Marketing & Sales

The customer is always right – right?  Well, maybe not.  But even when the customer is wrong, you and your employees have got to perform in ways that respond to the customer’s problem while staying within realistic bounds of cost, time, and attention to other customers.

So how do you provide good service and not break the bank?  The answer is to have a plan – an established customer service strategy that empowers your employees to take care of your customers.  The most frustrating thing we encounter as customers is being told, “I’d like to help you but I don’t have authority.” Or, “Sorry, that’s against our policy.”  How about, “I would do it for you but the system won’t let me.”

Here are five steps to help you design a strategy that will have you and your employees ready to provide star customer service performance.  These are not only important when service beaks down they also help you consistently deliver star service on a regular basis and will help prevent service breakdowns:

Step One: Determine the Elements of Service Your Customers Expect

Customers have specific expectations about the service they get from you.  They want reliability, competence, timeliness, courtesy, understanding, ease of access, security, etc.  Depending on your line of business all may be equally important or some may take precedence. Think carefully about what is most important to your customers.  Include in your thinking those things that may not be articulated but are really very important.  For example in a restaurant the customer not only wants her food prepared according to her request – the tuna rare – she also expects the vegetables to be crisp and as hot as the main dish.  She expects the place setting to be clean, the water glass kept refreshed, to be attended to but not constantly interrupted by the wait staff, etc., etc.  What is it you can anticipate that is really important to your customers?  These are the things you will focus on in your service strategy.

Step Two: Decide What it Takes To Deliver on Each of the Key Elements

This is what you set up your business to do.  Think through the things you need to do to make sure your customers are receiving the very best service, especially in those areas you’ve decided are most important to them.  How will you make it easy for them?  How will you assure security of private information?  How will you assure quick delivery?  How will you make it easy to make returns or correct problems with orders?  Determine what you and your employees will actually do to make decisions about things like returns, refunds, corrections of billing statements, etc.  Empower staff to make as many of these decisions as possible so they can respond quickly and directly to customers.  Few things build customer loyalty like spectacular recovery from service breakdowns.  Help your employees to perform like stars when they are dealing with your customers.  Give them the tools and the authority to carry out your strategy.

Step Three:  Write Out Your Customer Service Statement

 Write short statements in actionable terms that describe how you’ll deliver on each of the things that are important to your customers.  Do not use glowing abstractions - “Our customer is number one!”  - but actually state what you will do to deliver.  For example:

•    No –hassle merchandise returns. If you are unhappy with something you buy, return it for a quick, courteous replacement, adjustment, or refund.

•    Assistance when you need it. We won’t smother you with attention yet when you need us you will get a quick, helpful response. 

•     You will have a satisfying shopping experience.   You will always shop in a clean store with a shopper friendly  layout , clean rest rooms, quick check out, and above all friendly and courteous staff who will assist you with any problem you might have.

These statements don’t just tell your customers what they can expect from you they also remind your employees what they need to be doing to serve yor customers on a daily basis – the things you laid out in Step Two.

Step Four:  Summarize Your Strategy

Nike got it into three words.  You don’t have to do that but get your customer service strategy boiled down to a phrase that expresses what is really important to your customers and helps to keep your employees focused on delivering that – above all.  Your customer service slogan can be a mark of distinction that tells your customers you understand what they want and it’s a rallying cry for your employees to keep them directed at providing the service that sets your business apart from the others.

Step Five:  Make Your Strategy Visible

Print it, post it, train your staff on it, put it in your advertising – In other words make sure that everyone inside and outside your business knows your strategy for delivering star customer service.  Products and services are available from many sources.  Give your customers a reason to come to you and give your employees motivation to serve them.

Real customer service is so much more than just a catchy slogan.  Your customer service statement lets customers and employees know what you will do to deliver service.  By having developed your customer service strategy you have thought out the real steps your staff will take to deliver.  It’s the strategy that helps them be ready to perform as customer service stars.

©2008 Alan Stern

                                Readers are free to use with attribution

Visit us online for more ideas for producing star performance in your workplace!

www.StageRightOrg.com

Is your marketing strategy really important?  If you recall the battle between VHS and Beta Max your answer is probably a resounding “yes”.  Many thought that the Beta Max had the superior product.  Maybe that was the case.  However, we now know that VHS had the better marketing strategy.  After executing a marketing strategy to quickly penetrate the market, VHS became a market leader early in the game.  While your product or service may be far superior to others, you may be left behind if you neglect to address your marketing strategy. 

Businesses often wait until their sales strengthen before spending time and money on marketing and business improvements.  The managers of these businesses hesitate to forge ahead during the “slow periods” for many reasons - conserving money being primary among them.  In contrast, the most successful businesses maintain an on-going commitment to continuous improvement … even during the “slow periods”.

Here’s a cause for celebration – your business anniversary!  Why not throw yourself an anniversary party where you get all the gifts:

New and repeat business.  Celebrating your corporate anniversary demonstrates to customers and prospects that, while others have come and gone, your company has flourished.  You’ll win recognition for your accomplishments and spread awareness of your products or services.

Competitive advantage in the marketplace.  Celebrating your corporate anniversary trumps your competitors.  Some may not realize how long they’ve been in business; others may not recognize an anniversary’s marketing potential.  You’ll bring attention to your company, stay in the spotlight throughout the year, and gain competitive marketplace advantage.  

Stronger relationships.  Employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, and the community have made your success possible, and a corporate anniversary is a perfect occasion to acknowledge those contributions.  You’ll stimulate a sense of pride in your supporters for what they have helped you achieve and reinforce their roles as advocates for your company.
Whether you’re celebrating a milestone year (those ending in 0 or 5) or an in-between year, your corporate anniversary is a chance to remind others of your company’s past success.  Celebrating your business anniversary with a promotional campaign – your anniversary party – becomes a “sell”-abration, contributing directly to your future success.

Here are three strategies for celebrating and “sell”-abrating your corporate anniversary: 

Create a Themed Anniversary-Year Campaign.  Wedding anniversaries are often celebrated according to a traditional list of anniversary symbols.  Today, a new twist on that time-honored idea has been created just for businesses: “The Bartel Years™” is a roster of symbols for a century of business anniversaries.  (Download a free copy of  “The Bartel Years™” at www.paulinebartel.com)  Did you know, for example, that Chocolate represents the 7th business anniversary year, Apples & Oranges represent the 29th year, and Nickel represents the 46th year? 
Let the symbol for your anniversary year inspire you to launch an array of promotional campaigns directed to customers, prospects, employees, and the community at large.  For example:  
A company celebrating its 73rd corporate anniversary (Maple) could send maple-flavored candy to customers with a card, announcing the milestone and thanking customers for the company’s “sweet success.” To thank employees for their loyalty and hard work, a company could hold a pancake breakfast cooked by management and served with commemorative bottles of maple syrup.  A company could also plant maple trees in a local park as a community-service project that would thank the community at large for the company’s success and longevity.      

Harness the Power of Publicity.  Editors at newspapers and trade journals hunger for good business anniversary stories.  However, having an editor gobble up your story means offering more than just a mere appetizer:  the fact of your company’s anniversary. Instead, you must serve a satisfying main course – an interesting story about your company – for which you offer a choice of entrées.  You could offer a story showing:

• Your company’s achievements or the changes you’ve seen in your industry during the time you’ve been in business  
• Astounding production figures such as the number of widgets your company has produced during its history  
• Developments in your company such as the introduction of a new product or service 
• A special gift to the community or a community-service campaign launched during your anniversary year   

How do you get the media’s attention?  Offer your company’s story via a pitch letter or media release directed to local print and broadcast outlets.  Include a compelling hook or headline that explains the importance of your business anniversary to your industry, your customers, or the community. 
Leverage the resulting publicity by highlighting media appearances in your newsletter, including photocopies of newspaper and magazine articles in prospective client packets, and by posting clips of radio and television interviews on your website.

Offer Special Anniversary Year Pricing and Packages.  If your company sells products, consider offering special anniversary year pricing.  A company celebrating a 30th anniversary could discount any item over $30 by 30% for the first 30 days of the company’s anniversary year.  If your company sells services, consider offering special anniversary year packages.  A legal firm celebrating a 4th anniversary could offer a fixed-price package of four services such as initial consultation, will, health care proxy and power of attorney.   Mention your special anniversary year pricing and packages in any promotions you do during the year.
Which anniversary will your company mark this year? Congratulations!  Now, get ready to celebrate and “sell”-abrate!

Copyright © 2007 by Pauline C. Bartel
Author: Pauline Bartel is the President of Bartel Communications, Inc., an award-winning corporate communications firm based in Waterford, NY.  In honor of its 10th anniversary, Bartel Communications created “The Bartel Years™,” a roster of symbols for a century of business anniversaries, and launched The Bartel Way™, a corporate anniversary consulting service.  Download free PDFs of “The Bartel Years™” and the Special Report “The Top 10 Ways To ‘Sell’-abrate Your Business Anniversary” at www.paulinebartel.com

You’re good. You’re company’s good. You’ve got great products. Now’s the time to let people know it. It is easy to stand out when half the world is afraid and hiding.

Many businesses are thriving. People are going to less expensive restaurants that deliver wholesome, reassuring, value. People are going for therapy to help them cope with their 401k statements. People are going to classes to learn new skills and increase their marketability. Alternative energy is thriving. There is opportunity when you look for it.

Now is also an excellent time to build infrastructure so you are positioned strongly now and as the economy improves. You may want to invest in new product development, in a new building, in new systems, or new advertising. Ad space is being discounted, and you can often make creative deals that benefit you and the media.

This is also a great time to experiment. If you have spare capacity in sales, try a new market. If you have extra inventory, try packaging it in a new way. This is a good time to sell value, so you may want to try repositioning your product. Not everything is going to work, and that is ok. When I ski, I always tell myself that if I don’t fall, I’m not trying.

Brainstorm with your staff, clients and friends. Encourage far-out ideas. Get a bunch on the wall or the back of a napkin, then think of the worst that could happen, general logistics, profit potential, and then prioritize.

Some ideas from our clients:

• Build a new building so that they can say they have the largest inventory of hard to find wood in the United States.
• Go from advertising in a print trade magazine monthly, to advertising in two print trades every other month (both owned by the same publisher to get them to agree to this) for the same cost. In our case one is aimed at landscape contractors and the other is aimed at landscape architects, so they are expanding their target markets. We also asked for an ad on the publisher’s web site for the year and an ad in their email blasts as a bonus and received it.
• Do a case study on a client in a field where you want to expand. Go to that industry’s meetings and offer to be a speaker. Carry copies of the case study with you and use it as an example of what you do.
• Redesign your web site to look more professional as your marketing becomes more aggressive. Tie web site into email, direct mail and fax marketing, a Google AdWords campaign, and Amazon affiliate marketing.
• Use web site to automate manual procedures to reduce expansion costs.

People like to be associated with winners and when they see you moving forward assertively, it will make them more comfortable working with you.

Cindy Herrmann
Mogul Marketing

Cindy Herrmann is a partner in Mogul Marketing, a strategic marketing/ communications firm in East Chatham.   Mogul Marketing specializes in business-to-business and non-profit marketing, photography, market research and web development for aggressive clients.  Cindy is on the board of the Capital Repertory Theatre and the Consulting Alliance. She is active in the Albany-Colonie Chamber and the entrepreneurial community.