Evaluating Your Customer

It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer something that they already have, or something they don’t want, don’t need, or can’t afford.

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Sales, marketing, loan officer, mortgage, leads, telemarketing, skills, training, blog, selling, internet mortgage lead

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It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer something that they already have, or something they don’t want, don’t need, or can’t afford.

This is why it is so very important to take your customer in, sit them down, make them feel comfortable, and get to know them and what their needs are. Once you have done this, you can then sell them a product based on what their needs are and not what you think they are.

On a personal note . . .

I learned the importance of evaluating your customer the hard way. A few years ago, I was a branch manager working in a bank branch. One particular customer of the bank approached me in my office about opening a savings account for her daughter.

Once I explained to her the process of opening a savings account, I proceeded to tell her all about a current promotion we were having on our home equity loans. She sat there and listened very politely and patiently as I very proudly went down the list of all the benefits, features, and tax breaks that come with a home equity loan.

Once I had finished my rehearsed presentation, she said to me;

That all sounds very nice, and it is something that I will consider in the near to distant future. She than went on to tell me that she and her husband rented the house they lived in.

So there you have it, I tried to sell a home equity loan to someone without a house.

Needless to say, my face turned a deeper shade of scarlet, and I felt like an idiot.

But hey, I learned from my mistake. Had I asked some simple probing questions before I went straight for the sale, I would have saved myself a lot of embarrassment.

You will be amazed at what you can find out from people just by asking them a few simple questions about themselves. Remember, people love to talk about themselves. Their jobs, their pets, their kids, just about everything.

I once had a friend who owned a shoe store, and his inventory was made up mostly of sneakers. One day a man walked into his store to buy a pair of sneakers. As my friend assisted him with his decision, he struck up a friendly conversation with him. As it turned out, this customer ran a basketball camp during the summer and he loved to talk about it. A few minutes into the conversation, my friend and his customer had come to an agreement. All of the boys and girls that attended the customers basketball camp would receive a 10% discount on their sneakers if they purchased them at my friend’s store.

So, as you can see, my friend increased his sales that summer simply by striking up a conversation with his random customer and asking a few questions.

Imagine going to your doctors office with an ailment and having him prescribe you a medication without asking what your symptoms were. Would you take the medication?

The same principal applies.

It really isn’t rocket science, it’s just friendly conversation, get to know your customer and watch one sale turn into many.

Why service only one of your customers needs when you can service them all.

Creating Customer Value In Your Proposals

Read any book on sales or proposal writing. Go on a sales training course. One of the first topics that will be covered is features, advantages and benefits. Ultimately, any proposal whether verbal or written down has to persuade someone to take an action and this is done by demonstrating the benefits of taking that course of action.

In a smaller sale, especially with products it is often easy to list benefits, but with larger proposals you will have to search harder to un...

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Read any book on sales or proposal writing. Go on a sales training course. One of the first topics that will be covered is features, advantages and benefits. Ultimately, any proposal whether verbal or written down has to persuade someone to take an action and this is done by demonstrating the benefits of taking that course of action.

In a smaller sale, especially with products it is often easy to list benefits, but with larger proposals you will have to search harder to understand the client’s business problem and explain the benefits of your solution – that is, how effectively and efficiently your solution solves their business problem.

Your solution should demonstrate not only value in price, but in the services that you offer. Value is the balance of cost versus benefit, therefore you need to be explicit in highlighting the benefits to the client.

Often when a contract has been lost, the client will tell you that you were too expensive – but no-one ever gets told that they won because they were the cheapest. It is the best solution that usually wins, the one that offers the best benefits. This may be the most expensive solution, but it still may offer the best value.

So how do you create customer value? Firstly you need to take time to understand the customer’s needs. When you receive an Invitation to Tender, get back to the client immediately with questions. Call them. Ask for a meeting. You may have been involved with the client pre-tender and have an understanding of their business.

You must be able to demonstrate an understanding of their business need in order to demonstrate that your solution will deliver the required benefits.

When writing your proposal, use content tailored towards the client and their business problem. We all copy re-usable text, or boilerplate in proposals – but customise it to the client. Include their name, especially in the executive summary. Let them know that the proposal is about them, not about you.

Directly address your customer’s issues and offer persuasive ideas with distinct solution benefits and support your arguments with evidence. When have you delivered a similar service or solution in the past? How did that client benefit? Demonstrate your ability to deliver on your promise.

Make sure a value proposition is clearly laid out and easy to understand. Can you include a return on investment model for the client? If so do it you are showing the client you understand how to save their business money.

Hit The Jackpot With Customer Complaints

Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but they may be the best thing that happens to your business. Here’s why...

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customer complaints, contact

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Our most powerful instinct is to avoid customer complaints, but they may be the best thing that happens to your business. Here’s why...

Marketing research shows that only 1 out 50 unhappy customers take the time to complain... to you. They are likely to let 11 of their friends in on the fact that they are unhappy, but don’t feel comfortable letting you know. What happens to the 49 unhappy customers who don’t complain? Besides griping to 11 friends and family members, they’ll just change products or places of business.


Complaining Customers Are A Bonus
Let’s forget about the fact that complaining customers aren’t always polite or fun to deal with. What’s really happening when they let you know that you didn’t meet their expectations?

1. They are giving you the opportunity to fix the problem and keep them as customers.
2. Let you in on problems that may have turned 49 other customers away.

Encourage Complaints
Yeah, I know... I dread them too, but they are tools for growing your business. How easy is it for your customers to let you know they are dissatisfied with your product or service? Make it easy by...

1. Offering a toll-free complaint hotline.
2. Make customer satisfaction surveys available.
3. Send follow up postcards after the purchase.
4. Make a place on your Website for customer complaints.

The Unhappy Customer's Options
An unhappy customer can do one of four things:

1. Keep silent
2. File a lawsuit or report you to an government agency
3. Give you bad word-of-mouth advertising
4. Complain to you

Remember that your customers and clients know your businesses strengths and weaknesses much better than you do! They have first-hand experience to make their judgment from. When a customer takes the time to let you know what you need to improve you truly owe them a thank you! And don’t forget... an unhappy customer that you turn into a happy customer becomes a loyal, life-long customer. Yeah, customer complaints pay off in the long run.

eBay and Customer Service

Good customer service is no less important online than in any other business.

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If you are running an eBay business, you may not realize that the need for great customer service still exists - even for online auctions. When a buyer receives quality customer service from you, they will potentially do one of two things - or both. They will give you great feedback, and they may look for more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking of it as an "auction" and start running it like a "business."

If you owned a brick and mortar business, how would you treat your customer while they were standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish ringing up their order? You would be helpful and respectful of course! You would do everything that you could to guarantee that customers return to your establishment in the future. You would bend over backwards to make sure that their buying experience with you was both satisfactory and enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the close of one of your eBay auctions?

First, act quickly at the close of your auctions. Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe the item they have won and how the item will be shipped - even if this information is already part of the description for the auction. Remind them of their winning bid amount, and give them payment options and instructions. Let them know when the item will be shipped.

Close your email by thanking them for participating in your auction. You might even take this opportunity to tell them about other open auctions that you have as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a conversation that you are having with a customer who is standing at your counter in that imaginary brick and mortar store.

Once the payment and shipping details have been taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them know when the item was shipped - the exact date and time - and when it is expected to arrive on their end. During this contact, let them know that if they have any problems or questions, that they should contact you through the eBay site. If they do contact you in the future, make sure that you answer promptly, and that you do all that you can to make them happy with their purchase - even if it means issuing a refund.

Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds, depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to you, at your expense, before the refund is issued - but once you receive the item, issue the refund promptly. This is just good business!

Customer Service Leads to Customer Loyalty

All customers want and expect superior customer service, and it is all too important that we give it to them. Otherwise, our competition will.

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Sales, marketing, loan officer, mortgage, leads, telemarketing, skills, training, communication, selling

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Customer Service Leads to Customer Loyalty

All customers want and expect superior customer service, and it is all too important that we give it to them. Otherwise, our competition will.

Your customer doesn’t want to be treated like another statistic along an assembly line. They want to be treated with respect. It is very important that your customer realizes just how important their business is to you.

Imagine if you were a daily customer at a bank, restaurant, or some other establishment. And every day that you walked in, a sales associate would take care of your business, than hurry you out the door, without so much as a hi, bye, or even making eye contact for that matter.

Okay, so you don’t necessarily go to these places to make new friends, but you would think that the experience could be just a little bit positive.

Maybe this isn’t enough to make someone take their business elsewhere. However, it just might if they were approached by your competition, and your competition gave them an idea of just how the grass can be greener on the other side, and managed to swipe that customer from you. And if they did, would you even realize it?

The most important thing to your customer when doing business is customer service. People want to be treated with respect. They want to be addressed by name, they want their phone calls returned, and they want their problems resolved in a timely fashion.

Customer service, believe it or not, is more important to people than the amount of the product, or the over all fees’ they have to pay.

So before you discuss pricing, give them great customer service up front.

When I was in banking, I had an elderly couple take their business to a new bank that just opened across the street offering all kinds of special promotions at their grand opening. They happened to be very good customers of mine, and they were sad to go. They told me that the new bank was able to offer them the same products I could, except the products were free.

I told them that although the products may be free, they would never experience the customer service there that they received here.

They understood, but left by telling me that it just made economic sense for them to leave.

A month later, they came back. Needless to say, they were not happy with the other bank’s customer service.

I wasn’t at all surprised and was only too happy to have them back.

Excellent customer service is a great way to build customer relationships, and also build customer loyalty.


When I say customer loyalty, I mean they won’t be so quick to jump ship when approached by your competitor.

People love to have the peace of mind that whatever product or service they have with you is secure with you. They like knowing that if ever there is a problem, or if they have a question, you will be there to resolve their issue, regardless of what it may be.

Excellent customer service also leads to loyalty because if your customers like the way you treat them, they will be happy to refer their friends and family to you.

Providing excellent customer service to gain loyalty is quite easy. People love to be greeted by name along with a smile. They love to have their problems resolved quickly, so make sure they know that they can depend on you. They like to have their phone calls returned, so return them.

Customer service is key to retaining your customers, and obtaining all of their business. It is also a great way to obtain referrals from them.

Trust me, treat your customers the way you would treat your friends or family and they will stick with you forever, and provide you with a lot of business. Good luck.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.

Customer Service Strategies on eBay

Customer service is important on eBay. Buyers rate their satisfaction with sellers, and your rating can make a difference on whether potential customers are willing to buy from you.

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start home business, e-commerce,eBay,customer service

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Copyright © Michael Hehn, Online-Profit-4-You

Customer service is important on eBay. Buyers rate their satisfaction with sellers, and your rating can make a difference on whether potential customers are willing to buy from you.

Customer service strategies on eBay start by providing an accurate product description. Displaying clear pictures and describing any imperfection shows the buyer what to expect. It's much better for customer satisfaction if the buyer receives a product in better shape than he expected than if you oversell and disappoint your customer.

Customer service strategies on eBay include acknowledgement of the winning bid and prompt shipping information. Use an automated response to let the buyer know you have received his bid. Acknowledgement payment quickly. Ship immediately, and inform the customer when the product is shipped. Customer service strategies include providing a tracking link to the product whenever possible.

Some eBay sellers offer free shipping as a customer service strategy. If you charge for shipping, don't charge much above shipping costs. Customers notice the postage cost and will likely complain if the shipping and handling is several dollars over. They understand the cost of materials, but they don't want to pay for your time to package the product.

Customer service stategies on eBay include a return policy. It is worth it to accept returns any time a customer asks. You can probably resell the item, and receiving a good rating is worth the cost and hassle.

Customer service strategies on eBay are not any different than traditional online stores. Make sure the product is as good as you say it is, don't inflate shipping and handling, ship quickly, and have a liberal return policy. This is the way to achieve high customer service ratings.

Creating Customer Loyalty For Your Business

Creating Customer Loyalty for Your Business

Strategize and Plan For Loyalty!

These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base:

1. Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition.

2. Higher-end products where price is not the primary buying factor.

3. Products with a high service component.

4. Multiple products for the same customer.

1. Market To Your Own Customers

Giving a lot of thought to your m...

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customer loyalty, internet marketing, email marketing, website marketing, email loyalty programs,

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Creating Customer Loyalty for Your Business

Strategize and Plan For Loyalty!

These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base:

1. Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition.

2. Higher-end products where price is not the primary buying factor.

3. Products with a high service component.

4. Multiple products for the same customer.

1. Market To Your Own Customers

Giving a lot of thought to your marketing programs aimed at current customers is one aspect of building customer loyalty.

When you buy a new car, many dealers will within minutes try to sell you an extended warranty, an alarm system, and maybe rust proofing. It's often a very easy sale and costs the dealer almost nothing to make. Are there additional products or services you can sell your customers? Three years ago my house was painted, and it's now due for another coat. Why hasn't the painter called or at least sent a card? It would be a lot less expensive than getting new customers through his newspaper ad, and since I was happy with his work I won't get four competing bids this time. Keep all the information you can on your customers and don't hesitate to ask for the next sale.

2. Use Complaints To Build Business!

When customers aren't happy with your business they usually won't complain to you - instead, they'll probably complain to just about everyone else they know - and take their business to your competition next time. That's why an increasing number of businesses are making follow-up calls or mailing satisfaction questionnaires after the sale is made. They find that if they promptly follow up and resolve a customer's complaint, the customer might be even more likely to do business than the average customer who didn't have a complaint.

3. Reach Out To Your Customers!

Contact with current customers is a good way to build their loyalty.

The more the customer sees someone from your firm, the more likely you'll get the next order. Send Holiday cards, see them at trade shows, stop by to make sure everything's okay. Send a simple email newsletter to your customers-tell them about the great things that are happening at your firm and include some useful information for them. Send them copies of any media clippings about your firm. Invite them to free seminars or exclusive events. The more they know about you, the more they see you as someone out to help them, the more they know about your accomplishments-the more loyal a customer they will be.

Recommended Tool: Loyal Email

The Loyal Email solution enables businesses of any size to communicate directly with customers via permission-based email campaigns which helps companies save time and money while increasing sales and customer loyalty.

This solution is geared towards companies whom want to harness the effectiveness and cost efficiencies of email communications but do not want the hassles of managing their own program in-house. Loyal Email is a 100% managed service which doesn't require any additional investment in hardware, software or personnel. They take care of everything so you don’t have to. Get your own custom designed email marketing and customer loyalty program at http://www.loyalemail.com

Wishing you great business success,

Chris Swemba
Kinetica

Customer Service Skills Training and ROI

Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today’s contact center environment is agent training. Turnover continues to be high; new hire costs are on the rise—I’ve seen anywhere from $6500 to $10,000 quoted per agent! At the same time, losing customers because of bad call experiences negatively impacts your bottom line. What can you do? How do you justify the training expenditure?

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customer service

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Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today’s contact center environment is agent training. Turnover continues to be high; new hire costs are on the rise—I’ve seen anywhere from $6500 to $10,000 quoted per agent! At the same time, losing customers because of bad call experiences negatively impacts your bottom line. What can you do? How do you justify the training expenditure?
Research has been making a case for how spending in human performance areas such as training, translates into bottom line growth. Accenture's study on the impact of training on ROI has some interesting results. (Smith, David. Y. and Waddington, Ted. Running Training Like a Business: Determining the Return on Investment of Your Learning Programs, Outlook Point of View, March 2003.)
First, in the area of recruitment, training opportunities were among the top three criteria people considered when deciding where they want to work (the others are the opportunity for advancement and a good benefits package).
In the area of productivity, as a result of training, employees were:
17% more productive
20% higher performance levels relative to their peer group
Stayed with the company 14% longer
In the area of retention, employees who had access to the training were:
More than 2 times more likely to expect to be with the company in 2 years
More than 6 times more likely to think the company is a 'great place to work'
More likely to think they are fairly compensated
Dollar figures associated with their statistics for a fiscal year report the annual per person net benefit or $25,324. They multiplied this number by their 50,000 employees yielding a companywide benefit of training of $1.26 million. By dividing the benefit by the cost of one year of training ($358 million), researchers concluded that the ROI (at Accenture) is 353%.
Negative Customer Service Experiences?
How many of you know (and track) what percentage of your calls are bad experiences? Hopefully, you do know the number, and they’re in the low single digits.
In a recent study, in answer to (1) did the agent satisfy your needs in the call, and (2) based on any negative experience, would you stop using this company and go to the competition? the results were:

Ages Would Stop Using the Company in the Future
18 - 25 100%
26 - 35 97
36 - 45 53
46-55 50
56-65 33
Over 65 63
Source: 2003 Purdue University/BenchmarkPortal.com
As you can see, there is a strong correlation between participant's age and his/her tendency to stop using the company after a bad experience. Notice that younger participants were less tolerant, more likely to go to the competition, and those over 65 are more demanding that those in middle age.
Therefore, it's very important to take great care of your younger callers so as to maintain their loyalty. Callers above 36 have more of an 'emotional bank account' with the company they're dealing with-probably had some good experiences and are more willing to 'forgive' a bad one.
If you know your percentage of bad experiences, put a dollar amount on that call and then total it out for the year. I think you'll be very surprised at the amount of lost revenue. Now if you have a 1% improvement, as a result of a training initiative for example, the amount of recovered revenue (and customers) is very encouraging.
This is just another means to tie soft skills to ROI, and to include your front lines as part and parcel of the revenue-producing operation of your companies.
Customer Satisfaction Driver #1

We all know first call resolution (one and done) is the #1 driver for customer satisfaction with best practices reported at 86%. However, if your center is at 86%, this means that 14% of your customers are contacting you more than once to resolve their issues! This not only frustrates your CSRs and yourselves, but your customers as well. Repeat calls are costly not only to operations and the bottom line, but they negatively impact customer satisfaction, and ultimately, customer loyalty.

How do you define first call resolution? And how do you—if you do—calculate it? Research shows that there is no common measuring method. However, what gets measured gets managed, and what gets managed gets better.

In a recent study (Ascent Group) more than 90% of companies measuring first call resolution reported improvement in their performance. Another study (callcentres.com) reported a dramatic fall in call volume—identifying that a minimum of 20% of all calls were repeat calls from customers needing an answer or help they didn’t get. Further, that the absence of first call resolution was found to account for a minimum of 30% of a call center’s operational costs!

The bottom line: Invest in your people—give them the training, the tools, and the authority to get their job done right the first time. After all, CSRs are the interface who handle customer issues. One of the foremost methods to boost customer satisfaction—and improve first call resolution—is to consistently and ongoingly train, train, train your CSRs in world class customer service skills.

Getting the Most Out of Your Next Customer Support Call

Consumers will spend millions of dollars on electronics this year.

Now we all know the frustration that can quickly set in if the new piece of electronic equipment you purchased doesn't work as described out of the box. That situation can be even more frustrating if there are children involved.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Next Customer Support Call

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Consumers will spend millions of dollars on electronics this year.

Now we all know the frustration that can quickly set in if the new piece of electronic equipment you purchased doesn't work as described out of the box. That situation can be even more frustrating if there are children involved.

There generally are two types of issues that come into customer support centers. First is a standard "not working properly" problem where a piece of equipment doesn't work as it's supposed to. For example, you purchase a new digital video disk player and the movie won't play.

The other type of issue is missing parts or accessories when the manufacturer doesn't include all the necessary components in the package. For example, your new personal computer does not have the power cord.

These types of issues are inconvenient to the consumer but are often very easily resolved. Consumers can take several steps to prepare themselves before they call customer support:

* Research. We're all eager to get the new electronic gizmo up and running, and we sometimes forget to look over the manual. There are plenty of basic problems that consumers encounter that are often addressed in the user's manual or on companies' Web sites.

* Information. Make sure you have all the information the customer support representative is going to need. Having everything in front of you will speed up the process. This information is the real basics like make, model and serial number of the equipment.

* History. You should be prepared to detail what happened before you encountered the problem or explain previous issues the device may have had that were resolved.

* Timing. If you don't want to wait on hold, the best time to call customer support is in off-peak hours. Typically, call centers deal with their heaviest volumes in the morning and late afternoon. If you can call during late morning or early afternoon, you'll get quicker assistance.

Finally, remain calm. Take a deep breath before you pick up the phone. Remember, the customer support agents are there to help you, so having a friendly tone and attitude will make your experience a better one.

Bill Owens is vice president for service and support for IBM. - NU

Customer Loyalty – The Key to Business Success

Talk to many business people about how they approach customer service and the majority of them will say that they are aiming to have ‘satisfied’ customers. No! What we all should be seeking is to have loyal customers. But how can you turn a satisfied customer into a loyal one?

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Talk to many business people about how they approach customer service and the majority of them will say that they are aiming to have ‘satisfied’ customers. No! What we all should be seeking is to have loyal customers.

Research has shown that 65% of customers say they are loyal. You may be happy with this but you shouldn’t! Satisfied customers are in a state of nothing – they are neither issatisfied or happy; they are in between. They will tolerate you while you are of use to them but if a better deal comes along, they’re off.

On the other hand, loyal customers are your friends. They will be with you through thick and thin; they will be the first to try out you new product; they willing give you honest feedback; they will regularly refer business to you. This is what you want! But how can you turn a satisfied customer into a loyal one?

Let Them Decide How to Do Business With You

Today customers are a lot more sophisticated in how they want to do business. If your product or service lends itself to be offered via a number of different means, then give your customer the option.

Can you deliver face-to-face? What about telephone services? Could you make use of SMS texts for quick notes and reminders? Do you have a web site through which customers can contact you or even make orders on-line? If you provide a variety of delivery channels which are available to suit the customer’s needs then they are more likely to stay with you.

Build a Relationship

Loyalty can only be achieved if you have a true relationship with your customer. Aim to build rapport. Understand who are dealing with you and understand what they are looking for. Keep in regular contact with them; you don’t necessarily have to be selling something. Always use their names, especially their first name if you can.
All of this will help in building a long term relationship. Once you have this, they are less likely to walk away.

Generate Staff Loyalty

How can you cultivate a loyal customer if your staff are not loyal to the business? You must have staff who care for the job and will do anything to protect and move the business forward. Customers will be more loyal if they see familiar faces. A business with a high staff turnover will find it difficult to build a relationship with their customers.

Treat your staff well. Reward their successes and recognise their achievements. Hold regular training sessions so they feel they are learning and developing. An established training programme will also make sure that their product knowledge is up to date.

Seek Out Complaints

This sound strange but the average customer has to be encouraged to complain! Many will keep quiet about poor service but if they can find someone else to do their business with, they will. Set up a clear complaints procedure so customers can complain if they wish. Provide staff with the tools to effectively deal with customer problems. Follow up all complaints to ensure that they have been resolved.

Take an Interest

Show your customers that you are interested in their views. Run regular surveys to find out what they think of your service, to find out what you can do differently. You can either carry out a survey over the telephone, or go as far as doing a mailing to all your customers.

Taking the trouble to contact your customers will reinforce the message that you want their custom. But don’t forget – take action on what you find out!

Be a ‘Can Do’ Business

Customers like nothing better than a business which delivers on even the most difficult of requests. ‘Can Do’ businesses will always have loyal customers. Train your staff to never use words like, “Sorry but …”, “It’s not my fault”, “Its company policy”.

Be a business where solutions are always looked for and problems seen as challenges.

Look After The ‘Golden’ Customers

The old 80/20 is likely to apply to your business – 80% of your sales or profits are likely to come from just 20% of your customers. Work out who your top 20% are and love them to death! Why not concentrate on turning the remaining 80% into loyal customers? Well, the 20% have already shown that they trust and respect you. A little more effort with these customers will reap more business than concentrating on the ‘maybe’s’. By all means, run a programme to convert the ‘maybe’s’ but put more effort into the converted.

So, there you have it. Some ideas and tips on how to build and keep loyal customers. Take a critical look at your business and put a loyalty building programme in place, which will boost sales and profits.

Five Reasons to Use Customer Phone Surveys

Consumers are the life line of any successful business and you can learn a great deal of information from them. If you want to find out how good or bad your business is call the customers and ask them. They will give you straight answers and you can modify your approach if there are areas where you are failing to meet their needs.

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customer experience marketing, monitoring, customer survey, mystery shopping, survey, IVR, customer feedback, customer satisfaction, employee survey, customer research, CRM, phone survey, surveys, mystery shopper, customer retention, telephone survey, customer loyalty, secret shoppers, call center, Mindshare, mshare, automated feedback, marketing research, employee retention

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Consumers are the life line of any successful business and you can learn a great deal of information from them. If you want to find out how good or bad your business is call the customers and ask them. They will give you straight answers and you can modify your approach if there are areas where you are failing to meet their needs.

They will appreciate the fact that you are interested in what they have to say, not just taking their money and then tossing them aside. Without really doing much of anything you have just made the bond between you and the customer stronger. Loyal customers will come back to make future purchases as well as refer others to you.

The fact that conducting customer phone surveys leads to retaining those relationships means that you aren’t going to have to work as hard in the future with marketing to have a successful business. It is harder to continually find new customers out there in the market so focus a great deal of your attention on those you already have. You want them to be repeat customers for life once they make an initial purchase from you.

Consumer trends never stay the same for very long so business owners are always trying to figure out what to offer them next. Some are leaders in this area and they control the biggest portion of the consumer market. Others simply follow along in their footsteps but they don’t reap the same volume of sales.

By talking to your customers on the phone you will be able to successfully forecast emerging trends. They will know better than any one else what direction they are moving in. With this information you can revamp your marketing strategies and offer them something new before your competition does.

You will find investing in a customer phone survey results in fewer customers that aren’t satisfied with what you have to offer. This will save your business a substantial amount of money. First, you won’t have to pay so much for customer service support because there won’t be as many issues. Second, those customers that are satisfied are less likely to return products and ask for a refund.

The data that is collected from customer phone surveys can help you determine if your business should expand. This could be to offer more of what you are already doing or to implement new products or services. Having such data available reduces the risk of jumping into such ventures and hoping the will be successful.

You will find phone surveys can be a very effective tool for your business. It doesn’t matter what types of goods or services you offer because consumers are going to dictate the success. Don’t let problems that you could have taken care of result in your business not being successful. It doesn’t take too much time or money to conduct phone surveys with your customers but the information is priceless.

Customer Satisfaction

The Philippines call center industry is booming. Smart companies are catching on.
Writer for Global Sky Inc, a Philippines based call center offering US Quality at Offshore rates.
For more information visit http://www.global-sky.com, call 877-463-3887 or email: russel@global-sky.com

Keywords:

Call Centers in the Philippines, Philippines Outsourcing, Call Center Outsourcing, Customer Service Outsourcing, Outsourcing, Call Center,

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Call center outsourcing is one of the most high-rising industry in our world today. But what really happens in a call center outsourcing center? Primarily, call center outsourcing or contact centers is a service that conduct both inbound and outbound services. They are a function outside of the main company that focus on the services for customers. They can do inbound technical support or customer help or outbound telemarketing services. Some call centers handle several other services. Some do chat services, e-mails, operator services, directory assistance, and many more. So basically when we say “call center” it’s almost the same thing as customer assistance. It is all about the CUSTOMERS!

It is a must for call center companies to keep their customers satisfied. When we say customer satisfaction what comes into mind? Usually it is said that it is making sure that the customer is happy. That is so true! Customer satisfaction is Keeping the customer happy and making them enjoy your full services, when I say enjoy I mean that after serving the customer they will want nothing but to come back and avail of your services again. So, what about customer satisfaction when it comes to call centers? Customer satisfaction works hand in hand with quality in service.

To reach the optimum quality in service by a call center a lot of factors are needed to be considered and managed. The process as a whole should be perfectly planned before trying to implement in a call center. The structure of the whole company or project must be considered, meaning that the plan, the structure of personnel, and possible call flow must be thoroughly studied. Another is the technology that is to be used. Much has to be considered as to what softwares and hardwares are needed for the project to run smoothly. Softwares as to the databases for the campaigns is needed and the tools that are needed or will be needed. Things like several programs, specifically softwares that is made especially for the campaign, for some the dialers that is needed, even the operating system to be used must be thought of. For the hardware, internet connection is to be availed and see if it is able to give the quality that you need especially check if it ca carry out voice transfer and if it is clear. Another is the phones to be used in making calls. Voip or voice over internet protocol is the commonly used nowadays. Lastly the computers that is to be used. Its specifications must be able to carry out the needs of the softwares.

Lastly the trainings of the agents that is going to engage in the calls. They should be really trained with regards to the soft-skills and product. Soft-skills means the agents should be well-trained with regards to the proper use of the language that they are to use, the accent of the said language, call handling and lastly, what data is needed to be gathered at the end of the call. On product, they should be properly trained with regards in using the softwares for the project, information regarding the project and the products, if there are, of the project and some basic things in handling some of the common inquiries about the project.

This factors, if completed, will lead to a high rate of customer satisfaction. If all these things are met by the company then you are assured of, not only satisfied, but happy customers. Still customer satisfaction is not perfect, as the saying goes “you can’t please everybody”. So that basically means that there can never be 100% customer satisfaction. Maybe you can settle with 90% on that!

Get the Most Out of Your Current Customer

The customers you already have could be your biggest lead source, and you may not even realize it.

Keywords:

Sales, marketing, loan officer, mortgage, leads, telemarketing, skills, training, blog, selling, internet mortgage lead

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The customers you already have could be your biggest lead source, and you may not even realize it.

Think about it this way, every customer you have, most likely has brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, and friends, so why not tap into it.

Here are a few ideas to draw leads out of your current customers.

1. Whenever you come in contact with one of your customers, give them two of your business cards, and tell them directly that one is for them and the other is so they can refer someone to you.

Send them greeting cards on their birthday and on holidays with the same approach, this will keep you in their thoughts and they will be happy you were thinking of them.

2. Once you have closed the sale with a new customer, be sure to send them a thank you to let them know how grateful you are for their business.

However, don’t send it to their home, send it to their place of employment. By sending it to their place of employment, all of their co-workers will want to know who sent it and why. So now your customer will be forced to tell all of his co-workers all about you! And don’t forget the business cards.

3. Every three months designate some time out of your evening, lets say about an hour or so. Put together a list of customers names that have become new to you in the last three months. Give them a follow up call to see how everything is going, and if they have any questions you could possibly answer for them. While you have them on the phone, inform them of the second reason you are calling, and that would be to see if they had anybody in mind that they could refer to you.

If they say no, than thank them and tell them to have a good evening. Don’t say things like “are you sure?” Or “would you like to think about it?” Just thank them and hang up.

Believe me, this technique works, for every twenty customers you call, at least one will refer someone to you.

Your current customers are by far one of your greatest referral sources, so don’t think of them as statistics only, go after more of their business, and that of their friends and family.

Customer Relationships And Your Financial Health

Customer relationships are what will determine the health and prosperity of your computer consulting business. In order to get paid on a regular basis you need to understand the dynamics of customer relationships.

Keywords:

Customer Relationship, Customer-Relationship

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Customer relationships are what will determine the health and prosperity of your computer consulting business. It is critical to understand the different dynamics of customer relationships. By doing this you can identify places of risk in terms of non-payment.

Customer Relationships - Two Distinctions

There are two main customer relationship types:

Long-Term, Steady Clients

Your long term clients are your bread and butter clients. These people see you as an insurance policy: they have the ability to call you, the ability to pay you, and you're going to be there; pretty much right away to take care of things. The customer relationship you enjoy with these people is one of trust. They know that if they have a problem they can call you and you will fix it.

These clients pay on time. If they didn't they would undermine the customer relationship and this is too risky. Would you feel comfortable calling your accountant if you were 5 months late in paying him or her? No. Likewise these people will pay you on time, every time.

Stepping–Stone Clients

Stepping stone clients do not enjoy such a healthy customer relationship. These clients perceive you as a commodity. If you don't show up to fix something - Oh well. They'll just call the next company in the phone book. They're not interested in building solid customer relationships with you and therefore have no qualms whatsoever about stiffing you on an invoice.

The Bottom Line on Customer Relationships

If you want to get paid you have to understand the dynamics of customer relationships and use them to your advantage. The stepping-stone or cherry-picking clients think of you as replaceable. You want to build your business by building long-term customer relationships with steady clients on maintenance agreements. These are the sort of clients that will be almost offended by a past due notice and that’s a good thing for your billing and invoicing.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, PC Support Tips .com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Customer as Emperor

From Japan comes the tradition of oshibori. Oshibori is the Japanese word for the rolled up hot towel you receive after eating at an authentic Japanese restaurant or at the conclusion of an international flight. If you have never experienced a hot towel after a long flight, it is as close as you can get to a refreshing shower in the comfort of your seat with all your clothes on. What does it have to do with growing your business? It's remarkable.

Keywords:

customer satisfaction, word of mouth, viral marketing, business, business growth

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From Japan comes the tradition of oshibori. Oshibori is the Japanese word for the rolled up hot towel you receive after eating at an authentic Japanese restaurant or at the conclusion of an international flight. If you have never experienced a hot towel after a long flight, it is as close as you can get to a refreshing shower in the comfort of your seat with all your clothes on. What does it have to do with growing your business? It's remarkable.

As noted, you might expect a hot towel in a Japanese restaurant or on a flight but how about in the dentist chair just after the hygienist has stretched your mouth into unnatural shapes to chisel that last piece of plaque from your teeth? Nice and warm, with the light sent of lemon--that would be remarkable wouldn't it? How might that change what you tell your friends about your trip to the dentist? Simple thing. Only costs a few cents. But it could lead to a number of referrals. What would your customers tell their friends if you gave them a hot towel?

According to Jason Stark of White Towel Services, the majority of his customers are dentists. Dentists that understand that filling your cavity is a commodity--any one of a thousand dentists could it. But having a remarkable experience in their office-- that is something that nobody can compete with.

So what do your customers remember about your business? Do they experience something remarkable enough to tell their friends about? For some businesses it might be their concept. For example, Entrees Made Easy provides the ingredients and recipes for several meals to its customers making it easy and quick for them to create great tasting home cooked meals. The concept is new, innovative, and needed in today's hectic world. Those that try it can't wait to tell their friends.

Thankfully, an innovative new concept isn't the only way to be remarkable. The sad fact is that good service is so rare, any company that does provide it is remarkable. I read just yesterday in a column by John DiJulius about Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (27 restaurants in 7 states). What I read wasn't about their food or their concept (though with further research I learned both are amazing). What I read about was their customer service. They seem to realize that indeed the customer is the emperor and the emperor doesn't like to be told "no." Their promise: "The answer's yes..now what's the question?" Given their growth, I think their customers remember that kind of service and find it remarkable enough to tell their friends.

Still wondering what is remarkable about your business? Here is a suggestion: ask your customers. Ask them if they would recommend you to a friend and if so why? Then listen carefully.

How ever you figure it out, do it quickly. Being remarkable is not just a good idea-- it is absolutely required for any business to both survive and grow.

Customer Relationship Management For A Higher Level Of Customer Service

For businesses large and small, their profitability and success depends upon customer retention, customer relationship enhancements and customer acquisition. This is often known as Customer Relationship Management or CRM. CRM is the managing of all business and interactions with customers. The main purpose of Customer Relationship Management is to allow businesses to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and procedures for inter...

Keywords:

customer relationship management,crm,crm software,crm solution,small business crm,online crm

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For businesses large and small, their profitability and success depends upon customer retention, customer relationship enhancements and customer acquisition. This is often known as Customer Relationship Management or CRM. CRM is the managing of all business and interactions with customers. The main purpose of Customer Relationship Management is to allow businesses to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and procedures for interacting with those customers. A good CRM program helps the business acquire customers and service the customers. Good CRM also helps retain good customers, and identify which customers can be given a higher level of service.

CRM is a complex mix of business processes, enterprise strategies and information technologies, which are used to study customers' needs and behaviors to help businesses develop more substantial relationships with them in order to get greater results.

In the late 90's, customer relationship management mainly consisted of just an index file, an answering machine and a telephone. Today, an advanced CRM system has evolved into an Excel spreadsheet and more. CRM systems normally consist of email and/or snail mail, marketing campaigns, contact manager programs, sales tracking program, and multi-media contact center or voice mail system.

A successful CRM strategy doesn't just mean simply installing and integrating a software package; it also involves a wider approach including modifying business processes based on the needs of customer, training of employees, adopting relevant IT systems and software, and IT services that allows firms to track their CRM strategies.

Good CRM software can help run an entire business by allowing companies to maintain all customer records in one centralized location that is accessible to the whole organization. Front line offices have systems that are set up to collect data from the customers for processing at the data warehouse where data is stored, orders are filled and tracked, and sales data analyzed.

One of the most common causes for customer relationship management system failure is poor data quality, which can be easily avoided. CRM systems are as useful as the information it provides. The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" can be applied to CRM data quality. To ensure good CRM data quality, be sure to input the data accurately; check data entries twice to minimize the possibility of duplication; if there is an error in the provided information or if the information is not complete, then re-establish contact with the customer to recheck the data. Customers generally do not get annoyed at this; instead it makes them more appreciative of the extra customer service.

Get High Return with Free CRM: Customer Relationship Software

Costly CRM or Customer Relationship Management software has not delivered results. Organizations have paid high user fees with out getting the return on investment. This article shows why financial return is nebulous and delivers cost favorable alternatives to high priced CRM applications. The article introduces the open source community which offers Free CRM and Free Sales Software with no licensing fees, and that is available today.

Keywords:

ms crm, act, entellium, customer management, call centers, help desk, crm, customer relationship management, free crm, salesforce, sales force automation, marketing, sales, leads, mortgage leads, leads, lead tracking, lead generation, sales software, manufacturing, distribution, lead solutions, ACT, contact management, crm software, free crm, sugarcrm, free crm solutions, free crm software,

Article Body:

CRM, or Customer Relationship Management Software, return on investment has not materialized. Interviews with companies that failed to deploy CRM effectively gleaned this:

1. CRM was rushed in as the “Next Best Thing.”

2. Excessive license fees and implementation costs.

3. Endless implementation time lines.

4. Technology complex deployment.

5. Organizational upheaval.

6. Poor adoption rates.

7. No real collaboration or communication with channels.

8. Elusive payback.

9. No after installation reconsideration of goals.

10. Unnecessary customization, including replication of legacy systems.

11. CRM simply mirrors existing, inefficient business practices.

12. Organizations unable to conform to best practices.

13. Failure of management to ask “How do we want to run sales? “

14. Inexperienced trainers.

15. Too much focus on current IT rather than business problem.

16. Lack of executive sponsorship.

17. Systems are complex and hard to learn.

18. Companies are over optimistic when evaluating capabilities.

19. Training is in-effective.

Your personal favorite may not be on the list. But one thing these reasons tend to have in common is that they emphasize the “R” – return side of the equation. It’s astonishing that no one states the obvious: A major reason CRM ROI has been so bad is due to the “I” being high to begin with and higher as the system is implemented, administered and maintained. This number is just way too big! Similarly, there is little attention that typical implementation takes months and that the cost of implementation services is often five or more times the cost of the software. Any one of these factors would be enough to cause misgivings about investing in an expensive CRM tool.

Why Pay High CRM Fees

The suffering Companies are paying 65 USD to well over 100USD per user per month, and receive no value. High fees put high pressure on the organization to force progress which may take time. Professional open source businesses are deploying alternatives to high priced CRM. This low or no cost software model lets the organization breathe; to gain value, to improve the deployment methods, training and support, creating user value and user adoption.

Open source Community software is a strong alternative to high priced software. CRM offerings, with high functionality and none of the pricing pressure, can be had for Free of very low cost. Remarkably, there is a free lunch; the open versions offer in many cases better functionality, more flexibility and higher usability.

Smart companies, part of a vibrant open source community, offer value added services to ensure CRM success; extensive user training programs and strong user support structures. This training, for fee, is onsite, web based, video and hard copy documentation, this support structure is live chat, forums, phone, and wikis. Communities are built to share best practices and even private forums are built for single companies. In doing this, CRM companies are breaking the shackles of high software cost and quickly delivering best of breed, CRM functionality which can be had for FREE. No software expense. The open source community changes the math in the ROI equation. The return is high because the investment is low.

Customer Service Done Right

Do you provide a service to your customers? You do, if you do any type of work. Are you interested in setting yourself apart from the pack? If so, you can make more money as long as you are committed to providing service that goes above and beyond what is expected.

Keywords:

customer service, marketing, business development, business marketing, motivational speaking, work

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Are you a stickler about receiving top notch customer service? Do you routinely "come through" as a provider of exemplary services to your customers? Chances are you have been greatly disappointed at one time or another regarding the service you received from a salesperson, an internet hosting company, a hair colorist, or any one of thousands of different service providers. Frankly, customer service in many areas -- retail, for one -- isn't what it used to be. However, where there is poor customer service there is also a great opportunity. Read on and I will explain.

Let's say you are in a field that routinely provides so-so service to customers. It could be that customer expectations are low and no one expects top notch service. Maybe most customers are simply "price sensitive" and could care less about how fast or how well you deliver. However, you can bet that there are a percentage of customers out there who appreciate service that goes above and beyond the industry standard. These same customers typically will pay a little extra for service that really serves them. If you can tap into this customer base, you can create a niche, raise your prices, and make more money in the long run.

Depending on your industry, you could command a price premium of 10-25% over the average provider. That may not sound like a lot, but it could spell the difference between eating hamburger or eating steak. I don't know about you, but I would prefer eating steak!

Naturally, providing a high level of customer service means you will have to break a sweat. You may have to happily redo [its all in the attitude, baby!] or improve on an existing project in order to satisfy a good paying customer. This is what sets you apart from the pack.

If you are satisfied with the "status quo" then that's okay too. Just don't expect to have customers beat down your doors for work. At least the better customers will not!

Build a strong business with strong customer relationships

Spending the time to maintain strong relationships with customers will keep your core business healthy. Following up with them is essential to strengthen these bonds.

Keywords:

customer, relationship, email, follow-up, communicate, voice, software

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Most businesses spent time attracting customers to a product or service, trying to win their trust and then ending the whole process with a sale. That tactic seems obvious to most people. What often is neglected is the post-sale follow up with customers, particularly when it comes to online businesses. We should look at the time after a sale as an opportunity not only to improve our products but also to establish long-lasting relationships with our customers.

It takes much more effort to win a new customer than to maintain a relationship with an existing customer. But maintaining current customer relationships is just as critical and I’d even dare to say, more important than gaining new customers. What can we do to keep our established customers feel appreciated? You need to follow up with your customers.

Following up may be as simple as writing an email or giving a phone call to a customer a few weeks after a sale. At Screaming Bee, I make it a personal goal to contact every customer that buys our voice-changing software, MorphVOX, within 2-3 weeks after a sale.

Does this take time? It sure does. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Not only does this allow us to get good feedback from customers in order to improve our software, but also it establishes a more solid, long-lasting relationship that goes beyond the point-of-sale.

Most people were surprised that I would be willing spend the time to talk with them and were touched by the personal attention they received. And I was also surprised at how uncommon it was for online businesses to follow up on their customers. Some of the typical comments that I have received as the result of my efforts include:

”I really appreciate the personal touch, vs. the usual automated ‘we have received your email’ garbage, followed by... well, nothing usually...”

”Huh, never had customer support quite like this I appreciate it...”

People don’t like being ignored and definitely like being heard. There are many businesses that are ignoring their customers and, as a result, losing them.

Your current customers are the heart and core of your business. These customers provide return business and also provide the essential word-of-mouth promotion that no clever advertisement or marketing scheme will ever out-perform. Treat your customers like your own family. Go out of your way to communicate with them. If you neglect them, they will go elsewhere.

Customer Service in Business

This article gives an overview of the positive effects of having good customer service in the food industry. Return customers, word-of-mouth advertising, and being unique as there has been a decrease of good customer service will be the reward.

Keywords:

concession trailers, concession trucks, concession business, vending

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When you begin any business, one of the most important things to remember is that good customer service is a necessity. The food concession business is no different. If anything, it’s more important to be friendly and have a good relationship with your customers because it’s even more difficult to build up a loyal clientele as a mobile food vending business. There are three major reasons to make sure that your employees know how important customer service is. The first is the very simple fact that if customers are treated kindly, they will return. The second is the awesome fact that if they like the customer service, they will recommend your business to others. The final reason to be great in the customer service department is that since good customer service has almost become a thing of the past and your business will stand out for it.

Customer service is a very important aspect of any business and one of the effects of great customer service is that you will have repeat customers. Repeat customers are a commodity that should be valued and catered to. Doing this will make it very easy for the people to want to come back to your establishment. The opposite side is that while many customers are very loyal when a business pleases them, they are also very reluctant to come back if they have a bad experience. You will likely never see the customer again if they have such a bad experience. Even if you make a mistake with an order, if you are quick to cater to the customer, you will see them again, most likely.

Another effect of great customer service is that satisfied customers make for great advertisement. They will be loyal, but they will also tell their friends about your business. This is great because a truly happy customer will find ways to make sure their friends try you too. Once the friends have tried your food and service, the cycle continues. They will return and tell their friends as well. The down side of this is that if your customer service is poor, that will travel even more quickly than a good report. This, in turn, will effect how other potential customers will view your business. Once you have this bad reputation, it’s an uphill battle to get people to stop and try your food.

One final reason to have excellent customer service is because there is hardly any good customer service out there anymore and your business will stand out. If you can do anything to make your business stand out, do it. This is a way to stand out in a good way. For years now, good customer service has been sadly reducing in all kinds of industries. A chance to be a leading customer service business in any industry is a great one and you should take it.

There will always be that one customer that you can’t please. That one person, that no matter what you do, you can’t do the right thing by them. Move on from this customer. Take care of your loyal return customers and try to give them as memorable of an experience that you can. With good customer service and good food, there is no limit to what type of business you can build or the amount of money that you can make.