On my way home from work this week I found myself behind a Southeastern Freight Lines truck. As you can see from their website, the name accurately reflects their business across the southeastern parts of the United States.

Do all companies with regionally specific names do business in their representative geographic area? Let’s take a look.

Compass Points

Should you use the points of the compass in naming your company? Take a look at Southwest or Northwest Airlines. These airlines do have routes that cover their namesakes. However, they have definitely outgrown their original geography.

Compass points are relative. South of what? West of what? It really depends on where you are standing.

City Names

Here in town there is a store called “Austin Affordable Furniture.” They have one location, aptly found in Austin.

What happens if they start to expand to neighboring cities like Round Rock or Cedar Park? The city name may still hold up because you’re close enough to Austin. However, what happens if you grow and spread across the state of Texas? Or if you go national?

Some regional names may shoehorn you into a market that you outgrow down the road.

These types of names may give you growing pains later:

• city names (e.g. Austin Affordable Furniture)
• county names (e.g. Bexar County Towing)
• state name (e.g. California Pizza Kitchen, Texas Instruments)
• national names (e.g. American Airlines)
• regional names (e.g. Tri-County Plumbers)

Consider your growth potential and your market before picking a regionally specific name. Do you only provide services in that area? What about tomorrow, is that still true? Once you’ve established yourself and your brand, it will be extremely difficult (and expensive) to change names.

Go Generic

You can avoid the locale-specific problems by using generic geographic names like:

• national
• global
• worldwide
• countrywide

These have their own issues since you’ll still have to scope your company to some geographic restriction.

Combination Names

Here in Austin I see lots of companies named “AusTex”, “CenTex” or the like. These obvious contractions of, for example, Austin and Texas, give local flavor to a company name.

Will this type of name scale nationally or globally? Maybe it would lose its regional specific meaning and take on another as the company grew.

Local Name = Local Appeal

One advantage of a local name is that it appeals directly to local customers. Many people like locally owned businesses and will frequent them over larger franchises.

How Would You Name Your Company?

Naming your company is a big decision that will affect your business for years to come. In addition to regional names, there are several other points to consider. Make sure you look at all your options and the ramifications of each.

What do you think? Do you know of companies that have overcome their regional namesake to achieve greater things? Would you name your company something regionally specific?

After my recent post about my experience at Which Wich, I was surprised to get an email from their founder and President, Jeff Sinelli, which included the following:

As you will see in our logo/brand we strive for
“Superior Sandwiches” at Which Wich. It looks like we may have come up short on your recent visit.

Find the Word of Mouth

How did Sinelli find my humble little blog entry? If you don’t know, then you just may be oblivious to what your customers are saying about your company and brand.

I was able to find my post via blog search engine Technorati and a simple search for “Which Wich”.

Here are some sites you can use to find customer ramblings and news about your company:

• Technorati
• Google Blog Search
• Topix.net

Most of these services let you subscribe to results via RSS. With that you can get updates via your favorite feed reader or email automatically! Try some of these searches out and you’ll be that much more aware of your customers’ thoughts and experiences.

Contact Customers

Sinelli asked me a series of questions that would narrow down the location and time of my lunch visit. I can only assume he then would follow-up with that franchise’s owner or manager to discuss the problem.

Once you find your customers on the web, reach out and touch them. Although I never heard back about my particular incident at Which Wich, I was impressed that its founder took the time to contact me.

When you go dig up some references to your business, you may find that you:

• need to answer questions
• dispel rumors
• correct misinformation
• fix a problem with your product or service

When you contact those whose feedback you find, please be considerate. If their feedback was negative, the last thing they will want to hear is excuses or an arrogant response. Follow Sinelli’s example by asking for more details so you can fully understand the situation.

Fix the Problems

Once you’ve found out what people are saying: take some action. Confirm the problem exists and figure out a way to fix it.

Repeat

After you fix one round of customer issues, more will inevitably arise. Be sure to continually monitor what others are saying about your business. Look for patterns or recurring problems. These tend to group together and validate problem issues.

Search out customer comments and discussion and you’ll be surprised what you may learn about your business.

Do you ship merchandise to customers? If so, you should determine if your customer received what was ordered in a timely fashion.

Follow-up Email

A week after I received my last TigerDirect purchase, I got an email stating: “it’s been 7 days and you should have received everything.” If I hadn’t received everything, I should call them, email, or contact them via other methods outlined.

I had received my package and was happy with my product. However, this little follow-up was a reassurance that TigerDirect wanted to be sure I got my order. Their dedication to the complete fulfillment of my order definitely boosted my likelihood of future purchases.

Random Surveys

Aside from specific order follow-up like TigerDirect, you can get a feel for your shipping efficiency by polling your customers.

Online DVD renter Netflix does an excellent job of setting delivery expectations. However, they don’t stop there. For every handful of DVDs we rent, we get an email with a follow-up survey.

I’m asked what day I received my DVD and am given a few dates from which to choose. The survey is quick and painless. Literally seconds of my time yields Netflix valuable information on their shipping pipeline.

Silence Doesn’t Mean Success

Just because you haven’t heard from a customer doesn’t mean there wasn’t a problem. Be proactive in communications with customers so they know you really do care about them and their order. The sooner you can find out about problems, the more timely your resolution can be.

When is the last time you surveyed customers and asked when they got their order? How do you know they even got their package?

Keeping a watch on your shipping channels and following up with customer deliveries will help cultivate customer relationships and lead to repeat business.

BusinessWeek has great article in this week’s issue about customer satisfaction. They highlight some companies that are losing customers through poor customer service. In contrast, other companies have succeeded in creating great customer experiences. Where do you think your company would fit?

In highlighting customer service failures at Dell, Home Depot, and Northwest Airlines, the BW article states that:

each has fallen victim to a seductive fiction: that customer service and operational efficiency are mutually exclusive … [They] are all cases in which executives have lost track of the delicate balance between efficiency and service.

Can you have both an efficient company and great customer service? BusinessWeek says:

Smart companies — Southwest Airlines Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp., to name two standouts — have it both ways. Well-trained workers equal fewer complaints. That means lower costs, a workforce free to make more sales, and happier customers willing to spend more money and tell their friends about it later.

Everyone Contributes

Customer service is not a desk at the back of your store. It isn’t a department isolated from the company. You and every employee of the company are customer service representatives. All your interactions with clients and prospective customers represent the company as a whole.

Unfortunately, many companies entrust their customers to poorly trained staff. This leads to bad consumer experiences that then undermine whatever corporate mantra your CEO is currently touting.

Give your workers the training and tools they need so that they are empowered to solve problems and effectively interact with customers.

Strike the Balance

You can have a great balance between efficiency and service. Don’t let the bean counters run away with the company for short-lived financial benefits. Long-term business success requires happy customers.

How many times do you ask questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no?” I’d guess fairly frequently.

On a recent flight on United Airlines, I observed the flight attendant talking with passengers in the exit rows. She asked one gentleman if he knew how to open the exit door. He answered in the affirmative. Now, where I had seen other flight attendants accept that and move on, this particular attendant added a follow-up question: “How would you open the door?”

The passenger stumbled for words and muttered something that obviously wasn’t correct. In response, the flight attendant kindly corrected him, explained how to open the door, and moved on to the next passenger.

The concept of opening the door was solidified in the mind of the passenger, and the flight attendant knew the door could be opened. This accord and peace of mind were made possible by simply asking a follow-up question.

Ask

During your interactions with customers, you’ll often need to know if they understand a concept, agreement, or product. Don’t assume they know what they need. Ask them and find out!

Explain

On many airline flights, I’ve seen countless flight attendants simply ask: “Are you willing to perform the duties I’ve described?” This simple “yes” or “no” answer is insufficient to guarantee the passenger really understands her role and can perform it effectively.

Ask your customers to restate or explain back to you the concepts you’ve discussed. This way you can check for alignment between what you want them to understand and what they profess to understand.

Understanding Leads to Success

When both you and your customers are on the same page, you have a higher probability of success. Asking a follow-up question and waiting for a customer to explain matters to you is a small investment to ensure that confusion is eliminated.

On a plane after an emergency landing, disaster could result if the person on the exit row doesn’t know how to open the door. Likewise, in your business, when customers don’t understand products, policies, processes, or even their contract, you may have a disaster on your hands: confusion, rework, and possible ill feelings.

Help prevent future problems by seeking clarification of understanding with your customers today.

You are familiar with the ubiquitous registration forms that litter the Web. Most web applications have sign-up pages where you divulge some type of personal information before agreeing to some Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policies.

The user experience on a typical online registration form requires some special handling. Traditionally, hyperlinks open in the same browser window in which you are browsing. This works great, except where the user has just filled out a form.

Problem

Most Terms of Service and Privacy Policy links are found near the “Submit” button. Users encounter this after they have dutifully filled out numerous form fields.

If these links open in the same window, the user must use the browser’s back button to return to the form. Unfortunately, this doesn’t guarantee that the form will keep all the original inputs.

Problem Example

I just ran across this problem on Technorati’s sign up page. Their ToS link took me to a new page. When I hit back to return to the form, my inputs were gone!

Solution

On registration pages, open the ToS and Privacy links in a popup or a new window. This will ensure the user’s inputs are preserved and that they don’t have to re-enter data.

Solution Example

37signal’s Backpack application has a sign up form that opens the links in a new window. Perfect!

On a recent trip, my family and I flew Delta airlines. After everyone had boarded the plane, we sat and waited for almost an hour before the plane moved.

What was the problem?

I don’t know. We were never informed of the cause of the delay.

While we waited, the flight attendant passed out water bottles. This was a nice gesture, but they didn’t come with an explanation of the delay.

Explain

When problems arise and customers are inconvenienced, you need to explain the situation. Be sure to include details:

• what is happening?
• when will it be fixed?
• who is working on the problem?
• what do you predict the outcome will be?

Options

Once the situation is explained, you can outline options the customers have. In our airplane example, it would have been nice to announce that passengers could stand up and stretch, use the lavatory, or at least loosen their seat belt.

If your customers are encountering problems, you need to give them options that:

• ease the pain
• make them comfortable with waiting for a resolution
• keep them from getting angry

Compensate (Bribe)

Only after explanations and options have been given is it appropriate to bribe customers. Bribes can go hand-in-hand with the other steps but should never stand alone.

Reward customers for their patience with some kind of perk. My airline example used water bottles. You can give customers discounts, free products, or anything else they wouldn’t normally get. These entitlements don’t have to be huge to make a difference. Your simple acknowledgment of customer’s inconvenience by giving some type of peace offering will build goodwill.