The Added Value - Is YOU!
If there was a restaurant in your town that was physically attractive and clean, had a pleasant variety of entrées on the menu, served food that was prepared in an attractive manner, and the service was outstanding--the maitre'd greeted you by name, remembered which was your favorite table, stopped by later to inquire about your needs and satisfaction, the waiters and waitresses bent over backwards to make your dinner a pleasurable experience and always treated you as if you were their most important patron--would you be willing to pay a little more than other restaurants charged? Many of us will pay a more to obtain better treatment. Why? Today, outstanding customer service has become the exception rather than the rule. We receive such mediocre service most of the time that we would gladly pay a bit more if we thought it would guarantee a better experience. Within every one of the services organizations that I advise on selling and customer or client service, I always find at least one employee who the other employees say, "the customers in our branch will wait in a long line to see Mary or they always call for Sam because they like him so much and they think he's the only one who can help them." Customers of my clients place a high value on having a Mary or Sam take care of them. They're even willing to spend time waiting in order to get the level of customer service these professionals provide and in most cases would gladly spend more money for the high quality service levels that Mary and Sam provide. Always remember that the words "Quality Service" are deceptive at best. There are at the least two levels of quality service--high quality and low quality. Only you can make the difference in which adjective is used to describe the service levels in your organization. In many business and service organizations today, about the only competitive edge many companies or firms have is the level of customer (or client) service that they offer. Often, a company's products or services are "vanilla flavored" or so similar in their makeup and pricing that they can't easily be differentiated. As a sales or service representative you must help your organization create an "edge." You need to understand that you are the value that must be added to your products or services that a customer or client will pay more for, but only if you avoid these customer irritants: 1. Avoid saying "I don't know." Say, instead, "Let me find out for you." 2. Never put a caller on hold. Instead, say, "I can certainly check on this for you. May I have your name and the number where I can reach you within the next few minutes, hour, etc."? Studies show that people judge time poorly when ask to wait or are placed on-hold. 3. If the telephone caller asks for someone else who is momentarily busy or on another line and insists on waiting, make certain that you check in on the caller every 15-30 seconds. Remember a minute waiting is quickly magnified into three to five minutes for people on-hold. 4. Don't tell a customer or client what you can't do for him, focus instead on what you are able to provide. 5. Never say, "I can't do this because it's against our company's policies (or against government regulations)" Instead, tell your customer or client what you can do to help him with his request or problem. 6. Try not to say, "Our computers are down." Instead, phrase your message positively: "I can check that for you by making a brief phone call. Excuse me for a moment." Or, "I'll give you a manual receipt for your deposit and will personally update your account as soon as my computer is functioning." (Also, don't blame mistakes on the computer--your customers know better). 7. Don't let a customer or client you are meeting with, feel that a ringing telephone is more important. If no one else is available to answer the telephone, say, "I'm going to quickly answer this call so it will not continue to interrupt us." Then tell the caller; "I'm with someone at the moment. May I have your name and number and I'll return your call within the next 15 to 20 minutes?" Even if the caller just wants to ask a simple question, you've sent an important message to both the caller (I can't talk now) and the customer or client (you are "valuable" to me and I will treat you with the importance you deserve) VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer service, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, Bank One, Jefferson Wells, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of PROSPECTING: THE KEY TO SALES SUCCESS and the best selling BUILDING & CLOSING THE SALE, Fifty-Minute series books and CLOSE THAT SALE, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications, a division of Thompson Learning. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching, telemarketing, and productivity training manuals. To obtain a discount on two of Virden's new manuals, 101 SALES MYTHS and ORGANIZING FOR SALE SUCCESS, go to http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/book1.htm. Virden has a degree in communications from the University of Utah. He teaches for the Center For Professional Development, Texas Tech University and in the School Of Entrepreneurship, J. Willard And Alice S. Marriott School Of Management at Brigham Young University. http://TheSellingEdge.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Passing the After-Sales Test
Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to branch out into non-foods. Well, they all do it now, but in those days it was unheard of. Alongside the fruit and vegetables, meat and tinned foods they sold refrigerators that they had purchased at very low cost from an eastern European company (these were the days when East and West Europe rarely traded with each other).
These fridges were very cheap ? and they worked! The retailer passed on much of this low cost to grateful customers who purchased them in great numbers.
What the retailer didn't consider was that fridges ? unlike tins of beans ? occasionally need spare parts. They sometimes breakdown or are damaged. What the retailer forgot was AFTER SALES.
It was entirely understandable the customers would make the assumption that the retailer would have this in hand. Trouble is, they didn't. The parts - and the engineers who knew who to fit them - were in Poland. So, to many customers, what seemed like a bargain turned out to be a problem. This retailer is now very successfully selling non-food goods alongside food products and I am sure they did the decent thing by refunding their disgruntled fridge customers of many years ago.
Not all companies are so good with their customers. Some will sell products as a one-off transaction and will not be interested in what happens from the moment the product has been sold. "We don't do repairs and we don't sell spare parts. Contact the manufacturer." This is not a lot of good if you live in the U.S. and the manufacturer is in Shanghai, for example.
Of course, some products and are not designed to be repaired or refurbished. The manufacturers simply expect them to be thrown away at the end of their life, even if that life is relatively short. An example is the microwave oven. Who fixes yours? Nobody, I suspect. They are usually repairable, but rarely is one ever repaired. No, they just end up in landfill alongside many other goods that are also thrown away rather than "made good". No wonder many countries around the world are introducing legislation to limit the extent to which such goods can be tossed away so casually.
So, next time you are considering a purchase, especially the purchase of an expensive product or a mechanical product, consider the following tests:
1. Is it built to last?
2. Does it come with a guarantee?
3. Is there evidence of the product's durability?
4. Is it designed to be repaired?
5. Are spare parts available?
Remember also, that repair is better for the environment than replacement. Of course, old products do need to be replaced eventually, but why replace prematurely just because you have purchased a product that failed the tests above?
One group of products that pass these tests with flying colors is Insect-o-Cutor Fly Killers. Have a look at www.flykiller.net and you will see them there.
Let's put them to the above tests:
1. Insectocutor Fly Killers are made of steel. Their solid construction is one of their best selling points.
2. They come with a 5-year guarantee
3. Go to any restaurant or commercial kitchen and you will see Insectocutor fly killers that have been there for 20 years ? and still going strong!
4. Insectocutor fly killers are constructed in a logical way making repairs straightforward. Insectocutor also provides support for repairs.
5. Insect-o-Cutor sells a range of spare parts for all of their fly killers ? even for models that are no longer in production. And their best UK distributor, Arkay Hygiene ? at www.eeeee.co.uk - is always happy to provide these spares as well as replacement u.v. lamps and glueboards
After sales is just as much about the customer as it is about the product. Making a sale is not the end, it is just the beginning. Insect-o-cutor is a good example of a company that demonstrates its concern for it customers through the long-term support offered for its range of products. Just think on that one when you are next down the municipal dump with your broken down microwave!
5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By
Whether online or off, if you plan on running or maintaining any type of credibility within your business, there are some guidelines that are safe to say any existing or potential customer expects if they are to do immediate or future business with you.
Adjustment DENIED
It's just a simple thing ? I bought a new set of shelves for my office. It wasn't a real problem, but when I got the shelves home, I found dents on the front of the shelves where the package had been leaned up on some other object, the shelves had been removed from the original box and put into another box. The dents didn't affect the way the shelves worked, but it did affect the way they looked. Normally, I might have overlooked the problem, and just used them anyway, but I felt I had paid full price for the shelves and deserved a discounted price, so I mentioned it to the store manager the next time I was in the store.
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
However, in the world of business, this cliché may not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can be more like 'Out of Site, Out of Mind'.
Mexico: Online Ordering?Dont!
I got it into my head sometime in December 2004 that I wanted order a laptop computer. I thought I would get one from the hugely popular computer company that allows you to call their 800 number and custom order what you want. Presto, like magic, it appears at your doorstep in days.
How to Retain Your Customers the Dish Network Way
Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot retain your customers you will be continually losing current customers and always on the search for new ones. This can be very expensive. Retaining current customers means continual sales which is essential to keep your business afloat. Here are some keys to keeping your customers that can be learned from looking at the Dish Network business model.
The death of customer servie
The other day a reporter call to interview me on the "Death of
Customer Service". My first reaction was to deny that charge
and claim that customer service is very much alive and well.
But upon further thought of the service I've received over the
past few months and what others have related to me about
their experiences, I had to admit that the quality and level of
service has decreased. Upon further thought I realized that it
has been on a decline for quite a while.
The History of CRM -- Moving Beyond the Customer Database
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts
that swept the business world in the 1990's with the promise of forever changing
the way businesses small and large interacted with their customer bases. In the
short term, however, it proved to be an unwieldy process that was better in
theory than in practice for a variety of reasons. First among these was that it
was simply so difficult and expensive to track and keep the high volume of
records needed accurately and constantly update them.
6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden
With Some Tips on How to Respond
How Not to Get Stiffed, Improving Your Collection Procedures
Some businesses have slow paying customers or past due balances because they didn't "train" their customers in the beginning.
Dont Eliminate The Middle Man - Add One
Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle person" instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it's cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. For example, my sister just informed me of a food delivery service in New Mexico that will let you choose one out of many different food outlets (all types of ethnic/fast food)- and then guarantees delivery within a specific time period. This not only gives the customer assurance of reliability, but more choices for dining take ?out style.
Customer Service and Marketing that Works
Go into many businesses today and try and get service, its sometimes impossible! The customer service officer is on the phone talking about personal issues, there is not enough staff, and they are disinterested and distracted.
Find Out Where Your Firm Stands in Today?s Customer
Looking For Ways to Improve Sales and Customer Relationships?
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Learn from the Complaints of Customers and Employees
Listening to complaints, whether they're reasonable or not, is a part of every manager's job. Sometimes complaints can be overwhelming. However, when we take them in stride with an open mind, we can learn much from our employees' and customers' feelings about the workplace. After all, a complaint is nothing more that a person telling you that his (or her) needs have not been met. As dissatisfied customers, they are giving us a second chance to correct something that should have been done properly the first time around. (In some cases the customer might happen to be your employee.)
Turning Customer Mistakes Into Raving Fans
When you make a mistake with a customer, should you write them off as lost -- never to return again?
Treating the Customer Dissatisfaction Epidemic: How to Go Beyond Simply Masking the Symptoms
Corporations in every sector are spending more than ever before in an attempt to improve their customer service levels. Every year they pour hundreds of millions of dollars into new systems and training programs that promise them the ability to win customer loyalty. Despite their efforts, however, customer satisfaction results continue to fall. Why aren't these massive efforts paying huge dividends? One would think that by now the organizations that have committed these vast resources would have a large cadre of satisfied, loyal customers, but in most cases just the opposite is true.
Dont Forget your Existing Clients
Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the bills
What Do They Want Anyway?
You want customers. I want customers. We all want customers. And traffic alone is not enough. We need "interested" customers. Customers ready to listen, ready to buy. So you may find yourself asking, what do they want anyway?.... and how can I get them to buy?
Everyone talks in code!
How often have you left a meeting with a customer or your boss telling yourself he likes my ideas. Only to find later that you didn't get the sale or your boss has told everyone that you are crazy.
Are You Satisfying Your Customers?
The latest report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (Michigan School of Business) reports the following:
|
