| |
| |
|
|
|
Have You Hugged a Customer Today?
It all started a couple of weeks ago when a friend asked me if I could scan and print some of her slides. No problem, I said. Boy, was I mistaken.... As it turns out, I seldom use my scanner for slides. And no matter how many different 'Kathy' techniques I tried to get it to work, nothing. I even resorted to reading the online manual (what was I thinking?). Still didn't work. After several (okay, many!) bull-headed attempts to figure it out myself, I called the Epson tech help line. The good news, they actually answered the phone near midnight. The bad news? My scanner was out of warranty, so I'd have to pay $9.95 for their tech service. I was pretty desperate, so $9.95 seemed a bargain. And indeed, I got the help I needed. I was, once again, a happy pup. Didn't think about it again until the telemarketer called today.... 1 - Good For Me Before the call, I had virtually no attention on Epson, my scanner, or the slides that are now beautifully printed. And I must say, when I answered the phone and heard, "Is this Kathleen?" (my first clue that it's not a friend calling!), I was a little annoyed. For whatever reason, I didn't hang up. And I answered all the rep's questions about my experience with the Epson tech guys. I was reminded that I didn't call just once, but twice - when I had some follow-up questions a few days later. The call reminded me how great it was to be able to access their tech support 24 hours a day. (Is it just me, or do you, too, find that everything breaks down in the middle of the night?) And the quick survey made me think back to the beautifully printed artwork that I scanned from my friend's slides. Gotta say, I felt really good when I hung up the phone! 2 - Good For Them What's in it for Epson? Well, if even half of their calls today end in another smiling customer like me, they're doing great! They're also getting valuable feedback that can help them improve their tech support, and their products. Who knows if the two tech guys I spoke with last week were one "5" on the survey away from getting fired, or getting a promotion? I'd like to think that my positive feedback helped them personally, in some small way. It's a win-win situation. And I like that. 3 - Make a Habit of Hugging Your Customers Yes, I could have emailed Epson and told them how helpful their tech guys were. But I didn't. Which got me thinking.... How often do we actually take the time to "hug" our customers and supporters? We might: - call someone who's just bought one of our products, and thank them for their purchase - call a participant the week after our teleclass to see if they have any questions - write a quick thank-you note to someone who's been supporting us - thank someone, in writing, for their help with a project - write to thank someone for coming to live workshop - surprise an especially good customer with a small gift (free RealAudio download of a teleclass, for example) - ask our best customers for feedback about our product, or our service - take the time to be grateful, and find ways to let people know about it! Thanking our customers isn't just good for the soul. It's good business. I'll be hugging lots more often - and more deliberately - in the future. I hope you'll join me. Best-selling author Kathy Gulrich helps clients get from idea, to action, to results - more quickly, and more easily - whether they're looking to write a book, develop a new product, or market their product or business. Clients love her direct, no-nonsense approach - and her gentle insistence on great results. Find out for yourself: Check out one of Kathy's teleclasses, or pick up a free worksheet, at http://www.smARTbusinessCoaching.com
MORE RESOURCES: Buy Website Internet Traffic. Website online advertising. Buy full page popunder advertising and increase website traffic to your sites. Bad Credit Loans - Loans for people with bad credit. Access online government grants and financial credit services instantly online. Digital Streaming Radio On Your Mobile Phone - La Vella Mobile Radio. La Vella Mobile Radio Gives You Access To Over One Hundred Of The Hottest Streaming Radio Stations From Around The World And Brings Them To The Palm Of Your Hand, Right On Your Mobile Phone. Get Streaming Radio On Your Cell Phone! Audio And Video Streaming For Multimedia Purposes. This Is A Complete Step By Step Guide To The Beginners Who Want To Install And Setup Audio And Video Streaming For Multimedia Purposes On The Internet.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Customer Satisfaction and the Service Business The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service business is a direct one. Customer satisfaction measurement, however, is a much more complex matter. What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing the World from Where the Customer Is Standing It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily see things in the same way we do. This point was brought home to me one day while I was shopping with my daughter, Stefanie, who was two years old at the time. First Contact: The Source of Customer Loyalty With customers being smarter, more cost conscious, more product knowledgeable and more demanding, improving customer service has become a major focus within many businesses. In Customer Satisfaction is Worthless; Customer Loyalty is Priceless, author Jeffrey Gitomer contends the real solution is shifting the paradigm away from customer service to customer loyalty. How to Transform Your Voicemail into an Effective Medium of Communication "Hi this is Randy. Leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Got A Consumer Problem? Millions of people, just like you, end up with a consumer problem that they just can't seem to get resolved. No matter what they do. Handling Angry Clients What do you do when your client gets mad at you? How do you handle this? An angry client can be one of the biggest time and energy drains on a sales person. What you should specifically do will obviously depend on what the client is angry about. Customer Service - A Lost Art? Is customer service a lost art? Before you answer that question, take a moment and think about the last few times you have gone shopping or out to dinner. Okay, now that you have really thought about it, is your answer any different? Why is it that when we actually DO receive excellent customer service that it makes such an impression on us that we usually choose to go back? Why - because the occurrences are so few and far between!!! As a home business owner, it is imperative to my business that customer service is ALWAYS a top priority. Whats Love Got To Do With It? Customer Loyalty, we all want it. Don't we?Some people say it's dead - they say that customers are fickle, that they don't want loyalty, that they just want the lowest price and the fastest way to get it. Is Your Food Establishment Clean? Is your restaurant, bar or hotel clean? I mean really clean. I don't mean "do you stick to all the rules and regulations?". Dealing with Disgruntled Customers No matter how hard you try, in business you simply can't please everyone. You could have a highly trained customer service squadron and an award-winning product, but still you'd have some buyers who just weren't happy. Do You Want More Profits? - Follow The Golden Rules Of Providing Good Customer Service Last night I was at my computer and a Skype chat window opened up with a link in it from a stranger. I clicked the link and was taken to one of those "You would have to be crazy to pass up this business opportunity" sites. The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always saying the customer is always right. This is my business, not the customer's, so I'm the one who's always right. Doors by Catering to Your Clients Clients? they are the most important influence in the success of any business. It is vital to keep them satisfied and happy. 4 Things Your Clients Want From Your Company Sure, all clients are different. They have different kinds of strengths, weaknesses, cultures and goals. What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a part of every manager's job. Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming. Revealed - A Simple Formula For Success! Exceeding Expectations Delight = Customer Expectation plus 1. This was the simple formula for delighting your customers that Ken Blanchard informed us of in his book "Raving Fans" For me this is a great formula, but in itself it also raises a number of questions. Making Customer Satisfaction Surveys Work Why bother? Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business. Handling Customer Complaints Even the best business will receive an occasional customer complaint. Knowing how to resolve these complaints will help you gain loyal customers who will then refer others to your business. Hook Me Up With A Human Oh, what has happened to the carbon-based organizational interface? Many organizations have digitized humans - aka carbon-based units - out of existence in their customer service operations. Now, I love digital technology as much as anyone, but it is time to bring the people back into their appropriate customer service roles, don't you think?Have you ever tried to reach a human at Amazon. Wholesale Buyers Versus Retail Customers Are wholesale buyers and retail customers really different? Frankly, there are two answers to this question: yes and no. Yes, because they are different from the buyers and those selling to buyers' point of view and no, because the principles that apply are the same for both types of buying.
|
