I have had several bad customer service experiences lately and the article resonated with me. I was forced to STOP and ask - What can we learn from these experiences? Dale Carnegie published a book called "How to Win Friends and Influence People". There are many concepts that are very relevant to our topic here. If we take the wisdom from this book and flip the tools over, we can uncover some hidden gems...
6 Ways to Make Customers Dislike Your Business...
1. Focus only on you and your business.
Your single purpose is to sell, sell, sell your products or services. Whether the customer needs them or not. Regardless of whether they are aligned with the customer's objectives or not. The marketing and sales game is all about you, your business and your processes, not the customer.
2. Assume you know your customer's business better than they do.
You and your associates are the expert in all things business. You know more about your customer's business than they do. What is the real value in asking them about their goals, objectives and dreams for their business?
3. Forget the customer's name (intentionally or unintentionally) and/or misspell it.
I attended an orientation for SEBC Leadership 21 for the West Chester - Liberty Chamber Alliance last night. We did an exercise called the "Name Game" inwhich we received tools to help us learn and recall the names of people. It was a valuable exercise for all team members! Our instructor commented that people love to hear their names because it is music to their ears. Develop a system for remembering your customer's name.
In that same vein, make sure you use the correct spelling of a customer, employee or prospective employee's name. I recall once applying to a well respected company for a position and I received a "not interested" letter in response. But the part I remember most is the fact that they referred to me as "Mr. Really". Really? I am really glad I didn't go to work for that company.
4. Don't listen to your customer and don't ask for their input.
By not listening to your customer and ignoring their input, you are missing the opportunity to provide high quality products and services. You are missing the chance to help them become successful and grow their business. You are also foregoing the opportunity to develop a "loyal, raving fan".
5. Make the customer feel insignificant.
Every customer is important and they need to feel their business is valued. And don't forget about your long term customers. All customers have a choice. If they don't feel their business is valued, they will choose to take their business to your competitor.
6. Frown
Customers don't want to hear complaints about the long hours, pay, or the ineffective processes at a business. Customers want to hear about solutions. Focus on the positive. Customers want to see optimism.
Hopefully we have given you a lot to think about. These concepts apply to current and prospective employees too. Providing high quality customer service is going to play a critical role in helping businesses recover and regain the ground they lost during the recession. I would love to hear your ideas on how companies can improve their customer service! Please feel free to send me an email: chrissann@blacklabventures.com.
I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in this "crisis" period (or rather, post crisis, as they say) I hear lots of companies complaining about the lack of customers, when the real problem is how they treat the few customers they still retain.
If the foundations of your business are just about selling more, you won't be able to build trust, you will probably get money once but you will have to refresh your customers base every year, 'cause no one will be left (and word of mouth will destroy you).
Great article! I love the idea of a tool to remember names. This was something I learnt from a wise facilitator. And he said our biggest tool for this is our 'self talk' around whether we can remember names or not. If we believe that our sub-conscious is influenced by what we tell it - (sub-consciously) - then every time we admit or tell somebody "I'm hopeless at remembering names" then we reinforce that mindset. We need to start by refocusing and talking about what we are good at "I'm great at remembering names" and our sub-conscience will help us to make that true". I tried it - and I hand on heart, I was able to remember 40 peoples names by morning tea. It just took practice.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gabriele, for the insightful feedback. Harvard Business Review recently did a study and found that companies could improve profits by at least 25% simply by reducing customer defections by 5%. It seems like a fairly straightforward formula: retain your current customer base. Thanks again for the dialogue!
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Chrissann
Leah - appreciate the kind words about the post and your interesting feedback. That was one of the things our facilitator mentioned too - you have to have the right mindset and be open to learning new methods for remembering names. That is terrific that you were able to remember all those names! Thank you for sharing - that is encouraging as I am trying to get better at remembering names also! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Chrissann