Online Advertising Marketing

Archive for the ‘Customer Service’ Category

You can have the best products, the plushest offices, the best location, but unless you are a ‘customer focused’ business, all of this counts for nothing, you will never really hit the heights you deserve.

So what can you do to build a business which focuses outwardly on the customer, and not inwardly on the business?

Build Passion and Commitment

The first building block is passion and commitment. This is the very foundation stone of a customer focused business. Without passion and commitment the structure you will build above will be weak and prone to collapse at the first sign of stress.

The passion and commitment has to come from you and your staff. All of you have to totally believe in the concept of the customer being the centre of everything you do. From the moment you step into work everyone has to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer.

As the key person in the business what can you do to build passion and commitment? Lead from the front and set an example. Keep the concept at the top of the agenda and demonstrate it in everything you do. Keep talking about it. Celebrate all the great examples of putting the customer totally in focus.

Build Processes Around Your Customer Not The Business

All great businesses have clearly laid down processes on how to get things done. Whether you have a formal Process Manual or a Quick Reference Guide, which sets out your processes, a clear procedure provides confidence and clarity for both your staff and the customer.

But don’t just build your processes around making things easier for you, build them to make things easier for the customer. Look at every step in the process and ask yourself, “Can we do something to make it even easier for the customer to do business with us?”Are there steps which can be refined or even eliminated all together? Be inquisitive, bold and challenging!

Build a Relationship

Building a relationship with your customer is at the very heart of a customer focused model. Build a strong, firm relationship and you will have a customer for life. The basis of relationship building is A.B.C. – Always Be Communicating. Here are some ideas on building an enduring and profitable relationship through ABC:

• Make a point to periodically call your customers. Set up a diary system to provide you with a regular reminder or prompt. Call them even if you have nothing sell! A strange concept perhaps but you never know what will come out of the conversation

• Issue quarterly newsletters telling them about your latest products, what you have planned for the future, a customer profile, news about new employees. Find anything which would be of interest and at the same time binding both of you closer together

• Make it a point during any conversation to find out something about the business you didn’t know before. File away any interesting fact and think how you can use it in the future. Imagine how powerful it would be when you ask how the idea they mentioned in your last conversation was going!

• Do memorable things. Send birthday or anniversary cards to your key contact, a simple thank you note for doing business with us, send articles or newspaper cuttings, which you think will be of interest to them
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Bank managers have a habit of writing nasty letters when they are owed money and only get excuses instead of payment, from their clients. If you have received such a letter then you may be upset and feel that your banker is being totally unreasonable by being so pushy. However, remember that he has someone higher up sitting on his back, so you can’t really blame him for doing his job and chasing you for what you owe, can you?

But, it’s not very pleasant when a crisp white envelope marked “Private and Confidential” lands on your desk and you’ve a pretty good idea what it contains. “Dear Mr. Businessman, it has come to my notice that you have exceeded your overdraft limit once again and I must..”. Panic! What do you do now?

The secret to keeping a friendly relationship with your bank is to keep your account in credit, or at least within the borrowing limits you agreed with them. Easier said than done in these difficult times, so where will you find the money?

The answer is there, right under your nose. Your account customer’s have it sitting in their banks! How much money have they borrowed from you and are now very reluctant to pay back?

“Borrowed?” you say. “I haven’t loaned them any money”.

Oh yes you have. When you allow them credit for goods or services you have supplied, you are in effect loaning them money, your money interest free. The (loan) terms are that they pay you at an agreed time as set out in your terms of business, but how many keep to that agreement? Not all, and that is where you will find the extra money to keep your bank manager sweet.

The very day after the agreed date for settlement is the legitimate time for you to chase them for your money and, if they haven’t paid, chase them hard. Your bank manager won’t hesitate to chase you for what you owe him, now it’s your turn.

What’s that? You don’t want to upset a good customer? How good is a customer if he owes you money by constantly not paying his account on time?
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How can that be? If you allow refunds, you are losing sales. The short-term answer is perhaps. The objective of every business is to increase profits for the long – term.

If you have a no refund policy, many customers will either not make a purchase or buy less merchandise. These customers are reluctant to spend their money, in case the product isn’t right. Yes, they could exchange it for other merchandise. However, if you don’t have what they want currently, you have their money and they have nothing.

Why are owners afraid of giving money-back? There are three main reasons and the fears are the result of short-term thinking.
1.Owners can’t stand seeing cash going out of the register. This results in fewer sales for the day.

2.The owner worries about bogus refunds. If you have proper controls, this will seldom happen. The people taking advantage of bogus refunds concentrate on large stores.

3.Owners are concerned with too much merchandise being returned. You could have a few customers taking advantage of this. If they are bringing back resalable product, it should not be a concern.
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Communication is one of the most important industries in the world. People have a need to talk, to get in touch with their friends and family, no matter where they are in the world. We started with letters sent with any individual traveling in that direction, which progressed to the postal system. With the advent of the Internet, we exchanged snail mail for email and later instant messengers

Somehow though, it just wasn’t enough. We needed to hear their voices not just read their words. With the help of great inventors, we progressed from the telephone to cellular phone to again utilizing the Internet to make calls.

Skype has been among the pioneers of this system. Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP as they call it, has been instrumental in bridging the distances between people. It means a lot to people to be able to actually greet their special someone happy birthday on that very special day without the exorbitant costs that land line or mobile telecommunications company charge per call.

Skype has been a wonderful service, much appreciated and enjoyed by everyone who prefers voice chat to email or messages. It is easy to use: simply download, sign up, tell your friends to do the same and you can talk with each other for free! Who could ask for more?

Skype, apparently though has become a little ambitious. After they were bought by Ebay, things seem to have begun to slide downhill. They’ve announced new paid services such as SkypeOut and SkypeIn. They are great ideas, for sure. This is why some of the Skype users who have been very happy with the free service agreed to pay the premium.

Unfortunately, while they may be expanding their products’ abilities to get new users, they have forgotten to take care of their existing subscribers. The service has deteriorated since I first signed up. Unfortunately, Skype doesn’t seem to care.
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