customer service

Sarah Worsham / Aug 12, 2009

Why Your Crappy Free Wireless is Costing You Business

Many businesses, especially restaurants and coffee shops, have free wireless these days. However, many have really crappy free wireless (it’s slow or it cuts out, etc.) and that is costing them business.

Do it Well or Don’t Do it

If you’re going to have free wireless, you probably advertise it. It’s an enticement to come to your shop. It’s a reason why people have meetings or work there. If your free wireless isn’t that good, they’re not going to return when they want somewhere to meet or work and that’s lost business.

Sarah Worsham / May 4, 2009

Word Associations – Customer Service – What Comes to Mind?

I think we all have different images about what customer service should be. But what’s the first thing that pops into your head? I polled twitter to find out:

twittercustserv A lot of frustration. As @TerryBean said, a “dying art”. @mistygirlph mentioned customer experience. @damnredhead and I had a longer conversation about how non-verbal communication is often forgotten (hands in the pocket or crossed arms). I like the images @impossibleman mentions – “standing along side” and “walking them through”.

Customer service is one of those touchpoints that companies often ignore as a cost center – or if they do provide customer service, forcing the employees to follow scripts or processes instead of actually helping customers. Customer service is a huge part of the experience companies have with customers. It’s not just about after the product/service is bought. It’s beforehand, it’s during and it’s after. Customer service is about experience and reputation. Customer service impacts all business departments – marketing, PR, accounting, etc. Being dedicated to customer service and actually providing good customer service are two different things. But customer service is something that can help companies make it through a tough economy.

I had a conversation with @CharlieCurve on the phone and he mentioned the problems Twitter was having last summer where it was down for days at a time. People were frustrated but were still fighting for the brand, wanting it to make it – embracing the FailWhale. If your product or service were to have that kind of problem, how would your customers react?

Technorati tags: customer service, brand, customer experience, business, marketing strategy, marketing

Liked this post? Consider subscribing to our RSS feed or our monthly newsletter.

Sarah Worsham / Mar 27, 2009

Using Social Media to Create Great Experiences for Your Customers

Creating great experiences comes from listening, respecting and getting to know your customers. Think about a satisfying purchase experience you’ve had recently. You probably had some personal interaction with the company, they listened and were helpful in guiding your purchase decision. You felt like they really understood your needs and what you were trying to do. Many of us no longer have in-person interactions with our customers, but we can still use social media to accomplish many of the same touchpoints.

Listen – Join social networks where your customers are. Listen to what they are saying, both in general and about your company. You’ll gain insight into what your customers really think and what their needs are.
Help – Help your customers anyway you can. Advice and assistance, even if they are not related to your products will be appreciated and will help build trust.
Build a Relationship – Reach out to your customers. Say hello. Have a personality. Have conversations.
Respect – Don’t shout at your customers. Don’t spam them. Don’t send them uninvited email or advertising. This can be difficult, but asking your customers to take action occasionally is different than bombarding them with marketing.

You’ll find that once you have built relationships with your customers it is much easier to understand what they need and want out of your products. You’ll spend less time with inefficient marketing and advertising and more time giving your customers the experiences they want with your products and company.

(photo by Wrote @ Flickr CC)

Technorati tags: customer experience, customer-centric, experience centric, business, strategy, marketing

Liked this post? Consider subscribing to our RSS feed or our weekly newsletter.

« Previous Page