How to Lose Current Customers and Alienate Prospective Clients

Customer service seems to be hot topic for many businesses now.  I recently stumbled across an interesting article on customer service on MSN Money.  The article was titled "2010 Customer Service Hall of Shame".  MSN Money has been performing this study for the past four years which showcases companies that are doing well at customer service and identifies ones that are failing. 


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.

6 Tips for Increasing Customer Engagement and Loyalty

What is your strategy for growing your business? Are you focusing on your current customer base or hunting new customers?

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a "tweetchat" or meetup on Twitter concerning the topic of "customer service". This discussion is held every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. E.S.T. Search for the hashtag, #custserv, on twitter and you can also join in this educational discussion. During the discussion, it was evident that customer service is critical to customers and a key differentiator for firms. If a company can provide high quality customer service, this is a great way to stand out in today's competitive and crowded marketplace. Companies can increase customer engagement by providing knowledge and information so customers can solve their problems. Effectively, the company representative becomes a resource and true business partner to customers. After some reflection, here are some tips on increasing customer engagement:

1. Help the customer identify and clarify their needs and challenges.
In my consulting experience, I have found that asking clarifying questions is critical to the success of a project. You can serve as a valuable resource for a customer by asking clarifying questions. Clarifying questions often start with WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, WHEN and HOW. Closed ended questions typically elicit a yes/no response and show the "symptom" rather than the real issue. If used effectively, clarifying questions can uncover the real issue rather than a symptom, which is often where people start and stop their analysis.

2. Identify opportunities to educate the customer.
It has been my experience that educated customers are frequently loyal customers. Or if they are not current customers, education often smoothes the conversion process. Loyal customers can serve as brand ambassadors for your firm and are an excellent source of referrals. Educate your customers on how to use your product or service. Look for ways to help them solve systemic challenges. Help your customer to become a hero and problem solver in their organization.

3. Show the customer respect.
It sounds simple enough. This weekend I had a very poor customer service experience with a business. I had been a customer of this business since 1991. However, this business made some mistakes recently and took advantage of the situation. I personally visited the business on Friday last week to negotiate and hoped for an amiable resolution. This business refused to admit there was a problem or take any responsibility for it. Needless to say I did not perceive that my business was valued or important. This is not the way to create positive relationships with customers.

4. Listen to your customers.
I have seen many companies operate in a vacuum. They rely on their product management or marketing departments to generate new product or service ideas instead of reaching out to customers for input. Consider establishing a customer advisory board to provide input and feedback on new product and service ideas. Another channel for innovation is your sales team. They are out in the field interacting with customers and are often a rich source of insight.

5. Change your perspective on problems.
I had a friend who worked for a software development company. She expressed concern that the software occasionally had bugs which were discovered by customers. Her co-workers were often stressed by this issue. However, my friend had a different perspective than her co-workers. She looked at it as a learning opportunity for the company. When the customer called in with the issue, she handled the call very calmly and proceeded to ask the customer questions about how they would like to see the software function. She was successful in shifting the customer's focus from "problem" to "resolution". By utilizing this approach, she was succesful in uncovering some outstanding software enhancement opportunities. In turn, the firm listened to its customers, implemented those changes, and as a result, created a very loyal and engaged customer base.

6. Follow through on your commitments.
Employees at many companies are very busy these days. Companies have downsized and employees have to do more work with the same or even less pay levels. It is very easy to make a commitment and forget to follow through, given the hectic pace at many companies. However, your customers remember discussions and commitments that are made. As a professional, you can stand out from your competition by simply following through on your commitment. Whether it is providing follow-up information or introducing your customer to a potential networking partner, or whatever the case may be. By following through on your commitments, you will convey your professionalism and the high value you place on the relationship with your customer.

It's a simple formula: Increase customer engagement and loyalty by becoming a professional resource for your customers!  I would love to hear your ideas on increasing customer engagement.  Please drop me a line at chrissann@blacklabventures.com.

Cultivating an “EE Thumb” for Growing Employee Engagement in Your Organization

During this time of year in Ohio and many other areas throughout the country, gardening enthusiasts are busy planning their gardens. Gardening enthusiasts use the term “green thumb” to describe a person who is a gardening expert. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines this term as “an unusual ability to make plants grow”. As leaders and managers of our organizations, we can learn from the gardening pros and apply those same concepts to growing employee engagement in our business. We can develop an "EE Thumb".

The economic recession has taken its toll on employee engagement in many firms. Merit increases and bonuses have been suspended.  Budgets have been severely reduced. Employees are feeling the strain and pressure to perform. Today, many leaders are asking what they can do to re-energize, empower, and super-charge their teams.


What can we learn from gardening pros?

1. Gardeners focus on selecting the right plot. Leaders should assess their business model to determine: a. whether they are in the right business or not, and b. identify additional opportunities to expand their business.


2. Gardeners audit the soil. Leaders need to assess their processes, people and technology to ensure they are creating an environment that fosters growth in people and ideas.


3. Gardeners create a plan and they work the plan. If leaders wish to fully engage their employees, it is critical that they create a plan. Success requires planning, patience and persistence. Employees crave recognition and praise.


4. Gardeners ensure their garden receives a sufficient mixture of sun and rain. Leaders should celebrate company successes and dedicate sufficient time to learn from mistakes and failures so the company can continue its forward movement. Leaders need to create a positive environment in which employees are encouraged to grow and learn from problems.


5. Gardeners dedicate time for weeding. As leaders, it is critical that we routinely monitor engagement and search for opportunities to weed out destructive processes, procedures or negativity in the firm.


By developing a game plan and implementing systematic processes, leaders indeed will develop an EE-Thumb for growing employee engagement in their firms.

Chrissann Ruehle is Co-Founder of Black Lab Ventures, LLC. A human resources management consulting firm, Black Lab Ventures specializes in providing organizational development, onboading, training and development, health and wellness solutions, in addition to our Black Lab Culture Branding services for businesses. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.blacklabventures.com/ or feel free to call us at 513-443-2365.

Are You Listening To Your Customers?

The holidays have come and gone. Many people are returning to their business routines. January is a good timeframe to review/refine your goals and objectives for the upcoming year. Establishing and maintaining customer loyalty is a key area of focus for businesses; especially since many companies suffered financial setbacks in 2009.

What’s the value in actively listening to your customers?

Implementing this initiative often requires a change in your company’s culture. In order to shift the mindset and approach for relating to your customers, the senior management team needs to be engaged and visibly demonstrate their commitment to this initiative. This approach offers several key values to the firm including:

1. Enables you to develop a long term partnership with your customer.

2. Empowers your firm to transition from being a vendor that provides basic services or products, to a true business partner in helping position your customer to take advantage of future opportunities.

3. Enhances your knowledge of your customer’s business and creates a channel for generating new product and service ideas.

Reasons companies don’t activity listen to their customers.

There are a number of reasons why firms don’t actively seek out ideas and feedback from their customers. I travel frequently for business and interact with a variety of service providers such as airlines, rental car companies, hotels and restaurants. Based on my experience, here are some observations:

1. The service provider behaves in an arrogant manner during customer interactions. In the background, there is an attitude of “We are the experts and possess all knowledge about our service. Therefore, our customers cannot add value to our offerings because they don’t understand our products to the same degree that we do”. Or more a more ominous reason…”As a customer, you don’t really have a choice. You must accept our service as it is.”

2. The firm believes they do not have the resources to effectively implement this new product or service.

3. Employees assert this is the way we do things here at our company. Our success has worked in the past and it will work for us in the future.

Companies that provide high quality, customer-centric interactions stand out in a crowded marketplace and garner loyalty from frequent customers, such as myself.