A Key to Customer Service is Keeping Your Promise

This evening our team participated in a group exercise about how we can improve customer service. We discussed the following four characteristics associated with delivering exceptional customer service: keeping promises, active listening, attitude and the power of persuasion.

Although each area drew an equal amount of participation it was the discussion around keeping promises that interested me most.  I discovered three basic elements that every person in sales should know – (1) As a member of the company, you are the expert and the curator of the customer experience (2) that the most important thing any member of any company can do is to deliver proper expectations (3) and that every effort should be made to keep any promise made to the customer.

In order to drive home the point of keeping the promise to the customer we used the following clip from a Seinfeld episode which proved to be a great way to convey the message.

Although obvious when thinking about it, keeping the promises made to your customer will differentiate your company from the rest.

Culture and the Importance of “Wow” Withinin Your Company

Many companies are beginning to realize the power and benefit of developing a “wow” campaign within the culture of the organization. These campaigns are designed to inspire teams, develop a positive culture within (and outside of) the organization, and create an unforgettable experience for team members, clients (customers) and partners (vendors).

Lately, our executive team read The Value in Wowing Your Customers , in the Harvard Business Review. As a result of discussions around this article we decided it was time to elevate our commitment to developing our “wow” culture. I was asked to develop a brief overview of this phenomenon and here are two things I discovered.

Developing a “wow” moment for a customer can create a community of committed customers and ambassadors of your brand.

While putting together my research for our team I stumbled across a thread on Facebook (very timely) by a friend who’s husband was recently deployed to Iraq. He’s in the Navy and will serve a one-year term. Here’s what she posted:

A local company heard from one of my neighbors that [my husband] was deployed this year. Within a few hours, I had offers from them to do all of the lawn fertilization for the year, spring clean-up, mulching, and they also plan to mow the lawn until [he] gets back. They’ve done great work for us in the past, but this just goes above and beyond my wildest dreams.

Within a few hours she had several “likes” and then the comments began to emerge including:

- Their e-mails seriously brought tears to my eyes…what a relief to have those things off my master “to do” list during the upcoming months. They will have our support & business for years to come.

- Walt got the chills when I just told him. He thinks that is so cool. He is gonna pass along their name to guys he plays hockey with that lives down that way.

The story was eventually covered by the local news, which happens to be a major market, and her post received a total of 77 “likes” and 16 comments. Not bad exposure for a local landscaping company that thought about their customer and inserted themselves as a solution to her challenge. My guess is that she will be a customer for life.

“Wow” moments also happen within the workplace and can transform the way staff feels about the company and its brand.

At the Holcomb Bus Company, one of the owners became concerned f his foreman when left a meeting to take a call from his mother. Upon returning to the meeting the team learned that the foreman’s mother needed to replace a portion of her sidewalk or face citation by the municipality. She received a quote from a local company but it exceeded her budget and she didn’t know what to do.

Immediately following the meeting the owner, who is also involved in the construction business, called his “concrete guy” and sent him to the house to fix the sidewalk. Needless to say the foreman and his mother were forever grateful for this act and I got the sense that the owner also felt pretty good about being able to help.

In both examples there was a financial investment on the part of each company. However, one can easily surmise that the investments have paid huge dividends for each company, and not necessarily to the bottom line.

The following presentation was delivered for the presentation noted above and touches on some of the topics discussed here.

Wow

View more PowerPoint from brianjohnriggs

The hope is that more and more companies will develop “wow” campaigns and that this movement becomes contagious because in the end everyone is happy and everyone wins. If consumers are talking about your brand over breakfast (or on Facebook) then your company will succeed, your staff will be happy and the world will be a better place.

Additional Resources:

From How to Wow – http://www.successwithcrm.com/blog/bid/53427/From-How-to-WOW-Create-a-Culture-of-Buzz

Creating a Wow Culture at Work – http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2009/07/15/creating-a-wow-culture-at-work/

Run Your Own Race

Image Courtesy of Time.com

Last week I wrote  Creative (and other) Problems, a look at the point at which we become paralyzed in our  own work, often unable to move forward due to a lack of inspiration, vision, creativity or whatever other distraction comes up. In many ways it’s like “writers block” for the everyday professional. Over the past several days I couldn’t help but think of a comment on that post by left by Mike Dwyer who said “don’t stress about it and your natural creativity won’t fail you!”

Fast forward one week. In the midst of the high winds and driving rain brought on by Hurricane Irene, I  watched Secretariat, the Disney movie about Kentucky’s Triple Crown winner of the early 1970′s. In the movie the phrase “run your own race” pops up  frequently and is used as a connector throughout the film. At one point Penny Tweedy, the owner of the horse, used it to try to convince her husband and brother that her decision to leverage everything they had on the future of the horse (described here in “drew’s marketing minute); and again, perhaps most dramatically, when she’s talking one-on-one with  Secretariat (the horse) shortly before an important race.  It didn’t take long before I “got it” and when I did it resonated loudly with me.  This is why.

Rules and Distraction
In our professional and personal lives  rules and distractions play prominent roles in defining how we spend our hours.  At times we are forced to address projects directly in front of us, you know,  the everyday tasks and responsibilities that we need to accomplish just to stay afloat.  Then enter the rules which govern our behavior, those set about by home, work, culture, routine, our laziness to…well,  run our own race.

Too often we forget that what got us where we are today is a belief in our own abilities but perhaps more importantly how those abilities can carry us forward. When we’re empowered to follow our “natural instincts,”  then we quickly realize we have enough drive to execute our goals, to embrace own success, and to run our own race.

Beyond Apologies

I just read a story (actually it was read to me) that I thought I’d share. It’s about terrific customer service and  the importance of creating touch points throughout an experience that in most cases can lead to lasting memories.

Friends of ours  just posted a quick story on Facebook about a recent experience they had at an area restaurant.  The evening was particularly special because it was one of her last big meals before preparing for serious back surgery. She jokingly referred to it as “the last supper,” and you’d have to know her to appreciate the humor in her comment.

The evening got off to a slow start when they were delayed forty minutes past their seating but it was a celebratory affair, kind of, and were eventually seated. Instead of simply apologizing the team at the Franklinville Inn went a step further.  In short, and following a brief explanation of the delay, our friend’s message read as follows:

Image Credit: Zazzle.com

A bottle of wine was sent over as an apology and before the end of the night my husband was all giggles. If that weren’t enough, yesterday a $25 gift card showed up in the mail. I guess they liked seeing my husband a little giggly.

Her summary, which she posted to her profile page, not only summed up two really important actions (touch points) on behalf of the restaurant, but it was positive in its delivery and tone. An organization can’t pay for that kind of delivery. (or maybe they can – bottle of wine and $25 worth)

Touch point # 1 -

Instead of simply apologizing, offering a discount off of the bill, or even presenting them with a gift card at the table, the manager sent over a bottle of wine. A nice way to enhance the evening, add value instead of removing value, and creating a memorable experience.

Touch Point #2 -

The restaurant took the time to mail a gift certificate in lieu of handing it to them while they were seated at table or presenting it before they left. This extended their experience and reminded them of the “giggling” long after the laughter subsided. Most importantly has given our friends a reason to go back for a post-op visit.

As soon as I heard this story I wanted to share it.  It’s an example of an organization that “gets” customer service.

Disclaimer: I have not affiliation with the restaurant although I have eaten there and the soup is outstanding.

Sunrise and Architecture

Sunrise brushing the back of an old building in downtown DC.

Innovate & “Amplify Human Imagination”

This morning Vijay Govindarajan of the Harvard Business Review posted a fascinating blog on innovation entitled Reverse Innovation at Davos. The article examines how innovation in developing countries is contributing to unprecedented growth and what that means to their rich, developed counterparts. At the end of the piece  Govindarajan challenges “Western multinationals” to begin to shift their focus, resources and power to these emerging markets suggesting that a failure to do so will result in missed opportunities.

This article reminded me of seeing Gary Hamel deliver a keynote  at ASAE a few years back on “The Future of Management,”  which focuses on the need for organizations (nonprofit and for-profit alike) to think and act differently in order to succeed.  At the heart of his argument was the notion that organizations need to continually innovate and revisit their strategies through new and often very different lenses. This, he suggests, often means redesigning and challenging longstanding management models to accommodate for a new approach to doing business.

It’s been two years since I saw Hamel’s presentation but his message of  ”strategic renewal” and a belief that every member of every organization can play a role in “continually generating hundreds of new strategic options” has always stuck with me.  With that in mind, and on the heels of a very enlightening piece from HBR, I found this presentation and thought I would share it for review.  Comments on favorite slides are listed below the presentation.

*This presentation was put together by Mark Sniukas.  His presentation can also be viewed here.

Slide 12 – Strategic Renewal  - Over the past few months I’ve been involved in several board meetings where the teams have reviewed their strategic plans through an innovative lens.  Meaning – they’re taking a look at the gaps in their plans to identify opportunities to develop new ideas, products, and processes.  This, I believe, is a product of strategic renewal.

Slide 13 – I’m not crazy over the repetitive use of the word “strategic” but I do like the idea of rebooting. In my opinion you can reboot just about everything.

Slide 14 – “Continually generating hundreds of NEW strategic options” – this is great.

Slide 28 – Continually reinforce the belief that innovation can come from anyone.

Slide 40 – Amplify human imagination.

In this day and age everyone is afforded the opportunity to innovate.  Leaders, teams and organizations alike should be taking full advantage of it.

We’re All Artists So Let’s Get Painting

Last week  I sat through  a presentation at my daughter’s art school. The walls of the studio were covered with paintings, sketches and drawings.  All were done by the students who range in age from six to 26.  Although the subject matter was all over the map, from cartoons to profiles to landscapes, they all had one thing in common – they were born out of creative desire.

As I sat there I couldn’t help but think about what creativity means in this day and age and how, even though many of us may not consider ourselves to be creative (as in Van Gogh), the opportunity for us to introduce creativity in everything we do has never been greater.

Dictionary.com defines creativity as – the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.

I prefer the definition offered up by Dr. Nancy Andreasen of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and author of The Creating Brain. During an interview with NPR  she states “creativity is an intellectual capacity that is not directly related to intelligence. And it is capacity of seeing new things, new relationships, create novel things, and it spreads across the arts and sciences…the point I make is the genius is somebody who has the capacity to think outside the box and have original ideas, produce beautiful things, things that are useful to society and so on.”

Mantelpiece at the Art School

I’m not exactly jazzed about using the term “think outside the box” but in today’s marketplace we, as professionals, have the opportunity to be creative in everything we do. More importantly, in many of our workplaces creativity in nontraditional environments is not accepted but almost expected.

Today, it ‘s not enough (or fun) to continue to do things the way we did last year, last month, or in some cases last week. Sure, there’s something to be said for maintaining process, but the beauty of today lies in our ability to employ creative approaches to everything we do.

In a way we’re all artists so imagine the “to do” list as a canvas and let yourself create a new landscape.

Three Reasons to Keep it Simple

Tonight I returned from ASAE’s 2010 Tech Conference in Washington, D.C.  with a brain filled with all sorts of  ideas and agenda items. Among other things the conference offered valuable sessions on social media and content  strategy, the importance of curating content and the convergence of marketing  and IT departments and philosophies.

It was well worth the two days spent away from the office and for the most part left me inspired. However, a funny thing happened to me as I stepped off the train at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia and it was, perhaps, the most enlightening moment of my trip. As I ascended up the stairway and made my way through a back hallway I stumbled across this chalkboard which  stopped me dead in my tracks.

Train Schedule on Wheels

There’s no way of knowing exactly what this particular schedule is used for but it’s not the schedule that appears in the main lobby (pictured below),  or the small digital screens hanging in other areas of the depot. However, in its simplicity lie lessons that can be applied to anyone involved in content, technologies, social media and marketing.

Lesson #1 –  Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. It serves the same purpose as the other schedules, even without the flashing lights and sounds.

Lesson #2 – It  accomplishes the same goal as the other schedules – it communicates specific and relevant information to those that need it.

Lesson #3 – It’s accessible.  It doesn’t over complicate the message.

These three rules can be applied to just about any form of communication including those used in social spaces. Too often we get lost in the “noise” around us or distracted by the flashy tools available at our fingertips.  Because of this  we tend to forget all about the value in simplicity and how, if applied properly, can actually advance our goals easier and faster.

Flashy Schedule Image Credit - http://www.trainweb.org

 

Opportunities for Growth

I finally got around to reading a blog post by Chris Brogan that’s been waiting for me for who knows how long. It was titled “How to Write Three Blog Posts a Day” and as a new blogger and a fan of his work I thought I could pick up a thing or two that I could put to use. Fortunately there were more than a few nuggets of information and when I was finished I came to an unexpected realization – that the “how to’s” in his post can easily be appplied to just about any scenario including how to improve upon our approach to business, relationships and networking. As I sit on plane headed to Chicago there are two that stand out in my head.

Embrace Imperfection – His point was that your blog will have mistakes so get over it and move on. Wow, what a relief. This is huge and a huge relief to those that are immobilized by the fear of failure.  If only we were able to adopt that philosophy in our everyday lives and on a consistent basis. Think about how ones approach to work would be, not to mention the outcome.

Seek Opportunity for Content – There’s plenty of things to write about as long as we’re looking for the opportunity. I agree but for all of the non-bloggers out there I would say replace “content” with “conversation” meaning star talking and listening to everyone around you. More often than not conversations lead to discovery which leads to many things including personal and professional growth.

These were two of many tips I was able that resonated with me. Oh, and one other included the notion of stealing time to write when you can which I’ve done here on my approved electronic device in seat 10 C.

Developing Your Informal Advisory Board

I recently met with a colleague to discuss an upcoming project which ended in a discussion about the state of our industry.  We talked about current business models, how marketing and social technologies are changing management and how additional opportunities are popping up everywhere for all types of organizations, for-profit and nonprofit alike. As a web guy he’s got his own perspective on today’s environment and as a business development/marketing guy I’ve got mine.  We often see things differently but in most cases we find common ground on the big issues facing the industry and the changing marketplace.

At the conclusion of our conversation it occurred to me that he, like a handful of others, are a part of what I have come to refer to  as  my informal advisory board.

Web Guy (mentioned above) – I look to him to provide me with two things – the deep, behind the scenes data on webby stuff and the information, language and know how I need to better position and develop products that come out of that space. (blogs, web sites, apps, etc.)

Who to call?

Social Media Guru – This person lives in D.C. and most of my contact with her is through SM. Whenever I’m confronted with a challenge in this space or have a new idea it goes to her first.

Proposal Men (2) - One works for a large risk management/consulting firm while the other works for a large manufacturer/supplier within the oil industry. Both live and breath proposals so from time to time I bounce ideas off  of them.

Executive Director – Because I work for a firm that manages professional societies and associations I frequently engage this person in conversations about being a leader among leaders.  I look for this person to provide me with a grounded perspective on the day-to-day realities of nonprofit management.

Business Coach (2) – A financial advisor and leasing executive who both recently broke out their own. We’ll typically talk strategy,  approaches to customer service and just about everything that has to do with sound and/or progressive business practice.

Life Coach - This person serves as a general sounding board for whatever is going on. Typically it’s whats nagging me, driving my interests or potentially forcing me to make a game changing decisions.

We all have our circle of friends or advisors but rarely do we consider why we need them.  Here are three reasons why they are important:

1. Real Input – You’ll find whatever you want to on the Internet but what you can’t pull from YouTube is real input from real people that is specific to your situation.

2. Perspective - This is a byproduct of  real input and is perhaps the most critical . Your advisors can provide a perspective that you may have never considered.

3. Ambassadors - By engaging your advisors you will automatically create ambassadors for yourself, your business, and your objectives. To fully understand just how important ambassadors are to business today you may want to check out Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel, Relationship Economics by David Nour, or Socialnomics by Eric Qualman.

Today, technology makes it easy to develop and maintain formal and informal relationships.  Embedded within these relationships reside a core set of resources that can become part of an informal advisory board. By identifying the strengths of the individuals within  this group members are able to provide unfiltered input and perspective to ideas, challenges and opportunities. Building an informal advisory board and recognizing when to utilize them are essential tools in such a rapidly changing business environment.