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Answer Upon - The Small Retailer's Survival Guide - Part 4 - Customer Service
As human beings we tend to label things, to generalize things, to simplify, so that we can assimilate the tons and tons of information that are being dumped our way every single waking hour. We become so good at it that it becomes a subconscious activity. To demonstrate:You won’t notice your breathing pattern (until I mentioned it), the weight of your body on your bum that is being supported by the chair (until I mentioned it), even your urge to blink right now. You just blinked didn’t you?Ok, Ok, so what has that got to do with increasing profits? Simple! We tend to shut out things that are ‘common occurrence’, ‘the norm’, and ‘the standard’ in favor of paying attention to things that stand out and are different. Knowing that, you can easily and very consciously set up your business/service/product/offer to be different than what is on the market. And when you do that, you will be guaranteed a huge jump in profits!Just think about it.There are hundreds and hundreds of Internet entrepreneurs who are promoting themselves as gurus. Only a handful are extremely successful. And those are the ones who have differentiated themselves and created a powerful positioning for themselves.For example, they positioned themselves as the product creation expert, th
Traditionally small to mid sized businesses have been set up with what is called multi-tier pricing for their credit card processing. This system is usually set up with three tiers (qualified, mid-qualified, and non-qualifed.) Occassionally, if the business owner has negotiated well, there will be a fourth tier for qualified offline debit cards. While this system has worked well for many years, the increasing number of rewards and corporate cards being issued has made this type of pricing obsolete.Visa and Mastercard have many different interchange categories for the multiple card types that are issued. Tier pricing takes a large number of these categories and lumps them into one of the three tier buckets available to the merchant. If the merchant only ever takes standard credit cards then this system will work well for them. Once they start to see more debit, rewards, and corporate cards being used in their place of business they will notice that their merchant services bill has increased dramatically. This is because many of these transactions are falling in to the mid or non qualified transaction categories.Some of these cards are actually not that much more to process than a standard credit card, but the underwriting company for the merchant account needs to make sure that they are profitin
Disrespect
"Of course I treat customers with respect", is what many shopkeepers will say. No you do not, or at least many of you do not. I know from personal experience, and so do thousands of others, that customers in shops are often treated as an inconvenience. They get in the way. They ask awkward questions. Sometimes they buy things and then complain. Worst still, others do not buy anything and still complain. Some customers treat your shop like a meeting place, others just buy one newspaper a week and nothing else. Some of you might say: "look, I do complain about customers, but never on the shop floor and always behind closed doors." Wrong! Do not treat customers with disrespect, even if they are out of earshot. Just.....do not treat customers with disrespect at all, anytime, anywhere.
Customer Service not Lip Service
I'll give you examples from two large companies where they have decided to instil a customer care culture throughout their organizations. Firstly Dell. Whether deserved or not they have had a bad reputation in the past with some customers. There are many reasons for this and many of these reasons were structural rather than down to the way customers were treated. The result was the same, however with a perception among many customers that they were not being treated with the respect that they deserved. Dell has recently overhauled customer service. As well as improving structures and systems they have taken a major step forward: they have pushed the needs of the customer to the front of the queue. OK, I know that Dell is not a small retailer. In fact, retailing is only one of their functions as they supply many other retailers. The point remains though, that they have realized that customer service is a state of mind. Customers will be talked about in a respectful way, even if they are not in the room. All efforts in the company, from the board room and through to every member of staff and every affiliate have been geared to customers and it is working. I know that there will be those out there with contrary stories to tell and I am sure that they have a long way to go, but I believe that Dell are getting there and will continue to grow strongly as a result. Another company is UK based Tesco, with stores in various parts of Europe and the Far East. Once again even they would not pretend to be perfect, they do have a culture of custome
Alright, let’s clear the air and state right upfront that I am NO way condoning pornography. It is a fact of life, and one that apparently is not going away any time soon. Being successful in business has often been about walking a fine line and thinking outside the box. So if you are uncomfortable, with even the thought, that you could learn something from the business acumen of the Adult Movie Industry, then I especially think you should grab a coffee and keep reading this article. Why? We always learn something from that which we vehemently disagree with. You can always stop reading; you always have the choice.Why is there 100’s of Adult Movie stores in almost every city in North America? Demand, demand, demand... If there is a demand for your product or service; miraculously suppliers will appear out of nowhere to profit from that demand. The law of supply and demand have not, and the fundamental laws of economics will not change any time soon. We could get in to a whole debate on morals and integrity, when it comes to supply and demand, but that is not the intent of this discussion. We’ll save that for another day.What can the Adult Movie Industry teach us, outside of the laws of supply and demand? You may be surprised, but this industry can teach us about marketing, in a big way. As you may or
Customer Service not Lip Service
I'll give you examples from two large companies where they have decided to instil a customer care culture throughout their organizations. Firstly Dell. Whether deserved or not they have had a bad reputation in the past with some customers. There are many reasons for this and many of these reasons were structural rather than down to the way customers were treated. The result was the same, however with a perception among many customers that they were not being treated with the respect that they deserved. Dell has recently overhauled customer service. As well as improving structures and systems they have taken a major step forward: they have pushed the needs of the customer to the front of the queue. OK, I know that Dell is not a small retailer. In fact, retailing is only one of their functions as they supply many other retailers. The point remains though, that they have realized that customer service is a state of mind. Customers will be talked about in a respectful way, even if they are not in the room. All efforts in the company, from the board room and through to every member of staff and every affiliate have been geared to customers and it is working. I know that there will be those out there with contrary stories to tell and I am sure that they have a long way to go, but I believe that Dell are getting there and will continue to grow strongly as a result. Another company is UK based Tesco, with stores in various parts of Europe and the Far East. Once again even they would not pretend to be perfect, they do have a culture of custom
In the past few decades, there has been a great revolution in the way the management deals with and treats its employees and staff. Gone are the days when corporate houses considered it a favor to the employees to have them work with their company. In present times, there has been a paradigm shift in favor of the employees. Every corporate house tries its best to make its working environment rewarding and the job profile lucrative for its staff. Tremendous efforts are made to retain competent staff and increase productivity through a healthy work environment.The top management has to make a commitment towards the corporate gift programs and make financial allocations towards its implementation. The procedure generally involves the human resource department helping the employee representatives formulate a corporate gift program. The elements of the program are formulated and decision is taken on the type of non-cash gift programs that would be included. The employee sympathy gift program is also formed and expression of sympathy in the form of flowers or cards is made when an employee suffers bereavement.The budget allocations for different programs are made based on the funds available and are clearly stipulated in the program. This program involves the empowerment of supervisors in various department
Customer Service not Lip Service
I'll give you examples from two large companies where they have decided to instil a customer care culture throughout their organizations. Firstly Dell. Whether deserved or not they have had a bad reputation in the past with some customers. There are many reasons for this and many of these reasons were structural rather than down to the way customers were treated. The result was the same, however with a perception among many customers that they were not being treated with the respect that they deserved. Dell has recently overhauled customer service. As well as improving structures and systems they have taken a major step forward: they have pushed the needs of the customer to the front of the queue. OK, I know that Dell is not a small retailer. In fact, retailing is only one of their functions as they supply many other retailers. The point remains though, that they have realized that customer service is a state of mind. Customers will be talked about in a respectful way, even if they are not in the room. All efforts in the company, from the board room and through to every member of staff and every affiliate have been geared to customers and it is working. I know that there will be those out there with contrary stories to tell and I am sure that they have a long way to go, but I believe that Dell are getting there and will continue to grow strongly as a result. Another company is UK based Tesco, with stores in various parts of Europe and the Far East. Once again even they would not pretend to be perfect, they do have a culture of custom
It’s just so impossible to imagine a life without electricity or electronic goods. Electronic goods have become such intrinsic part of our lives that we have started taking them for granted. Would not life be such an improbability without refrigerators, water heaters, iron, coffee maker, dryers, air conditioners and dish washers?!Though these items are easily available on high streets, yet owing to several factors, purchasing them always proves to be a harrowing experience. The electronic goods market in UK has reached such a crescendo that a customer is spoilt for choice and gets all confused before settling down with a product from one of the merchants. Best option available in such a scenario is to go in for various e-shops and cash back portals that helps its customers make as informed a choice as possible.These portals let you compare electronic goods price and finally helps you buy cheap electronic goods of best quality by top merchants. What would be better than getting all top line electronic goods merchants at a single platform offering best deals and goods at discounted prices. What more, cash back portals even provide you huge cash backs for shopping through them.Online shops selling cheap electronic goods are minting money like never before. What could be better than b
An accountant can be more than just a person who prepares the accounts and talks to the taxman for you.Over time you will find that your accountant can become a valued business advisor. Remember that they are dealing with a spectrum of local businesses of various types.A natural by-product of this is that they will have: Many contacts – some probably very relevant to your own business Dealings with the local bank managers and a good idea of what they expect for applications such as financing in particular, the style of business plan they like to see presented to them The respect of other local organisations particularly banks and other professionals that will reflect well on your business A lot of experience in dealing with the local tax office and regulatory bodies Professional qualificationsI can’t stress enough that if you want to have a solid, long term, happy working relationship then you should always use a qualified accountant.You will of course always be able to find other cheaper alternatives but consider this: Do they have enough experience and training to carry out the regulatory and governmental obligations you have. Remember, when the Inland Revenue is handing out fines for late payment or non-com
Eye Contact
Every time a customer buys a product from you, they have, in effect, made a contract with you to supply them with goods. Most people will shake hands when they conclude a deal. This may be a little over the top in a store (although it happens in some cultures), but customers do deserve full eye contact from the cashier after they have concluded the shopping as a way of acknowledging them and showing them respect (I am aware that in some cultures, eye contact would not be appropriate, especially between males and females).
Complaints
As I have said in other articles I have written, customer complaints are not just important, but very valuable. The customer is taking the trouble to feedback to you. They are giving you a chance to put things right. When a customer complains, please remember that they are not axe murderers. In fact, they would prefer not to complain at all. Just like you, they are trying to get through the day with the least amount of hassle. Their complaint should be listened to, and dealt with appropriately. Even if you cannot help the customer, always treat them with respect. If they complain that the price of flour is too high and you cannot do anything about it then remember that, although you cannot help, the problem is still there, at least in the eyes of the customer: the flour is still too expensive. Don't just shrug your shoulders and leave them stranded - that will just lead to frustration and will leave the customer feeling helpless and even humiliated, especially if it is played out in front of others.
Remember, that us humans are proud and do not like to feel belittled or humiliated. By saying, "Thank you for your comments, I'll pass them on." or, "I will raise your point at our next team meeting" you are neither endorsing nor opposing the customer's comments. What you are offering is something for the customer to latch on to. The customer can at least feel that, although it isn't
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