The Importance Of Customer Service

While attending a recent seminar in Las Vegas, I found
myself in a room with horrible Internet connectivity. As
someone who actively monitors and manages hundreds of
websites, this used to really panic me. Yet, I calmly sat
through many of the seminar presentations, knowing that
all of my customer service concerns were being handled
very promptly.

Let me explain my set-up, and you’ll understand why
customer service is so easy for me now.

I should begin though by pointing out that, as your
online business starts to grow, keeping up with the
customer service issues is often the most challenging
part of running your business.

Just keeping up with all of the emails can be nearly
impossible!

Like many online marketers, I decided to outsource customer
service, but also maintain positive control. I maintain my
own help desk (customer service center) where a few assistants
take care of 95% of issues within minutes of them arising.

I route a major percentage of communications through my
help desk because that puts everything all in one place. I
have a threaded record of many exchanges, stored in a
secure database, so I can always go back and look up the
details later.

I am a bit of a “control freak” so I haven’t put the life
of my business totally into the hands of strangers. I have
a few customer support assistants that I know fairly well.
I know that they are trustworthy, understand my business,
and have good judgement.

I use a help desk software, called Three Pillars Help Desk,
but there are other comparable support desk packages. At
under $100, this is an amazingly feature-rich piece of
software though.

The typical customer service interaction is as follows:

1) A customer has a question, lost a download, needs a
software install, wants to joint venture with me, can’t
get a file to open properly, etc…. they visit my help
desk and fill out a help ticket.

I DON’T require them to register. They just fill out the
ticket, and they are entered into the system, receiving an
email confirmation. Actually, before they submit the ticket,
they are encouraged to peruse the “frequently asked questions”
(FAQ) built right into the help desk. Often, the answer to
their concern is right there and they don’t even need to
file a help ticket.

2) As soon as a help ticket is filed, admin assistants
assigned to that “category” of ticket, receive a desktop
notification that a new ticket has been filed. They get
an audible chime, as well as a desktop icon that tells them
how many tickets are awaiting responses.

I have my help desk set up so that I get these same,
notifications. I have it set to check every 15 minutes,
so I can see if any tickets go unanswered for too long.
Usually, my tech support is fairly fast though.

3) Admin assistants log into the admin control panel,
using their unique admin log-ins, and respond to the tickets
in categories assigned to them. They don’t see, and can’t
respond to tickets in categories not assigned to them.

One of the categories at my help desk is “Personal For
Willie.” Naturally, I only want those tickets visible to
me. Three Pillars Help Desk Software allows that option.
Tickets regarding JV’s are also only visible to me, but I
could have an assistant assigned to sift through JV
proposals, and have all of those tickets ONLY visible to
that admin. Many of my contemporaries do have assistants
assigned to screen JV proposals… some using the very same
help desk setup that I just described.

4) Many of the help tickets that we get can be responded
to with a “one-touch response.” The admin just selects the
answer from a drop-down selection of pre-composed answers,
clicks “send,” and in a matter of SECONDS that ticket is
taken care of. The precomposed answers are assigned to (and
only visible for) specific categories, and the categories
are assigned to specific admins.

Perhaps a customer unfamiliar with PDF’s or .zip files failed
to download and save one properly, or perhaps they don’t know
how to open the file. Perhaps a customer had a hard drive
crash, and needs a replacement copy of an ebook. If my tech
support is provided with proof of purchase, they are
authorized to replace these files. My admins are empowered
to make these types of decisions, that I really shouldn’t
need to get bogged down with.

5) As soon as the ticket is responded to, the customer
gets the response via email, and the desktop notifier, when
it next updates, shows that that ticket has been taken care
of.

I mentioned earlier that I route most communications
through my help desk. This includes requests for joint
ventures, requests for me to broker joint ventures,
request for me to review a product, etc. Details on
how I do all of these things are also included in the
FAQ, so potential JV partners can see if their product
is a likely match before they even file a help ticket.

Email is so unreliable these days. There is nothing
more disconcerting than having a customer upset with you
over not responding to an email that you never even
received. You don’t have that problem with the help desk.
The correspondence is stored right in the database, and
only visible to appropriate parties. You can retrieve
records by name, email address, and a number of other
database variables at any time… even for closed
tickets. So, you have a real treasure of data at your
fingertip.

The FAQ file shows how many views a given question has.
That can show you potential problems, or indicate that
you need to cover a product feature more thoroughly on
your sales letter. Just paying attention to something
like that could easily double your sales of a given
product. The fact is that most prospect, who have a
question, won’t bother asking. So you need to really
pay attention to those who do, and assume that many more
had the same question.

Anyway, I’ve just shared with you how I handle customer
service for the hundreds of websites that I actively
manage in mere minutes per day. I haven’t actually
tracked how much time my admin assistants spend responding
to tickets. They haven’t asked for raises in a long time,
so I assume that it’s not very much.

If you want to spend more of your time working on growing
your business, rather than putting out customer service
“fires,” then I highly recommend that you set up your
own help desk. My help desk of choice is Three Pillars:
http://ThreePillarsHelpDesk.com but there are others. You
can get as fancy as you want to with a help desk with them
ranging from free to several thousand dollars in price.
Three Pillars Help Desk was designed specifically for Internet
marketers which is why it was a natural choice for me.

Willie Crawford is an internationally-acclaimed speaker, author, seminar and radio show host, and leading Internet marketing expert. When not out fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, Willie can be found sharing his 11 1/2 years of online marketing experience with members of The Internet Marketing Inner Circle. Join them at: http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Willie_Crawford

Good customer service is always good business, but in an economy where greater competition for fewer dollars is fierce, it becomes an issue of survival. Modern consumers are savvy, discerning, demanding and presented with more options than ever before. Getting them to care about your brand requires first showing that your brand cares about them.

Yesterday And Today

Used to be that a tank of gas came with a window wash, a tire inspection and an oil check from a well-mannered attendant in a neat bow tie and cap whose job it was to put the “service” in service station. Consumers enjoyed clean-cut convenience and the comfort of worry-free motoring – topped off with a wave and a wink to the kids. That’s understanding your customer, anticipating their needs and crafting a well-designed branded experience that puts them first.

Modern consumers demand even more, yet typically get less. Today, inattentive store clerks, snarky cashiers, pushy salespeople, boorish restaurant servers, difficult return policies, annoying restocking fees and lengthy on-hold times seem to be the rule rather than the exception within many branded experiences. Faced with competition like that a brand that truly puts the customer first stands out and stands to win. When you encounter one, it’s worth mentioning.

Great Service, Hold The Cheese

Recently, I witnessed an example of truly exceptional customer service in one of the last places you might expect… a fast food drive-thru. This particular purveyor of super-sized service was burger chain, Wendy’s. I pulled in for a quick bite between client meetings and found myself idling behind a woman attempting to purchase lunch with her credit card. Twice the card was declined and twice she snapped at the cashier to try it again.

Her anxiety was palpable. Under normal circumstances having your credit card declined is embarrassing and frightening. In the current economy the stigma and fear are heightened. After a lengthy wait, the manager – who clearly understood the emotional minefield he was walking into – appeared at the window to gingerly inform his customer that her card had indeed been rejected. Visibly upset, she snatched her card back and prepared to drive off without her order when something almost amazing happened…

“Ma’am,” the manager said. “I don’t want you to have a bad day. Lunch is on me.”

Under-whelmed? Then you’re missing the point. It’s about a lot more than just a free lunch. With that effortless act of genuine kindness the manager transformed a miserable life experience for his customer into a profoundly positive Wendy’s brand experience that she’ll probably never forget. He stepped beyond the business transaction to communicate that he cared – that Wendy’s cared – about her as a person, not merely as a consumer. He could have just as easily gone the other way and asked for an alternate form of payment or even refused to give her the order. Instead, he made the right call and he nailed it.

Those 14 simple words transcended customer service: “Ma’am,” he was respectful. “I don’t want you to have a bad day,” he was empathetic and kind. “Lunch is on me,” he was generous.

No judgment. No ridicule. Rather, respect and understanding that afforded the customer her dignity in what could have been a humiliating situation. It was the perfect example of the neighborly, service-driven philosophy embodied for decades in the amiable advertising persona of late Wendy’s founder and TV pitchman, Dave Thomas. When is the last time you had a consumer experience where you were shown genuine respect, empathy, kindness and generosity in a single act of customer service – by any brand?

Take It From The Top

Business boils down to people. Your products and services only matter when consumers decide they matter. Our Wendy’s manager understood that. Perhaps Wendy’s as a corporation understands it as well, because customer service like that must be woven into the fabric of your corporate culture.

Great customer service is driven from the top. Senior management must be committed to not only championing service as a strategy, but also making it a proactive feature of the organization’s DNA. Service must not be an afterthought. If it begins when a customer complains, it’s too little, too late. Service is a starting point. Understanding how to best serve your consumers begins with analyzing the customer experience and working outward from there to anticipate their needs across every touchpoint to solve problems before they arise. That’s the only way to design a positive brand experience.

The Human Factor

When service is at the core of your brand your employees must be empowered to solve problems to make customers happy. Empowered employees feel the organization values their participation. They feel you are more committed to their success. The result is that they are more engaged, they work harder, provide better service and positively reflect your brand. Imbuing employees with the authority to make service-oriented decisions requires ongoing training to keep pace with the evolving needs of consumers.

Training costs money, but employees are already your largest investment. On average, an employee costs the organization double their salary when benefits, vacation, sick time and other factors are considered. Make the most of your human resources and invest in service training. The extra expense is made up in happier more involved employees, lower turnover and satisfied customers. Providing employees with the skills to succeed is an investment in the superior branded experience for which consumers will pay a premium.

Wendy’s provides such employee training via their People Excellence program, an incentive-based system that rewards quality service. That training clearly benefited their manager, which in turn benefited their customer, which ultimately benefits Wendy’s bottom line.

Thank You. Please Come Again.

Consumers can purchase products and services anywhere, but they’ll pay a premium for the value of quality service and a positive branded experience. That’s why whatever your business – regardless of size or industry – quality customer service is critical. Take a cue from our friends at Wendy’s who are clearly getting it right. Restaurant guide publisher, Zagat, recently named the Ohio-based company top fast food chain. Wendy’s rated No. 1 overall in separate rankings of food, facilities and yes… customer service. I’m not surprised.

Ken Peters is the owner and Creative Director of nationally acclaimed Nocturnal Graphic Design Studio LLC, a Phoenix-based strategic branding firm specializing in brand development for companies of all sizes in all industries worldwide. Contact Ken at ken@nocturnaldesign.com
. Visit Nocturnal online at http://www.nocturnaldesign.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Peters

Our arrival was just over twelve hours late. With a wind chill well into double digits below zero and the snow falling so heavily the windshield wipers could barely keep the windshield clear. The driver guided the limo under the heated portico in front of the resort. Learning my lesson many years ago, it is my practice to arrive no less than 24 hours in advance of a speaking engagement, and today that practice paid off handsomely. Although it was close to 1:00 am, there was still time to settle in and relax before my late morning presentation. That is, if my reservation had not been given away, as some hotels have a practice of doing.

The doors opened automatically and an attentive young man graciously offered a warm welcome, took charge of my overnight bag, and led me to the reception desk while inquiring how my day had been thus far. As we approached the desk a clerk tendered a sincere welcome and stated, “You must be Mr. Wisner.” Since there was only one room available and one reservation that had not arrived, it was a pretty good guess that I belonged to it. The warmth of the building was only exceeded by the warm welcome the staff afforded me. I felt more than welcomed, but I felt like family.

The first step in providing delightful customer service is to Relate to the customer. Both of the resort personnel in the aforementioned story began to build rapport the instant they made eye contact with me. They were building a relationship with me.

Some sales people have a natural ability to relate to others. Many sales people know the importance of relating to their customers and therefore focus on developing the relationship. All too few are exceptionally gifted in relating to their customers. Here are some tips to relate to your customers:

• Use their name as often as is comfortable. Dale Carnegie said; “The sweetest sound in the world is a person’s own name.” Don’t get carried away with this technique. Overuse of a person’s name can be annoying.

• Make appropriate eye contact. Whenever talking to a client, look her in the eyes. If you find yourself looking out windows or at other distraction, the customer is likely to feel uncomfortable or that you don’t care about them.

• Be sure they are comfortable. If your customer is not comfortable, they will not be as apt to give you their full attention.

• Get them to say yes. The best way to a positive relationship is to be positive. Ask your buyer questions that will elicit a yes from him.

• Treat them like they are important… because they are. Customers are a sales person’s life. Treat every customer as a valued customer. The reason most buyers stay with a supplier is, “because they care.”

• Smile. Have a great attitude. If you have a positive attitude, your customer is more prone to having an upbeat attitude. Positive attitudes or just like smiles. The more you give it away, the more you get in return.

• Focus on what they are saying. The reason most people can’t remember the name of a person they just met is because they were not listening to what was being said. They were thinking about what they were going to say in response. There will be more on listening in Part 2 of this series.

The best way to deliver delightful customer service is to relate to your customer. As Sir James Barrie said; “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” When beginning an interchange with a customer, first focus on building the relationship. Don’t even think about your needs. Simply focus on how you relate to them. In my years of travel, most of the personnel working the check-in counter are very personable and approachable. They were “good enough.” Few have displayed the ability, or desire, to relate to me and truly care about how my day was progressing. Being good enough is never enough when it comes to offering delightful customer service.

The people, who welcomed me into this resort at the foot of Pikes Peak, related to me in a way that made me feel comfortable and welcomed.
Think about situations wherein you have experienced delightful customer service. Then think about how the sales person related to you.
How do you relate to your customers? Do they think you care about them? Would they say you have a great attitude? Would they say you provide delightful customer service?

Terry Wisner, the “Partnering Pro,” International Speaker, Consultant, and author, shares his experience and knowledge through energetic, entertaining, and enlghtening presentations and seminars. Do you want to experience improvement in; Customer Service, Teamwork, Leadership Skills, Communication Skills, or simply Self-Improvement? Then, visit Terry at http://www.terrywisner.com
or http://www.p2s.us
and learn more about Partnering and how it can help you and your organization succeed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terry_Wisner

Today I was trying to order some supplies online and of course my internet and computer decided they didn’t want to work for me (who can blame them considering it has been in the single digits in my neck of the woods). I was trying to place the order and I got all the way to the point where they were asking for my billing address and payment information and then the next step was to complete my order. So I verified all that and clicked the button to complete order, but instead of completing my order it went back to the shipping and billing information page. So I thought well, maybe I didn’t do something right so I clicked continue and then went to complete order again. I then clicked the accept order button and low and behold it went back to the billing and shipping page again.

I was a little annoyed at this time but I was more concerned that I was going to get billed double so I looked at the contact us page and found the phone number to call them. So I call them once I get through the menu options (boy are those annoying no matter what company it’s for) and I reach a real live voice (WOO HOO a real live voice) and she couldn’t have been nicer and more courteous to me. She had my problem solved, and my order ordered in a matter of maybe 10 minutes. Needless to say, I will use their services again and won’t hesitate to tell everyone I know about the great service I received.

On the flip side, I can remember a well known company that I had to contact their customer service and it was just awful.

I got a bill in the mail saying that I was a month behind and I was like oooh crap. So I took a look at my check register and see that I wrote it out and I looked to make sure that I mailed it which I did. I then got online and looked to see if that check had cleared and it had before the bill was due. So I called this company and after not being able to get to a real live person for at least 15 minutes due to their “menu options” (trust me I was livid by then). I did finally get a real live person and explained to them that the check cleared, what the check number was, the day it cleared and so on and so forth. They argued with me and told me that they never received it. So I tried talking to that customer service representative until I was blue in the face and finally I had had enough so I asked to talk to the supervisor.

The supervisor then proceeds to tell me that there was nothing they could do. I mean come on, they had to have some kind of evidence that I paid the bill with all the computers and things out there right. So finally she says, “if you can get me a copy of the check and fax it to me and also the date it cleared” she would fix it. Well, in this computer age, I don’t get copies of my checks that have cleared anymore. To make a long story short I got the check faxed it to them and then called her back. Then to top it all off, they were going to charge me a $3.00 late fee. A late fee after I just proved that it wasn’t late. I know, I know $3.00 isn’t that much but if they charge 1000 customers $3.00 when their payment isn’t late that is a total of $3000 that they just got from unknowing customers.

So why am I going on and on about this? Basically, because you just can’t put enough emphasis on how important customer service is. Sure, we are outsourcing our customer call centers overseas because it’s cheaper to pay them but whatever happened to helping out our fellow man? Has money become such an issue in this country and this world that bigger corporations don’t care about how their clients (customers) feel just as long as they are getting a good deal with their employees.

I had a client contact me about doing some work for him, unfortunately I didn’t have the skills he needed but instead of blowing him off and saying he is out of luck it became my personal mission to find him somebody that could do that work for him. I found somebody too. I didn’t gain anything from it (well, I did get a referral). More than anything though, I had the satisfaction of knowing I helped out somebody and provided good customer service to them. Hopefully when they get to a point in their business where they need my services they will think of me because I helped them without asking for anything in return.

So honestly, would you rather take the extra couple of minutes and provide good customer service or would you rather be a big grump and not care about your clients? I would rather take the extra couple of minutes not only to gain customers but for my own personal satisfaction knowing that I helped.

Tracy Collins owns a successful virtual assistance business, Collins Admin Services. With over 10 years of administrative support experience and being a business owner herself, she knows what it takes to run a small business and how hard it can be to handle everything on your own. For more information about how she can help, visit her website at http://www.collins-admin.com

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