What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for others
The purpose of your business, is firstly to get and then to make sure that you keep your customers. Something that’s difficult to do without some kind of plan. It doesn’t have to be a marketing plan, but at least something that provides your employees with a direction in terms of satisfying customer demands. Here are some things to consider when putting together a plan for encouraging people to do business with you. [Read more...]
In our business we strive to make our customer experience the best that it can be in our industry. Even though we have systems in place to ensure that customers leave us happier than when they arrived, sometimes , just sometimes – something happens in our interaction with the customer to make them really really angry.
Not just confused, or disappointed – but actually angry!
This got me thinking about the lessons I learned in psych grad school, and how I could apply the techniques I learnt from dealing with emotional/upset/angry clients/patients to better dealing with angry customers. [Read more...]
Most small business owners (and some large ones too) sadly operate under the false notion that their customers will usually say something to them when they are unhappy – unfortunately this is a incorrect assumption.
The thing is: Most customers won’t say anything if they are unhappy, they just stop buying.
The time to start asking your customers what you can do to improve your customer service, was yesterday, last week and last year. The time to start asking your customers what you can do to improve your customer service is definitely not the day your customer becomes angry, nor is it the day that you realize that you haven’t seen the customer in a while, because he has gone somewhere else.
The time to ask your customers what you can do to improve your customer service is when they are currently with you. [Read more...]
In your career, your colleagues can impede you as you strive to do good work and get promoted, or they can help you succeed ! Rather than looking at these colleagues as enemies who you have to confront at every turn or as colleagues who you are fiercely loyal to, you can look at them as whole people with whom you have likes and differences. Your goal then is to understand both and use both to one another’s mutual advantage. Here are 6 strategies to help you handle how co-workers approach their work differently [Read more...]
As a leader, as a manager , you are always responsible. This principle is incredibly important for good management. In a previous job, i worked with someone who was always blaming somebody else for his business unit problems. If a store did not look very good, he would blame his store manager. Then he would complain about his area manager for not being tough enough on the manager. Then he would blame HR for not providing good enough managers. [Read more...]
Nordstrom is recognised around the world for their customer service and for generating customer loyalty. The Keys to their success have been identified as follows [Read more...]
This is another one of those tips that seem to be obvious, but many retailers struggle with the concept. Many retailers adopt overly complicated procedures that make buying from them an absolute nightmare.These businesses dont take credit cards, they are hard to get to, they dont have enough sales staff, you have to order products and then wait weeks and weeks for them to arrive. All in all they just seem to miss the point ….. [Read more...]
A complaint is a ‘gift’ to your business and should be treated as such. Too many business take a negative view of complaints, when in fact they are a positive opportunity to build your business.
Consider this eight-step formula for dealing with complaints. [Read more...]
I often hear small business people complain that they are unable to compete with larger competitors , because they are just too small to get the right prices from their suppliers. If only they were just a little bit bigger, or could just buy a little bit more from the supplier , then they too would be able to get better deals, and would be able to compete against their bigger competitors.
Sure , in some cases, economies of scale do play a important role in getting you the best deal from your suppliers, and major retailers like Walmart and IKEA have made it the basis of their buying strategy. But for the rest of us, i am here to tell you that the biggest businesses dont always get the best deals. [Read more...]
Successful retailers know that customer relationships like any other relationships, are a long term affair. It is not simply about making a sale. It is about keeping your customers for life. The great retailers that i have worked with ensure that all their employees know the lifetime value of their customers, and they make sure that their employees know how to work towards generating lifelong customers. [Read more...]