Here’s the test:

Which is the letter O as in Oscar and which is the number zero?

• o
• O
• 0

In case you couldn’t solve that little puzzle, here are the answers:

• o – little letter
• O – capital letter
• 0 – number

Now imagine a few zeros and letters sprinkled in a large 25 character sequence of random letters and numbers.

This is exactly what I encountered this weekend as I tried to reinstall my Quicken financial software. I had to retype the software activation code and couldn’t distinguish the letter O from the number zero to save my life. Fortunately, after much trial and error, I guessed the right combination of letters and zeros.

On screen or typed, zero and the letter O are nearly impossible to distinguish side by side.

Play it safe and spare your customer some agony and eye strain. Don’t include both zeros and O’s when customers have to identify them on-screen or in printed type. Pay particular attention to activation keys and serial numbers since these random alphanumeric sequences are already very confusing.

It’s 4:50 on Friday afternoon. A customer calls your business to get an estimate. Does anyone answer the phone? If not, you’ve failed the “Friday Afternoon Test.”

We need a new fence for our backyard and I made some calls to get estimates. I called five companies this last Friday afternoon. The variety of responses offers us some insights.

Real Person, Real Answers

Austex answered their phone. The person with whom I spoke was able to answer my questions and set up an appointment to come give me a written estimate. Very efficient and professional.

Have knowledgeable employees working when customers call your business.

Infinite Hold

Viking Fence answered the phone, put me on hold, and never came back. After several minutes on hold without any indication of life, I hung up. Sorry Viking, no business for you!

Always let your callers know how long they may be on hold. Your hold recording should indicate some type of information that will let the customer know they are still connected: music, company news, estimated time remaining, etc.

Voice Mail

Pro Fence greeted me with an automated voice mail system. I left my message with the details of my project and hoped for the best. They called me back Monday before lunch.

Customers probably won’t expect a call back on the weekend unless you’ve set the expectation that you work weekends. Nevertheless, be sure to catch up with customers as soon as possible when you return to work Monday.

Real Person, No Answers

ABC Fence had someone answer the phone but she couldn’t give me any information. Could she answer any of my questions? No.

Educate your employees to answer basic questions about your product.

No Longer In Service

One company I had spoken with six months ago now had both numbers disconnected. A fly-by-night operation? Maybe.

Where will you be in six months? Will your customers still be able to find you?

Success Steps

When it’s Friday afternoon, or any other time your business is understaffed, you need to have a plan in place so you can continue to serve your customers effectively. Don’t be an absentee business.

Once again the great folks at 9rules are inviting you to join our network. It has been a little over a year since I joined 9rules and it has been great.

If you’ve got a blog or website that has great content, then join us. October 25th is your chance to submit your site for consideration to 9rules.

You can read some details on the 9rules blog:
http://9rules.com/blog/2006/09/9rules-round-5-october-25th/
http://9rules.com/blog/2006/10/round-5-midnight/
http://9rules.com/blog/2006/10/9rules-round-5-contest/

You’ll be able to submit your site only on October 25th at 9rules.com/submit. Good luck!

Update October 26, 2006: The submission round is over and pulled in 1190 sites. I look forward to seeing the new additions to the network when they are announced.

Kate Newlin’s book Shopportunity!: How to Be a Retail Revolutionary is a slap in the face of big box and impersonal retail stores. The cover boldly proclaims the premise of the book: “Why discounts have destroyed the thrill of shopping.”

If you long for the days of the small grocer or local hardware store, this book’s tales will resonate with you. The dilemma of the current retail market is that people have given up so much in service and product quality just to save a few dollars.

Shopportunity outlines twenty-one steps that you, as the shopper, can do to better the retail situation. While they are directed at the buyer, the seller (your business) should take note and treat your customers the way they deserve. Some of my favorite points included:

• Let Brands Transform You – Brands display an image or status, embrace it and show the world what you want to be.
• Kick Your Addiction to Price – “No more discussions of price… Do you really want that jar of pickles enough to shop at a place that won’t give health care or a living wage to its workers?”
• Don’t compromise on the everyday – “Buy the best in class of every single thing you buy. This doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive: It means the best… Buy better and you’ll buy less is my guess, and you’ll enjoy each purchase more.”
• Shop where the staff knows more than you – “if they can’t or won’t help you because they simply don’t know anything about what they’re selling, move on.”
• Follow the Passion – “Shop where the retailer’s passion meets your own.”
• Seek the Ethic – “Go behind the scrim and figure out what these firms stand for and shop the ones with which you agree.”
• Calculate Value Beyond Price – “Who is going to be there for you when you need them — and what is that worth?”
• Invest in Relationships, Not Cheap Transactions – “Probe the salesperson about their follow-up to the sale — and if you don’t like what you hear, move on.”
• Reward the Personal – “When you find a salesperson who ‘gets you,’ … stick with that person. Go back to them.”
• Make the Seller Pay for Dissing You – “Make sure you follow up every time that you receive unsatisfactory service.”

If all consumers followed Newlin’s guidelines, big box retailing as we know it would fail. Unfortunately, this process would require that the majority of people actually change their habits in mass which doesn’t seem realistic. Nevertheless, if customers did follow these principles when shopping, their money will speak for itself.

If you as a business or retailer can tailor your company’s service to match these characteristics of a consciencious shopper, you’ll gain even more business and profits. Even if customers aren’t looking for these specifics, they’ll notice the positive difference in doing business with you. That difference will help close the sale and drive repeat business.

Joe’s Recommendation

Check it out at the library – Since I’m not a big shopper I did find myself skimming through some of this book for the little golden nuggets of wisdom. Nevertheless, the points Newlin makes are powerful and deserve your attention when dealing with customers.

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On a recent flight I heard the flight attendant state that in the event of an emergency landing: “Don’t use the aft exit.”

Does everyone know that aft means the back of the plane? Why not just say “back of the plane?”

This example is indicative of similar scenarios your customers face every day. Your marketing copy or sales person will say something that is completely over the head of the customer.

Later, when the customer needs that information, it won’t be available because it wasn’t ever mentally processed and stored in her memory.

This void of understanding can lead to critical problems, particularly when the information has lifesaving ramifications.

Not everything you communicate will have life or death consequences. However, failure to communicate will lead to customer frustration, product returns, and loss of sales.

When complete understanding is essential, don’t use industry specific jargon.

To guarantee you’re speaking the words that your customer will understand, you’ll need to speak your customer’s language.

This will be the first in a series of many: Call Center Chronicles.

What happens when you call those toll-free numbers on the products you buy? What kind of reaction do you get from customer service?

I’ve used the numbers before when I had trouble. To both Huggies and DiGiorno‘s credit, they took good care of me.

But what would happen if I called up with some good feedback for the company? How would I be treated?

This week I called the Customer Service number on a box of Nabisco Barnum’s Animal Crackers.

The Call

My two minutes on hold made me question if I had the right number. There wasn’t any company-specific identification during my two minutes on hold.

Lesson #1: Your automated phone answering system must identify who you are.

Who Answered?

A very nice native English speaker named Dale ended my wait and asked how he could help me.

Lesson #2: Speak your customer’s language.

My Comment

I told Dale that I was calling to thank them for making a dairy-free animal cookie. Barnum’s Animal Crackers are the only ones we’ve been able to find that don’t have milk as an ingredient.

Dale listened patiently to my initial statement but needed to return to his script and asked: “Can I have your name so I can properly address you?”

Lesson #3: Address customers by name. If you don’t know it, ask!

Confirmation

Dale then asked to have the number that was imprinted on the box. After giving him the number, he confirmed it was Barnum’s Animal Crackers.

Lesson #4: Make sure both you and your customer are talking about the same product.

He then restated my comment about the dairy-free cookies and asked if that was right.

Lesson #5: Always confirm you understand what the customer has said by restating the concern or comments in your own words.

Outside the Script

I told Dale he was correct and that my son has dairy allergies. He empathized with me that dairy allergies can have big impact.

Lesson #6: Show interest in the customer’s issues, life, family, etc. Adding the personal touch makes you more human and approachable to the customer.

Wrap-up

Dale told me he was glad to hear praise and would pass along my comments to the appropriate department. He then asked for my mailing address to associate with my feedback.

Me: “Why? Will you be mailing me anything?”
Dale: “If you like I can sign you up for our mailing list for recipes and product announcements.”
Me: “Not today.”
Dale: “Phone number or email address?
Me: “Not today.”

Lesson #7: Maintain a fair exchange of information. Nabisco didn’t really need my mailing address or contact information for any benefit of my own. When you ask for personal information from customers, there better be obvious benefit to them.

Dale thanked me for calling and we ended our conversation.

Lesson #8: Always thank customers for giving you feedback (good or bad). It will encourage more feedback and shows you’re actually listening.

While I was hoping for some coupons or some type of freebie, Nabisco did handle my call well and with respect. The lessons learned here apply not only to call centers but to any interaction with customers you may have.

In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore references Theodore Levitt’s concept of a “whole product.”

Moore summarizes this concept:

The concept is very straightforward: There is a gap between the marketing promise made to the customer — the compelling value proposition — and the ability of the shipped product to fulfill that promise. For the gap to be overcome, the product must be augmented by a variety of services and ancillary products to become the whole product.

What is your whole product?

Aside from just your core product, your customer may be expecting a number of different items to be “included” in the sale. These could be:

• warranties
• technical support
• return policy
• installation
• user manual or instructions
• how-to guides
• starter kits
• necessary accessories

Customer Expectations

Your customers have high expectations when they purchase your product. They’ve believed your marketing and now visualize themselves in the dream world you’ve promised. When they get your product home, you better hope it lives up to the hype.

Your customer’s expectations are built from various different sources, including:

• past experience with your business
• advertising
• consumer reviews
• product packaging
• word of mouth from friends and family
• price
• product’s copy writing
• rebates

All of these inputs get mixed together in the consumer’s brain and form their idea of the “whole product.” Will your product or service match that expectation? Understanding your customer will greatly improve your chances of delivering on their expectations.

How do you go above and beyond the simple product or service in completing the customer’s “whole product?”

Have you ever wished you could leave the drudgery of your day job and really make a difference in this big crazy world of ours?

Maybe you’d love to help those less fortunate than yourself but can’t seem to find the time to make it happen. If you answered ‘yes’ you’ll empathize with John Wood’s story in his book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children.

The Story

John recounts his transition from a super busy Microsoft executive in the late 1990′s to the founder of Room to Read, a non-profit organization that helps educate children around the world. Realizing that his career was consuming his entire life, John took a vacation to the mountains of Nepal to get away from it all. While hiking in the peaks of the Himalayas, the author had an encounter with a local educator. He visited a school that had only a handful of books in its non-existent library.

That eye-opening visit prompted John to rally friends and family to gather books to donate to this school. This first successful book collection lead to others and the eventual formation of Room to Read. John’s non-profit then expanded to several other countries, including Vietnam, India, and Cambodia. He focused on building schools, computer labs, libraries, and funding scholarships for children.

The author reviews the inspiration for his non-profit’s formation and the amazing sequence of events that marked its initial growth and success.

Lessons from Microsoft

Wood takes a chapter to outline the guiding principles he learned during his time at Microsoft that he wanted to emulate in his ventures. He jumps into the details of how he came to understand these principles and why they really mattered. His list included:

• Maintain an intense focus on results.
• Treat others with respect and tact: “You cannot attack a person, but you can attack an idea.”
• Be data driven. Everything can be measured and should be metered against past performance or relative benchmarks.
• How much you know about the business will show how much you really care.
• Be loyal to your people.

The Business

Throughout this book, the author shares his organization’s successes and failures that provide very valuable business insights. The overarching message I got was that you have to be passionate about your work. It may be thought that heading a non-profit organization would be an easy job after the rigors of a high pressure Microsoft position. However, John Wood still worked insane hours and traveled all over the world to make his Room to Read organization a well-respected and successful non-profit.

The principles and concepts taught through his narrative can be applied to your business.

Inspirational Read

You need to be passionate about your work. If you’re not, maybe it is time for a change. You’d be amazed just how much you can do when your heart is into something. This book is a stimulating read that will inspire you to take action. You’ll probably visit Room to Read’s website. You may even make a donation to them or your favorite charity. You could even give of your time in doing some service locally.

No matter what service you are inspired to perform, the lessons learned and the principles discussed in this book will make you want to be a better person both in society and business.

Joe’s Recommendation

Buy a Copy – This book is inspirational and definitely worth the read. I don’t think it makes a good reference book to put on the shelf but you’ll get some value out of just one reading.

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