Here’s one place where a small business has the advantage over a larger company. The smaller company can offer their customers or clients more personal attention that the bigger organization will ever be able to dispense. I feel proud telling each one of my clients that you are my most important customer.

Companies or retail outlets that have less customers to deal with on a regular basis can give them more attention. You can know them better. You can remember their names. What they purchase and what their future needs might be.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

I’m not sure why politicians think it’s a good strategy to tear down the other candidate instead of putting his or her ideas forward. Unfortunately for the rest of us, some business owners ascribe to the same philosophy. They believe their company will flourish by destroying their competition’s reputation. It’s not so. Customers or clients are not dumb. They will see right through a jaded line of attack of this sort.What’s wrong with working hard, putting out a good product, offering superior service and standing behind what it is you’re selling?

Don’t think you’ll bypass the tremendous effort it takes to make a business successful by badmouthing the other guy.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

We designed some of our policies to separate us from our competition. We have a policy that says we’ll return your phone call the same business day, no excuses. We have another policy that states if you are not completely satisfied with our work we’ll refund 100% of your money.It makes sense for every business to have a payment policy. Ours is 50% up front and the balance upon completion of the project. Why surprise people? Why be surprised yourself?

If you plan on turning your outstanding bills over to your creditor after 60 days, include that policy with your “30 day over due” notice.

Retail owners have a responsibility to post policies that their customers need to know. If there are no refunds without the receipt, then warn people. If electrical components cannot be returned notify the person buying the apparatus before hand.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

If there’s more than one person in the organization, make sure everyone is singing of the same sheet of music. The last thing a customer or client wants to hear is differing prices, policies or decisions. I learned this lesson early on in my career by working with IBM while at the Midwest Stock Exchange. No matter who came to the exchange from IBM, salesperson, service or support, they always had the same account about services, how to solve problems or the latest features of a new computers. It was refreshing to know the company had that strong of a commitment to keep their employees informed. Communication was king at IBM in those days.

Even if you run a one-person company, make sure you always have the same story to tell on your website, in literature or while talking on the phone.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

Properly setting a client’s expectations will save everyone heartaches and headaches down the road. I learn the art of setting a person’s expectation early in my career as a Customer Relations Manager. It was my function to go in after the sale of a Computer Aided Design systems and outline with the client exactly what was purchased, what it would do, what it would not do and when the system would be delivered and set up. There were always misaligned expectations. For example, every once in a while a client would think the database software came installed with their company’s parts library. I had to let the clients know that after the training was complete his staff would be constructing the parts in the library one component at a time.Because the software was so complex and many times the sales person discussed what the software features did today and what it would do in the future, a client or two would suppose the current software would do everything the salesperson had mentioned. I had to draw distinctions between what the current release would do and the future software enhancements. 

It may be best to set the expectations down on paper in the form of a letter proposal or brief contract. Things can be kept simple yet be exact.

When you set the customer’s expectations by promising to deliver your product or service at a specified time don’t make excuses - deliver it when you said you would.

If you quote a price then stick to it. The client has little reason to believe what you say the next time you do business together.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

You’ll find another post under “Marketing Knows” where I discuss this topic in more detail. Briefly, here’s the drift. Customers or clients seldom stay with a business owner who does not convey a sense of experience, know-how about the product or who cannot tell the customer more about the features or new functions than they already know. Customers do not like to train new business owners. The lesson you will learn however, is that you won’t be in business very long. Get some experience; put your time in, before going it on your own.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

Customers are not going to be loyal to you if they have the feel you are not being faithful to them. Buyers naturally expect the seller to stand behind the product or service. Even though the manufacturer or delivery service may be at fault, you need to assure the customer or client that you take full responsibility for the situation and that you will make every effort to resolve things to their satisfaction.Customers have little use for some merchant who passes the buck.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

Ever buy a product or service from a company or individual and never receive any follow up? I’m not talking junk mail or SPAM. Has that ever made you wonder what the company thought about your purchase? Do they want to sell you more, something else? Are you satisfied? Could you recommend someone else that may be able to use their product or service?I guess because I help people develop marketing plans and I market for my own firm it makes me speculate. Don’t they care? Aren’t I important to them? Don’t they want to sell me more products?

One of the best ways to reinforce customer loyalty and to have client think they’re important to your business. Call them as often after the sale as you did before the transaction. They’ll be impressed.

Staying in contact after the sale also gives you the opportunity to see if there are ways you can offer follow up business to the client or customer.

As the relationship continues, you will also feel more comfortable asking for referrals and the customer will be willing to give them.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

Responding quickly is always appreciated. Getting back to someone with the right information is even more esteemed.Here’s one pet peeve I may do jail time for some day. I place a phone call to one of my suppliers. He’s not in or busy so his voice mail picks up. I leave a very detailed message and ask him to call back with the information or leave me a message with the answer. Later I return to my office. The red light on my phone is blinking. I press the play button and hear, “Hi john, this is Dan I’m returning your call”. Great! Where’s the information I needed? It’s not in the message. I call back a second time and his voice mail picks up again. Arrrggggg!

Want a second example? I send an email to someone asking for some fact I need to move a project along. The person calls back almost immediately. At first I think, wow, this person has their act together. During the conversation I’m disappointed. They say on the phone, I got your email. There’s a pause. Then I say, did you read it? No. I thought I would call first. I’m thinking to call why, to waste my time? Now they read the email, while I’m waiting on the other end of the phone, and then tell me they’ll get back to me with the answer. Arrrggggg!

Respond in a timely fashion. But, remember to reply with the information, the answer to the question, the solution to the problem.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care

There can be only one way to handle a customer that is dissatisfied and that’s by having a positive response to their problem.A troubled customer does not want sympathy. They don’t want understanding. They don’t need to hear what a bad day you’ve been having or about the Herculean effort you’re involved in trying to get satisfaction out of the distributor. Most times the customer does not even want a refund. They brought the product or service because they needed it. Chances are they still do.

The question is simple. Are you going to help them solve their problem or is your competition?

You can head off potential, dissatisfied customers by posting your return or service policy in plain sight. When a customer purchases a product or service make them aware of each policy. Do they understand and agree to the terms? If your policies cannot be posted it’s even more vital that you review them with the client or customer at the time of purchase.

Remember to set your customer or client’s expectations. Do they know what the product or service they bought will do for them? More importantly, do they understand what it will not do for them? You have the same responsibility to understand their expectations. Why are they purchasing the product or service? What problem are they trying to solve?

A missed expectation always equals a dissatisfied customer. Try to limit your losses.

Tags: Best Practice, Customer Care