The Essential Rules For Handling Customer Complaints

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 Your customer’s complaints used to be between you and the customer…and anyone they could tell in person. Now social media has enabled them to let the entire world know when they’re not happy with you. Here are  a few quick tips on how to defend your honor during the crisis of a customer complaint.

Rule #1 Always Respond

Ignoring a customer, especially an angry one, is the number one way to fuel the fire. Without the internet one angry customer couldn’t make much of a dent on your bottom line, now they can tear down any positive results you may have achieved from your marketing efforts for the last year.

Rule #2 Acknowledge The Issue

Whether you’re right or wrong, you need to address this issue. If you made a mistake, admit it. If you’re doing something that people don’t agree with, explain why you’re doing it. Surveys show that customers admire company executives able to accept fault and willing to take steps to eliminate future situations.

Rule #3 Apologize

When you make a mistake you need to issue an official and mature apology. Don’t use it as a way to carry on the argument, use it as a way to let your customers know that you sincerely care. At its very essence your apology should promise that you will fix the problem and that it will never happen again.

Read more.

If you found this information useful you might also appreciate my older post on Things Your Customers Don’t Want To Hear.

What do you think is the hardest part of dealing with an angry customer? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Filed Under: Business Books, Customer Service, Customer-Centric, Leadership, Leadership and Trust, Leadership Lessons, Making Happy Customers Tagged With: , , , , ,

The 15 Richest People…In Fiction

April 23, 2012 By 1 Comment

Forbes was kind enough to do the ‘research’ and provide the list of the richest characters in fiction. Don’t assume that they are just picking these characters at random, they actually crunch the numbers. They did the math on everything from the Dragon Smog’s treasure stash (The Hobbit) to Forest Gump’s shares in Apple. I thought this would be a fun way to start the week off. Enjoy!

Who do you think should be on the list? Share in the comment box below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Being Awesome, Business, Business Leaders, Running a Business Tagged With: , , , , ,

Business Lessons From Gaga

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you haven’t heard of Lady Gaga you are the only one. This pop culture icon has sold of 13 million albums and has earned 12 Grammy nominations. That being said, she has to be doing something right. It’s not just the catchy song writing and the unique personal brand, she actually knows a thing or two about business. Here are some of the top lessons Lady Gaga can teach you.

1. USE SOCIAl MEDIA! – You might not think much of social media, but Lady Gaga has close to 16 million followers on Twitter. How much does it cost you to send an ad to that many people?  Dive in to Twitter to build your following, always be two things: 1. Interesting 2. Valuable.

2. Team Up With The Right People – To promote her most recent album, she teamed up with Zynga, maker of the fan-crazed Facebook game Farmville. They created a “Gagaville” where players could raise unicorns and grow crystals…sound ridiculous?  While this promotion was going on, she was also plugged in and promoted across other popular Facebook games like Mafia Wars, skyrocketing her exposure. No, you don’t need unicorns and crystals but you do need to be connected to the right people.

3. Know Your Audience – You need to understand what your customers want and how they want it. Lady Gaga’s fans expect a unique experience at every concert and to be entertained with every music video they watch, and she delivers. You might not have to dress up in a meat suit but you should definitely go above and beyond to give your customers exactly what they want.

More business lessons from Lady Gaga here.

Don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook and  Twitter or share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Filed Under: Business, Business Tips, Lady Gaga Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Rules For Getting The Price Right

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A big part of great marketing is hitting the right price point. You can’t shoot too low or people think your product is crap. You can’t shoot too high or else your target market won’t be able to afford it. You really have to take the time to find the sweet spot right in between where your customer feels like they are getting quality and value for what they are paying and yet aren’t paying too much for too little. Here are a few good rules to keep in mind to make your customers say ” The Price Is Right!”

1. Listen To Your Customers – This doesn’t mean you have to spend a small fortune on marketing research, just ask. Find out where they value your product in comparison to the competitors. If you are set up for it, this could be as easy as asking a question to your social media followers.

2. Understand Your Competition – If your customer wasn’t buying your product, what would they be spending their money on? What separates you from them? How can you make sure you always have that positive differentiation?

3. Be Brutal – When evaluating yourself you need to be 100% honest. You should be your harshest critic at all times and you should also listen to your own criticisms.

Get more pricing tips here.

Don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook and  Twitter or share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Filed Under: Business, Business Tips, Changing Your Business Strategy, Pricing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

November 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The short answer… NO. You do not want to overload the world with news on every little thing you or your company do.  You also don’t want to aim your PR into a crowd in hopes that it might hit someone who cares. There should be a very specific strategy and purpose behind your publicity efforts. Here are a few of the drawbacks of publicizing aimlessly.

1. You may be promoting your news to people who would never do business with you, wasting a good chunk of your resources.

2. Bad PR can actually push people away. Bad press releases can train your press contacts to stop paying attention to you.

3. Your mediocre news may show up on unsavory sites, tarnishing the brand you have worked so hard to build.

The best use of your public relations and content marketing dollar is to target your appeals to editors, reporters, bloggers and other influencers who have previously shown an interest in covering your news or industry. You might also focus on outlets whose audiences care about companies like yours or who may like your products and services.

More Publicity and PR Tips Here.

Don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook and  Twitter or share your thoughts in the comment box below.

 

Filed Under: PR Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Does Your Business Need To Be More Customer-Centric?

October 4, 2011 By 1 Comment

Here’s an interesting idea, a business that focusses on what its customers want and then gives it to them… Sound familiar?  Some companies built their entire model around this idea and some companies completely skipped it.  When times are as tough as they have been and money is as tight as it can be, no business can afford to not pay enough attention to its customers.

What does it mean to be customer-centric?
To be customer-centric reflects more of the mindset and beliefs held by those committed to an exceptional level of service regardless of the industry. Having the right state of mind plays a huge role in providing the level of service that you want to provide and that your customers will expect . It’s important to note that the word ‘centric’ comes from the root word for core, center or central. Your business has to be all about the customer before the customer can be all about you.
Why is exceptional customer service so critical today?
Studies have consistently shown that poor service (i.e. attitude of indifference) is by far the No. 1 reason why customers will leave; over competitors and product defect. The Gallup Organization has found that the U.S. economy loses over $360 billion a year due to subpar service. With product features being so similar from one company to another, the customer experience is simply a great and low cost way to create a profitable distinction. Your competitors may imitate what you do, but it’s very difficult to imitate the way you do it. Read More

What does your company do to be customer-centric? Share in the comment box below or through Facebook and  Twitter.

Filed Under: Customer Experience, Customer-Centric Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Is It Time To Change Your Strategy?

September 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You never want to give up before your plan has really had a chance to spring in to action. But, there is such a thing as waiting too long for a strategy that might not pan out. So how do you know when it’s time to switch gears?  There a few very extreme situations that are actually becoming more common, one of which was described and explained in this article from Inc Magazine.

Don’t forget to connect on Facebook and Twitter for more tips, articles and discussion.

Dear Norm,
Our small business provides government agencies and consulting firms with specialized computer models that simulate flooding. Sales have been very slow this year, and one of my partners thinks we should make the software available as a free download to anybody who wants it. That’s what our main competitor does, and a lot of people use its product even though it’s not as good as ours. My partner’s theory is that by getting our software into more hands, we would be able to sell more support subscriptions. My fear is that we would succeed only in losing a lot of revenue at the worst possible moment for our company. It would be one thing if price was the main reason we aren’t selling more software. But, in fact, price plays a small role in a customer’s buying decision. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what we should do.

—Reinaldo G.

Click Here for the expert response.

 

Filed Under: Changing Your Business Strategy, office chair experts, office furniture experts, Opportunity, Running a Business, The Economy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

3 Opportunities Your Business Is Missing Part: 3

September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You may have built the company from the ground up or you may have been there since before it was even close to being the company is today, but I bet there are a few hidden treasures in your company that you didn’t know about. Not hiding in the boiler room or the basement, but right in front of you, in fact you probably greet half of these treasures on a daily basis.  Pay attention and you will catch on quickly.

This is post 3 of 3 in this series.  The other opportunities you’re missing are just as important so click for Part 1 or Part 2.

There are things you could be doing to be a better boss. No one is going to come right out and say it, except for your boss and that’s not the perspective you want to get.  One of the biggest challenges we face is separating how we see ourselves from how our employees see us.  Your leadership could mean an increase in productivity, sales and better customer service, but you have no idea you’re doing anything wrong or at least not doing what you need to be doing right.  This means that you need to open up a better channel of communication with your employees.  If you let them know that you care enough to improve in your position, it might just motivate them to improve in theirs.  If you show them that you are really trying to make their jobs easier, it might just inspire them to make yours easier as well. This will also make it a lot easier for your employees to come to you right away instead of letting stress, resentment and anger build.

    If you haven’t caught on yet, all of the good ideas you need are within your reach, you just have to know where to look.  You should know something about all of the jobs in your company but your employees should know everything about their job and even a little more.  Letting your employees get away with just doing their job is like letting someone walk out the door with all of your secrets and ideas.  I recommend you take full advantage of the expertise and experience of your employees and I promise that you won’t regret it.

     

    Filed Under: office chair experts, office furniture experts, Running a Business Tagged With: , , , , , ,

    3 Opportunities Your Business Is Missing Part: 2

    September 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

    You may have built the company from the ground up or you may have been there since before it was even close to being the company is today, but I bet there are a few hidden treasures in your company that you didn’t know about. Not hiding in the boiler room or the basement, but right in front of you, in fact you probably greet half of these treasures on a daily basis.  Pay attention and you will catch on quickly.

    Last week I posted Part 1 of this series meant to help you get the most out of your business and employees.  For more tips and ideas connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

    There are more ways for you to make money.  Your salespeople and even your employees in customer service have ideas floating around in their heads that could help your business step up to the next level, the bad news is they don’t know they are there.  These are the people who spend the most time with the customers and the people who know their needs best.  Your customer may be practically begging for something that you’re perfectly capable of supplying, but your salespeople don’t know that, and your customer service people don’t know that.  Make it a point for all of your employees who communicate with your customers to take notes on the customer’s complaints, requests, and side comments.  Set up meetings on a regular basis so that your different teams can bounce ideas off of the management and hopefully recognize some big opportunities for your company.

     

    Filed Under: office chair experts, office furniture experts Tagged With: , , , ,

    Think Excellence To Be Excellent

    June 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

    It is hard to define excellence as a composition of achievements or qualities but when you see it you know it.  The people I know who are “excellent” are surrounded by it, personally and professionally.  I have had several conversations trying to figure out what makes those wheels turn I have discovered only one consistent thing between all of them, their mindset.

    To surround yourself and your company with excellence you need to eat, sleep, and breath it.  You can’t expect anything less from yourself or your employees and they need to think the same way.  It requires you to put all of your efforts in to everything you do.  Every e-mail you send and every call you make should let the people know that you strive to perform at a higher level.

    Doing this increases the pressure you put on yourself and all of your employees but it also raises the bar for your competition.  It makes you the shiny new car in the used car lot. If this is where you want your company to be you need to make sure that you step forward and lead by raising the bar and setting the standard.  Just for the record, being excellent does not make you Mr. Burns.

    For more business and innovation tips and ideas you can follow me on Twitter and connect with me on Facebook.

     

    Filed Under: Being Excellent Tagged With: , , , , ,
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