- When a customer has been really pleased – what was it about the experience they liked?
- If you could change one thing you do to be more focused on the customer’s needs – what would it be?
- What do you need to make it happen?
- How can I help?
Start today. You can overcome the disconnect between thinking about being a customer focused business and actually being a customer focused business.
Did you hear about the new prices at Starbucks? I have to confess. I don’t like Starbucks coffee – too acidic, but I do love their frappuccinos. But the budget just can’t handle the cost and my waistline can’t afford the calories.
