HOW TO MAKE CUSTOMERS FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR BRAND

Let’s talk about a word that is not used regularly, or comfortably, in the corporate world. That word is LOVE. While it isn’t spoken, it is what all executives want: People to LOVE their brand. They want their employees to LOVE working for them. We all want our Customers to LOVE us. Think about the top brands in the world: people don’t buy from Starbucks, they LOVE Starbucks. People LOVE Apple, Zappos, Nordstrom, Chick-fil-A, and Amazon. Think about the companies you personally would never stop doing business with? You may LOVE your hairdresser, or your account executive, manufacturer/distributor; you might even LOVE your banker or lawyer (crazy as that sounds).  What makes you LOVE a service provider or business? What did they do to make you LOVE them? How many of your Customers would make heart-shapes about your brand? I LOVE the phrase out love your competition Out-Loving your competition is the most distinct competitive advantage a company can have. When enough Customers LOVE your business, you have just made price irrevelant .What do we have to do to make our Customers LOVE us and our businesses?

You have to LOVE them first – LOVE has to start at home.What is felt on the inside will be felt on the outside. All relationships begin with a connection. It may only be momentary  (your heart skips a beat) possibly originating out of the first three of the five E's(eye contact, enthusiastic greet, and ear to ear smile). It grows a little bit more when a conversation is had, executing on the final two E’s (engage and educate). Through this interaction, the Customer realizes it is not about the sale, rather you are truly interested in what’s best for them. Interest and trust has been created.  However, emotional connection isn’t made until the business demonstrates genuine care and interest in more than just their pocket book. Falling in LOVE with your brand is not possible until the Customer feels that it is all about them, that they are the most important person in the relationship. The business needs to take the time to learn about them, using Customer intelligence, their FORD — about their Family, Occupation, Recreation and Dreams.  Due to the relationship you have created, the Customer cannot recall how they ever got along before you were in their life and could not imagine a world without your business. You now have a brand evangelist.

What we need is LOVE - Let’s teach what kindness looks like, in business, in family, communities and schools. Have employees learn about caring for others with no hidden agenda to make a sale or profit. 

Credits:John DiJulius

Read More

MY EXPERIENCE AT TANTALIZERS IN ABULE EGBA

A reader by name Fram Temple sent in her experience at Tantalizers food outlet in Abule Egba .

"I hate junk foods and I hardly go for it, but I was about joining a bus to ibadan and I was deeply pressed so I decided to make use of the eatery's toilet while at least patronising them. After using the lavatory, I ordered for burger nd meat pie, I was curious when d burger was put in microwave, but didn't question d lady bcs I was in a hurry, she was even telling me that she does not hv 270 naira which is my balance but upon my insistence, she reluctantly handedd over 200 naira while I let d 70 naira for her. I joined the bus at d park and settled for d meat pie, alas! The odour that came out of it after I took a bite was a rotten and sour like one, I threw it away, nd take d burger, but immediately I took a bite, I vomitted inside bus, d burger tasted like bread soaked in palm wine. I wl never patronise them again, the management of this outlet should improve or lock up d place".
I hope the msnagement of Tantalizers will respond to this,it happened on Saturday May 31st,2014.

Read More

19 SIGNS THAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE NOT INTO YOU

Have you ever wondered, where did all the customers go?

Gosh, let's hope not! But stick with me here. Do you constantly scratch your head about lost customers, wondering where they went and why? Is acquiring new customers becoming a challenge?

I thought I'd have a little fun - along with a lot of seriousness - and list some signs that you might watch for ahead of time to figure out when customers (existing or prospective) just aren't that into you (any more). And when, perhaps, it's just not a good fit.

So, here they are: 19 signs customers aren't that into you - ever or any more.

No public displays of affection (PDA). They've stopped writing reviews about how much they love doing business with you, and they don't recommend you to their friends any more.

You're not friends on social media. They no longer follow you (or never have) on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media platform.

They talk about their exes. They start comparing you to companies they've previously done business with: Company X used to do this or that for me; Company Y doesn't.

They talk to their exes. They start considering companies with which they've previously done business. Was it too painful? Is it worth going back there?
The conversation is one-sided. You send messages, have sales, offer discounts, advertise, and share on social media. There is no reciprocation; they don't respond or interact.

You make all the plans. There's no give and take. It feels like a forced relationship, like you're willing your customers to do business with you.

They have a roving eye. Customers start looking at other options in the marketplace. Is there better service? Are there better products, offers, etc.?

They don't introduce you to friends or family. Clearly you're not worthy of being introduced into the inner circle.

Three's a crowd. They always bring a friend along. When it's time to renew their contracts, they go out to RFP instead of just giving you the business.

Fear of commitment. Either that's an inherent fear in the customer, that they just don't commit to a brand, or you've wronged them in some way to scare them away from committing.

They're always critical of you. Those reviews that were once polite and raving have turned to hating everything you make and do. Now they're just ranting to friends and on social media about how bad and how wrong things are.

They avoid you, partially or completely. They don't buy your products or services any more, or you are now part of a consideration set - maybe they will, maybe they won't.

They don't care for your feelings. They publish negative reviews, rather than giving you the benefit of the doubt or telling you directly so that you can fix the problem.

They tell you about their ideal partner, but it doesn't describe you. Oops!

They expect you to change, and vice versa. Well, as we know, this is never a good place to be in a relationship. And to expect that your customers will change their attitudes, behaviors, and feelings - or for them to think you'll change how and why you do business - is likely out of the realm of possibilities. This is not a good fit.

Your values and beliefs are different. Customers buy from brands with which they align, whether that alignment is with the brand's purpose, the corporate social responsibility policy, or something else. This customer was/is not a good fit.

There's more pain than joy in the relationship. This sign makes me think about cell phone customers. Or airline customers. It's hard to commit to a brand when the brand constantly disappoints, frustrates, or shows they don't care about customers. Time to change your tune!

You keep arguing over the same issue. And neither one budges, so the relationship can't move forward. The issue doesn't get fixed. It's just a blame game. End of relationship.

You're not a priority. When the need arises, they think about going elsewhere first.

So, when you think about your lost customers - or, perhaps, disinterested customers, those on the way out the door - what do you see? They've stopped giving you feedback? They don't spend as much any more? They no longer recommend you? They just don't do business with you?

Written by Anette Franz

Read More

5 TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE TIPS TO ANGRY CUSTOMERS

Tele­phone eti­quette tip #1: Avoid “I don’t know”

It’s com­mon for cus­tomers to ask ques­tions that the rep doesn’t have an answer for, but instead of say­ing “I don’t know,” guide your reps to frame the response pos­i­tively. A great alter­na­tive response would be:

“That’s a great ques­tion. I’ll find out for you.”

Instead of frus­trat­ing the cus­tomer and pre­sent­ing a dead-end sit­u­a­tion, the rep instead turns the sit­u­a­tion into an opportunity.

Train your reps to avoid “I don’t know” when­ever pos­si­ble; teach them to reframe the unknowns into a way to offer addi­tional help.

Tele­phone eti­quette tip #2: Be care­ful how you trans­fer customers

One of the most dreaded phrases for many cus­tomers is “Let me trans­fer you.” How many times have you been trans­ferred, only to start over on an auto­matic sys­tem, or to have the call dropped? While you may not be able to avoid hav­ing to trans­fer cus­tomers to a dif­fer­ent depart­ment, you can ease cus­tomers’ wor­ries by how you explain the move.

Instead of say­ing: “Please hold while I trans­fer you,” instead try:

“Let’s get this prob­lem solved for you as quickly as pos­si­ble. Angela is our spe­cial­ist in the tech depart­ment, and she’s going to help you out.”

By rephras­ing how you state a trans­fer, you’ll ease a customer’s fears of get­ting dropped and focus on the pos­i­tive – that you’re putting them on the line with some­one who spe­cial­izes in the topic.

Tele­phone eti­quette tip #3: Make the best of a defec­tive product

If a cus­tomer calls to com­plain about a defec­tive prod­uct, assume that you are already deal­ing with a frus­trated cus­tomer who doesn’t think very highly about your prod­ucts. Make lemon­ade out of lemons, as they say, with the fol­low­ing tele­phone eti­quette steps:

Be empa­thetic: The first step is to show empa­thy. Com­mu­ni­cate that you under­stand the prob­lem is frus­trat­ing and that the cus­tomer is upset.

Offer some sort of expla­na­tion: Next, let the cus­tomer know that there is a rea­son behind the defect – this isn’t mak­ing excuses – it’s empha­siz­ing that not all of your prod­ucts are defec­tive, and that they should expect a high-quality replacement.

Rem­edy the prob­lem: Finally, offer a rem­edy. Tell the cus­tomer you will ship out a replace­ment right away or offer a refund.

Dam­aged or defec­tive prod­ucts are inevitable, but los­ing an angry cus­tomer because of it is not. How you han­dle the sit­u­a­tion can make all the difference.

Tele­phone eti­quette tip #4: When you can’t bend the rules, offer a win­ning alternative

There are cer­tain rules that you can’t break for a cus­tomer, but instead of leav­ing the cus­tomer frus­trated and dis­ap­pointed, offer an alter­na­tive so that the cus­tomer still feels like he is still get­ting what he wants. For exam­ple, if a cus­tomer is try­ing to get a dis­count on a sale that has already expired, instead of telling the customer:

“I’m sorry, the sale is over, and we are no longer offer­ing that discount.”

Try this:

“Gosh, really unfor­tu­nate tim­ing. The sale ends on Jan­u­ary 3rd, but if you don’t mind wait­ing until March, we’ll be offer­ing our anniver­sary sale, and you can get the item for 20% off. Would you be will­ing to wait until then?”

In this sce­nario, you’re not break­ing rules for your com­pany, and you’re not telling the cus­tomer an out­right no, either – you’re offer­ing an alter­na­tive sit­u­a­tion that still gives the cus­tomer the option he’s after.

Tele­phone eti­quette tip #5: Don’t let the cus­tomer hang up until you know he or she is satisfied

Finally, how you close the call is extremely impor­tant. Before you let the cus­tomer hang up, take the small step of ask­ing if there is any­thing else that you can assist with. Here is a fan­tas­tic way to wrap up a call:

“Thanks again for tak­ing the time to call today. Is there any­thing else I can help with? I’d be happy to assist with any­thing else you need.”

A clos­ing line such as this shows your appre­ci­a­tion for the cus­tomer, makes sure the cus­tomer is sat­is­fied, and it com­mu­ni­cates your will­ing­ness to keep help­ing, if need be. This type of closer is espe­cially effec­tive if you’ve had an angry cus­tomer – it ends the con­ver­sa­tion on a pos­i­tive note.

Written by Jodi Beuder

Read More

CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS MORE THAN SAYING AM SORRY

Your company cannot operate successfully if the support and product teams are communicating through a string and a pair of cups.

When support is left to operate as an island, reps will only ever learn to parrot "I'm sorry." Well, “I'm sorry” to break it to you, but that’s a miserable support strategy.

Apologies are necessary when dealing with angry customers, but if there isn’t a system in place to learn from this feedback, you're just putting your support team on the receiving end of complaints with no means to fix the root of the problem.

The support team does not have the power to change the source of the complaints they receive. While user error is certainly in the mix, designers and engineers (and on occasion, marketing) are often the real source of support tickets, so they need to be kept in the loop.

How are bugs fixed, errors tackled, and products improved when nobody but support knows what customers are saying?

This is why we are so adamant about the principals and practice of a whole company spport. If Jeff Bezos can sit down on support requests every once in a while so can the rest of your team.

The dedicated support staff has to pick up the slack here, too. They need a system that empowers them to do more with incoming tickets than just say "I'm sorry."

What to Do With Customer Feedback

Your support team needs a way to catalogue and submit their own feedback to the rest of your team.

A great support staff will filter customer feedback and pass along the things you need to hear about. A customer complains that your software isn't the color they like? Yeah, they can say, "Sorry orange isn't your thing, Chris!" and save your inbox.

But when they notice dozens of customers saying that they can't find [very important feature]? That needs to be put in a team inbox for the product and marketing teams to see.. In essence, we have an inbox labeled "Ideas" that anyone can add to at their discretion. We also have cards labeled "Next Up" and "Roadmap," so people doing support know what's being worked on and what the development team has already said no to.

Credits:Helpscout

Read More

AT & T AND TIME WARNER COMPANY RANKED IN WORST CUSTOMER SURVEY

Pay TV, Internet and wireless service providers aren’t exactly America’s most beloved business categories. In fact, customers seem to love complaining about them constantly, and T-Mobile has found tremendous success by separating its practices from those of its rivals and portraying itself as the “Uncarrier.” Part of the reason people dislike wireless carriers and ISPs so much may be the difficulties they often experience when dealing with their customer care departments, and now AT&T andTime Warner Cable have been ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in a questionnaire asking subscribers which companies have the worst customer service in the country.

The unscientific questionnaire, conducted on Ranker and unearthed byDSLReports.com, lists 50 large U.S. companies and asks visitors to vote on which among them have the worst customer service. At the top of the list with 483 votes at the time of this writing is AT&T, which is followed by Time Warner Cable with 317 votes in the No. 2 spot. Bank of America, Walmart and American Airlines round out the top-5.

Interestingly, AT&T was just ranked highest in J.D. Power’s wireless purchase satisfaction survey for the second consecutive time, and it was also awarded the top honor in the firm’s 2013 customer service study.

As for other U.S. wireless carriers and ISPs, Comcast is ranked No. 6, Verizon is ranked No. 21, Sprint is No. 23 and Frontier is No. 38.

Please take time to fill our ratings for this month,which fast food in Nigeria delivers excellent customer service?

Read More

IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES-MUST WATCH

Learn more on how to improve customer service most especially for people suffering with disabilities

Read More

CUSTOMERS ARE BUSINESS

A business cannot survive without effectively managing it's customers

It is simple—customers are business. The equation is more personal if stated, Your Customers = Your Business.

Since customers sustain business, then taking action on customer input will create more activities that can enhance the customer's perceived value of your efforts. The math is simple. More Customers = More Business. Absolute sales dollar volume and profits are the result of increased activity that compels customers to engage with your team.

For today, when I refer to business, I am opening up the door to the thought that business and activity is effectively the same thing. The equation adapts to consider that visible activity will help your business grow, and the equation evolves further; More Customer Perceived Activity = More Customer Engagement. Activity seen by those outside your walls drives profit to the bottom line. Action creates customers that want to engage with your group, paving a path for customers to follow back again and again.

Business is a compilation of activities, products, services, employees and so on. The bottom line (Profit) is a measurement tool. Profit is created by the daily efforts within your internal and external visible reach. The bottom line is at the bottom for a reason. The entire list of top-down exercises is what makes up the variables that produce sustainable profit. Effort from the top fills the funnel of success as it bounces through the Pachinko Palace of challenges that faces your team.

Allowing your effort to produce bottom line profit is the natural goal. “Customers are business.” The simple thought is what provokes your group to engage with customers to create valuable customer retention.

Value is a business element that leaders control. Value is the intangible that companies must create to win long-term customers. Remember, if you agree that “Customers are Business,” then it pays to take action on the needs of your core customers.

The customer is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to the interpretation and realization of the “value” created by your group. Value is determined by the outside world, and good companies tailor products and services around feedback from core customers. Ideas supported by the expertise of what your group can create will result in sustainable activity. Value is created when external customers take notice and deem your efforts to be worthy of spending their hard-earned dollars with products and services produced by your team.

The equation expands—More Customers that “feel” value = more Business. Noticeable activity follows and good management takes care that the Pachinko Ball of value is managed to avoid unnecessary expenses that can erode potential profits. Managing expenses is a vital part of business, yet expense management is proportional to the activities that create perceived value.

Customer Service is a worthy activity that builds customer relationships. Even great companies, with fabulous products and services, eventually run into a customer with a problem. When a problem is managed well through outstanding customer service, the customer gains additional respect for your company and the initial problem provides an opportunity.

Often, a well handled customer issue creates a customer experience that is positively remembered, and the memory is better than if there were never a problem at all. Customers appreciate being taken care of, and when issues are handled in a quick and courteous fashion the customer “remembers” the experience as a positive activity.

Customer service is an art. Customers have been trained by large corporations to dread calling in for service. Long hold times, untrained or rude staff, constant transfers, dropped calls and a simple lack of care have created customer fear long before they call your company. In fact, some customers never call to report issues, as the hassle of poor customer service invades their lives all too often.

When customers avoid calling it is very detrimental to companies, as they lose the ability to collect needed feedback. Customers can be left with a bad taste even though your company was more than willing to help out. When customer fear prevents your customers from calling, the equation equals lost business. Taking care of all of your customers creates a groundswell of positive word of mouth communication.

In niche businesses stories get around, so your customers will repeat great customer service stories often.

When your company receives a customer service call it should be considered a welcomed opportunity. Good companies “want” to cure customer issues and build a long-lasting bond when given the chance. Always keep in mind that you know in advance that you can help a customer, but the customer is already callused by poor treatment from the past. Customers need to feel that you are going to take care of them in the first few seconds of the conversation.

The trick is to encourage the customer to talk out the issue in a casual and conversational way. Once you understand the problem, you can choose the resolution process that meets the situation. In their effort to help, customer service people can ask too many questions upfront, and these questions can make customers feel that the questions are designed to find a way out of taking care of the issue.

Tell valuable customers that you can help as soon as they have described the issue. Follow-up questions can be asked after customers have completely delivered their concerns. By communicating your desire to help first, follow-up questions become welcomed. Starting with questions can make your customer feel “questioned,” and recovering from this territory is nearly impossible.

Quality companies truly want to hear from their customers. Customer service is an engaging one-on-one “activity.”

Our customers can be a wealth of great ideas. Great ideas = Great Activities. Activities lead to new business and increased profits.

It is beneficial to listen to ideas that could add new products or services to your lineup. Use caution, as it is easy to fall into the trap of only hearing what you want to hear. Your preconceived thoughts can be reinforced by customer requests. Create activities that meet a wide audience. Be sure that ideas for new products or services have real merit.

Taking action on new product ideas is an activity that is “noticed” by your customers. Activity that is seen by the external world manufactures sustainable growth. Targeting activities aimed at your core audience gains traction. Taking on every idea leads to wandering and waste.

Produce activities that will be seen by your customers. After all, your customer is your business.

Credits: Jeff Butcher

Read More