The power of customers as a marketing weapon cannot be underestimated. Experian reported that word-of-mouth is the No. 1 influence for purchase decisions of more than half of all Americans. But asking customers to spread that word-of-mouth about your product or service can be a delicate … [Read more...]
Dealing with Rude Customers without Looking Like a Jerk
Every manager has to deal with rude customers from time to time. Dealing with obnoxious customers can be an unpleasant situation, but it can actually have a silver lining. A rude customer can bring problems to your attention that other customers keep to themselves. However, you will have to be … [Read more...]
Creating ‘Top-of-Mind Awareness’ with Your Customers
Every business wants “top-of-mind awareness” with its customers. That is, they want to be the business/brand/company that is thought of when customers need something. There are some basic ways to nudge customers into remembering you. For instance, providing excellent customer service is key to … [Read more...]
Customers Are Always Right
It has been said a million times, but as with most clichés, it bears repeating: the customer is always right. Now, of course, this doesn't mean the company doesn't have its rules or that customer service professionals should forget their training and start bending those rules the minute they're … [Read more...]
The Importance of Creating Goodwill with Customers
Creating goodwill among people is important in almost every area of your life. Spreading goodwill makes people feel good about you, and it encourages them to spread goodwill to others. In business, creating goodwill can help you to build relationships that ensure the long-term success of your … [Read more...]
Do You Handle Your Customers With a Sense of Urgency?
A sense of urgency isn't intended to be a feeling of stress. Rather, it is a sense that things need to be moved forward so that you don't fall behind. When you handle your customers with a sense of urgency, this gives them the impression that serving them is important to you. It also communicates to … [Read more...]
The Lost Art of Customer Service
Customer service used to be a fine art. You could go into any shop and get friendly, reliable service. However, with the cutbacks in labor budgets and the introduction of automated money machines and answering systems, businesses have lost many opportunities to interact with their customers … [Read more...]
Pointers for Reacting to Negative Customer Feedback
Many businesses fail to realize the value of negative customer feedback. While this type of feedback is not always desired, it is definitely useful information that can be used in a multitude of ways. It is the companies that take advantage of this and other opportunities for growth that soar past … [Read more...]
The Importance of Web Self-Service
It is not practical for businesses to scale their number of employees to service a growing number of customers. You must enable customers to solve their own problems at the time and place that is most convenient to them. See the graphic below for interesting data out of the UK about the … [Read more...]
What Happens to a Customer Complaint?
Think back to the last time you got in touch with a business to register a complaint. From your perspective, did the affair seem to be handled smoothly, or did it seem like pure chaos on the other end of the phone? Believe it or not, if you were dealing with a company large enough to have its own … [Read more...]
Recent Comments