When a customer calls you on the phone to ask a question or service their account, you’ll pay more operationally than if that same customer can self-service on your website.

How do you bridge the gap for those customers that reach for the phone first?

1. Tell your customer they can take care of this quickly and easily on your website next time.
2. Have your customer service representatives setup an online account while the customer is on the phone.

If you stop at the first step, you won’t see as many customers head to your website than if you follow through and complete both steps.

I recently called my gas utility company, Atmos Energy, because my bill had been lost in the mail. Not only did their customer service rep tell me my balance (my reason for calling) but he set up an account for me on the website, gave me my login and password, and I was ready to go.

I was able to immediately login to the website and set up recurring payments with a credit card to reduce future hassle.

Remember, when customers call they have a specific need. Solve that problem and then guide them right into the online connection.

Speak to convenience, time saved, and some of the other benefits of using your website over calling on the phone. With that foundation in place, setup an online account and your customers will be over most of the hurdles of their initial visit to your website.

Just because your customers need your product or will be forced to buy it later doesn’t mean they will buy from you or buy today. You have to convince them.

Here in the United States, we’re getting rid of our analog television broadcasts in favor of a pure digital signal. Every time we’ve watched TV over the last few months, we’ve been reminded that this change is coming. If we wanted to keep seeing our favorite shows, we’d need to get a converter box for our television.

The government even offers coupons to help offset the cost of a new converter box.

In our home, we’ve got an older television hooked up to an antenna. No satellite or cable service for us. Call me old fashioned if you will, but not before you know I won’t give up my high speed internet connection.

So why didn’t I get that converter box when I first heard about this change?

Procrastination.

I requested a coupon and it never came. Now I hear that the government has run out of funds for these coupons. Result? I wait.

I hear about an extension of the deadline for the analog to digital switch. The result? I wait.

Finally, I’m at the store and I see a display with converter boxes. I figure I’ll have to make the switch eventually, so I buy the box.

When I set up the converter box, the first thing I say to my wife is, “Honey, we’re going to wish we had done this sooner!”

Why? The picture was crystal clear. No more fuzzy channels. No more static. No more moving the antenna around to get a picture. Wow!

If I had known these were the results, I would have switched a long time ago.

Unless your customers know how your product will make their life better, they will delay buying from you or skip the purchase all together.

I suspect that if the commercials announcing this change had highlighted the benefits of switching (like those I experienced) instead of simply saying “Get your box or you won’t be able to watch TV,” they would have been more successful.

For example:

Listen, America! If you get that converter box you can have a crystal clear picture like your neighbor who bought that $2000 TV and pays $200 a month for cable.

Really, it is true! And you only have to pay $50. Don’t wait for the deadline because these boxes will sell out.

Build the desire in the customer, and they will jump at the opportunity to buy your product even if it is government mandated or they’ll have to do it eventually. Make them buy today by instilling in them a desire for a better experience and so they yearn for what you are selling.

Customers love surprises – but only when they are good surprises. Your job is to create those positive surprises that will excite and delight customers.

Keys to a Great Customer Surprise

For customer surprises to be successful, use these “giddy-with-excitement” surprise tips.

• Free – it isn’t a surprise if you have to pay extra for it
• Unexpected – surprises come out the blue without warning and without high expectations
• Exclusive – Is your surprise a special gift for the customer that non-customers don’t get?
• Relevant – your surprise should be a good match, companion, or accessory to the main purchase.

Let’s look at an example.

LEGO Surprise

Earlier this year I ordered some LEGO Star Wars sets from lego.com. When they arrived, I opened the first set and discovered they had included a special anniversary Darth Vader mini-figurine. I was giddy with excitement.

Free: Not only was this surprise free, but it came in the cheapest LEGO set I bought. Bonus.

Unexpected: There was no indication on the packaging that 1 out of 10 boxes has a surprise. This made the discovery all the more sweet. Promoting the odds of winning a “gift” can only lead to heartache for the majority that don’t win.

Exclusive: After doing some research, I discovered that LEGO is only putting these Darth Vaders in random sets this year. Lucky me!

Relevant: What could be more relevant to my Star Wars LEGO set than the iconic Darth Vader?

What about branded surprises?

You may be tempted to give away company swag: key chains, magnets, t-shirts, etc.. Don’t do it unless it matches the criteria to a good customer surprise.

Think about it: do you like to get these company labeled products? What do you do with them? Throw them away? Exactly.

Looking at the example above, you can see it had a subtle promotion built-in. LEGO had included a figurine that will remind you how much you love LEGO and want to buy more.

Surprise Them Today

What can you do to pleasantly surprise your customers today? Remember, since they aren’t expecting it, you can start small if needed. Try surprising customers in a good way (for once) and you’ll be amazed at how they return to do business with you again. If your surprise is good enough, they may even tell some friends.

Have you ever been to a store and not found what you were looking for?

This happens all the time and it even happens to your customers.

On my last visit to JCPenney the cashier asked me, “Did you find everything you needed today?”

You’ve probably heard this question a few times yourself as you checkout at various retailers.

I answered yes and asked her, “Does any one ever say no to that question?”

She quickly responded, “Yes. Senior Citizens. They’re never happy.”

Yikes. Bad mouthing other customers isn’t a good idea but aside from that, this example highlights a problem your business may be having: different customers are having different levels of success with your business.

Have a plan in place on gathering customer feedback at the point of sale. Answers to the “Did you find everything” question can be extremely valuable in identifying problems customers are having.

Know How to Find Your Stuff

If you ask customers “May I help you?”, they expect that you can help them. You better know where your products are and how to help the customer find them.

At Lowe’s, whenever I ask an employee where I can find a certain product, they stop what they are doing and walk with me across the store to show me where it is. My wife reports the same type of customer care at Hobby Lobby. Every time. Wow!

This is a great example of not just asking if you can be of help but actually being helpful to the customer.

You Can’t Find What You Don’t Sell

Customers will occasionally ask you for a product you don’t sell. These situations give you two great opportunities. First, you can get information on why the customer thought you had that product. Perhaps this will indicate some consumer demand that you can meet.

Second, you can provide great customer service, even if they aren’t going to be your customer. Directing a potential customer to another store that has the product (when you don’t) builds goodwill and leaves a great impression on the person.