The Thriving Small Business

Managing Customer Expectations

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A customer service strategy is the best first step in creating a culture that supports great customer service.  This requires having a good understanding of who your customers are, what they want and creating systems and processes to meet their needs.  This is the foundation for a strong service organization.

Another important aspect of the customer experience is helping to manage their expectations. Read the Full Article →

5 No-Brainer Tips To Improve The Customer Experience

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We all know that it is the customer that purchases our products and services, and ultimately pays the bills.  Too many organizations lose sight of this reality and ignore the very basic things that could enhance the customer experience.

If you are like me, you can probably give countless examples of a bad customer experience, and hopefully,  remember those times that you interacted with an organization that “got it” and made the experience enjoyable and memorable.   Read the Full Article →

7 Things Most Customers Won’t Tell You – Unless You Ask

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I worked with someone from Britain a few years ago and I was often shocked at how honest he was.  I used to tease him and compare him to Simon Cowell, the infamous direct communicator – which he did not find very humorous.

Anyway, I learned that culturally honesty and being very direct is just a communication difference between us and the Brits. Read the Full Article →

Service Recovery – How Well Do You Respond to a Bad Customer Experience?

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Great customer service is the cornerstone of any successful business. Knowing who the customers are, what they want and exceeding their expectations is the key to business growth. Unless an organization understands this very basic principle, they will have a difficult time achieving desired results.

Service Recovery is a theory that suggests that a customer who has a bad experience and receives a prompt, effective response to their issues, will be a more loyal customer than a customer who had no bad experience at all. Read the Full Article →

13 Characteristics of an Employee Empowered Culture

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Empowerment is a buzz term that we hear a lot about in leadership.

Empowerment is defined as “the giving or delegation of power or authority; authorization; the giving of an ability; enablement or permission.”

Empowerment is based on the belief that employees have the ability – and want to take on more responsibility.  Read the Full Article →

Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire Template

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Customer satisfaction is paramount to the success of any business. Understanding who your customers are, what they want and having systems and processes in place to not only meet their needs but exceed their expectations is what sets the successful apart from the rest.  Soliciting and monitoring customer feedback should be part of an organization’s overall strategy. Read the Full Article →

Free Customer Comment Card Template

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Businesses rise and fall based on their ability to understand the experience and expectations of their customers.

Assessing your customer needs and expectations is part of managing customer satisfaction.  There are several ways to obtain customer feedback – focus groups, customer satisfaction surveys and text analytics.  But the main goal of a customer comment card process is to capture the customer experience when it is fresh in the customer’s mind. Read the Full Article →

7 Customer Service Tips

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We can all relate to good customer service. And we can all give examples of a poor customer service experience.

Customers have choices and data shows that loyal customers are those who have their needs met and expectations that are exceeded.

Let’s begin with a definition:

Customer is defined as “a person who purchases goods or services from another”. Read the Full Article →

Do Your Employees Feel This Liberty?

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As organizations, we are (or should be) always looking for ways to engage our employees.  Employee engagement means that an employee is bought in to your mission and has a passion for what your organization is trying to accomplish.

They are so bought in that they take it upon themselves to be the advocate and even salesman for your cause.   Read the Full Article →

8 Things About Customer Service You Can Learn from Bed, Bath and Beyond

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I recently went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBB) to purchase a wedding shower gift for a friend’s daughter and was pleasantly reminded about how good they are at so many things.  It made me think that there are several things we can learn from their approach to customer service.

I know I’m a woman, and BBB is definitely more of a woman’s store than a guys place, but they have things figured out on a pretty high level. Read the Full Article →

Netflix Customer Problems – A Public Relations Nightmare!

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Netflix is in the news again.  CEO Reed Hastings apparently has decided against splitting the company into two distinct product lines – DVD rentals and streaming video.  The decision was made after customers protested and share value dropped some 60% since July.

I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t necessarily surprise me that Netflix changed its mind considering the outrage of customers and subscription cancellations.  

Read the Full Article →