Client Satisfaction Is The Key To Success

In business we are often taught in school and from peers to focus on profits and revenues as the key indicators to success in Small Business consulting (or at least that is how we are measured against others in our industry). I am going too respectfully argue this point simply because if you are completely focused on having the highest revenues and in turn driving more profit to your bottom line you are losing sight of what I believe is the most vital and critical key performance indicator for any business large or small and new or old.

Complete Client Satisfaction is the only key performance indicator that is crucial to our success in business. When we are focused on taking care of our client's best interest and ensure that we are delivering the most effective level of service, innovative solutions that bring value to our client base, billing them properly and timely only then will all the other stuff (profits, cash flow and anything else) will automatically fall into place.

When our teams focus on providing only the best quality support and the right technology solution that meet our client's business needs, only then will our businesses begin to flourish and be on the road to complete success (also this is the one least travelled). So why is client satisfaction so important? This is a very good question, when we achieve total client satisfaction we have happy clients who enjoy transacting with us (great CSAT scores), we have clients that pay their invoices on time (cash flow is healthy), our clients easily refer business to our companies (healthy pipeline), the clients we are working with continue to invest in solutions that our companies recommend (increased sales revenues) and maybe the most important reason why it important for our business to have a very high client satisfaction score is this, we will have employees that enjoying taking care of the clients that they are assigned, this will increase staff retention, creating a bond between our teams and our client base and we have a bunch of happy people who enjoy coming to work and transacting with our corporations.

Who is responsible for ensuring that our businesses can maintain a high level of client satisfaction? Ultimately, this is the responsibility of our Directors of Business Development, not our operations manager, not our service manager and not our staff. Why is it important that your Business Development person take the charge in ensuring that client satisfaction remain high? In my experience this is the key person who maintains the relationship between our firms and our vendors, our companies and the local business market and when this key role is firing on all cylinders, our Business Development Director can bring together all components to ensure solutions are recommended to our clients, concerns from our clients can be escalated to our vendor partners openly and rapidly and our overall business goals are met across the board.

In business today, it is important that everyone on our teams understand the goals, mission, vision and values of our company and the effect that having this key information has with our overall client satisfaction. When we have our team aligned with our business goals that client satisfaction is important, our employees and staff are now empowered to make key decisions at our client's office, in our client meetings, with every interaction they are now focused on ensuring that the client is completely satisfied with the dealings that they are having with our businesses. It is very important to our business success to empower the teams we have in place to make critical business decisions that is aligned with our business goals, mission, vision and values.

We must also always deliver what our clients are asking for, this is another critical area to ensuring that our clients are satisfied, take steps to understand what they need and what they are looking for. There are many great tools available today to assist in the information gathering, however, no tool that is available (surveys, newsletters or other technology) compares to face to face interaction. It is important to maintain a balance of face to face interaction with other communication methods. We must get up from behind our desks and visit the people we are taking care of.

Client satisfaction is the golden egg to success, especially today during the uncertain economic times we live in today; don't worry about the price of gas or the investment in time. When we take of our clients they will ensure that they take care of us. When we have our businesses focused on ensuring that we are creating a positive experience with every client interaction we are definitely on the road to success. Here is my formula to success in small business IT consulting:

High CSAT = Profit and Revenue

Low CSAT = Broke

accounting payroll news

The Mammoth, The Dodo Bird, The Dinosaur - Is Common Sense Next?

I recently paid a visit to a local "Everything's a Buck" store to pick up a stack of greeting cards for church. When I got to the checkout, I noticed a sign saying "We accept VISA." Great! Often those Dollar stores don't take credit cards because of the fees charged by the bank. That meant customers needed cash or a check to purchase merchandise.

I said to the cashier, "Do you take Mastercard as well as VISA?" "Yes," she replied. I ran my card through the card swipe and got an error message. The cashier cleared the machine and had me run the card again. Another error message. She cleared the machine again and had me run the card. Once again, an error message appeared. We did this once more, still no luck.

She had me hand her my card. She looked at it and said, "Do you have another way to pay for this? We don't take Mastercard."

I calmly asked (honest, I was calm), "So the part where I asked if you take Mastercard...?" "Oh," she said, "I thought you said Discover." I asked, "Do you take Discover?" The reply, "No, just VISA and debit cards."

Now, here comes the really scary part...She turned to the new cashier she was TRAINING and said, "It's really important that you listen to the customer." No kidding!

Poor customer service, unfortunately, isn't hermetically sealed into "Everything's a Buck." It creeps out the door and ends up in restaurants, offices, auto repair shops, and doctor's offices. Poor customer service has become the norm. And, there is a direct correlation between the growth of poor customer service and the decline of common sense.

Businesses need customers. Businesses with employees need sales to cover payroll. Treating customers as an easily replaced commodity creates a business environment that's sure to create a drop in sales resulting in Cash Flow Extinction.

Poor customer service kills small business's greatest advantages. Let's take the local hardware store as an example. Hemmed in on all sides by big box competitors, Ye Olde Hardware store can't compete on price. There's got to be something else that cause customers to bypass the big box and shop at Ye Olde instead.

If you add to Ye Olde's troubles by offering poor customer service, the business environment gets really tough. You've removed the strongest advantage a small business or professional practice can offer. Along the rocky road, customers leave, business drops off, and the business slides deep into the Cash Flow Swamp.

The flip side of that slimy, algae-covered scenario is this. Use customer service (and well-trained customer service people) as your number one best business practice and you set yourself at least one giant step above your competition.

Then, if you can train your employees to become excellent helpful and suggesting salespeople (Think "Do you want fries with that?") now we're approaching something that resembles improved cash flow.

And by the way, excellent customer care is a perfect justification for charging higher prices. Let's use a day spa as an example. The drugstore and department store shelves are lined with products to make you look younger, feel better, have fewer wrinkles, etc. For eight bucks you can get yourself an at-home beauty treatment guaranteed to take years off your face. Yet, spas attract hordes of people looking for the same results while they're paying way more than eight bucks.

Why is that? Spending the day at a spa goes far beyond slapping some goop on your face in your bathroom while your kids are knocking at the door and your husband wants to know if you've seen his other black sock Spas create a customer experience, a sense of pampering and care that no mere jar on a shelf can ever offer.

Creating a customer experience can be done in any business. Consider the auto repair shop that advertised to women. Women could come to the repair shop and not worry about getting taken advantage of. Terrific. Almost. When the women arrived to get their cars fixed, guess what they found? A dirty, greasy waiting room, hunting and fishing magazines on the banged up coffee table, calendars with bikini-clad models, and a bathroom that encouraged women to say, "I'll wait til I get home.". A consultant set the business owner straight and the waiting area was transformed. The business prospered. It's all in the details. A well-created customer experience changes your customer's perception from thinking that your business should be selling "Everything for a Buck."

continuity disaster recovery

Look For Good Customer Service

Where has the service gone? Do we really want to go in to a place of business and not be greeted? Are the employees really being paid so low that they do not care about their job or their customers? As consumers do we really not care anymore about the service we get when we walk into a place of business.

It is sad that we have gotten so busy that we just walk in to a store get what we want and pay for it and then leave. We do not care if the cashier smiled or even said a word, as long as they are quick and we get out. What ever happened to hello or how are you? If a cashier asks, how you are, it is almost like they have wasted our time, we shrug them off and out the door we go.

Retail stores now think they are giving better service with their self-check out lines. Not dealing with human beings is considered better service? Doing it all yourself is better service? With self-check out the customer has to scan their own merchandise they have to bag it themselves put the money in the machine, there is no smile, or no hello, or no one to say thank you for shopping with us and have a nice day. And this is better service?

There are some people who do not mind this kind of service if that is what we are calling it. But there are still people out there who want the attention when they go in to a business. These people what to feel like they are the only customer in the store. They want to have small talk with the cashier and they are very happy when the sales clerk asks how they are doing. Those customers are more than likely to return to that place of business before going somewhere else.

Maybe service is just the way we should treat people. Or the way we expect to be treated in return. Probably more like the golden rule is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. And this really should be done at a place of business and at our own places of business. We should treat our co-workers and our employers the same way, with respect and consideration. We should smile at them and ask how they are today. If a supervisor or manager of a department asks one of their employees to do something it should be done with kindness not demand.

Sometimes we get busy and someone above the supervisor needs something done so they snap at their employee to get it done not meaning to upset him or her. But we do not stop to think how we should say it or how we would want it said to us. Once again we are so busy we do not stop for the service, we just want it done.

It might be wise at this time to mention a service that most businesses can use to help with their service issues. Hiring a secret shopper is a great way for a business to evaluate their service and sales skills. A secret shopper can be an unbiased voice that can help showcase good skills and highlight not so good skills at the business. Businesses that are looking for a secret shopper can find information on the internet about hiring a secret shopper. Let us all make an effort to provide better service to our customers, our co-workers and each other and if hiring a secret shopper will help, do it!

continuity disaster recovery

Professionalism Tips - 4 Ways To Show Customers They Can Trust You With Their Business

Professionalism can be defined as conducting your business with complete respect for the feelings of your prospect or customer. It is vital for you to convey professionalism to every prospect and client, as they will not trust their business to a person or company that does not respect them.

Here are four tips to keep you on track:

1. Loosen up at the same rate as your prospect or customer. People look for a company and business with a similar style and personality as them. If your prospect wears a suit, you need to wear a suit. If your customer addresses you as "Mr. West," you need to address her as "Ms. Edwards."

In fact, it is even better to stay one step ahead. If your prospect wears khakis and a button-down, you should wear a light suit. If your customer calls you by your first name, continue to address them as Mr. or Ms. until they ask you to use their first name.

Keeping up your professional appearance and manners is vital to gaining customers and keeping them.

2. Avoid bringing up personal matters in a new business relationship. This goes along with the first point. Your prospect is looking for a particular level of professionalism. Let your prospect introduce personal information before volunteering your own.

Many businessmen and businesswomen believe you must get buddy-buddy with a prospect or customer to have a good relationship with them. In reality, prospects and customers are not always looking for friendship--sometimes it is just business.

Wait for personal cues from your client. If you become too informal too fast, they may view you as unprofessional, disrespectful or even untrustworthy.

3. Bashing competitors is taboo. When competitors are brought up in conversation, the natural reaction is to go on the offense and begin bashing them. Never, ever do this. As far as you know, your prospect is currently working with that competitor and actually hired them personally.

You should believe in your product so much that you don't even view yourself as having competitors. If your competition is brought up in a sales meeting or other such situation, all you need do is list a few ways your product is different from that competitor and, therefore, better.

Bashing your competitor may get your point across, but it will also probably wreck your image and lose your business. Blasting rivals is highly unprofessional.

4. Be punctual for all appointments. Never leave your client waiting. Not only is lateness unprofessional, it is insulting. Your prospect's or customer's time is no less important than yours. They have meetings to attend, calls to make and letters to write just as you do. To be late to an appointment is to tell a prospect or customer you do not value their time.

Make sure you are on time to every appointment. If the appointment is not at your place of business, it would even do well to be two or three minutes early.

Punctuality is an absolute must for every professional. Show your respect by being on time.

As business places become laid-back, professionalism is becoming overlooked and underrated. Never fall into the trap of informality. Prospects and customers want to work with people and companies that are professional and respectful.

Follow your customer's lead in loosening up, avoid personal matters, don't bash your competitors and be on time for all appointments. If you obey these four rules, your prospects and customers will see you as a professional and will trust you with their business.

Business online blog

Customer Engagement - 7 Principles To Fully Engage Your Customers - Part 2

There I was...excited to dine in a popular steakhouse with my wife. After all, this night was to celebrate her final day of coursework in her professional degree program. Although we eat out regularly, we especially were looking forward to dining on this night.

The food was good, waiter was good, service was good...in general, no problems. Afterwards, I told my wife that we won't be going back to that restaurant anytime soon. Why? Because "good" was not my expectation. If I wanted a "good" experience, I would've taken my wife somewhere else with "good" prices. In business, your price point says a lot about the promise you make to your current and future customers. In this case, the high prices (which I don't mind paying) suggests an exceptional, not "good" experience. As a customer, I am expecting the business to create a total service experience...which happens to be Principle #4 from the 7 Principles to Fully Engage Your Customers (which are listed below).

Here they are:

• Principle 1: Be eager to serve

• Principle 2: Be welcoming

• Principle 3: Create an inclusive atmosphere

• Principle 4: Create a total experience

• Principle 5: Turn customers into ambassadors

• Principle 6: Offer a gracious goodbye

• Principle 7: Earn your customers' confidence...reap the rewards

Principle #4: Create a total experience

Creating a total experience begins with having the right people in the right roles. It means that the greeter must be the person with the most welcoming personality on the team and have the biggest smile. It also means that every person the customer comes in contact with should not only like other people, but they should be happy and excited to be of service. That may sound trivial, but I've been in many businesses where the front line employee's demeanor is sending the message of "leave me alone...I don't want you here". Perhaps the biggest thing to remember about creating the total experience is that the experience is comprised of many touchpoints. Touchpoints may vary from answering the phone, to escorting a customer down the hallway; the point is that the overall experience is built on individual touchpoints. At the end of my service experience with your business, if you ask "Overall, how was your stay with us?", I will be responding to the overall experience.

Principle #5: Turn customers into ambassadors

Turning customers into ambassadors is about fostering loyalty. Successful businesses don't measure their success by the amount of new customers they get, they measure success by the amount of business they receive from their existing customers. This is sometimes referred to as organic growth. You want your business to be the first choice when existing and potential customers want to purchase a particular product or service. It doesn't matter if your business is selling rooms, food & beverage, ad space or even hospital beds. Your customers need to know that you look forward to serving them again in the future.

Principle #6: Offer a gracious goodbye

Offering a gracious goodbye is an extremely important principle, yet it can be very easy to bypass. Some service providers feel that after they have given the customer what they paid for, then service is done. Not so. Everything has a beginning and an end. Service is no exception. The purpose of the gracious goodbye is to thank the customer for their patronage. The customer did not have to patronize your business. Every customer should be reassured that their decision to spend their money with you was greatly appreciated. In fact, one best practice is to inquire if there is anything else you can do for your customer. And this is after you have provided the customer with what they came to purchase in the first place; no matter how small the request. After serving my coffee, ask "is there anything else I can do for you?" or some variation of it. The point is that your customers should feel like your job's main purpose is to not just meet, but exceed their expectations.

Principle #7: Earn your customers' confidence...reap the rewards

The rewards here are not just repeat business and referrals. Rewards are knowing that you have made a positive impact on someone's day. You should be confident that the service that you and your team provided made a difference in how that customer views your industry. You are not just doing a job, you are representing your team, your company, and your industry. Like any relationship, earning your customer's confidence is about building trust, and trust is built on doing what you say you will do every time. When I pick up the phone, browse your website, or visit your facilities, I should feel confident that the service will be one of two ways: Just as good as the last time I visited or better than the last time I visited. That is how trust is built.

So commit to fully engaging every customer you have. Use your team huddles and department meetings to engage your team in a meaningful dialogue about the importance of engagement. As customers become more savvy shoppers, simply competing based on fancy equipment or "bells and whistles" won't suffice. Today's customers want to feel like you value and appreciate their patronage, or they will simply go somewhere else.

Let 2008 be the year where exceptional service is not just a buzzword or flavor of the month. Commit to not settling for "good" or acceptable service delivery from your team and yourself. Only exceptional service will do. Fully engaging your customers requires dedication, commitment, and action. Follow the 7 principles, and your customers will always follow you.

Written by Bryan K. Williams

Franchising

Improve Listening Skills For Enhanced Efficiency And Productivity

With all the talk about honing our communication skills, we rarely hear about improving our listening skills. Yet those are just as important.

Good listening skills are especially critical in a business environment. Listening attentively saves valuable time throughout your organization. As you know, time is money.

People who listen carefully make fewer mistakes. Customer orders are handled correctly the first time, eliminating the costs involved with fixing problems, reshipping merchandise, and issuing refunds or credits.

Your operations run more efficiently as well. Employees fulfill their duties without constantly asking for clarification. An added benefit is that there is less chance for misunderstanding, which in these litigious times can be costly.

These tips will help make you and your staff better listeners:

Complete existing tasks before addressing a question When approached, politely say, "Let me finish this first." Trying to do two things at once shortchanges both.

Overcome distractions Loud radios, chatty co-workers, and ringing phones make it difficult to concentrate on the speaker's comments. Find a quieter room to continue your conversation.

Concentrate on the speaker Lean toward the person slightly and maintain eye contact. Turning one ear toward the speaker can help as well.

Keep your mouth shut We have a nasty habit of interrupting while someone else is speaking. That is rude. Also, in doing so we tend to arrive at the wrong conclusion. Wait until the person finishes speaking before formulating and delivering your reply.

Take notes Not only does this help prevent misunderstandings and errors, it shows that you are paying attention. While taking notes you are less likely to open your mouth, as discussed above.

Listen between the lines A grumpy or surly attitude may not be caused by anything you've said or done. The person may be under duress due to personal or professional problems. Gently probe for the underlying cause and take that into consideration.

Recognize your biases Perhaps the person has a strong accent, speaks slowly, is from another culture, or is dressed oddly. Any of these, and more, can cause you to develop opinions about the speaker and get in the way of good listening.

Becoming a good listener does not require a lot of work. Focus on what the speaker is saying, and ignore competing noises and other distractions. You will be rewarded with a more beneficial conversation.

continuity disaster recovery

Important Customer Service Tips

In the world of business providing the best customer service to your customers is essential in order to expand your business. The type of service they get will determine the reputation of your company. So, it is very necessary that you master the skill of excellent customer service to master your business. You will get a brief idea about the Customer Service Tips in the following article.

This article provides you all the necessary and the important Customer Service Tips that you will require while handling your business. You will have to make sure to the customer that he is attended carefully and his needs are taken into consideration. Always talk about what you can do to the customer rather than speaking about what you can't do for them. Greet them within 20-30 seconds when they enter your office.

While on telephonic conversation, use the name of your customer at different points in the call. Always remember to ends all of your calls by saying "Thank you" or a verbally pointing out towards the appreciation of their business. Be sure that your voice and tone synchronizes with what you are saying because many times can contradict the message completely. It is always good to take extra efforts and time to make your calls meaningful as well as service oriented. Make them feel that they are very special.

Some customers might be irate. Let them vent and do not interrupt till they complete their talk. You can diffuse their anger by saying that "I apologize" or "I'm sorry". Then you also take a step forward by taking a proper follow-up for the customer. You may re-contact the customer that everything is going on well and that the outcome ois satisfactory. Don't forget to ask them if you can do anything else for them.

Customer Service Tips also includes you going to the extra mile. You can attract your customers by including a thank-you note in the customer package, writing a congratulatory note if they get a promotion, sending a birthday card on their birthdays, clipping the article when you see their name, etc. these are some of the different ways through which you can be in touch with the customers and bring them close to you.

Remember money is not the only matter that will invite customers to your office. If you want to win your customers, you have to master all the necessary skills mentioned in the article above regarding Customer Service Tips.

fundraising

Small Business Owners - How to Conduct 'Champagne' Customer Research on a 'Beer' Budget

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get vital information about your customers. In most cases, you simply need to ask your customers what they think about your service.

Following are a few very cost-effective ways to get vital information about your customers'wants, needs and expectations:

1. Start a 'MYSTERY SHOPPER' program

Many organisations in retailing, hospitality and service industries use this valuable tool for assessing organisational efficiency and staff performance based on set criteria such as their individual Customer Service Standards.

To do this, you can employ a professional mystery shopper service or simply write a set of standards that you want for your business and employ someone to 'be a customer'. For example, if you had a fashion store and 'add-on sales' were lower than you expected, you could get a 'mystery shopper' to visit the store and rate staff on their sales skills. In this case, the staff member serving this 'customer' would be assessed against the standard for your business on how complementary goods are offered to customers. Say, for example, you were selling swimwear, then the sales assistant would be expected to offer a sarong, beach towel, beach hat or beach bag (depending on your product lines) to go with the original purchase. If it were a men's wear store, you would expect business ties to be offered with the sale of a business shirt.

Getting back to the 'Mystery Shopper' idea - other criteria by which you assess staff might include:

* How long the customer waited to be offered assistance
* The actual greeting used by the staff member
* How long the customer was left in the change room before being offered further assistance
* Whether further add-on products were offered to the customer
* Whether the customer was thanked and invited back

The 'Mystery Shopper Customer' then writes a report stating how well the staff member met the organisation's criteria. This information provides a wealth of knowledge about your customer service and can be used positively to motivate staff, by publishing good reports in newsletters and on noticeboards. It also identifies gaps in staff training that you can act upon immediately.

2. Develop CUSTOMER SURVEYS and FEEDBACK FORMS

Develop a Customer Survey Form that can be included with information mailed to your customers or put with customers' purchases. Ensure these are available at the counter so that customers can complete them on the spot and place them in nominated boxes. Some customers may prefer to remain anonymous, so allow them to send the surveys back using a prepaid self-addressed enveloped marked 'Private and Confidential'.

It's easy to get ideas for what to put on your 'Customer Feedback Form'. Simply pop into any major retail store and get a copy of their Feedback Forms. Then, change it to suit your individual needs - and you have instant Customer Research!

Most customers are techno-savvy, so make sure you have a section on your website that allows interactive communication from customers and enables them to complete feedback forms and surveys online. For an example of a company that does this very well, visit Tradelink www.tradelink.com.au.

They have an in-depth six page questionnaire that covers stores in a range of geographic areas and assesses performance on products, stock levels, face-to-face service, availability of staff, telephone service, sales and comments. This is vital feedback...and it's free!

Most important of all - follow up on complaints and suggestions and thank your customers for all of their ideas. We all like to feel 'special' so keep this in mind when dealing with your customers and watch your business take off.

3. Conduct FOCUS GROUPS or CUSTOMER PANELS

Invite your customers into your business to tell you what they think. You'll be amazed at how much you learn - and at how much fun you have in the process. You don't need a big budget to conduct customer research - you just need to think like your customers.

A very successful printing business has the slogan: 'Is our service any good? Ask the customer'. They have these signs all over their stores so you can imagine how good their service is. Would you dare follow this example? You'd have to be pretty good to make such a strong public statement.

Customers often have very valuable suggestions for improving your service, so tap into this wealth of information by asking them to be on customer panels or focus groups to keep you up-to-date with their needs and expectations.

It's also a good idea to run focus groups and customer panels for non-customers to establish what they don't like about your business. You'll wonder why you didn't do this before - it's so simple, yet so effective!

Here's the nitty-gritty of how to run a focus group or customer panel:

Invite eight to ten participants to share their ideas about the business and offer them a small incentive for their time - this could be a monetary reward or gift vouchers to use in your business. Choose a person with strong communication skills to act as a facilitator and put participants at ease. Then, write a series of questions that you want answered and have the facilitator bring these into the conversation in a relaxed way. For example, the facilitator might say 'What do you like most about the ABC Widget?' Follow this with 'What can do to improve the Widget" Make the most of the time immediately after the focus group or panel meeting to build relationships with your customers. Provide morning tea and personally thank your customers for their time and willingness to assist you. Guess which organisation they'll be talking about from now on...

This is so simple! You'll be amazed at how much information you'll get that is invaluable for finding out what customers really think about your service, products, staff, premises - you name it - they won't hold back and you'll be in a much better position to make important changes and improve your performance.

4. Use TELEPHONE SURVEYS to get information about your service

Another simple technique is to use telephone surveys to ascertain what customers think of your products and services. Write a short list of questions relating to your business, including customer service, prices, product range, etc. Contact customers on your database. State upfront exactly how long the survey will take and stick to it. Usually, people will be happy to give you five minutes when they know your organisation.

You could also offer to put everyone who participates in a draw for a prize such as Gift Vouchers for your business. Finish the survey by asking if the customer can suggest ways to improve your service to them. Conduct regular surveys and you'll stay on top of any market trends and meet problems head-on, before they really become problems. You'll also get some brilliant suggestions to build your business.

So, no excuses - start finding out what your customers want ... and give it to them!

careersemp loyment

Know What To Give Your Customers

Do your employees have excellent real estate property management knowledge ? Do they know what will fit into a 5x10 self storage unit or a three bedroom apartment? Do they have advice they can give a customer as to the best way to store their items so it will fit comfortably into the unit or moving advice? Can they give a good visual as to the size of the unit or apartment and what will fit into it, over the telephone or via email? Excellent real estate property management knowledge is essential, first and foremost. If the employee blows this, then a customer is not going to pay attention to anything else they have to say.

Can they give excellent directions to the facility, rental property or home for sale? Can they give well known landmarks to the locals, while at the same time give detailed and easy to follow directions to out-of-towners, or someone new to the area? If there is several self storage or rental communities in the area, can they make it easy for the customer to know which location is theirs? For example, tell a caller that it is the first driveway past the stoplight, or the building with the red roof. Telling a potential customer that you are the facility or property located next to ABC self storage is not a good idea. Instead mention crossroads or other popular travel paths. If you have a large mall or industrial park nearby people might be able to associate that location as nearby your site or property.

Are your access hours occasionally flexible for special customers? Construction workers, salespeople, doctors and landscapers can be great customers, but they may need odd access hours to accommodate their working schedules. Offering to stay a little later to accommodate these customers will show in their appreciation and their loyalty to your business. Some self storage sites will allow certain customers with pre-approval to have 24 hour access to the site. These customers have been cleared with the owners and extra information is usually on file if needed. Also, by charging an extra fee for extended gate hours will keep some folks away. The average renter does not usually need extended hours and will find the time to go to your site when the regular hours are posted.

The first thing to do to make your real estate property management staff the best that it can be is basic training, no, not push ups and sit ups. Rather, the basic training about the ins and outs of the self storage and rental property business. Accomplishing this will allow you to make certain your staff is well trained. There are many different companies out there that offer training. Doing some homework to make sure the training you are paying for fits your business will allow your training dollar to go farther. On-going training in sales and customer service will keep your staff the best it can be.

Real estate property management is a job that many people can do. You must have some customer service and field experience to be successful. A good balance of people skills and great selling techniques will go a long way in the real estate property management business. Make sure your business is up to date on their sales and service skills and your business will profit.

ethics news

How Critical Is Customer Loyalty To The Longevity Of Your Online Business?

There is always a tendency, especially with less experienced business owners or entrepreneurs to spend all or most of their time seeking out new business or new customers.

Although it is very important to seek new customers on a daily basis it is also critical that we develop and maintain a good relationship with our present customer base. It is hard enough to get a customer in the first place, so we should try our utmost best to keep that customer for the long haul.

You might have seen businesses starting up in areas that are not conducive to business, yet they have survived the test of time and have gone on to become highly successful enterprises.

On the other hand you've also seen businesses that have opened up in highly trafficked, conducive neighborhoods with all the right conditions in place, yet after 6 months they wither and die. You pass one day and see the building up for lease or sale.

Now you must have heard this in the past many times about the importance of location when starting a business, but is it the deciding factor in the success or failure of that business?

Although location plays a vital role in the decision making process - most times customer loyalty is the critical element that decides the fate of that business. Below I've taken the time to list four reasons which I think is very important in creating and maintaining healthy customer loyalty.

=>1. A loyal customer is a repeat customer. This is a customer that know you and know what to expect from you and your business.

A mutual relationship that is built up over time between you and your loyal customer will create a bond - where they will stick by you and support your business even sometimes at their own inconveniences. Yes they will. Repeat business is vital to your business survival.

=>2. Another powerful feature of creating and maintaining customer loyalty is the word of mouth advertising that occurs.

Say you have a grocery store and you've developed a good relationship with mom. As time goes by mom recommends it to dad, kids, brothers and sisters, neighbors, co-workers and soon you have a viral effect happening. You soon become a shining light to a lot of people in that community. Wow! That's powerful!

=>3. To take this a step further - you've developed a relationship with the households in the area, but then you realize that the community is made up with other businesses. Furniture store, barber shop, bakery, insurance office etc.

Now establishing a good relationship with these other businesses is priceless! When you have other business owners and operators recommending your business to their customers, you have now created a solid foundation for your business.

=>4. Perhaps the most important reason for developing and maintaining a loyal customer base is the fact that most times the initial order is just a setup for greater things.

Repeat business is when customers will buy in greater quantities, or purchase more pricier items after they have developed trust in you and know that you have their best interest at heart. Repeat sales can become the bedrock of your business over time and as I said before - can be the deciding factor in the success or failure of your business.

Establishing and maintaining good relationships with your customers is critical in developing customer loyalty. If handled well this could lead to a long and lasting business which will continue to grow exponentially over time.

advertising blog news

How To Tell If HR Hired The Wrong Person

It's Monday and your new class is set to arrive and begin day 1 of training.

You have high hopes for this class as the new hiring recruiter; the one with the innovative hiring practices has personally hired this class of 22 agents. Your assistant trainer is pacing the class room floor in anticipation. At ten minutes to 8- they start walking through the door, all fresh faced and ready. You smile and welcome each of them as your heart drops to your stomach as you start calculating your attrition rate for the class.

Oh No! To hit your goal of 10%, you'll need to retain 20 of these smiling shiny faces! You might be in trouble...

How to tell if HR hired the wrong person:

During introductions, the individual tells the class "I was fired from my last job because of cursing at a customer" or "I lost my last job for a no call no show" or" I could not call in because I was in jail". You know they might have hired the wrong person.

When training over system "hot keys", the new hire began checking his own pockets- you know they might have hired the wrong person.

You know the wrong person was hired when they type with one finger, closes the entire screen when asked to minimize or (the biggie) they have no idea what a mouse is.

Another way of telling that the wrong person was hired is if they have no clue what words such as appropriate, courtesy, or empathy mean.

When excuses flow like hot lava erupting from a volcano, you know, of course that you have hired the wrong person.

Finally, when after two days in training their name appears in the paper as a fugitive from justice. You know with out a doubt that you have hired the wrong person.

Oh well, there is always next class.

Special thanks to Sherry Beasley

branding news

Business Management - Customer Service Is Overlooked

Have you ever visited a store and decided to leave before you bought anything because the employees working there were rude or too pushy? I have and I'm sure you've had at least one experience like this. Customer service is one of the most overlooked aspects when running a business. Managers tend to think that customer service will just fall into place. However, that is not the case. It is an aspect of business that needs to be worked and improved upon, just as you would work on sales and advertising.

There are a number of reasons why customer service is so important :

1. If you have good customer service, your customers should feel a personal relationship with your employees. This helps increase customer satisfaction and loyalty with your company. An increase in these two areas alone will boost your overall business performance.

2. With the continual increase in competition in today's economy, good customer service is necessary just to survive. If your clients do not feel that they are receiving the attention and concern that they need, they will go elsewhere, simple as that. You can perfect all the other areas of your business, but if you lack customer service you will lack customers.

3. Even your company has very few competitors, customer service is still important when it comes to keeping your business rolling. Customers will come to your business more frequently if they are treated with respect. If your business is associated with a pleasant experience, it obviously will be a place that people want to go.

4. News travels fast. If your current customers are happy with your service, you will get new, future customers by word of mouth. People always take recommendations from friends and family. If your customers like your business and the relationship that they have with your company, they will recommend it to others.

5. Trust is a huge factor. When customers are happy with the service they receive and establish a trusting relationship with your company, they are more likely to feel more comfortable spending more money. Make sure your employees know your company's expectations. When employees know the specifics of what you expect out of their service, then there is no excuse for anything else.

No matter what type of business you are running, customer service is an absolutely critical aspect. A business with poor customer service will never be successful for long. Do not overlook this - it can help your business stand out from the rest. Your success depends on it.

change management

Flip Flop Training

Trainers- the odds are stacked against you.

How can I say that? I don't even know you or your training style. Let's think about it for a moment or two. You have a room full of adults from different backgrounds and skill sets, looking to you to train them on Everything they will need to know to do the job they were just hired to do. Wow- I guess you better get hopping. You have a huge job ahead of you! That's when I say- "wait a minute, we are in this together". This needs to be a group effort.

How do you turn the tables and make learning a group effort and why even try? Think about it this way.

Statistics show that people generally retain information at the following levels:
90% of what they say as they do
70% of what they say or write
50% of what they hear and see
30% of what they see
20% of what they hear
10% of what they read

If the information retention rates above are correct, it would appear that the best results would come from a trainer that understands that training must include the whole person. The person needs to hear it, read it, say it and do it to actually have the best odds at retaining the information.

Sounds exhausting. How do you this?

Have you heard or tried the 70/30 method?

As the trainer, how much of your training time do you spend in front of the class, actually speaking? For most, I would you say 70% is a good guess. The other 30% would be divided between the trainees reading and participating in learning activities. Am I close?

At my last site we flip flopped the percentages to 30/70 with the trainers training 30% of the time and the class self training the other 70%. While it sounds odd, this actually made a tremendous difference in the agent's performance and reduced training attrition.

Give me a moment to explain what the Flip Flop to 70/30 means, how we did it and how it reduced training attrition. While this is no magic pill to aid all that ails training, it is a fresh idea that most of my trainers loved. You can't win everyone over and that is fine.

Trainer Prep:
•The trainer divides that days topics/lessons (using the curriculum outline) into manageable segments
•The class is divided into small groups that are for the current day only.
•The groups change each day to stimulate increased participation of all trainees.
•To determine group size follow this simple formula: divide the days topics into the class headcount = group size

After the trainer starts the day with a review from the previous day and clears up any outstanding parking lot issues the small groups are given their topic for the day and the line up of when they will be presenting their topic
•The groups are given approximately 45 to 60 minutes to research the topic, prepare flip charts, PowerPoint presentations or create an activity in which to train the rest of the class.
•The groups have full access to all needed materials i.e. computer systems, lesson plan, training manual, white boards and flip charts with markers.
•The group line up is posted in the class with approximate time lines
•Each group then trains the class with their presentation.

Trainer responsibilities during the group presentations:
•The trainer and training assistant are present at all times and are available to assist the groups during the preparation time.
•The groups are encouraged to create interactive hands on activities to reinforce the lesson they are training--- and they did!
•The trainer manages the time and informs the group as they near the end of their allotted time.
•The trainer aids the groups when a question is presented and they have are stumped, stepping in to assist when it is apparent that no answer is available.
•Trainer reinforces the material at the end of the day with an end of day review.

Tying the Results back to the Flip Flop:
Having the trainees so deeply involved in their training shifts the responsibility of learning from the trainer to the trainee. We found that the small groups were so creative in their presentation that the other students were able to understand and relate to the material very quickly (this was validated with higher test averages). We also noted that the trainees were more apt to bond with each other and show signs of becoming an actual part of the company faster than with our old training style. We also found that with the increased interaction and investment on the part of the trainees, they came out of training more knowledgeable and better able to grasp the concepts from class. This was validated over and over through higher quality scores, lower handle times and lower attrition rates over previous classes.

Give it a try and see what you think of our Flip Flop Training. I would love to hear your feedback and results.

Business online blog

Weekly Quality Flag

Let's Fire Up the Teams to Drive Quality!No doubt about it, maintaining high standards of quality in the call center world can be a challenge. Call Center information changes are more frequent than the weather changes in Texas and I'm sure that you have heard the old saying about Texas weather. If You Don't Like the Weather in Texas... stick around a minute...it'll change!

One terrific way to drive overall site quality performance is by creating a long term team competition. A well run competition can be a sure way to drive performance, improve employee morale and have a little fun! I love this program because the team that is in 1st place holds bragging rights for the next week and that's when the Quality Talk starts flying!

Quality Flag
Try this idea to help drive quality and team spirit in your center by recognizing the team with the highest quality average for the week (or month to date).The rules are straight forward and easy to communicate to all participants.

Competition Summary:
1.Each Supervisor Team will create a Team Quality Flag decorated by the team using ideas that represent the team as a group. I.e. A supervisor named Brandy might have a team named Brandy's Bull's and have a Bull theme to their quality flag. 2.Once the flags have been created the competition can begin.3.After the previous weeks Quality Stats have been announced, each team that meets or exceeds the Site Quality goal will have the honor of having their team Quality Flag in their designated area.4.The team with the highest Quality average for the prior week (or month to date) will have the honor of having their flag posted at the site entrance for all to see! Bragging rights naturally follow the 1st place team.

Good Luck!!!

Flag Decorating Rules
•Each team must construct a team flag the size of a standard poster board. The flag must contain either the first or last name of the supervisor. **Please do not include agent names as teams may change**

•The flags and basic decorating materials will be provided by the company. Additional materials supplied by the individual teams to add to the team's unique style are welcomed. Flags will be supplied for any new supervisors as necessary.

•Each team will be allowed two 30 min sessions to have a team meeting and decorate the flag.

•Each team must have their finished flags turned in before the 1st of the month. This allows 2 weeks for team brainstorming and actual Flag decorating.

Quality Flag Competition Rules
•Each team will display their flag continuously as long as the team Quality average remains at or above the site goal. If a team falls below the site goal, the flag must come down until the score is again at or above goal.

•The team with the highest Quality for the previous week will have their flag displayed prominently in the front lobby for one week beginning each Monday.
**The weekly average is from Sunday to Saturday of the prior week**

•The score will be based upon in house Quality team monitors.
**Supervisor monitor scores will not be calculated in this total**

Give this quality promotion a try at your call center and watch for rising flags and rising quality scores.Good Luck!

change management

Don't Forget Your Loyal Customers

In the rush to draw in as many customers as possible, companies fail to remember those who have already given them business. The idea of expanding your customer base is so ingrained in the minds of most business owners they don't think about who they already have in their rush to get more.

Getting new people to shop with you is always going to be harder than bringing back those who already have. Trust in a company is an important part of choosing where to do business. The more I trust a company the more likely I am to give them more business again.

But many companies focus only on the initial sale and not the return business. This is especially true of things that are only bought every few years. A car dealership might not worry about keeping in touch with customers because how often do most people buy a new car?

Just because a service isn't needed very often, when the time does come for a person to buy another car, you want to make sure you're the one they go to. For any kind of business this is going to be the case. If you focus on only the moment, you're potentially losing future business.

Because of this your company needs to be careful to encourage previous customers to keep coming back. You've already proven to them that they can trust you. Why not use that trust as best you can to ensure a strong, loyal customer base?

With how easy it is to keep track of sales and other customer data your company should be easily able to get a list of former customers. Go back as many years as you want to get the largest pool of people possible. The smaller your business is the farther back you'll be able to easily go.

There are a variety of ways to keep in touch with different customers. Postcard printing is an effective way, especially if your company has a larger customer base to focus on. The great part about using postcards is how cost effective it is to target a large crowd.

Unlike when dealing with people for the first time, you by default have a certain amount of good faith established with these people. They've shopped with you and they know what they can expect when they come in again. Because of this the focus you need on your postcards is going to be different.

You don't need to describe what your business is and why it's so good because they already know this. Emphasize upcoming specials or other sales that might encourage them to come back in. A well-designed full color postcard can be as simple as an invitation to come back in again.

Sometimes all it takes is a reminder for a person to feel like coming back. You want to make sure your name is always at the front of their minds when it comes time to go shopping. Postcard printing is a cheap enough method of keeping in touch that the cost of sending out those full color postcards is more than worth the return business it will generate.

accounting payroll news

Employees Drive Customer Loyalty

According to research studies over 70% of customers will stop doing business with you because of how they were treated! This does not mean they had an issue related to quality or price (only about 20% total leave for those reasons). They leave because they feel they were not treated up to their expectations. Further only 4%-6% of all customers will express their dissatisfaction to someone in the business; most simply take their business elsewhere.

So what can you as a business owner do to prevent this? Well there are a number of steps that you should be taking already...

First getting a better understanding of what your customers think about your business. This will help you identify the areas that need improvement within your business. This should be the cornerstone to any business who is customer centric.

This feedback can be gathered in many ways. For example your staff, as they interact with customers, is probably already getting some of this. Another common method is having someone on the management team speak with customers as they come in or reach out to call them. Both of these have some flaws specifically in measuring employees and your service. Finally you can institute a formal feedback program. This would include a process of systematically asking your customers to provide feedback that measures the core areas of your business and why (or why not) customers are doing business with you.

Second you need to hire, train and manage your employees in ways that build upon the image your business is putting forward to the public. Employees who are customer focused and believe in and represent your brand will inevitably be an asset to both you and your customers and contribute to building loyal customers for life.

Using the data you have gathered you can classify customers into 1 of 3 categories -

Detractors - These customers have done business with you and have generally decided not to continue to do business for some reason. These folks often will tell friends and family why they should also not do business with you.

Passives - These are customers how have done business and will continue to be repeat customers but are not particularly loyal to you. These are the customers that are ones that are often lured away by your competition or who will not tolerate any mistakes.

Advocates - These are your loyal customers. They will generally be there with you through good times and bad and will tell others about how great you are. These are the people that give true meaning to word of mouth marketing.

We can also classify employees into a similar set of 3 categories -

Detractors - Those who are negative and will not only be willing to leave your employment, they are also not properly representing your business and may actually be working against you with both current and potential customers.

Passives - These employees are happy coming in and performing their job. Their performance is often average to above average and they deliver the proper brand image and message most of the time.

Advocates - These are the real superstars. They are eager to help others; they serve the customer and represent the brand and company in a way that far exceeds other employees. They often tell their friends and relatives how great the business is and are also providing word of mouth advertising.

What we know is when hiring employees they are not automatically one of the 3 types. They become Detractors, Passives or Advocates based on the interaction they have with the management team. How they are managed and trained will shape them into one of these 3 categories.

The way in which you hire, train and manage staff will be reflected back to you in the form of customer loyalty. The next time you are thinking about how to grow your business and increase repeat business look to your employees. Customer loyalty is a lot like a skyscraper. It is made up of many floors and needs to be maintained to remain in peak shape. The foundation of the most successful businesses begins with its employees.

accounting payroll news

Updating Your Business Plan Using CRM Strategy

As wonderful as it is to see lasts year's business plan work, it is still vital to update that plan for this year. Often time companies get so wrapped up in their end-of-the-year work on a plan that went well that they neglect to tweak it for the next year. A sales process that works may not need to be changed, but people change and companies change. Fine-tuning your messaging and lead generation efforts is necessary for progress. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is about increasing the positive experience of working with your company. To accomplish this, you need to commit to planning, evaluate opportunities for growth, forecast, and attend to your client base.

Plan and Evaluate

Planning is a process. Not only do you need to dedicate time out of a busy day to orchestrate a meeting, but also you must build a strategy on what to plan before the meeting. To get the most out of your planning process, choose when and who wisely. When do you like to plan? Who else in your company should you include in that planning process? Establish the most optimal time and brain power for your planning, and work from there.

Working with a CRM strategy will boost your efforts to develop the best plan. Increasing the positive experience your company offers means evolving with people and technology. Evaluate your opportunities for growth. What technology do you offer that can evolve? What tools and resources do you have in place to strengthen relationships with your customers? What kind of trust levels have you established with your clients, and how can you strengthen them? Keep up with the changes that are taking place around you. Continue to improve the strategies that work.

Forecasting

Forecasting is more of an art than an exact science. Customer trends typically run in cycles. It is therefore easier to plan for future revenue from existing clients than future clientele. For clients who have a service contract that is near due, anticipate an 80% renewal rate on those contracts. Even if your renewal rate is currently 95%, it's best to underestimate. If you have less than an 80% renewal rate, you need to completely overhaul your customer service department. Attrition is inevitable, but losing more than 20% of your customer base is a huge problem. If the client is profitable, winning them back should be a priority. Fortunately, many customers who go elsewhere for what appeared to be better service or pricing will come back if you want them. Having worked with a competitor presents an opportunity to use them as references. Remember to track that in your CRM system.

The next step is to tally the total amount of existing customer revenue from last year (excluding service contracts), and multiply that by 30%. This should be the baseline of minimum revenue you should expect from your existing clients. Thirty percent may be high depending on your clientele, but many companies gain more than 50% revenue from their existing customers. In either case, you want to add new clients. Add your average existing customer revenue to the expected 80% renewal rate on your service contracts. This provides you with a solid number to prepare a support and operations staff. The tougher job is to deduce what the company needs to develop for new business and plan accordingly.

Winning Over New and Existing Clients

New business comes from a variety of areas: advertising, lead generation calling, direct mail, email broadcasting, industry publications, trade shows, alliances, and referrals. Have you tracked where your business comes from and how much revenue each source brings? This is important for planning and execution. Outline several sources of business and initially focus on strengthening the top three. Gauging how these sources perform this year will allow you to plan more effectively next year. Take the next three revenue sources and develop a plan to expand those initiatives. Use creativity when developing resources. For example, hold a customer conference and invite manufacturers to review the latest and greatest technology. Remember, many customers cannot go to the national trade shows or send more than a handful of people to attend. Another idea is to hold "training" or "certification" workshops. This would strengthen relationships with your clients. You could charge for some of these events, but you may see huge dividends if you only charged a nominal fee or nothing at all. Include prospective customers by inviting them to your customer conference. Let them talk to your customers and hear their experiences working with you. Invite prospective customers to a client site that would be comparable or larger in size and scope to their future prospect. They get a chance to see your quality of work and speak to a reference first hand. Best of all, you are attending to the needs of your current clients while letting them help win you new clients.

Neglecting to build on last year's business plan will leave you falling behind your competitors. Progress doesn't have to be a costly or complex process. By utilizing your CRM Strategy and attending to the ever changing needs of your clients, you will stay competitive. Focus on your lead source strengths and capitalize on those efforts. Last year's plan worked well last year. Evolve with your clients and ensure that you're celebrating success again next year.

continuity disaster recovery

Introduction To Call Center Services

Technology is what makes the world go round today. It is the factor for the exponential growth of markets, industries, companies, and products. Technology is what eases the lives of people, and, ironically, it is also what causes us considerable pain.

If you have ever broken a TV, a VCR, or if you have experienced not being able to figure out how to get out of a certain buggy computer program, then you may have experienced feeling helpless and at your wits' end. You may have turned to checking your machine's box for information on how to fix your mess. What? The instructions are cryptic too? Oh no!

And then you spot that unassuming little string of numbers in an unnoticed spot on the box or manual of your gadget. You've hit pay dirt: you now have the contact number of your product's customer service help desk. And so to make the long story short, a nice, patient gentleman or lady greets you and helps you back into sanity.

This is an average consumer's mundane encounter with customer service as routed to a call center. While you can always complain at the office of the service you subscribed to or the product you bought, let's face it, most of us would rather stay home and call someone than drive all the way, only to be frustrated all the more. With calling customer service, even if you get angry and throw a temper tantrum, at least no one would see the smoke coming out your ears.

You may not realize it, but a call center may well be a cornerstone of your life as a consumer. When you need to pay your bills, when you need help with the services you are subscribed to, when your gadgets go haywire, when you make a call with a plea for someone to assist you, you are actually accessing a call center.

Call center agents make your life easier by helping you through your technical and service messes, but they do so much more aside from that. Beyond the technical support, the help or complaints desk, the billing service, call centers play a more important role in the dynamics of consumer satisfaction, and even sales, beyond what you can imagine. Call centers actually have several other services that encompass all consumer needs that the world's industries have been able to identify so far. This chapter will help you get familiar with the basics of call centers, the types of call centers, and other rudiments that will answer the question "What".

So join us, as we take you through the world of the call center, contact center, virtual call center, and its variations.

Copyright (c) 2008 Hani Masgidi

entrep

Checklist for Giving Great Customer Service

A while back, I wrote an article on getting great customer service. It received a significant response, so here's a little bit from the other side of the counter. If you want to be known as the service person people remember, try these tips:

Look at the customer.

For heaven's sake, make some eye contact. I will walk away from a salesperson, a customer service representative, or even the appointment secretary at my doctor's office if he or she won't give me the courtesy of acknowledging my presence.

Present a professional appearance.

If you're a man, don't sag your pants. Customers aren't interested in looking at your underwear or what's under your underwear. If you're a woman, keep your bra straps out of sight and your midriff covered. You're at work, not a club. Cover up your tattoos during the business day. Self-expression is fine, but some customers are turned off by an excessive amount of body art or piercing. Leave your message tee shirts at home, especially the ones that have to do with bodily functions or sex. And while you're at it, watch your mouth, too. The workplace is not an appropriate arena for filthy language, especially within customers' hearing.

Keep your mind on your work.

Talking on your cell phone or holding a long gossip with a co-worker is just plain rude if there's a customer waiting for your assistance. He or she probably isn't interested in what Tanya told Jerod and vice versa. You're at work to do your job, not to entertain your co-workers.

Give answers that consist of more than "yes" or "no."

If you're out of something, don't just mumble, "We don't have that." Find out when more will be arriving. Offer to call or e-mail the customer when another shipment arrives. If you really want to bond customers for life, tell then where they can find the item, even if you direct them to the competition. They won't forget you. They'll come back because you helped them. Guaranteed.

Solve the customer's problem.

Don't argue. Don't justify. Don't disagree. Don't tell the customer, "You have to understand our policy." If you can't do precisely what the customer wants, offer up what is possible. And if you don't have the authority to resolve the customer's issue, find the person who can. Right away. Customers' time is valuable. Don't waste it if you can't help them.

Remember that customers are not an interruption of your work. They're the reason you have a job at all.

ethics news

Surveys - Consumers Opinion Or Verdict?

This is an attempt to find the meaning, relevance, types, and methodology of surveys in consumer industry with especial emphasis on online surveys. Some advantages and disadvantages to the customer are also listed.

Survey is a method to obtain Consumers Opinion., covering one or more aspects of the product or services.

Surveys prior to launch of the product or services help to gauge the market trends and preferences and post-launch survey identifies the level of acceptability of product and so that ways and means could be found for improving their market presence.

As all views, comments, opinions, reaction, suggestions or information of "consumers' verdict" as are factual and hence needed to be fully evaluated before survey results are finalized. Surveys contribute immensely to market research. For example (an X brand air conditioner was super in performance and price compared to other brands in the market but it was not in demand. Survey revealed the consumers' choice and a lighter model introduced later was a runaway success.

Opinion Polls, Popularity surveys, product Surveys, Population Surveys, telephonic leads for personal or home loans etc. come under the term survey. These are conducted either online or off line. However, or focus is son online surveys. Online surveys are either web or email based. Web based survey will be of greater advantage over other forms of online survey.

Before commencement, a survey format is designed by the research team to include all the points intended to be surveyed. Simple and direct questions will evoke genuine response. Lengthy, leading, offensive or too personal questions should be avoided. Then competent and well trained team or teams are chosen to conduct the surveys smoothly and on time. . Time and topicality are interred connected to the subject and ongoing events in many surveys viz. opinion poll before scheduled elections or players popularity at a given time.

With the advent of computer era and revolution of Internet, Online surveys are most preferred as it involves no personal contacts or any appointment or time or place. The customer can respond to online surveys sitting at home or from place they happened to be present. Often the surveys begin after the contacted person agrees to be surveyed and all the questions are to be answered online in the designed format. It takes about 7 to 10 minutes in general and you get some rewards.

Advantages

To Customers:

1. Opportunity to express their views or opinion on a product or service.
2. Product betterment and price cuts
3. Costumers Glory and awareness
4. Boost to Consumer movement
5. Gifts and prizes

To Business:

1. Identification of market presence
2. Important clues to improve their product and market share
3. Customer data base
4. Publicity and advertisement

Disadvantages

To Customers

1. Frequent disturbance
2. A farce or rigged survey
3. A disguised sales campaign
4. Misuse of consumers responses for other purposes
5. Possible leakage of Contact details
6. Scam or hoax surveys

To Business:

1. Costly
2. Distorted or inconclusive or fragmented results
3. High pitch demand or expectation from Consumers
4. Vulnerable to exploitation of product weakness by competitors
5. Wary consumers and frequent shift in options

accounting blog news

Whatever Happened To Customer Service?

Whatever happened to good old customer service? There was a time when delivering great customer service was the number one priority of any business. Today, I am sure the (SOP) standard operatingprocedure of any restaurant highlights the importance of great customer service. But its a long wayfrom the manual to the implementing stage.

We all love to eat out. Millions of dollars are spent eating out every day through out the world. Weas customers set the expectations on what we desire during our visit. Customer service should reallybegin from the time a customer pulls onto your lot. This is where the experience begins. The areaaround your restaurant should be clean and appealing. Your first impression should always be apositive one.

As soon as you enter a restaurant an employee should make eye contact and smile. This is soimportant. Surveys show that nothing makes the customer more displeased than to be ignored.Some restaurants are good with this. Most are not. Perhaps you think I am generalizing, but Ieat out alot. In addition, I am a former Restaurant General Manager with 2 decades of experience.

The customer has to be the most important thing in your universe from the time they enter untilthey depart. What you do in-between will define success or failure for your bottom line.

Greet your customer with a smile, make eye contact and then make small talk as you seat them.I always taught my waitresses the importance of being sincere to every customer. Talk to them,not at them. The most vital aspect of good customer service is the ability to listen. That's right, listen.

Hear what your customer wants and needs. Of course the waitress can go above and beyond butthe product has to be excellent as well. In addition the restaurant has to be clean. (QSC) quality,service and cleanliness. The big three in the restaurant business.

The best customer service I ever got was at a Italian restaurant here in Hickory, NC. They followedall of the points I set above and went beyond. When I prepared to leave with my family it was raining.

One of the employees held an umbrella over my head all the way out to my car. They did the samefor my family. I was very impressed. It is hard to find that kind of service anymore. For the mostpart the service we do see is not sincere. Perhaps times have changed. Younger people work theentry level jobs in restaurant and "respect" isn't what it used to be in previous generations. I hopethat once again, customer service will become a noticeable priority in restaurant world.

accounting blog news

The Importance of Proper CRM KPI Implementation

Call centers all over the world exist for one sole purpose, and this is to make things more convenient for the end users of the companies they work for. Ironically, the mere act of contacting a call center representative is far from boasting convenience, as it should. Have you ever tried contacting a call center to report, let's say a product defect, or just to ask for technical support regarding products and services? If you have tried, then you surely must have gone through pressing so many prompts just to get a live person at the end of the line. And when you do talk to that live person, the line just goes dead.

Now, how frustrating is that? What's more, this is just one of the many frustrating things that can occur in any call center setting. Thus, there is a need to implement CRM KPI, or customer relationship management key performance indicators.

In the scenario mentioned above, who is at fault here? Is it the customer service representative? Or has the caller fallen victim to the occasional hazards that come with technology? Whatever the reason may be, one thing is for sure: the CRM KPI implemented here are faulty, resulting to the unpleasant and very frustrating experience of the caller.

You have to understand that customer satisfaction plays a very vital role in the success and growth of a company. Thus, there is a need to implement key performance indicators to measure customer relationship management. Keeping good customer relations can very well lead to customer satisfaction, and these KPIs are implemented to keep track of the performance of all employees towards achieving this goal.

And that is not all. Any business or organization, at the time of its inception, would have certain goals and objectives that they want to achieve. The typical call center, for instance, would surely have these corporate goals and objectives that it wants to achieve. For the most part, businesses would have a span of roughly 5 to 10 years, for the achievement of these goals and objectives. Customer relationship management would surely be one of these major goals and objectives.

However, it is so easy to become engrossed with the immediate goals and objectives any business wants to achieve, especially in the context of call centers. You see, call centers have a lot of figures to deal with, such as monthly quotas and performance appraisals, that the long-term goals just might be shelved off for a period of time to give way to the short-term goals at hand. But with the implementation of CRM KPI, the tool would actually serve as a constant reminder that there are long-term goals to be achieved. Thus, the attention of both employees and the management staff would be called accordingly.

Where CRM KPI is involved, always remember that it is the perception of the customer that sticks out here.

Thus, it is important to choose KPIs that can accurately measure just how satisfied a particular customer is with the service that has been provided to him or her. If your KPIs can answer this accurately, then you would know that your tool is on the right track.

accounting payroll news

CRM Software - How To Make Customers Feel At Home

For customers to feel like their opinions matter to a company is very important to many of them. Most people want to feel as if they are needed and valued in some way, and this is true not just in their personal interactions, but in their professional interactions as well. Because of this, more and more businesses are using CRM software in their dealings with customers. This is not the only reason for the use of this software, but it is part of what makes it so appealing to companies that want to have good relationships with their customers for a long time to come. These companies know that CRM software can be used quite easily to work with names, addresses, and dates, but that there is much more to it than that. This software also helps to keep track of conversations and customer complaints, and it makes it possible to email customers with new information, sales offers, or surveys that they can complete.

CRM, or customer relationship management, software is a great way to make customers feel like they are valuable, but it is also an important tool for the company, especially where the sales force is concerned. By storing information on customers, it is very easy for a salesperson to feel more at ease and have a better idea what a customer might be interested in. This is valuable for a couple of reasons. First, it does not waste the time of the customer by inundating him or her with useless offers that he or she would not be interested in. Second, CRM software helps the salesperson use his or her time more effectively by providing a clue as to what each customer might need and want. This does not mean that every salesperson-customer interaction will result in a sale, but it does raise the chances of making a sale and helps the salesperson to seem more knowledgeable about the situation and the customer, which are both good selling points for any company.

Customers who feel important and salespeople who feel knowledgeable are going to work better together. When a customer feels uncomfortable, or like he or she does not matter to the company, the chances of that customer taking his or her business elsewhere go up. In addition, there are a lot of salespeople out there who do not really know that much about their product, and this does not inspire any confidence in the product or the company on the part of the customer or potential customer. CRM can help individuals to avoid all of this by providing software that makes understanding and keeping up with the customer-salesperson interaction much easier. There are so many new options for CRM software today as well, and this can make a company much more eager to try it out. There are many free trials that can be utilized, and a company that does this will be able to pick the right CRM software for its sales force before spending a lot of money. This savings can be passed on to the customer.

Self Storage Customer Service

Self storage has become a very competitive industry. There are many parts of the country where it is not uncommon to see several different self storage facilities within a short distance of one another. And nowadays almost all self storage companies provide their customers with basically the same types of security and amenities. All self storage facilities have some kind of access panel so only customers can get into the area. They are equipped with door alarms and video cameras. And most locations usually have an onsite manager living on the property.

If two storage facilities are located very close to each other, and offer virtually the same amenities and prices, then what differentiates the two of them? It is the people. And the excellent customer service that these people provide.

Everyone is accustomed to okay customer service in this day and age. We see it everyday at the bank and the grocery store and the dry cleaners. If anyone was really rude or incompetent, then that would stand out in our minds. But as long as the customer service is all right, then everything is, well, okay.

The service at a top notch self storage facility needs to be more than just okay. That is what everyone has, and what every customer is expecting. Going above and beyond good, to excellent customer service, is what is going to bring about devoted customers. These elated tenants are the people that are going to rave about the self storage facility, tell their friends and families and coworkers how fantastic this location is. And all business people know that word of mouth is the best and the least expensive form of advertising available. Plus, these loyal customers will keep coming back to this self storage location anytime they need self storage, or boxes, or a rental truck, etc.

The only way to get employees with awesome skills is with awesome training. They need to first learn the very basics of their job, and to be able to do it almost in their sleep. They need to be familiar with how to use the computer and answer the phone and how much stuff will fit in a 10x10 self storage unit. Anything they do not know from memory they need to be able to find the answer to quickly. Nothing says poor service more than incompetence!

Once the employee is proficient and feels comfortable with their new position, then the training needs to go deeper.

The way to get the best possible customer service skills out of employees are through proper training. They need to be trained on the basics of their job, but the training needs to go deeper. They need to be taught the little intricacies that go along with it. Often these things are a learn as you go type of a thing. But even more often seasoned employees forget to mention it to the newbie. A written step by step check list needs to be gone over with new employees to be sure nothing vital has been neglected. And the list needs to be updated, as this is an ever changing industry.

Veteran employees also need to be periodically updated on new information. It is vital that everyone stays on the same page. Nothing says incompetence and poor service more than two employees saying different things.

Demystifying Analytics

Analytics: The very term seems designed to confuse. Yet, it's everywhere - CRM analytics, market analytics, website analytics - and everyone seems to be using it. If you're wondering what the fuss is all about but didn't know whom to ask, we have news for you. Read on for a crash course!

Let's begin by saying that your state of bewilderment is not entirely out of place. Most experts agree that there is no set definition of analytics, and vendors use the term to describe different things, as it suits them. The well known research and consulting firm Gartner has tried to set the confusion at rest with a definition as follows: "Analytics leverage data in a particular functional process (or application) to enable context-specific insight that is actionable." If you're none the wiser, let's de-jargonize that statement. Simply put, it means that analytics helps to collect and interpret business data and convert it into wisdom, that can form the basis of future action. For example, a study of the visitor behavior on your website using analytics might reveal a high dropout rate before the buying process; this leads to further investigation which might tell you that the shopping pages are too cumbersome to deal with.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) analytics is widely used as a tool to improve business' insight into customer behavior. This can help answer many questions that dog marketers - for example, how can I segment my customers, and which of them have the highest potential? Or, what is the probability that a buyer of product A will also want product B? In fact, CRM software vendor Salesboom www.salesboom.com claims that their web based CRM software can help pinpoint the best and least selling products, identify the biggest or smallest customer, analyze market trends, streamline Supply Chain Management processes and anticipate future growth and other critical business issues. No wonder, more and more marketers are using CRM analytics to crystal gaze, and predict likely outcomes of different marketing actions.

Website analytics, on the other hand, also facilitates similar understanding, but is of greater relevance to businesses that are highly Internet dependent. In our earlier article titled "An introduction to Website Analytics" we talked about how a web based business can leverage this to understand visitor behavior, evaluate effectiveness of online advertising and study its impact on sales. If your business falls into this category, it may be well worth paying www.onestat.com and www.iwebtrack.com a visit.

Analytics also plays an enormous role in the world of finance. It helps bankers, economists and financial strategists assess risk, study costs, analyze assets versus liabilities and do a lot more.

While these are just a few examples, it is crystal clear that analytics can find application in virtually any business. It improves the quality of decision making by providing greater insight into past history and creating a scientific model for predicting the future. No longer do professionals need rely on gut feel alone. Analytics has made managing and understanding data ever so easy!

Franchising

Mini Storage And Mystery Shopping

Private mini storage companies hire people to do marketing research by shopping secretly at certain stores. Mystery shopping evaluates customer service quality, employee involvement and products or services provided. These shoppers allow the business to make improvements from the unbiased reports submitted. The main service a mystery shopper provides is an objective picture of the experience the consumer has.

Mystery shopping has been a form of research for private mini storage for many years, although it has become popular recently due to more people wanting or needing extra income. Someone looking at this type of job should be aware of the many scams targeted towards the work at home job seeker. Never pay a fee to apply for shopper jobs.

There are many good reasons to become a shopper. The top four are listed here.

Number one is the shopper can try new things with this type of job. Hiring on as a shopper gives you the courage to work out at the brand new gym with the great new equipment or to dine at the ritzy new restaurant that just opened. Many different industries hire shoppers including retail establishments, restaurants and fast food joints, car dealerships, banks and service companies, theaters and amusement parks. With mystery jobs you can try new products and services that you did not dare try before.

The second reason is you can take on a different personality. You can dress up in clothes that are not your normal style. You can be the difficult consumer, the prominent wealthy customer or the complaining hypochondriac. You are required to act and pretend to be someone your not. With mystery jobs you act as the customer to get the information the client needs and for that you may have to take on a new persona.

The third reason is mystery shopping helps others. With this job, the shopper helps the private mini storage company in concrete ways for improving their products and services. This might in the end help other customers have a good experience with that company.

The final reason is no special qualities or training is necessary to be a shopper. Stay at home moms, part time workers, students and full time employees are all perfect for this job. With mystery shopping there are no set schedules, so it can fit in around your current work. Men and women of any age and background are private mini storage shoppers

The most important skills shoppers need are honesty and reliability, attention to detail and good communication. They should also have good grammar and report writing ability.

The shopper can choose when and where they want to work since jobs are available in a variety of places. The shopper can choose a place near where you live or work so there is no extra gas or travel necessary. Taking your children or friends along on the job usually is allowed. And the bonus is you are often reimbursed for any purchases.

Private mini storage shopping can be done in their spare time. Earnings range from 100 dollars or more per month for part time to full time incomes of around forty thousand dollars a year. The average pay per assignment ranges from 5 dollars to 20 dollars with video mystery shops around seventy five dollars. Shoppers will not make fast money, but with time and work can make extra income each month.

Mystery shoppers will not make a lot of fast money, but if you like to try new things, experience new characters and help others, you might just enjoy trying mystery shopping.

accounting blog news

Deal or No Deal to Extended Warranty

Deal or No deal to extended warranty

Introduction
Warranty is a written guarantee given to the purchaser of a new product by the manufacturer, usually specifying that the manufacturer will make any repairs or replace defective parts free of charge for a stated period. Extended warranty is providing service contract for defects that could arise after the manufacturing warranty run out. An extended warranty is coverage for electrical or mechanical breakdown. It does not cover peripheral items, wear and tear, accidental damage, or any consequential loss. The guarantee is to cover the cost of repair and may include replacement if deemed uneconomic to repair. In retail consumer products, extended warranties cost 20% to 30% extra of the product price.

The main reason companies sell extended warranties is because of the huge profits. Consumer Reports magazine about 50% to 60% of what a department store makes comes from extended warranties. Combine that with the fact that an estimated 80% of consumers who purchase extended warranties never make a claim and it's clear how these service contracts can equal huge profits for retailers. The price you pay for an extended warranty is determined by calculating the average maintenance and repair cost of a given item (say, a washer) over the duration of the warranty (say, 5 years), and then adding an amount for "profit" to that figure. The amount of profit can vary considerably, but can sometimes be multiples of the expected repair cost, i.e. the warranty on an appliance with an expected repair cost of $70 might be sold for $250.

Is it worth it?

Consumers do not realize that extended warranties are not offered to the consumer's benefit. For instance, when an auto warranty is offered through a dealership from the manufacturer, repairs on the vehicle are reimbursed at a lower negotiated rate. Some mechanics might fraudulently attempt to defer the needed repair until the warranty has expired so that the ordinary (higher) shop rate will apply. David Butler of the Consumers Union says, "The extended warranty is definitely in the best interest of the company, but isn't often in the best interest of the consumer." He adds, "The Company is much more likely to profit from the extended warranty than the consumer is."

Extended warranties are not a good investment. Consumer Reports, the Better Business Bureau, Canadian consumer organizations, and the Federal Trade Commission as well as the chartered accountant all are against purchasing extended warranties. I believe they are right about it, I think not all extended warranties are a good buy. That is my personal viewpoint and that is what all the consumer watchdogs are saying. "They're foolish things to buy". "They are an impulse buy". You don't go into a store, thinking you're going to buy an extended warranty. The sales person suggests it. Don't be afraid to say NO. There's nothing worse than being pushed into buying something you don't want.

Does extend warranty buys you peace of mind?
Every consumer should ask themselves a question before they buy a extend warranty does the warranty actually buys you is the peace of mind? It's also important to realize that most breakdowns for reasons of "manufacturing defects" occur during the first few months of use-- and thus are generally covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

It seems that these days you can get an "extended warranty" on anything from a blender to carpet. In deciding whether to buy an extended warranty or not, is a risky process. The salesperson makes the extended warranty sound like a hassle-free insurance policy. Even if the extended warranty does sound good, follow this advice: Don't believe everything the sales staff tells you: Sales team often scam consumers by saying that a warranty would cover damage if dropped. However, the warranties had a clause that excluded repairs due to "abuse or misuse." They are going to make it sound like a great deal. Instead of believing the sales team, ask to see a copy of the extended warranty and read it thoroughly. Don't accept a company brochure as a copy of extended warranty information. Ask to see the official warranty. Make sure you understand everything in the extended warranty and don't expect anything more than what's written in the warranty.

Analyze the extended warranty:
Are all parts covered for repair or only certain ones? Remember that some extended warranties will cover the parts least likely to break down. Is the cost of parts and labor covered or just parts? What is the period of the extended warranty? When does the extended warranty start? Immediately or after the manufacturer's warranty expires. (It's best if it starts after the manufacturer's warranty.) What company is responsible for the warranty? If this information isn't readily available, hold off on buying the warranty until you can get it. You may be able to find full details of the warranty online or by contacting the head office of the company. Ask the sales person

1. What happens if the extended warranty company goes out of business?

2. Is there a back-up insurance policy? Who does the repairs? Is it done in-house, sent away to another third-party repair centre, or sent to the manufacturer?

3. Do I have to buy the Extended Warranty now or is there an extended time where I can purchase it?

Finally, buyers should be aware of the way sales representatives are paid. They are on salary (not a very good one) and margins are so thin that they do not get commissions on sales. But they do get a commission on extended warranty sales. That is the reason they try to tell you so many tales of woe about what might go wrong. Buy the item and leave. Yeah, you might lose on an individual item. But if you ALWAYS turn down the warranty, in the long run you will come out as a winner.

Learn from experience
Lesson 1: What you think you bought isn't always what you get
My understanding of extended warranty was completely different (i.e. warranty would be covered for the entire four years, regardless of the number of repairs) then what the sales representative explained things. My understanding was not correct. As a fact, I had purchased a one-time replacement or refund contract that expires after four years or when I made a claim, whichever came first. That wasn't exactly clear in the Protection Plan terms and conditions. As for the service plan description that came with the original receipt, it states that "The Protection Plan....starts on the date of purchase and extends for the life of the plan." Thus unit was covered either way, but this important difference of interpretation had consequences.

Lesson 2: Keep everything that came with the product or you will pay a price Next I learned that it's not enough to return the defective unit: One must bring in all of the various bits and pieces that came with it including original box and all cables? If not, deductibles would apply. For example, failure to produce the original "manual" would result in a penalty of $12.03.

People must remember that they have right to goods that work, and to choose between a refunds, repair, replacement, or part refund if they are faulty. Retailers must provide these rights anyway. Consumers also have new rights to cancel the warranty within 45 days and get a full refund, if they have not made a claim.

Is extended warranty worth it? In most cases, the answer is "No". Therefore, my verdict on this issue is No deal to extended warranties.

careersemp loyment