Shep Hyken's Blog, page 220
October 8, 2014
Customer Service: What Not to Do When You Don’t Know
Common SenseRecently I had a question about my international calling plan for my mobile phone. I was preparing for several overseas trips. My assistant was tasked with finding the best plan our carrier had to offer. One might think this would be an easy project; just get the information and sign up for the program. But, one might be wrong.
Without boring you with the details, my assistant came back with information that didn’t seem to make sense. She was told when my monthly bill renewed, my international plan would start over because the plan ended in the middle of my trip. In other words, even though I was only gone for a week, we would be charged for two months of the international calling plan. I asked her to call back for clarification.
So she called back and was given a completely different answer. Something about a pro-rated plan through the end of the first billing cycle. While it made more sense, it still didn’t seem right.
Well, it seems the third time was a charm. When she called back she was connected to a knowledgeable customer service support person who told her what to do, and it made complete sense.
My assistant asked, “So, who should we believe?”
I said, “The person who gave us the best answer.” In other words, the one that we liked the most, regardless of it being right or wrong.
Here’s the problem. We really don’t know which answer was the correct answer. Each of the three customer service reps acted with confidence, as if they had the correct answer. But, at least two, if not all three are incorrect. We’ll find out when we receive our monthly bill.
People inherently don’t want to show ignorance, and they will sometimes give an answer that seems like common sense, even if the answer is wrong. Even with the best intentions, this is bad customer service.
So, what’s a good customer service rep to do? People will always appreciate an honest response, even if you have to say, “That’s a great question. I want to give you the correct answer, and I have to check with someone. Can you hold or can I call you back?” And then you do.
By the way, this applies to everyone. You don’t have to be in the customer service department. Your colleagues, customers, suppliers – everyone – will appreciate that whatever answer you give them is the correct answer.
Don’t make assumptions, even if it seems like common sense. If you don’t know, don’t guess. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer to every question. Just know where to go, or who to go to, to get the correct answer. Now, that’s common sense!
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIV, Shep Hyken)
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October 6, 2014
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 6, 2014
Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.
The 10 New Rules for Customer Service by John Boitnott
(Inc.) If you’re hitting your customers hard with sales pitches, not responding to them on social media, and ignoring their feedback, you’re going down a path that will surely inhibit future success.
My Comment: It doesn’t matter if these “rules” are considered new or old. The bottom line is that they are good rules. Several stand out, such as number two: Respect People’s Time. And, #5: Be an Educator. While all ten of these “rules” may not apply to every business, many will and are worth consideration.
Zappos Service is for Zappos, not You by Adam Ramshaw
(Genroe) Immortalised in books and customer service meetings these stories are legendary but should you be trying for this level of service?
My Comment: Not many companies, if any, can duplicate what Zappos has done in the world of customer service. Zappos is an amazing customer service role model, and they do a fine job of teaching us their methods and philosophies, which have been shared in numerous articles and books. But, that doesn’t mean we should try and copy them. No, we should learn from them, and adapt, not copy, what might work.
The Customer Experience Is Key: In Every Channel And At Every Interaction by Jan Vels Jensen
(Marketing Land) Hard-sell advertising messages don’t cut it in today’s multi-channel, multi-media messaging universe. Instead, meet your customers where they live.
My Comment: I recently heard a great line that I hadn’t heard in a long time. I was with a group talking about customer service success. Someone asked one of the very successful sales people to share her secret. She said, “It’s not one thing that I do well. It’s a thousand little things.” Maybe it’s not really a thousand, but the point is that it is many little things – details – that shape the customer experience. I love the list that is included in this article. I’m sure there are a number of those “little things” that can enhance the customer experience for just about anyone and any company.
Little Things Count When Establishing Customer Relationships by Mike Schoultz
(Digital Spark Marketing) What do you feel is the most important factor in establishing customer relationships? How you make customers feel is the most important factor …hands down in our opinion. Like making new friends. It is becoming the most important element of social commerce.
My Comment: It always surprises me when companies make better offers to new customers than to their existing, long-term customers. Is that any way to reward your loyal customers? And some companies confuse loyalty programs with marketing programs. Focus on the customer and the money follows. Focus on the money and you have a marketing program, not a loyalty program.
Do You Have the Constitution to Avoid the Three Biggest Mistakes in Customer Experience? by Stan Phelps
(Forbes) Customer Experience is a buzzword and for good reason. CX leaders outpace industry laggards by a significant margin. Senior leaders understand retention and loyalty are key success factors in the success of their organization. Yet, most organizations make three big mistakes in customer experience.
My Comment: I love the idea of a Customer Experience Constitution. The key is that it is used throughout an entire company and that it’s part of the culture. The Ritz-Carlton is mentioned in the article and is a role model for amazing customer service. They have their Credo, which is, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” It’s what they live for. If customer experience is important to your organization (and I know it is), then the constitution should be a great discussion topic for leadership to consider.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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October 3, 2014
Guest Blog: How to Provide Mind-Blowing Personalized Customer Service in 4 Steps
This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Abhiroop Basu writes about how “one-size fits all” marketing strategies will no longer work and he shares the steps necessary to create a personalized customer experience. Make sure you read the entire article so you download the whitepaper about customer engagement and personalized support at the end. - Shep Hyken
Everyone has heard about Jerome McCarthy’s “Four P’s” of marketing – product, place, price, and promotion. Indeed, it is a fixture in any business textbook that advocates the importance of the “marketing mix”. However, in the last few decades the importance of the Four P’s has eroded as they are ill-equipped to create the personalized experiences required by customers today.
The problem is that the “Four P’s” end up creating product focused campaigns, which target all customers as though they are the same person. This flies in the face of data which highlights the importance of personalization. A full 68% of marketers agree that personalized marketing based on behavioral data has a major impact on sale, and 74% say it has a high impact on engagement. Despite the obvious trend, only 19% admit to using such data.
The bottom-line is that the current “one-size fits all” marketing strategy is no longer appropriate for this savvier generation of customers. How can companies revitalize their marketing practices and appeal to customers? This article explores the 4 steps necessary to create personalized customer experiences that engage and attract.
Step 1: Forget your product
You probably have a good understanding of all your product’s salient features, however your customer does not care. More often than not, your potential customer will have a problem and will be shopping around for a product that can solve it. Hence, simply listing your own product’s features won’t be enough. Instead, focus on solving the problems of your customer.
Step 2: Understand your customer
To understand your customer’s problem, you need to first understand your customer. To do this you can create a “buyer persona” to tailor your communication for each customer. Each persona represents a different slice of a target audience. For example, an airline could have the following buyer personas: a vacationing family, a corporate traveler, and a honeymooning couple. Depending on which personas the company is interacting with, the marketing voice and tone can be adjusted to fit their needs.
Step 3: Find the relevant channels for communication
No two companies are the same and neither are their customers. Although social media, email marketing, and live chat are all important in engaging customers, it’s up to you to figure out your customers’ preferences.
In particular, customers today are becoming increasingly more demanding. They key for you as a company is to be where your audience is rather than always trying to drive traffic back to your site. According to a recent report from the Aberdeen Group, 94% of organizations provide service across multiple channels (including, email, telephone, e-services, web queries, remote support, social media, live chat, mobile messaging and forums).
Step 4: Build a Relationship with your Customer
You’ve attracted the attention of your customer, now you must hold onto it. Don’t keep forcing your product or solution down their throats, allow them to make their own decisions. Whenever you communicate with your customer treat it as a relationship-building exercise. Give your customers a chance to explore your product and describe their needs. Additionally, you should allow them to talk to your past customers and contribute to your community.
Marketing campaigns need to shift from focusing on the one-to-many advertising-based approach to a one-to-one, personalized, customer engagement model. Instead of reaching for the short term goals and constantly optimizing for higher profits, one-to-one marketing focuses on building a long-term relationship with the customer.
Get the Whitepaper FreeThis is just a taste of our research into customer engagement and personalized support. If you’d like to learn more download our whitepaper One to One Marketing – How to Add Personality to your Customer Engagement Campaign for free today:
Bio: is an opinionated tech and digital media blogger. In the real world, he works as Content Strategist for Zopim (a subsidiary of Zendesk) and can be found at abhiroopbasu.com. Follow on Twitter @abhiroopbasuu
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.
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October 1, 2014
How to Celebrate Customer Service Week
Celebrate your CustomerIn 1984 the International Customer Service Association started National Customer Service Week as a way to recognize and reward those people and companies focused on customer service. In 1992 President George Bush signed a proclamation declaring that the first week of October would be National Customer Service Week, making it “official.” Since that time, many companies have been celebrating the week in many different ways, with a common theme that demonstrates the importance of customer service.
So, what can you do to celebrate National Customer Service Week? All you have to do is Google the term and you’ll find many suggestions and examples of how companies from all types of industries are celebrating. But, to make it easy, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Theme the day – Some companies provide a theme for each day. For example, the Institute of Customer Service recommends the following:
Monday – Understanding your customer
Tuesday – Easy to do business with
Wednesday – Dealing with problems
Thursday – Business impact of customer service
Friday – Recognition
Food – Everyone has to eat. And when a company decides to bring in food, everyone seems to be happy. Kick off the week with an event around lunch. This is a great time to gather people together and remind them that without customers, you probably won’t have a business. And, it doesn’t have to be a meal. It can be donuts in the morning – or an ice cream snack in the afternoon.
Express Gratitude – Take the time to write a thank you note to your customers. It can be a brief handwritten card. It’s the thought that counts. One idea is to give note cards to every employee and have them write a note to several customers. This is especially important for the employees who don’t have direct contact with customers. Give them the names and addresses and suggested wording of the card. For example, “Dear Bob. My name is Sally Smith and I’m in our company’s shipping department. We’ve never met, but I wanted you to know how much all of us at the XYZ Company appreciate your business…” You get the idea.
Tell the Story – This is one of my favorites. Ask employees to submit their best example of customer service they provided to either an internal or outside customer. Share the examples by publishing to either a printed document or online. As an alternative, rather than have employees talk about their own examples, have them share a story about how one of their fellow employees delivered amazing customer service.
Celebrate with Customer Service Training – Take this week to refocus your training efforts on customer service. Kick off or revive your organization’s customer service initiative with a speaker or some type of customer service training. By the way, my personal feeling is that some type of customer service training should be ongoing throughout the year. Not just once a year.
Just a couple of other thoughts. Remember that everyone has customers; not just the front line. So, don’t forget about your internal customers. And most important: The focus on customer service shouldn’t be just for a week. It should be all year, every year!
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXIV, Shep Hyken)
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September 29, 2014
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of September 29, 2014
Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.
5 Ways Amazon Has Changed How Everyone Thinks About Customer Experience by Flavio Martins
(WinTheCustomer!) If you don’t like change, your going to like irrelevance even less. If you’re looking for an example of the customer experience revolution, Amazon has shown the way to innovate and dominate by putting the needs of customers first.
My Comment: Anytime someone writes about Amazon, I pay attention. There is so much that they have done right – and so much to learn from them. The five ideas shared in this article are all great, but I especially like the first one: Make what customers want to do simple.
Simple is not always easy, but it is so worth the effort. I’m sure it took a lot of effort to engineer the “one click” shopping experience. How much more simple can it be for the customer? Begs for the question: How simple are you to do business with?
What Is Awesome Customer Service? by Jeremy Watkin
(Communicate Better Blog) I am pleased announce that after looking at our company goals and all of the work we have done on this blog, we have arrived at a definition of AWESOME.
My Comment: Looking for a way to describe awesome customer service? The answer is in the five words/phrases in this excellent article: consistency, serve, meaningful connection, lasting connection and awe-inspired. Any company that can deliver on those five has my business. Doesn’t get much better than that.
26 things you need to know to exceed customer expectations by Doug Sandler
(Nice Guy Blog) As I think back to some amazing experiences that I have had as a customer, in addition to feedback I have gotten over the years from my own customers, I have compiled a list of thoughts and actions that are essential to providing exemplary customer service.
My Comment: I love a good list of customer service ideas. And, here are 26 of them! I’m sure that just about anybody reading this, from any type of business, can find two or three (or twenty or more) ideas to help take their customer service to the next level.
The Opportunity In A Customer Complaint by Sue Cockburn
(Business2Community) Handling customer complaints, for most of us, is a scary prospect. And yet by listening attentively and respectfully to the customer, and by doing our best to resolve the situation, the result can actually be a stronger relationship with the customer.
My Comment: Most customers don’t complain – at least to the company they are doing business with. Instead, the complain to their friends and colleagues, as well as through Facebook, Twitter, etc. So, when you customer complains, it is really an opportunity to show how good you are.
4 NON-NEGOTIABLE TRAITS OF CUSTOMER FOCUSED CEO’S by Michel Falcon
(Michel Falcon) Being focused on the customer requires certain traits to be organic and genuine. They are traits you must possess naturally.
My Comment: When it comes to customer service and experience, this is exactly what should be going through the minds of the leadership of the company. Outstanding article!
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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September 26, 2014
Guest Blog: How Customer “Experts” Create a Great Customer Experience
This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, Laura Lee Brennan writes about the increase in companies using social media for customer service. She highlights how community forums can benefit companies and their customers, creating strong relationships. - Shep Hyken
In one year, the number of companies handling more than 25% of all customer service inquiries via social channels has doubled. That’s right. We’re starting to understand the breadth and depth of how social support via channels like community forums are increasingly becoming a popular way to get questions answered and problems solved. We created an infographic with timely information on community forums which we called “The Unsung Hero of Social Support.”
Even at HP, the way customers prefer getting support has quickly expanded over recent years. With over 45k Twitter followers (and growing), 5700 customer support videos in 22 languages and 1.4 billion page views to date on HP Support Forums, it’s clear that the customer experience and choice across a wide range of social support channels is richer than ever. This is due in large part to volunteer HP Experts and Contributors who some people have called “Superfans.”
So, who are experts in your community forums? They can be employees, dedicated customers with a knowledge-base of your industry and other volunteer contributors who make time—personal time– to help solve problems and answer the technical questions that customers post on the Forums. Specifically, community forums are designed to get support from “people like me” and to get the most accurate information available to solve problems. And those answers become ongoing resources customers who have similar issues and conduct online searches for answers. HP community posts have achieved 200 million visit and 60,000 accepted solutions. And for every accepted solution, about 2,000 people will view it. Those are the critical success variables that forums must meet in order to meet growing customer needs. As the customer experience changes, support through social channels will become a defining force in building great customer relationships.
Nichole Kelly from Social Media Explorer wrote, “Frank Silvia, an electrician and lasvegaswiremen in the forums, said he went to the forums to post a question and while he was waiting for a response, he started to browse through the other questions. ‘I found several really easy questions that I knew the answer to so I answered. Then I got addicted. Barring technical difficulties, I spend anywhere from 1-3 hours a day answering questions now.’”
So, we began to think about ways to further engage with customers who were clearly passionate about helping other people. We came up with an HP Experts program which includes all sorts of great incentives to get customer experts to stick around and help their customer peers, and have a really positive experience. We outlined the top reasons to become an expert and shared them on the community forums, through social media and in external blog posts. We also shared this information at an Expert recruitment event at South by Southwest! Our list, of course, can guideline for any business interested in developing a population of customer brand advocates. Here are some of the benefits we’ve shared with customers about becoming an expert in the forums.
Be a hero. Customers rave when they get a quick solution to their technology-related questions. Use your expertise and desire to help others – and make their day.
Influence new products. Our company is known for innovation, but that doesn’t happen without valuable customer feedback. As an expert, we want to hear your opinions.
Connect with peers. Become a member of our inner circle, and connect with other fans and employees who are equally passionate about excellent products and support.
Learn more – do more. There’s no substitute for experience. As an expert, you’ll be steps ahead of the crowd – and you might even discover a whole new calling!
Satisfy your competitive streak. Reawaken your inner Olympian and compete against other experts in contests and games to earn badges and points – and get the kind of satisfaction that only comes from winning.
Build global relationships. Don’t miss the chance to gain global perspective from Boston to Bangkok as a member of our important global support community.
Walk the red carpet. Make connections, gain insights, and enjoy recognition from our community during worldwide Expert Meet-Ups.
Get rewarded! Experts are an important way we connect with and help consumers – and that’s something we value. Join us – and, as a top contributor, you will enjoy access to loans of our products.
We all work hard to create relationships with our customers. And when we achieve a level of trust and communication with people who love our brands, customers can become our best advocates!
Sources: ACSI, mediabistro, zendesk, Digital Sherpa, CRM, parature (Self Service Customer), parature (Building Brand Advocates), Desk.com, Neilsen, Social Media Today, Forrester, GetSatisfaction, Coleman Parks and Zuberance.
Laura Lee Brennan is HP Social Care Communications & PR Manager and a frequent contributor to The Next Bench blog.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com
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September 24, 2014
5 Reasons Companies Fail at Customer Service
Deliver Excellent Customer ServiceCustomer service; it is common sense. You may know how to deliver an excellent customer service experience, but do you?
Not long ago a potential client called my office. We discussed the reason he was calling, the problems he’s having and the results he wanted to achieve. He claimed his employees weren’t executing on the “basics.” Within a day I presented an outline of a proposed program. A week later his response was, “We already know how to do that.”
My response was, “Of course you do. Much of customer service is common sense. Unfortunately, it’s not always so common.” What I really wanted to say to him was, “If you really do know how to do it, then why are you so bad at it?” After all, he already admitted that his people weren’t delivering the basics of good service. What I had proposed is exactly what he needed.
You see, it turns out that most companies do know what to do. They just have a hard time executing. So, if so much of customer service is common sense, then why don’t most people do it better?
There are lots of answers, and here are five of them; common sense answers to why common sense customer service fails:
Companies don’t take the time to hire the right people . Hiring right isn’t just for skill or competence. People have to have some aptitude for customer service, the ability to be trained and they must fit into the company’s culture.
The company vision, at least for customer service, is not clear . Many times it’s a vision that is long and wordy. The best customer service vision statement is one sentence or less in length – and employees get it.
Companies don’t take the time and effort to train everyone in the company . Everyone has to be on board and in alignment with customer service vision. That can only come through training and ongoing reinforcement of the vision.
People who have roles that don’t interact with the customer don’t believe that customer service applies to them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Everyone has a customer, be it the outside customer or the internal customer. Customer service is part of the culture of a company, not a department with customer service reps. Jan Carlson, former president of Scandinavian Airlines once said, “If you aren’t dealing directly with the customer, you probably support someone who does.”
The customer service is not consistent. The inconsistency erodes confidence. The key is to deliver a positive customer service experience that is consistent and predictable.
There are obviously many more reasons companies fail at customer service. To be successful, it starts with the basics, which are common sense. Sure, most people know it. And, if you’re someone who reads my articles, watches my videos and follows me on social media, I bet you not only know it, you get it, and you deliver.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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September 22, 2014
5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of September 22, 2014
Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.
It’s the Experience Economy stupid! by Tal Shnall
(Leadership Café) Here are three suggestions to elevate a customer and employee centric culture in your organization.
My Comment: Great article reminding us the importance of the experience. People want to feel good about who they do business with. Simple advice: If you want loyalty, get to know your customer, anticipate their needs and create a lasting positive.
The Loyalty Storm Brewing for Banks, Wireless and Cable Companies by Chris Malone
(CULT) How often does your bank surprise and delight you? For customers of TD Bank, it’s a common occurrence – from its being open seven days a week, 17 hours a day, to its product offerings, low fees, problem resolution, and lollipops for the kids and dog treats for Rover.
My Comment: Isn’t it amazing that when you treat your customers right – with respect, dignity and admiration – they respond with their appreciation and loyalty. I love the example of TD Bank, and how it makes the case that when it comes to creating customer loyalty, “warmth and competence” is a winning combination.
Customer Experience From Fluff to Tough by Bruce Temkin
(1to1 Media) But, what does it take to deliver and sustain industry leading CX? A lot more than just jumping on a bandwagon. And it often requires more significant changes than what companies are committed to making.
My Comment: A very interesting look at six steps companies go through from the time they think they want to focus on customer experience through when they actually do. Deciding to become focused on customer experience starts at the top with leadership. Then moves through the company as employees buy into the experience initiative and are trained in how to provide it. Finally it connects with the customer.
Differentiating the Customer Experience with Content Marketing? by Michael Allenson
(Maritz Research) Through these and other efforts, Kraft has amped up its customer engagement and, according to Fleischer, the ROI on its content marketing is 3-4x what it typically gets with marketing efforts.
My Comment: In my mind, “content marketing” is a part of customer service and experience. It’s part of the value that a company can offer a customer (or potential) customer. The example in this article is perfect. Kraft posts recipes on their website and social channels. This creates value and increases customer engagement. One of my clients, Ace Hardware, posts videos on YouTube teaching how to fix a leaky faucet, repair a crack in a wall and much, much more. This “content” is all about giving the customer value. In return, the customer gives the company their business.
Uncommon Customer Experience by Myles Bristowe
(Huffington Post) Either way, every mistake is a gift bestowed upon you. These learning events are gifts for which you pay dearly, but they also bring us lessons one could never buy.
My Comment: There’s an old business saying that people like doing business with people they know, like and trust. The know and like part is easy. It’s the trust part that gives companies a hard time. Earning a customer’s trust gives you the chance to earn their business, and ultimately loyalty. It really shouldn’t be that “uncommon.” As pointed out in the article… Keep your promises.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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September 19, 2014
Guest Blog: Stop Leaving Money on the Table!
This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Ann Amati shares a case study looking at how listening to customer feedback can help lead to better sales and customer retention. - Shep Hyken
When companies plan for organic growth, they often look exclusively at customer acquisition (the “hunter”/Sales function) and overlook account growth (a “farmer”/Account Management function). In this case study, a company that compensated salespeople (hunters) based on new-customer acquisition did not correspondingly incent the account managers (farmers) for finding the full revenue potential of each customer relationship. Instead, the account managers oversaw the equivalent of repeat orders and resolved customer complaints. With very little additional training and partnership-oriented leadership, this function can often fully exploit the beachhead established by Sales.
This is one in a series of case studies highlighting “Key Questions and Course-correcting Quotes” taken from 20 years of B2B customer insight projects. All names are fictitious, but the situations are real. Case studies paint a picture of how important it is to learn what your B2B customers think-but aren’t saying. These are real-world examples of how soliciting and acting on customer feedback has helped companies hold onto customers longer, grow relationships bigger and pick up new business faster.
Case study: “Stop Leving Money on the Table!”
Key Question (asked of an operations manager-the vendor’s chief contact in this 6-figure relationship):
“Are there products or services you’d like to see ‘LiteManufacturing’ add?”
Course-correcting Quote:
“We buy kits from LiteManufacturing, but we have to buy components from another vendor. I’d like LiteManufacturing to start offering components.”
My Client’s Quandary:
This was a simple baseline feedback project, not a treasure hunt designed to grow revenue, yet there it was: money being left on the table. I knew LiteManufacturing sold kits and components; was there a reason they hadn’t told this customer? I called the account manager. He immediately walked his customer through LiteManufacturing’s full offering and picked up that company’s component business. The president then mandated all account managers reorient the 20% of customers who represented 80% of revenues.
Conclusion:
It’s common for customers to only know what they already buy from you. This can happen when:
The prospective customer wasn’t listening during the sales process.
The salesperson stuck with details about the initial product or service for fear of “talking past the sale.”
There was turnover on the customer side, and the new contact person only knows about current purchases.
As part of on-boarding and the formal/informal account review process, the relationship owner should review everything the vendor offers. When there is a personnel change on the customer side anywhere along the chain of command from the day-to-day contact to the owner of the budget, it’s smart to treat the new person as a new customer. You want them to be familiar with your entire offering and to recognize that their relationship is important to your company. When there is turnover in relevant positions on your side of the relationship, it’s smart (and often strategic) to have the new person introduce him/herself up and down the customers’ chains of command.
There are three costs to underselling to existing accounts:
Leaving money on the table today (loss of incremental revenue).
Creating a “beachhead” opportunity for competitors (failure to develop and defend one-stop relationships).
Weak positioning (failure to create partnership-level standing with customers).
Vendors unintentionally pass on the opportunity to shift from vendor to partner when they fail to incent account managers to fully develop customer relationships. This can also slow the development of new products or services leaving the company to play catch-up with more aggressive competitors. The first step is to put a partner-oriented leader in charge of Account Management.
I categorize projects as assessments, investigations, treasure hunts or rescue missions. This project was an assessment-turned-treasure hunt. The client’s question was “Where do we stand with our customers?” I’m always on the alert for outliers, because I’m trying to have the same conversation with customers as the company president would if he/she had the time. No president is going to overlook money that’s being left on the table!
Ann Amati, Principal, Deliberate Strategies Consulting, helps companies use guidance from their current and past customers to grow future sales. She has a 20-year track record of using deep-dive interviews to create positive turning points in her clients’ relationships with their customers.
For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com
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September 16, 2014
Do you offer customer friendly prices?
Customer ExperienceHow customer-friendly are your prices and fees? What I mean is do you add fees, surcharges, assessments or other costs to your customers’ bills that either surprise them or make them feel like they are being taken advantage of?
I remember calling several tire dealers to get a quote for new tires for my car. I made the mistake of going with the low bidder, as I was unpleasantly surprised when I went to pay and found out about the “extras” they added to the base price of the tires. I called another dealer that I had chosen not to do business with (because they had a higher price), only to learn that their quote was “all in,” and included everything. I felt that first dealer took advantage of me.
Our friendly skies are dominated by the airlines’ less-than-friendly fees. Most passengers are budget conscious and price shop the airlines to save money, however they show up to check in and are charged $25 for their first piece of checked luggage and another $25 if they want one of the aisle seats left on the plane. Not long ago I took an informal poll of some of passengers waiting for their flight and asked how they felt. Most begrudgingly accept the fees. Unless they have “status” on the airline, they feel nickel-and-dimed and, in some cases, cheated. One family of three had to pay an extra $50 so they could all sit together. Apparently, the only, the only way to get three seats together was pay a premium for one of the “preferred” seats.
Well, the hotel industry is apparently feeling left out of the concept of charging fees for extras. It’s becoming more common to see small fees for what the hotel deems as an “extra” service. For example, some hotels charge to print out a boarding pass. Another hotel charges to receive a package for a guest. Another hotel charges to check bags at the bell stand.
It’s really all about convenience. For example:
You can choose to pay for the convenience of Internet in your room, versus free Internet in the hotel lobby, even if you aren’t a guest of the hotel.
You might pay $5.00 for the convenience of taking a can of soda out of the mini-bar, or walk down the hall and pay a buck to have it come out of the machine.
How about paying $2.00 to get a towel in the hotel’s gym, versus having to go back to your room because you forgot to bring down one of the towels in the bathroom. (This actually happened to me.)
Some hotels charge a daily resort fee that includes amenities such as use of the gym (with towels, by the way), a newspaper, free Internet, and more. Why don’t they just charge a little more for the room? Oh, I know. They want to compete on what appears to be a lower price.
Now, not all hotels charge like this. Nor does every business. In a day and age where our customers are looking for the best value, which doesn’t always mean lowest price, why would you risk alienating a customer by charging them small fees for things they know they can get elsewhere at no charge? At some point the customer will be given a choice. If all things are equal, such as quality, location, etc., will the customer choose to do business with the place that seemingly adds on every chance they can, or somewhere else that includes everything for a fair price? I know where I’d go.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com . For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com . Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
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