I focus on how to engage and delight our international customers and create more loyal and profitable relationships. This used to be called sales and retention, but customers have gotten a lot more savvy about what they want and how they feel they should be treated. So the true question is:
how do we leverage what we know about this customer to create a more relevant and meaningful dialogue about them and their relationship with our products and brand?
The good part is that we have thousands of customers who call us everyday whith whom we can practice and hone our approach to service. This used to be thought of as an operating cost. Now, we are changing the mindset to think of this as an investment. Companies spend a lot of money to attract new customers but many forget about them once they are signed on. I look at it this way: Every interaction with the customer is a chance to delight them, upset them, or do nothing except satisfy the base expectations in a haze of impersonal mediocrity. The great companies invest to drive loyalty, engagement, and spend among their existing companies.
There are a lot of ways of doing this, but since this is my first Blog, ill keep it simple. Think of the last time a service really wowed you - enough that you told your friends about it. This can be created in multiple ways:
1. Providing you additional value: ever been to a retail store and the clerk tells you you can get a better value by purchasing a different product or perhaps a different size/brand?
2. Anticipating the customers need (before they mention it): think of an airline attendant bringing you a glass of water when you wake up
3. Providing a means of interaction with the customer that suits their lifestyle (some people want to use the internet, others, a voice response, and others the phone. understanding this for your business gives you the chance to service on their terms
4. Showing you appreciate the relationship by recognizing them: Do you have a local bar or restaurant where they know your name, your favorite order, or perhaps your birthday. This is a familiarity which is hard to compete with
5. Avoid nickle and diming: A great way to recognize the value of your customers and respect their time is to avoid the annoying fees and charges that can create death by a thousand papercuts. If you must charge these fees, consider offering a grace period or policy to forgive one time to communicate to the customer you appreciate their business.
So use your own experiences to define what drives loyalty for you - and apply it to the way you service your customers. The investment can be small but the payback is enormous.
how do we leverage what we know about this customer to create a more relevant and meaningful dialogue about them and their relationship with our products and brand?
The good part is that we have thousands of customers who call us everyday whith whom we can practice and hone our approach to service. This used to be thought of as an operating cost. Now, we are changing the mindset to think of this as an investment. Companies spend a lot of money to attract new customers but many forget about them once they are signed on. I look at it this way: Every interaction with the customer is a chance to delight them, upset them, or do nothing except satisfy the base expectations in a haze of impersonal mediocrity. The great companies invest to drive loyalty, engagement, and spend among their existing companies.
There are a lot of ways of doing this, but since this is my first Blog, ill keep it simple. Think of the last time a service really wowed you - enough that you told your friends about it. This can be created in multiple ways:
1. Providing you additional value: ever been to a retail store and the clerk tells you you can get a better value by purchasing a different product or perhaps a different size/brand?
2. Anticipating the customers need (before they mention it): think of an airline attendant bringing you a glass of water when you wake up
3. Providing a means of interaction with the customer that suits their lifestyle (some people want to use the internet, others, a voice response, and others the phone. understanding this for your business gives you the chance to service on their terms
4. Showing you appreciate the relationship by recognizing them: Do you have a local bar or restaurant where they know your name, your favorite order, or perhaps your birthday. This is a familiarity which is hard to compete with
5. Avoid nickle and diming: A great way to recognize the value of your customers and respect their time is to avoid the annoying fees and charges that can create death by a thousand papercuts. If you must charge these fees, consider offering a grace period or policy to forgive one time to communicate to the customer you appreciate their business.
So use your own experiences to define what drives loyalty for you - and apply it to the way you service your customers. The investment can be small but the payback is enormous.
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