Recent research from the Strativity Group, (August 2009), gives us insight into what seems to be a tough to answer question.  

What do customers want from their buying experience? Their research found – 

1. 1. Quick and Effective Issue Resolution. This means team members must have information and authority at their command. Make certain your processes allow and require ownership. Customers want to talk to one person who can resolve their issue first time.
2. Common Sense Discretion. Hiring, training and empowerment are the key issues  here. Does your team know what is expected of them? Too often the “script” can get in the way of common sense. Remind employees of when and where to use discretion. Could they be reluctant or even fearful of consequences if they “get it wrong?”
3. Employees Who Exceed Expectations. The research showed that more than 70% of customers said they are willing to spend 10% more with a business if that business exceeds expectations. Spend time talking about what this means for your customer and your organization. At what touchpoint, can your employee exceed expectations? The Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel does a simple thing that wows its customer. The airport shuttle driver offers the room service menu to guests while in transit. The guest can make a decision and place the order while checking in. Dinner arrives a little earlier for a tired and hungry traveler. A simple idea that translates to a happy customer and more room service orders.
4. Ease and Simplicity. Are your processes designed for you or the customer? This has been asked many times so take another look at how you have complicated things for the customer. Is your toll free number on the website or are you still hiding it? How do the phone menus work to simplify life for the customer? Ease and simplicity are defined by your customer, so start asking for their insight and use it drive the changes.

Now you know what customers want, what will you do about it?

______________________________________________________

Lisa Ford has over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She designs content personalized for each audience and the challenges they face. Her presentations focus on customer service, leadership, teamwork and change. Her most recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations.

In this marketplace, you can not afford to have a poor attitude showing to your customers. What are your employees saying when you are not listening?

I have to admit my jaw dropped when I heard this on a recent flight. This was a ComAir (operated as a Delta codeshare) flight out of Cincinnati. I was getting settled in my seat and it was nearing departure time. Some passengers were starting to switch seats for more comfort as it appeared all the passengers had boarded. Then all of a sudden a large group of passengers arrived late and started to board. Well you can see the confusion as their assigned seat had someone in it. The flight attendant was called over to help. At that point, the late arrivals started to say they had been at the gate and waiting for the announcement to board, then questioned the agent who did not know this flight had been called. It sounded like they had every right to defend their late arrival.

However the flight attendant decided to show her frustration to her customers. Here was her announcement over the PA system - "As you can tell, the gate agents here have no idea what they are doing so I recommend you write Delta. They always welcome your comments and you may get a $75 voucher. Let them know about this lovely experience."

I can understand her irritation as she and the crew are trying to get a flight out on time. However her professionalism and judgment were sorely lacking. Employees are the face of your organization. What "face" will show up today and represent you? Do you know what is going on when you are not there? It is time to be more vigilant.

Make something good happen today.

______________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change.  Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations. 

The most frequent question I get from clients is how do we get our people to do something differently tomorrow. They are asking about execution from their top leaders, managers and front line teams. The executives have spoken of service excellence at many meetings and they don't see implementation. Or they see too much variability and not enough accountability so it goes back to some people who get it and others don't.

Here are three thoughts:

1. Start the hard-wiring process. Do this by creating metrics. Most of you have plenty of numbers but is anyone really "owning" the data. Publish your current status. Tracking and sharing the information can make a difference. A road-map is needed but you have to start with "where are we" to move forward.

2. Make someone responsible. Who will be the champion? This goes back to someone owning the customer focus. The champion needs to look at the metrics as well as hiring, training, service standards, performance evaluations, coaching processes and empowerment issues. Nothing will happen until all processes are aligned with the desired customer focus.

3. Create service standards. I have said to many audiences, "Without service standards everything is left to chance." Do people know what is expected?

Exceptional customer service does not happen by just talking about it. What will you do differently tomorrow to create a culture of service?

_____________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford has over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She designs content personalized for each audience and the challenges they face. Her presentations focus on customer service, leadership, teamwork and change. Her most recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations.

As Valentine's Day approaches, it is a great time to ask if your customers are "feeling the love?" Most of the same principles that make for a healthy personal relationship apply to your customer relationships.

Here are some thoughts to create an emotional connection with your customers -

1. Customers want a real relationship - one that is mutually beneficial. Loyalty happens when the experience connects them to you. They may be your customer today but if you are not engaging them in a proactive manner then their loyalty is up for grabs.

2. Customers want you to talk to them and must be able to talk to you via their preferred way. Make it easy. Is your 800 number on everything? Stop hiding. Two way communication is required. Listen, listen and then listen some more.

3. Think and fret over their needs. Show your concern and train your team to be empathetic. Look at processes and ask along the touch-points, what is important to our customer?

4. Show the love. Recognize and reward loyalty. Call them and thank them, acknowledge their years of business, send out a unique and customized gift - the idea is to do something that is unexpected to renew the relationship.

You know you shouldn't wait for a special day to show your love, however Valentine's Day provides a great excuse. Customer loyalty is fleeting. You must prove yourself with each transaction - one that connects and engages the customer.

Start showing some love!

_____________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change.  Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations. You can read this article and others on Lisa's Customer Service Blog.

With a new year comes the annual list of "trends to watch". When reading a recent list researched by JWT Intelligence http://lisaford.blogspot.com/2010/01/www.jwtintelligence.com, I started to think how these trends relate to your customer's loyalty. To gain your customer's trust and repeat business, here are a few trends to take to heart -

1. Customers are "searching for stability". They are still showing restraint with their spending, so this means you better provide an experience that is compelling and memorable so they will return.

2. Customers want "transparency". This means tell it like it is, show them the details. Make it easy to understand - your policies, product information, rates, how to contact you, your green policy, whatever they need to know - give it to them upfront. Customers are reading the fine print. If the customer has to call you back, do live chat for clarification or stop by your business, then it costs you more. One client estimates reducing call in rate by one point produces a savings of $18 million. That is a huge chunk of money to reinvest elsewhere. Bottom line is customers want complete and correct information the first time.

3. Customers want information that is "now". Be connected. That means go beyond current. We are living life in real time. Social media and apps are making that possible. Make a team responsible for communication in real time. Keep the customer loyal by providing "now" information.

4. Customers value the "small movement". For smaller local based and web businesses, this is good news. Relationships count. For larger organizations, act small. Communicate personally, directly and quickly. Customize your offerings. Customers think they are special and unique - figure out how to treat them that way.

Don't bother with a resolution. Just get started by looking at your processes, ownership issues, people and customer relationship data systems. Customers want to be loyal - it's a lot less hassle. Your job is to give the customer a reason to be loyal. No excuses.

______________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change.  Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations.

After speaking to a customer service representative on the phone, I was reminded of one of my hiring tips. I know some of you reading this would love to be hiring right now and not shrinking your staff. But when hiring is back on your agenda, make certain you get the best possible employees. Here is my laundry list for hiring smart to start:

Hire the attitude. You can do that by the use of behavioral interviewing which I hope is pretty much the standard for your hiring practices. Ask questions to get at how this candidate will behave not just what they have done.
Pose specific customer situations and get their opinion on how they would handle it.

When you are down to the last few candidates, bring them in and have them observe the job. Give them real life experience of your specific job expectations. This will give other team members a chance to react to them. Use those team members in the final selection process. The more current team members are involved in hiring, better the chance that new employee will get on board faster.

Tell them the good, the bad and the ugly. Give the candidate the real story about working at your company. No surprises are a good thing and can minimize turnover. You don't want a great new employee to have buyer's remorse.

Do some of the interview on the phone. This is the hiring tip I referenced at the beginning of this. Most of your "customer facing" team members spend quite a bit of time on the phone. Test your candidate with a call to hear their "phone voice".

When one on one you have the advantage of the entire package - the smile, eye contact, gestures and posture. Those can make a great difference in how this person is perceived. However none of that is available when on the phone. So call them, listen closely and think how that voice and tone would represent your organization. I find most companies do not practice this as a hiring technique. Use it and you will stand apart from your competitors.

Hiring is easy, getting the right person is not so easy. Take your time, involve others, get creative, use your gut and you might just "get lucky".

_____________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford has over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She designs content personalized for each audience and the challenges they face. Her presentations focus on customer service, leadership, teamwork and change. Her most recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations.

I recently stopped using a service that was getting $984 annually from me for the last 7 years. I called the local office to check on cancellation procedures and discovered it was amazingly simple. I was told just don't pay the next monthly invoice.

Here is the really amazing part - the manager did not make any attempt to salvage my business. There was no inquiry of, "Can I ask what is causing you to...." or "What can we do to keep you as a customer?" After that first call, I stopped by the office to get my final bill to show the account was closed. Once again, the manager missed an opportunity to do an exit interview.

It would have been very simple to just ask - "Since we are always looking for ways to improve our service, what is the one thing we could have done differently to make that a better experience for you?" Or how about a polite, "Mrs. Ford, we do appreciate your business for these last 7 years. We will be happy to serve you again in the future if your needs change."

It is easy to blame the economy as the reason customers are leaving. Stop assuming and find out the real reasons for customer loss. Your questions, show an interest and appreciation that may keep their loyalty. You may certainly gain valuable information to improve your business. My lifetime value was $6,888. Aren't a few questions worth that? Now is the time to start asking more questions. Prepare your final questions and you may create some new beginnings.

___________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change.  Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations. 

A customer service trainer interviews Lisa Ford, speaker and author of Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations. 

How can you become more customer-focused?   How do you know if your service efforts are actually working?  What are the best ways to retain customers?  This 45 minute podcast is an important reminder of the need for exceptional service and a lesson in how to achieve it.

Download the podcast: Interview with Customer Service speaker Lisa Ford

Tough times require a renewed focus on customer service. You will not survive without loyal customers. It may be tempting to lower your price or fees to get a customer but you most likely will attract a customer who is unlikely to be loyal for long.  Talking about a renewed focus on customer service may seem like it is easier said than done given many of you have fewer employees as well as hiring freezes that may be resulting in lower morale. Put those thoughts and potential excuses aside for a moment and consider what you must do now. In this economy, customer service is more important than ever.

The best companies are surviving by safeguarding their service. This is not a new strategy. When studying the best, I see one common thread - they are different and constantly work at cultivating their difference. Your difference may be your product or service offering. As an organization, you must know what your difference is and communicate it to the customer.  For years I have said in my presentations, your product or service alone will not attract a customer, however being "decidedly different" will. The difference must show up in the service experience.

Answer these questions -

• Are you doing enough to deserve your customer's loyalty?
• Does your service experience catch their attention and is it memorable?
• Can they tell the difference between you and the competition?
• Are you decidedly different?

Consider these strategies to make survival and success happen.

Talk to your customer. The rule of thumb is communicate early and often. Customers do not want to be surprised. A large transportation client says,  "Our customers can handle the trains running late, what they can't handle is when we don't call them to tell them we are running late!" You may not have a solution or an answer, just keep them updated.  Silence is not golden. How long does it take to respond to your best customers via email or voicemail? Simply continue the conversation, It is not a good time to hunker down and hide out.. Start writing thank you notes - handwritten not via email. Get out and visit them. Face to face time may be crucial in these times when everyone is a bit nervous about costs, quality, bottom lines and service.

Add value. Take on your customer's problems and solve them by creating a partnership. Remember, not all customers are created equal so use your best strategies on your most profitable customers. When people are nervous about what the future holds, trust erodes. Now is the time to show you care. Use your data to show you know them by anticipating their needs. Find out what matters to them and create a customer experience that builds the relationship.

Make use of social media. Many companies are using social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to enhance the customer service experience. Have you embraced the new era of social media? Word of mouth is still the most powerful advertising ever. Followers and friends can be easily influenced by a single person. Make certain your message is getting out there, not just the voice of one customer. Social media adds value by connecting and building long- term relationships. You can share experiences and information on the customer's terms.

Spoil your customers. This strategy proved to be a win-win for BMW. The rolled out free Wi-Fi to the dealerships as a way to please customers while cars were being serviced. This was a low cost idea as broadband was already in place to run the dealership. The surprise was customers requested fewer loaner cars. Instead they worked on their laptops and waited for their car. BMW cut monthly loaner car expenses by 10 to 15%.

Zappos is full stories of how to spoil customers. A customer called after discovering she had not packed her shoes upon her arrival in Las Vegas. She had purchased them from Zappos so she gave them a call looking for another pair. Unfortunately they did not have her size in stock. However Zappos does not like to disappoint a customer so the company found a pair at a local Las Vegas mall and had them delivered to her for free. Can you say "customer for life"?

Create a service champion. Your people are the key to creating the service difference and service experience. Nothing happens by just reading and thinking about customer service. Someone has to be the point person and make execution a reality. The champion must keep service and loyalty on every meeting agenda. Their responsibilities should be to look at the processes that support service, such as hiring and training. Make certain you hire smart to start. Revamp your training efforts so customer service is being taught and empowerment is a part of the company's culture. Create service standards as a part of the process. I have a bias that without standards everything is left to chance. The champion creates a service focus for all departments, not just the traditional customer service department.  In the face of lower employee morale, give your surviving employees the chance to shine on behalf of the customer. Make them feel important, spoil and engage them - yes, I am talking about the team members. A service champion is necessary or your good intentions will be just good intentions. Action is required.

Customer loyalty is subjective and fleeting. It is earned one experience at a time. And in this fragile marketplace, customer service is more important than ever. To attract and keep your customer, you must be "decidedly different".  And for the customer, that difference must be evident every time and at every touchpoint.

____________________________________________________________________

Lisa Ford is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change.  Her recent book is Exceptional Customer Service - Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer's Expectations.