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Custom Logo Floor Mats - A Customer's First Impression Of Your Business
You see them when you enter hotels, motels and businesses of all types. I'm talking about floor mats with an imprint of the the business' custom logo. They serve a practical purpose. They provide a method for the customer to remove dirt and moisture...
Customer Service Week - Wear Red Pants!
Why?
Why should you bother?
A couple of little business statistics have stayed firmly in my
business thoughts ever since I came across them almost 10 years
ago.
1. A 5% improvement in customer retention could add between 25%
and...
Postcard Printing Bridging Business and Customers
Communication is the key to any business endeavor. But then again not all business owners have the time and the capacity to meet personally or call individually their customers. It would be a tasking as well as expensive endeavor to call every...
Secrets to Getting More Customers
During some point in the business development cycle, every
business owner asks themselves the following question:
How do I attract more customers who will spend more money and
bring me more profits?
Most business owners are not in...
Top Ten Online Choices to Get Clients to Choose you Again and Again - Part 2
Did you know that 95% of coaching businesses fail because their owners don't pay enough attention to sales copy?
Whether you are a professional speaker, coach, or entrepreneur, every business wants more clients. Even more, they want to entice...
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Customer Relationships within the Evolved Organization
Customer Relationships within the Evolved Organization
Sustainable business practices are emerging as a priority within
forward thinking organizations. These practices apply to many
dimensions of the organization, ranging from minimizing waste to
encouraging employees to telecommute. Building sustainable
customer relationships - the kind where customers feel a loyalty
that brings them back again and again - is one such practice for
evolved organizations.
A good product or service is necessary, but not enough to
cultivate lasting customer relationships. Customer loyalty grows
out of feeling connected to the organization. Therefore, evolved
organizations focus on finding opportunities to communicate with
their customers. Further, the warmth of an inspired employee has
the capacity to permeate the heart of a customer, bringing him
back, for potentially, forever.
One way evolved organizations demonstrate an interest in
connecting with the customer is by offering multiple channels of
communication in order to make it easy for anyone to make a
complaint, suggestion or compliment.
Whether the customer is calling to complain or compliment is not
as important as the simple fact that they are calling. Just
picking up the phone or sending an email indicates that the
customer is interested in continuing to use the product or
service.
The evolved organization solicits all feedback, disregarding
concerns about complaint numbers going up, and replacing it with
a sincere desire to hear exactly what the customer has to say.
In fact, using the term "feedback" instead of "complaint" is one
tool for cultivating an attitude within the organization that
welcomes any kind of communication from customers.
Method Products, Inc., a particularly mindful organization
specializing in environmentally friendly cleaning products, is
built on sustainable values. Among Method's many sustainable
practices, customer communication is a priority. Customer
feedback is the term used at Method Products for all customer
communication, and for good reason: a whopping 45% of feedback
falls into the compliment category. Comments and suggestions
comprise 8%, and questions 32% of customer feedback.
Customer complaints make up a mere 15% of Method Product's
customer feedback. Despite that the complaint numbers are low;
Method Products
takes them very seriously.
The first part of listening carefully to the customer involves
having a solid system in place to capture feedback in a way that
is both practical and informative to the organization. Method
Products use Everest: Customer Focused Quality, a software
product specifically designed to capture customer complaints and
feedback.
Each customer who contacts Method Products is greeted by a real
person on the phone or receives a candid email response from a
passionate and considerate representative of the Method Products
team. The data collected in Everest is then reviewed bi-monthly
with the brand and product development teams, and quarterly with
the management team, all who are eager to hear what customers
like, dislike, and suggest.
One illustration of how customer feedback collected through
Everest changed product development occurred recently. Everest
reports revealed an increase in complaints about a leaky laundry
detergent cap. The Method Products team reviewed the data weekly
and even questioned customers about their preferences for a new
cap. In stores today you will find containers with newly
designed leak proof caps.
Method Product's customers are loyal and enthusiastic. One
reason - among many - for this loyalty is a genuine customer
focus.
Here are some concrete tips for developing sustainable customer
relationships:
*Reframe complaints as feedback within your organization.
*Cultivate channels of communication that allow for authentic
connection.
*Capture each and every piece of feedback in a system designed
to efficiently track and chart data.
*Review the data often and make real changes as needed.
Organizations may find that even a slight change in how they
handle customer feedback will, over time, yield surprising
results - sustainable relationships with customers being the
most significant.
About the Author Kimberly Kingsley consults on customer and
employee relationships. Her website is
http://www.kimberlykingsley.com. Lynk Software, the developers
of Everest: Customer Focused Quality, website is located at
http://www.lynksoftware.com.
About the author:
Kimberly Kingsley is a writer and speaker specializing in
customer and employee relations. Her website is
www.kimberlykingsley.com
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