Every business owner and organization knows if they want to attract and retain more loyal customers, they need to provide high-quality customer service. That's why organizations today focus heavily on communicating how valuable their customers are to the organization. Now, the question is... How much do they truly value their customers?
Most of you probably had the experience of being a "valued" customer, yet you didn't feel valued at all! For example, you call a company for either customer service or to order one of their products and you enter into the electronic triage system only to be put on hold. You're told: please stay on the line, your call is important to us. Sometimes we dutifully follow the electronic request, and we wait, and even wait longer. Other times we hang up in pure frustration.
Or, have you been asked to complete a customer satisfaction questionnaire? Again, you are told that your comments are "very important to us". Really?
How maddening it is when you have taken the time to complete such surveys after receiving poor service, spelling out in detail what the issue was and why you were dissatisfied, only to receive no acknowledgement of your issue or concern?
Perception, as we have heard endless times, is reality. The reality here is that you won't go back or use them in the future. And likely, you will tell your friends!
We believe that providing excellent customer service should be an obsession.
Here Are Our Growth without Sabotage™ Tips That Will Help Your Organization Differentiate Your Customer Service
* Have a real, live person answer all of your calls. If you cannot have someone answer all your calls, subscribe to a voice message service and include a message that you will return all calls within one business day – and do it If it is late in the day, it can acceptable to wait till the next business morning. Remember, the message and perception in timing/promptness is, "you count"-- you are important and a priority to me.
* Return emails within one business day (two days maximum)
* Learn to be comfortable introducing yourself by your full name. When meeting in person, look at people directly in the eye, especially when you first meet them and insure you know how to give and reciprocate a firm handshake.
* Insure you clearly understand the customer or prospects need and priorities. Do this by listening sincerely and asking clarifying questions. Listen FIRST and actively listen more than you talk. Ask questions to clarify your understanding of your prospect's motivation to buy – but do so respectfully and carefully.
* Keep agreements you make to the prospect or the customer. When you say you will do something, do it when you said you would do it. Emergencies should be the only exception.
* Eliminate negative surprises for the customer. If there is a problem, acknowledge it quickly, apologize if appropriate and do your best to fix the problem to the customer's satisfaction.
* Always have your clients' and prospects' best interest in mind. Think of ways you can help them improve their needs to be in the forefront.
* Think of the long term sale. That means go slow, don't push now to sell or attempt to up-sell. Think of the longer-term relationship and resulting opportunities forthcoming.
* Warming- Flirting and fawning are forms of overselling (as well as demeaning) yourself. Realize how unprofessional and damaging these behaviors are with your customers and prospects.
* Warning - Don't expect the customer to understand that you are busy or short staffed. They won't and they shouldn't have to.
You may be thinking that this is obvious. Yes, indeed, it is not rocket science. While it may be obvious, the truth is that it is also frequently not practiced. And because it is not done well or consistently, it represents a key differentiator.
You need to capture the attention of your future customers and keep your current customers. Without consistent excellent customer care, customer loyalty is improbable, especially in this economy where buyers are more cautious. Now more than ever in business, we need to find ways to differentiate ourselves. We find that customer service is a simple yet powerful differentiating strategy.
Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica are management consultants with more than 50+ years of combined experience in helping organizations improve their business performance. They say, failing to improve customer service by showing your clients that you value them is just one way to sabotage your business growth. Get their complete "Self-Sabotage in Business White Paper" now at: KubicaLaforestConsulting.com
Showing posts with label Tony Kubica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tony Kubica. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Adopt a People-Centric Approach to Improve Customer Satisfaction and Profitability
Does a leader need to be the smartest person in the company to achieve growth and customer satisfaction? No.
In fact, being the smartest person in the company can actually impede growth. Some leaders just can't get over "themselves." Yet unfortunately when you suggest that they could be the problem, it's often met with one of the following responses:
* Confusion (i.e. you talking to me?)
* Dismissive (i.e. you have no idea what you're talking about)
* Shock (i.e. how dare you talk to me that way)
* Anger (i.e. you're out of here)
After all, they are the smartest person in the company. They know the problems, they know what needs to be done, and they will do it.
We have a (perhaps unwelcome) secret to share...
No one is that smart. No one can do it all exceptionally alone (at least for long.) And talented employees want to contribute and show their talent.
The greatest risk in this self-delusional thinking is that your brightest employees will actually be the ones that bring you out of the recession stronger. Limit their chance to do so-- dim their opportunity-- and your great employees will leave, with the remaining employees just doing just what they are told, and the replacement employees will be less talented.
Whom does this adversely affect outside of the leader and your employees? Your customer. Who benefits? Your competition!
It is essential for leaders to understand that customer service is the lifeblood of their business. (Yes we are aware that cash is king and without positive cash flow the business ceases to exist. Without satisfied customers, however there is no cash. And without satisfied and engaged employees there are no customers - satisfied or not!) So let's see take a critical look at what the most successful corporations, organizations and companies are doing different.
Why Nordstrom, Zappos, Apple and Netflix Ranks High in Customer Satisfaction.
Are the companies listed above perfect? Of course not. Are they serious competitors? Absolutely. How are they differentiating their customer service from others in their industry? They are using an employee-centric approach to heighten their customer service. The premise of "The Service-Profit Chain" (first developed at Harvard University by James L Heskett) speaks to this approach. It's premise is simple: highly satisfied customers drive growth and profitability, and highly equipped and satisfied employees will better satisfy customers to drive that growth. Otherwise said, employees with the skills and power to really serve their customer have an increased employee satisfaction, productivity and loyalty which in turn leads directly to increased service to the customer, meaning greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, which of course, leads to greater revenue. Most simply stated, satisfied employees are a critical contributor to customer satisfaction!
We see this as an employee driven profit model - and it's "people centric", which to us is the heart of your business.
Results Our Clients Are Achieving Using A People-Centric Model
One healthcare software consulting company survived the recession relatively unscathed. Another grew over 38% percent during the heart of the recession. How? By providing personalized and highly focused customer service.
As small businesses re-surface post-recession and look to differentiate themselves and grow, improving customer service through a people-centric approach will be an important strategy to adopt.
So, when leaders start to think about growth- they should start first with their customers and how to provide value, and realize that it's their employees that are the golden egg. Then the conclusion is inescapable: prepare and support your employees to provide outstanding service and your customers will reward your efforts.
Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica are management consultants with more than 50+ years of combined experience in helping organizations improve their business performance. They say, failing to adopt a people-centic approach to increase customer satisfaction is just one way to sabotage your business growth. Get their complete "Self-Sabotage in Business White Paper" now at: KubicalaForestConsulting.com
In fact, being the smartest person in the company can actually impede growth. Some leaders just can't get over "themselves." Yet unfortunately when you suggest that they could be the problem, it's often met with one of the following responses:
* Confusion (i.e. you talking to me?)
* Dismissive (i.e. you have no idea what you're talking about)
* Shock (i.e. how dare you talk to me that way)
* Anger (i.e. you're out of here)
After all, they are the smartest person in the company. They know the problems, they know what needs to be done, and they will do it.
We have a (perhaps unwelcome) secret to share...
No one is that smart. No one can do it all exceptionally alone (at least for long.) And talented employees want to contribute and show their talent.
The greatest risk in this self-delusional thinking is that your brightest employees will actually be the ones that bring you out of the recession stronger. Limit their chance to do so-- dim their opportunity-- and your great employees will leave, with the remaining employees just doing just what they are told, and the replacement employees will be less talented.
Whom does this adversely affect outside of the leader and your employees? Your customer. Who benefits? Your competition!
It is essential for leaders to understand that customer service is the lifeblood of their business. (Yes we are aware that cash is king and without positive cash flow the business ceases to exist. Without satisfied customers, however there is no cash. And without satisfied and engaged employees there are no customers - satisfied or not!) So let's see take a critical look at what the most successful corporations, organizations and companies are doing different.
Why Nordstrom, Zappos, Apple and Netflix Ranks High in Customer Satisfaction.
Are the companies listed above perfect? Of course not. Are they serious competitors? Absolutely. How are they differentiating their customer service from others in their industry? They are using an employee-centric approach to heighten their customer service. The premise of "The Service-Profit Chain" (first developed at Harvard University by James L Heskett) speaks to this approach. It's premise is simple: highly satisfied customers drive growth and profitability, and highly equipped and satisfied employees will better satisfy customers to drive that growth. Otherwise said, employees with the skills and power to really serve their customer have an increased employee satisfaction, productivity and loyalty which in turn leads directly to increased service to the customer, meaning greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, which of course, leads to greater revenue. Most simply stated, satisfied employees are a critical contributor to customer satisfaction!
We see this as an employee driven profit model - and it's "people centric", which to us is the heart of your business.
Results Our Clients Are Achieving Using A People-Centric Model
One healthcare software consulting company survived the recession relatively unscathed. Another grew over 38% percent during the heart of the recession. How? By providing personalized and highly focused customer service.
As small businesses re-surface post-recession and look to differentiate themselves and grow, improving customer service through a people-centric approach will be an important strategy to adopt.
So, when leaders start to think about growth- they should start first with their customers and how to provide value, and realize that it's their employees that are the golden egg. Then the conclusion is inescapable: prepare and support your employees to provide outstanding service and your customers will reward your efforts.
Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica are management consultants with more than 50+ years of combined experience in helping organizations improve their business performance. They say, failing to adopt a people-centic approach to increase customer satisfaction is just one way to sabotage your business growth. Get their complete "Self-Sabotage in Business White Paper" now at: KubicalaForestConsulting.com
Monday, April 25, 2011
Small Business Growth Quiz – 7 Market Focused Questions You Must Ask To Help You Grow
There is a lot of attention directed at small businesses this year. President Obama talked about the need to help and support small businesses in his State of the Union address. And one outcome was the launch of Startup America. Also, states are talking about easing regulations and the tax burden on small businesses in their quest to reduce unemployment.
Is this the year of the small business?
Possibly.
Is this an opportunity for you as a small business owner?
Maybe.
Now, a Warning to Small Business Owners...
As a small business owner, however, it is not a good strategy to hope that the federal or state governments will pass the right legislation and write regulations, which will help you succeed in the next 12 months. Hope may spring eternal, but it is not a good business strategy.
Be wary of generalizations about how the economy is doing: who the winners are and who the losers are or will be. It's distracting and frankly, it's filled with conflicting information.
It's like trying to decide on what is the best way to add 10 years to your life. You would be correct if you said – it depends on whom you ask. A dietician will tell you to focus on good nutrition. A trainer will tell you to exercise and use protein supplements. Some physicians would say hormone therapy. As the adage goes: when all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
Yes, we'll admit that the economy is showing signs of recovery, but the real question is... whether it's showing signs of recovery for you and your business. To answer this question you need to stop thinking like a small business owner and start thinking that you are running a multi-million dollar enterprise. Why, because many small business owners tend to think like a small company. And the answer to growth is to think big.
Here Are 7 Questions to Think About and Respond to When Planning for Business Growth:
1. Do you have a strategic vision that outlines your business direction for the next 12 – 24 months? And if you have employees, do they know it?
2. What is your stated mission (or purpose) statement? How is it communicated to your employees, and how does it help drive business decisions?
3. Do you have stated, written and practiced company values to align how you and your employees work together and serve your customers?
4. Do you have a branding strategy that promotes how you want to be seen by prospects and clients and articulates your competitive advantage or differentiation from your competitors?
5. Do you have standard monthly financial reports to track the financial health of your business and to help drive your decisions?
6. Do you have outstanding customer service? If you can't answer based on your customer's feedback, loyalty, references and testimonials – your answer is not yet.
7. Do you have an exit strategy for your business? Every business needs to have a sense of what the end game will look like. It drives growth and helps focus business decisions.
How did you do in answering these questions? Did you have thoughtful and detailed answers for each question? When we talk to small business owners about these questions they often remind us that they are small businesses and not GE, Nordstrom's or Zappos. And that's the problem.
We have also seen companies that believe answering questions such as these is a waste of time.
Why Our 7 Vital Questions for Small Business Owners Who Want to Grow Their Business Is NOT a Waste of Time?
A small research oriented company who had been in business for 10 years was modestly successful. They were concerned, however, that although they were able to come up with a strategic plan every year, they were not disciplined enough to implement the tactics required to achieve the plan. And they really didn't have to. Business came in and they were comfortable. You have likely heard us reference that success can be your greatest inhibitor to growth. And, the issue for them was that they weren't growing.
They decided to re-focus their efforts on growth. To do that they:
1. Looked deep inside themselves and their business and discovered they were missing a number of ingredients for small business growth success. They uncovered this realization simply by honest answering our 7 questions.
2. Established company values to guide their work together and in serving their clients
3. Created their strategic vision (ideal future state)
4. Refined their purpose (or mission) statement
5. Identified key strategies and tactics to implement the vision and created accountability by assigning those to lead individuals. Progress on tactics was reviewed quarterly, with general updates given monthly.
6. Candidly discussed how they worked together and how work should be distributed to take advantage of each partner's strengths
7. Identified their target market and the market niche
8. Created tracking and reporting tools and a process to monitor sales
9. Created a financial reporting system, reviewing it monthly and using ratio analysis to do a year over year comparison
10. They are embarking on a re-branding strategy
11. They are working to identify and develop an exit strategy
They started this initiative in 2008. 2009 was the best financial performance year they had in the company's 10-year history. 2010 was almost 40% higher than 2009. And note this was accomplished in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
So what really happened? Were they lucky? Were they in the right place at the right time? No - neither of these can explain their growth. What they did was stop thinking small. They stopped behaving like a "mom and pop shop" and decided to focus on growth.
So, we encourage you to take a dispassionate view of your business. Stop listening to the generalities and honestly and thoughtfully respond to your own market-focused questions we suggested. Thinking small will keep you small; thinking big and planning big will lay the path to your growth.
Management Consultants and Business Performance Improvement Specialists Sara Laforest and Tony Kubica have 50+ years of combined experience in helping small and large entrepreneurial businesses accelerate their business growth in record times. Now, you can learn how to think big and avoid the self-sabotaging behaviors that most owners possess at: KubicaLaforestConsulting.com
Is this the year of the small business?
Possibly.
Is this an opportunity for you as a small business owner?
Maybe.
Now, a Warning to Small Business Owners...
As a small business owner, however, it is not a good strategy to hope that the federal or state governments will pass the right legislation and write regulations, which will help you succeed in the next 12 months. Hope may spring eternal, but it is not a good business strategy.
Be wary of generalizations about how the economy is doing: who the winners are and who the losers are or will be. It's distracting and frankly, it's filled with conflicting information.
It's like trying to decide on what is the best way to add 10 years to your life. You would be correct if you said – it depends on whom you ask. A dietician will tell you to focus on good nutrition. A trainer will tell you to exercise and use protein supplements. Some physicians would say hormone therapy. As the adage goes: when all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
Yes, we'll admit that the economy is showing signs of recovery, but the real question is... whether it's showing signs of recovery for you and your business. To answer this question you need to stop thinking like a small business owner and start thinking that you are running a multi-million dollar enterprise. Why, because many small business owners tend to think like a small company. And the answer to growth is to think big.
Here Are 7 Questions to Think About and Respond to When Planning for Business Growth:
1. Do you have a strategic vision that outlines your business direction for the next 12 – 24 months? And if you have employees, do they know it?
2. What is your stated mission (or purpose) statement? How is it communicated to your employees, and how does it help drive business decisions?
3. Do you have stated, written and practiced company values to align how you and your employees work together and serve your customers?
4. Do you have a branding strategy that promotes how you want to be seen by prospects and clients and articulates your competitive advantage or differentiation from your competitors?
5. Do you have standard monthly financial reports to track the financial health of your business and to help drive your decisions?
6. Do you have outstanding customer service? If you can't answer based on your customer's feedback, loyalty, references and testimonials – your answer is not yet.
7. Do you have an exit strategy for your business? Every business needs to have a sense of what the end game will look like. It drives growth and helps focus business decisions.
How did you do in answering these questions? Did you have thoughtful and detailed answers for each question? When we talk to small business owners about these questions they often remind us that they are small businesses and not GE, Nordstrom's or Zappos. And that's the problem.
We have also seen companies that believe answering questions such as these is a waste of time.
Why Our 7 Vital Questions for Small Business Owners Who Want to Grow Their Business Is NOT a Waste of Time?
A small research oriented company who had been in business for 10 years was modestly successful. They were concerned, however, that although they were able to come up with a strategic plan every year, they were not disciplined enough to implement the tactics required to achieve the plan. And they really didn't have to. Business came in and they were comfortable. You have likely heard us reference that success can be your greatest inhibitor to growth. And, the issue for them was that they weren't growing.
They decided to re-focus their efforts on growth. To do that they:
1. Looked deep inside themselves and their business and discovered they were missing a number of ingredients for small business growth success. They uncovered this realization simply by honest answering our 7 questions.
2. Established company values to guide their work together and in serving their clients
3. Created their strategic vision (ideal future state)
4. Refined their purpose (or mission) statement
5. Identified key strategies and tactics to implement the vision and created accountability by assigning those to lead individuals. Progress on tactics was reviewed quarterly, with general updates given monthly.
6. Candidly discussed how they worked together and how work should be distributed to take advantage of each partner's strengths
7. Identified their target market and the market niche
8. Created tracking and reporting tools and a process to monitor sales
9. Created a financial reporting system, reviewing it monthly and using ratio analysis to do a year over year comparison
10. They are embarking on a re-branding strategy
11. They are working to identify and develop an exit strategy
They started this initiative in 2008. 2009 was the best financial performance year they had in the company's 10-year history. 2010 was almost 40% higher than 2009. And note this was accomplished in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
So what really happened? Were they lucky? Were they in the right place at the right time? No - neither of these can explain their growth. What they did was stop thinking small. They stopped behaving like a "mom and pop shop" and decided to focus on growth.
So, we encourage you to take a dispassionate view of your business. Stop listening to the generalities and honestly and thoughtfully respond to your own market-focused questions we suggested. Thinking small will keep you small; thinking big and planning big will lay the path to your growth.
Management Consultants and Business Performance Improvement Specialists Sara Laforest and Tony Kubica have 50+ years of combined experience in helping small and large entrepreneurial businesses accelerate their business growth in record times. Now, you can learn how to think big and avoid the self-sabotaging behaviors that most owners possess at: KubicaLaforestConsulting.com
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