Customer Service! – What is It? – Why Do You Need It? – How Do You Give It?

Posted by admin in Customer Service on Jul 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

“Back in the good old days”, Fortune 100 companies recruited beautiful women with sexy voices, coiffures, expensive dresses (and brains). They were called “Receptionists”. It was their job to sit at the front desk and be the “face” of the company. After the company name hanging on the wall, the beautiful receptionist was the first thing people saw. The receptionist had to have brains. She had to be tactful and diplomatic in handling whoever contacted the company. She was the front line of what would be called: “Customer Service”.

Today the majority of incoming communication is by telephone and email. A pretty receptionist is nice but not that important. When someone contacts the company, these days, they are likely to encounter the dreaded “telephone tree”. This diabolical device, certainly not invented by customers, can be an additional source of and addition to their frustration, consternation and (frequently) anger. It is not uncommon for customers to be placed on hold for over an hour.

They are calling customer service because they either didn’t get what they wanted or they have a problem. They are not real happy, and what do they get? The Telephone tree.

Bestselling author of Freakonomics Stephen J. Dubner, says, “I am probably typical in that I hate making a customer-service call to just about any large company. The odds of getting useful information in anything under a half hour are pretty slim”. He seems to be the flag bearer for frustrated consumers who want to fight back, “I can imagine that some people won’t be interested in giving out their phone numbers, even to a website that’s providing a free and pretty useful service,” he writes. “I can also imagine that some people may be tempted to exploit this service, getting a customer-service rep on the line and then, since it cost nothing to do so, hanging up on them out of spite for all the past injustices”. Ouch!

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!

Is your customer service guilty of causing this kind of frustration? How quickly does your company respond? How long do your callers wait on hold? What do you do to keep customers satisfied, happy and above all: keep them as a customer? Klixxx contacted some industry leaders to get their view. Mary Gillis, Queen of Marketing at FlashCash says, “These days, it is Customer Service who responds to whoever might have a question, complaint or query. The CS person might never be seen. But their ability to reply in a positive manner is what puts a “face” on a company”. According to Ms. Gillis, “The first and most important thing to do is to have dedicated Customer Support Specialists, who are happy and professional”. Klixxx couldn’t agree more.

WHAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Let’s define the term. Doug Howardell, of ACA Group (Canada) a management consulting firm says, “Customer service is the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently give the customer what they want and need”. If you are in business to provide XYZ and you take the customer’s money but don’t provide XYZ, the customer will probably contact you…duh! They want to get what they paid for. If your company does not give the customer what they think XYZ entails, in a timely manner (making them wait on hold for an hour) then you are not doing a good job of Customer Service.

YOU ARE A SERVICE ORGANIZATION!

You provide an intangible service. You are not selling stainless steel widgets! If yours is a website, then you are a service company! Harmik Gharapetian, of Epoch, who was named the Xbiz Business person of the year, says, “At the heart of what we do, Epoch is a service organization. What makes us stand apart from our competition is the way we handle the customer experience. We’ve concentrated heavily on our philosophy and approach to customer service…the average caller gets to an agent within 5-10 seconds and never has to navigate though a myriad of phone menus. Our agents are trained extensively before taking their first call. I can truly say that our customer service is state-of-the-art”.

THE ART OF KEEPING CUSTOMERS AND THE COST OF LOSING THEM

A lot of professionals know that the cost of acquiring a customer is up to ten times the cost of keeping them. If you are good you can make a great presentation and sell the prospect…once! But the way you handle the bump in the road; how you respond to your customer’s call for service, will determine if that person remains a customer or goes off to your competition.

Professionals will also tell you that it is easier to sell someone you are already selling than it is to establish a new relationship. So, companies frequently bend over backwards to make sure the customer stays a customer.

123Resourcing Customer Service Call Centers offer Customer Support on a pay per call/pay per minute or flat fee per month basis. Fabian Buys of 123resourcing.com says, “When customers take the time to call and complain about charges it means the membership is over. The program has lost a client and incurred a potential chargeback. Our company has standards in place to evaluate a customer’s level of dissatisfaction and offer them the proper alternatives. In certain situations we advise clients to allow us to give their client a 3-6 months complimentary password. For example, if a consumer charged a recurring membership for 6 months, it is beneficial to everyone involved to refund 1 month’s membership charge and give 3 months free access. Versus risking 6 months charge backs, which in reality is 6 separate charge backs, it’s a win – win situation.”

Professionalism is being able to handle the irate caller and keep them as a customer. “This is not a job for random part-timers,” Mary Gillis says. “You need educated, intelligent staff. These people are often the only people who interact directly with your consumers; they are the representatives of your company. If they don’t know their stuff, your company looks foolish”.

YOU NEED A GAME PLAN

A good strategy planning session makes sense. Put down in black and white just what your policy is (or policies are). Who will handle specific kinds of queries or complaints? Mary thinks, “Another important aspect is to ensure that your CS team is included in major decisions. They know how consumers react, they know what sort of issues will come up and (they) can contribute meaningfully to your projects. So, educate your CS Team, keep them in the loop and keep them happy so that they can be the type of representative that YOU would want to answer YOUR questions.”

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO?

Who is your customer? If you are a doing business in other countries, do you have people on staff who can speak to customers…in their language? Harmik Gharapetian, of Epoch says, “Since the Internet is a global marketplace, we staff our customer service department 24-7-365 and our agents can accommodate customers in over 100 languages”. Now that’s Customer service!

HOW TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

What can your company do to keep customers happy? Here…

Why Should you Do Business Online?

Posted by admin in Business Quotations on Jul 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

Reason no. 1 – Wider Potential Market

For the first time, you, as an individual, can reach a worldwide market.

Billions of people are surfing around everyday. And a rapidly increasing number of people around the world use Internet to purchase items they can’t find locally or just don’t care where the product is shipped from, as long as they want it.

If you’re fast on your feet, you have the opportunity to make some of them your customers. Think about it. The Internet provides a small business the opportunity to be a global player, with little expenditure except time given to learning. Isn’t it exciting?

Reason no. 2 – Lower Costs

If you are talking about setting a full-fledge website, typically, $100-200 is what you need to start an online business from scratch. But there are some free host around too. You can start your blog with free host like blogger.com and wordpress.com.

You don’t have to pay for office or equipment. You don’t have to employ anyone until your business has grown to sizable revenue.

Reason no. 3 – Earn Passive Income

Nearly everything can be put onto autopilot for an online business.

From product presentation (the site itself), information enquires, price quotation, to payment processing, order fulfillment, customer service, just to name a few. Even the profit will go into your bank account automatically!

All these can be done while you are sleeping or enjoying happy time with your family at beach!

This is rather impossible for off-line business.

It then translates to more leisure time, more time and opportunities to develop your next online project. Therefore, more money ahead.

Reason no. 4 – Multiple Income Streams And Unlimited Profit Potential

Automation frees up your valuable time and makes it possible for you to repeat the success time and time again. Over time, you will be able to build multiple web sites selling different product lines.

Even if one of them couldn’t pull in orders after some time due to saturated market, you can rest assured that you have other income generators still making money for you.

A worldwide market enables you to exploit varies product ideas. Your imagination is the only limit.

Business Management Role in Ensuring Sound Business Organization

Posted by admin in Business management on Jul 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

In every business setup there are numerous activities undertaken on a daily basis that lead to the fulfillment of the objectives of an organization. These activities are the ones that form the core of a business and are carried out by assigning people to perform them. For these activities to be carried out effectively there are various resources that are required.

Business managers undertake the responsibility of deciding how duties will be allocated and what resources will be used to perform the said duties. This is done in order to ensure smooth running of the organization. This procedure of assigning tasks to individuals and allocating of resources to be utilized is what is called organization.

To ensure effective and efficient running of business, managers should have well laid out plans to achieve there objectives which is to make profits. This will involve employing skilled staff and assigning them duties that they are well qualified to do. It therefore calls for a manager to identify his juniors’ capabilities and allocate duties appropriately and also not forgetting to allot resources where they are mostly needed.

Good business organization should create a sound framework within which work is performed. Managers need to ensure that their business operations flow smoothly and harmoniously. This can be achieved by learning how to apportion tasks and resources correctly. Constant check-ups and rectifications are needed for this will ensure smooth running of work.

Sound business management should also be concerned with maintaining good working atmosphere. This can be achieved by deciding what activities need to be carried our, by whom, by what resources and making sure that they are executed in the most organized manner possible. For without this an organization will not be able to achieve its major objective which is to make money.

Get Reviews On Property Investment And Wealth Management

Posted by admin in Investment on Jul 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

Property investment has always been one of the most common methods of investing capital & can be a lucrative business option and hence many investors consider it an integral part of their diversified portfolio. It is a long term investment for individuals or families to obtain financial security for their present as well as future. However, you should consider some important points while doing property investment. If you are a beginner, you must look for a profitable property investment. The bottom line of property investment is to find an affordable property that can prove to be highly lucrative for the future. As time moves on, for example with newer media options of television and internet, new trends in property investment are appearing. So, always keep yourself informed about upcoming trends in property market with the help of these informative mediums. Prepare your property for resale and then sell the house quickly.

Residential property investment is the investment that can carry low risk and is not like investing in commercial property where investors have to worry about the conditions of businesses. Property investment loans are not as difficult to get as other types of loans and investing in residential properties can give investors a substantial financial boost. Also check out the history of capital growth rate in the area in last at least 15 years. Make sure that property investment is worth the capital benefit. You must also consider the population growth rate of the locality. If you are planning to invest in property, you need to take advice from experts or you can conduct research on the internet, attend seminars, interact with social groups and then read as much as possible regarding this matter to clear up all your investment doubts. Though the whole scenario of investments is always changing, property investment is still a viable means to enhance your financial portfolio. Because, the more you know about market, the better you will become at finding good property investments.

Wealth Management is classified as an advanced type of financial planning that provides High net worth individuals and families with private banking, estate planning, asset management, legal resources, and investment management, with the goal of sustaining and growing long-term wealth. The main objectives of wealth management are providing families dealing with services in retail banking, legal resources, investment management, and taxation advice goals to sustain and grow long-term wealth. Wealth management often includes further diversifying investments by adding real estate, precious metals, business and other untraditional investments.

Products dealt with in wealth management include stock trading and stocks, investments linked with equity, derivatives and products relating to structured investment, foreign exchange, unit trusts and mutual funds, investments and management of property, etc. Alternative investments with respect to wealth management include art, wine, precious metals, etc. Due to its prime importance, it is advisable to take the help of wealth management company while running a big enterprise. Because a wealth management company helps in growing long-term wealth for achieving long-term profit as It analyzes your wealth management plans including investments, insurance plans etc, calculates the related risks and then it proposes a wealth plan. It may provide many services like portfolio management, investment management, portfolio rebalancing, trust and estate management, private management, tax advice and financing solutions etc.

A wealth management company sometimes also implements some useful financial tools like stocks and stock trading, structure savings products, structured investment products and derivatives, equity linked investments, property management and investment solutions, mutual funds and alternate investment options. These tools provide assistance in making your money grow and provide you long-term investment benefits. Thus, proper wealth management with the help of financial planning can make you gain very fruitful returns on your investments which will have increasing volume each time.

Monster Customer Service Blunders and How to Avoid Them

Posted by admin in Customer Service on Jul 11th, 2010 | 0 comments

Despite all the rumbling and grumbling about poor customer service, there are always a handful of renegade businesses that somehow find ways to keep their workers fired up and their customers delighted and coming back for more. In these rarified places, highly motivated employees pursue customer delight with a passion; they ignite a flashpoint of contagious enthusiasm that spreads throughout the organization like wildfire.

How do they do it? They conscientiously avoid what I call the Top 5 Monster Customer Service Blunders”:

Monster Blunder #1: Trying to solve the problem with superficial employee training. Workers call it smile trainingprograms intended to convince staff to look and sound more cheerful, while giving them no particular reason to feel any more cheerful. When you boil it down, this kind of training does nothing more than itemize the specific service behaviors workers are expected to exhibit. It then becomes managements job to somehow enforce these designated behaviors into the daily operation of the business. If this approach has any effect at all, it typically creates conduct that strikes customers as mechanical and insincere. Worse, it often intensifies worker resentment and cynicism.

Instead of attempting to dictate what workers should be doing to delight customers, the better approach is to give workers opportunities to generate their own ideas for delivering a better customer experience. Managements role then becomes helping employees implement these ideas, allowing workers to enjoy the motivational boost they derive from positive feedback from delighted customers. This level of employee ownership and involvement is a key cultural characteristic of virtually all flashpoint businesses.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Train managers and supervisors, not just employees, to facilitate interactive brainstorming sessions in which employees come up with their own strategies for improving the customer experience.

Monster Blunder #2: Blaming poor service on employee cynicism. When business leaders complain to me about the cynicism of their workers, Im always inclined to ask them if they believe these workers were already cynical before their first day on the job. If so, the organizations hiring practices are clearly not working very well. If not, then the cynicism may be a direct product of something in the organizational culture.

Employee cynicism is the direct product of an organizations visible preoccupation with self-interest above all elsea purely internal focus. The focus in flashpoint businesses is directed outward, toward the interests of customers and the community at large. This fundamental difference in cultural focus makes all the difference in the world.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Instead of trying to fix the employees, set out to fix the culture by removing operational obstacles to customer delight. Invite workers to participate in identifying and removing cultural roadblocks to further enhance their sense of involvement and ownership.

Monster Blunder #3: Using negative customer feedback as the primary basis for action. Businesses often implement elaborate customer surveys and other feedback mechanismsbut then use them primarily to highlight customer problems and complaints. Employees come to dread these measurement and data-gathering initiatives, since the emphasis is always on the negative, on finding out whos to blame for anything and everything that went wrong.

Flashpoint businesses, too, rely on a variety of customer feedback toolsbut for an entirely different purpose. Here its positive feedback that becomes the primary basis for action. Feedback is used to uncover and highlight everything thats going right. Managers actively seek out hero storiesexamples of employees going the extra mile to deliver delight. Positive feedback is the catalyst for ongoing recognition and celebration. In this kind of culture, theres always some new reason for cheering and hoopla. Its why employees in flashpoint businesses find it easy to see themselves as winners on a winning team.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Start using your own customer feedback data to uncoverand celebrateexamples of service excellence.

Monster Blunder #4: Reserving top recognition for heroic recoveries. Does this scenario sound familiar? A customers order gets fouled up, and a dedicated employee catches the problem and goes to heroic lengths to correct the situation or make up for it in some way. The appreciative customer advises management of this employees heroic initiative and management in turn gives the employee special recognition for his or her efforts. You may be wondering, Wheres the blunder in this?

Its a monster blunder when these kinds of recoveries are the primaryif not the onlysources of employee recognition. If foul-ups represent workers only chance to feel appreciated on the job, then in effect such foul-ups become almost precious to the workers. If, later, management announces that steps are being taken to correct these foul-ups for good, its news that may not win much support from employees. It can feel like this kind of corrective action will rob them of their only chance to shine.

Flashpoint businesses celebrate heroic recoveries, of coursebut they hand out the splashiest recognition to employees who delighted customers where no foul-ups were involved. This makes it easier to motivate workers to strive for the elimination of operational problems.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Reserve your most extravagant recognition for service champions who deliver delight in routine transactions that have no element of heroic recovery associated with them.

Monster Blunder #5: Competing on price. This is one of the most commonplace (and costliest) mistakes in business. When it comes to purchasing decisions, price becomes the ultimate deciding factor only in cases where everything else is equalwhich is almost never. Theres usually at least one little something that gives one business an edge over another one. The real competitive advantage belongs to the business with the highest perception of value, not the one with the lowest price. The overall sense of value is based on the total customer experience, which takes into account less tangible factors, such as helpfulness, friendliness and the personal touch. These values often allow businesses to retain their competitive edge despite slightly higher prices.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Institute a formal process by which employees can continuously come up with new ways to expand customers perception of value.

Concluding Thoughts:

The kind of customer-focused cultures we find in flashpoint businesses obviously don’t happen by accident. These organizations create, implement and refine a process for producing delighted customers. A good place to begin is to stop the top five customer service blunder monsters from rearing their ugly heads in your organization.