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Exceptional customer service is not complicated

May 16, 2012 by Steve Curtin
with 45 views
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Cartoon: Cartoonresource /Shutterstock

What’s remarkable to me about this finding is that it’s consistent with consumer research from three decades ago. I recall TARP statistics (1978) and research from Dr. Michael LeBoeuf (1987) that exposed poor treatment by employees (rudeness or indifference) as the number one cause for customer defection. [read more]

11 Common Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

May 15, 2012 by Patricia Lotich
with 55 views
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photo by:  jomcleary
 

Mistakes are part of the learning process but when it comes to owning or running a small business some mistakes, made at the wrong time, could threaten the long term viability of the organization. Because of this, it is important to identify those things that should never be overlooked or neglected. [read more]

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Three Reasons Why Happy Brands Win in Social Media

May 15, 2012 by Chris Dessi
with 73 views
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Image: Rafal Olechowski/Shutterstock

In social media, there is a distinct advantage for brands that are happy vs. those that are not. Social media, it has been said can be the ultimate BS meter. You can "fake" happiness for a short period of time, but it is highly difficult to fake it in the long term. [read more]

Building a Business Culture to Deliver the Best Customer Service

May 15, 2012 by Douglas Hanna
with 60 views
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Photo by: HiMY SYeD / photopia

Deciding on what a business wants to accomplish is part of its core values and related to its overall culture. Customer service should be one of the top priorities, and the commitment to pleasing customers and delivering “out of the box” services should never be discouraged. [read more]

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How Self-Service Kiosks Can help Companies Meet Corporate Goals

May 14, 2012 by Adam Snape
with 39 views
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If you've ever been to an airport or bus terminal you've probably used a self-service kiosks before. Try to fathom how many human-to-human transactions have been eliminated through the use of just one ticket terminal at an airport. [read more]

Why Call Center Training, By Itself, Doesn’t Work

May 14, 2012 by Dr. John R. Miller
with 57 views
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Training call center agents in a set of soft skills does very little to actually increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty scores. In virtually every situation where I have purchased or provided training for call center agents as a stand-alone component, the initiative has had sporadic results at best. [read more]

A Heroic Story – and a Powerful Social Business Metaphor

May 15, 2012 by Brian Vellmure
with 16 views
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While the daily triggers and challenges in most of our business lives aren’t remotely as dramatic as what happened to the twin towers that day, we DO live in a business (government, education, NGO, Ministry) climate where cycle times are increasingly compressed, and never explored frontiers of opportunity are literally emerging every few years, instead of every few decades or centuries. [read more]

The Customer Service Culture

May 15, 2012 by Bill Quiseng
with 53 views
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Delivering amazing customer service requires continuous focus. It’s a journey not a destination. As a leader, you are continually setting an example that encourages others to follow your lead. Here are three things that you can do to set an example within your own organization that will lead to increased customer satisfaction. [read more]

Drag Your Content from the Internet Abyss and Have it Soar Above the Surface

May 14, 2012 by James Debono
with 26 views
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Image: Sharkbait/Flickr

If you produce content for the web on a regular basis then you will appreciate how tough it can be to come up with new ideas, new topics, and new content to keep your audience crying out for more. In some cases you may just be hoping that your content attracts a few views, and even one or two shares is an absolute bonus! [read more]

You Can’t Have Engagement Without Inclusion

May 14, 2012 by Steve Curtin
with 86 views
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Most company managers talk about the importance of an engaged workforce but relatively few do the real work of fostering an inclusive work environment—which requires authenticity, thoughtfulness, judgment, effort, and purposeful action. In a word: leadership. [read more]

You Don’t Have To Like Your Customers

May 14, 2012 by Steve Reeves
with 68 views
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Image: Stuart Miles /Shutterstock

There’s no rule saying you have toImage like the people you sell to, but it helps a lot if they think you do. This sales story from the front line illustrates the point. [read more]

Trust and Customers

May 13, 2012 by Barry Dalton
with 71 views
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Photo by Lars Plougmann via Flickr

A large component of the brand social media conversation revolves around this notion of trust.  Up until now, I hadn't thought too much about it.  And being that I'm not a brand manager or anything like that, I never really saw it as a topic for this forum.But a recent survey report I read from Brandfog called... [read more]

Are Your Customers Noticing Your Company’s Facebook Page Updates Now?

May 12, 2012 by Allen Mireles
with 115 views
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The grumbling is growing. Marketers are getting frustrated that fans seem not to be noticing their Facebook page updates. For some, engagement seems to be lessening since Facebook introduced the Timeline format.This is anecdotal however. There is little data to support this now. Some surveys show increases in fan engagement. Some, like... [read more]

Music, Film, TV: How social media changed the entertainment experience

May 11, 2012 by Brian Solis
with 29 views
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Image: Shutterstock

Social networking is in its own right a reality show made for the web. It is its own form of entertainment. And, as the study found, an overwhelming majority of people agree [read more]

Do Customers Want or Use Social Channels for Service?

May 11, 2012 by Mitch Lieberman
with 95 views
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Customer Service using Social Media Channels is a nascent discipline, which is good, because fewer customers than most people think are actually using it – but its time will come. Just look at the usage from the customers perspective, barely 17%. American Express and ECHO just published some findings that paint an interesting picture. [read more]

Six Retailers Who Blew It- BIG

May 11, 2012 by Sheridan Orr
with 73 views
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When I give presentations, I typically like to use case studies to show customers best practices. However, it is frequently the object lessons of those who blew it that clients find most interesting. While doing research for an upcoming engagement, I found six retailers who blew it – and I mean blew it big. [read more]

Customers Who Smile Get Better Service!

May 10, 2012 by Andy Hanselman
with 40 views
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Customers who smile get better service! Well, that’s definitely the case if you go to a brand new vending machine that gives you a free ice cream when you smile at it! [read more]

A Coalition of Shareholders and Customers – This could work!

May 10, 2012 by Gerry Brown
with 33 views
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Image: Lasse Kristensen /Shutterstock

This got me thinking: if righteously angry and disaffected customers respond with equally rebellious behaviour, and even join up with the shareholders, then the brand damage to companies would be even greater and financially more punitive. [read more]

Spirit’s Customer Service Debacle Teaches Several Business Lessons

May 10, 2012 by Shep Hyken
with 55 views
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Photo: Pablo Scapinachis /Shutterstock

 

Spirit Airlines is known as a low-cost, no-frills airline. They charge extra fees, as many airlines do for baggage. They even charge for carry-on bags that go into the overhead compartment. More on that in a moment. First, the big PR nightmare for Spirit came when Jerry Meekins, a Vietnam veteran who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, asked for a refund because his doctor told him not to fly. [read more]

The Emotion found in Social Data

May 10, 2012 by Networked Insights
with 69 views
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Image: iQoncept /Shutterstock

Let’s be clear. Most people who write on social media outlets don’t do so just for the sake of doing it. Some might, but the vast majority of people who share content, post comments, or offer sentiments and opinions online do so because they are in what Andrew Jeavons of Survey Analytics calls “the point of emotion.” [read more]

Can the Future of Mobile Be Found in Social? CI & CNBC Use Social Media Analytics to Find Out

May 9, 2012 by Jennifer Roberts
with 40 views
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Although Apple is not at the conference, consumers continue to express their love of the iPhone and monopolize the conversation around all things Apple. But their unassailable reign may not be entirely assured in the long-term. The release of the new Samsung Galaxy and the acquisition of Motorola by Google may provide the first real competition to their grip on the market. [read more]

Are Happy Customers the Goal?

May 9, 2012 by Debra Ellis
with 68 views
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Image: Vibrant Image Studio/shutterstock.co

Relationships are messy. What works for one can fail another. Individuals are, well, individual. They have unique needs and preferences but some things are universal. They want to be respected, appreciated, and valued. If you start there, you are on your way to good relationships. [read more]

It is time to move on to ‘How’ – Where the Rubber Meets the Road for Customer Service

May 9, 2012 by Mitch Lieberman
with 58 views
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Image: iQoncept/Shutterstock

From products and pricing to service and social, there is no shortage of talk on what companies need to do to achieve service excellence. It is easy to say what to do, to be an advice giver. That said, telling someone how to do something is not nearly as easy. [read more]

ViDEO: Motivating Your Customer Service Team

May 9, 2012 by Jack Dempsey
with 68 views
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Cutting corners in your customer service lowers your value. Go around the cone! Raise your standards and follow them, not the pack. [read more]

Please Stop Selling Me! Can't We Just Talk?

May 9, 2012 by Kristin Zhivago
with 85 views
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Image: Roger Jegg - Fotodesign-Jegg.de /Shutterstock

 

Here's how NOT to make a sales call. Sticking to your script can be like sticking your head in the ground. [read more]

How to Keep Your Customers from Leaving You

May 8, 2012 by Douglas Hanna
with 70 views
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Image: ARENA Creative /Shutterstock

So what do we need to do as business owners to keep our customers? After all it’s much more expensive to find new customers, therefore doesn’t it seem logical that we step out of the box for everyone who graces the doors or who clicks on a shopping cart for our organizations? [read more]

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