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Author: Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution and Amaze Every Customer Every Time. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program which helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program.)|Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution and Amaze Every Customer Every Time. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program which helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program.)|Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution and Amaze Every Customer Every Time. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program which helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program.)

Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Can You Be More Convenient For Your Customers?

There is a very simple question to use in a survey as a follow-up to the simple survey question, like the Net Promoter Score question (NPS). For those that may not be familiar with the NPS survey question, it is simply this: On a scale of zero to ten, what is the likelihood that you would recommend us to a colleague, friend, or family member. This simple question gives you an idea if your organization did well enough for the customer to recommend you. Over the years I’ve taught a concept I refer to as the One Thing Question. This follow-up question is:

Is there one thing you can think of that would make doing business with us better?

The idea is that if you have a number of customers suggesting the same “one thing,” you need to pay attention. And, if the ideas are coming from the customers giving you high ratings, then the suggestions are giving you the opportunity to improve on greatness.

So, here’s a twist on the typical one thing question. Let’s assume you are customer focused and your organization is providing a level of customer service that earns consistent high scores. Where can you go from here? In addition to the great service, be easy and convenient to do business with. That’s the subject of my new book, The Convenience Revolution: How to Deliver a Customer Service Experience that Disrupts the Competition and Creates Fierce Loyalty. This is the next level of customer service. So, the twist on the one thing question is this:

Is there one thing you can suggest that would make doing business with us easier or more convenient?

Some companies make convenience part of, if not all of, their value proposition. They know it separates them from their competition. Huntington Bank has extended hours for their customers, so they can bank after normal business hours and on weekends. CLEAR provides a solution to the frequent traveler that hates waiting in security lines in the airport. Walmart has strategically placed their stores so that 90% of people in the US are less than 10 minutes from a Walmart. Restaurants that choose to use the NoWait app lets their guests add their names to the waiting list at a busy restaurant and time their arrival so that when they show up they are near the top of the list.

So, what one thing (or more) can you do to be more convenient for your customers? Come up with the answer and you may get more business from your existing customers and steal away customers from your

Categories
Growth Management Operations Personal Development

Are You Falling Victim to the Customer Service Gap?

The concept of the customer service gap may sound familiar as I have written about it before. The first version referred to the gap between you and your competitors. You want the gap to be wide. It means you are putting yourself further ahead of your competition and picking up market share.

The second version of the gap focused on narrowing the distance between you and your customers. The closer you are to your customers, and the more you are meeting their needs, the narrower the gap is between you and your customer. This also puts your competition further away from your customers.

Now comes the third version of the gap, which is the difference between how good a company thinks their service is versus what their customers actually believe they receive.

A number of years ago, I read an interesting report from Bain and Company that found 80% of companies say they deliver superior customer service, yet only 8% of customers agree. That is a surprising, almost staggering, statistic. Is there that big of a disconnect? Is the gap really this big?

There are other studies that have similar findings, although not quite as severe as the numbers from Bain and Company. Even if that number was cut in half, it would still be a problem. In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a gap. In a truly customer-focused organization, you might even see the gap reversed. In other words, the customer perceives the service they receive from a company is even better than that company’s leadership believes it to be. Maybe that’s because that company won’t settle for anything other than the best, and is always striving to deliver a superior level of service, never settling for mediocrity, never resting on their laurels.

So, what can you do to avoid or eliminate this gap? Here are just a few ideas:

1. Survey your customers. This one is obvious. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. You can use several different survey questions and techniques but just consider this one suggestion. Keep the surveys short. You stand a greater chance of the survey being returned if they are short and take less than a minute or two to fill out.

2. Ask the customer directly, at the time they are finishing their interaction with you. This is a form of an “exit interview.” Again, keep it short and you’ll get more customers willing to respond.

3. Have leadership mystery shop your company. Don’t hire mystery shoppers, but have the executives actually pick up the phone and call their own companies. Find out how easy it is to get to the right person, how long they are required to hold while waiting for customer service, and more. In other words, have them play a simple version of “Undercover Boss.”

So, don’t fall victim to the customer service gap. What you hope your customers will perceive as good customer service, and how they perceive it, are two different things. Narrow the gap so that what you want your customers to experience is in fact what they experience.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Categories
Growth Leadership Operations Personal Development

You No Longer Have to Keep Up with Your Competition

I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you no longer have to keep up with your competition; the bad news is that now you have to keep up with your customer – meaning your customer’s expectation of the service that makes you competitive.

Perhaps you just heard that your competitor is working hard to take away business from you – maybe they’re announcing a new product; maybe they’re advertising a major sale; maybe they’re opening a new location. Will any of these decisions cause your customers to leave you to do business with them?

Perhaps. After all, that is their goal. But what if you heard that your competition wasn’t competing with you on product, price, or location? What if you hear that they’re implementing a new customer service initiative? Their goal, you heard, is to have the best customer service in the industry.

Here’s my take: good for them. Let them go head-to-head with customer service and experience expectations based on the existing industry standards. I have a better idea: don’t let them set your bar. Let the best of the best, regardless of industry standards, set your bar.

What company do you think has the very best customer service? Is it Nordstrom, Apple, or Zappos? Is it the restaurant down the street that knows you by name and makes you feel like a guest in their home? Is it the inside sales rep from one of your suppliers who somehow always accommodates your deadlines and special requests, and always does so with an amazing attitude?

None of these companies or people may be in your industry, but they can be your benchmark for amazing customer service – service that is not based on customer expectations for your industry, but expectations from the best people and companies they’ve ever encountered.

Let me give you this message in a short, 11-word sentence:

The best customer service sets the bar for all customer service.

Customers know what good service is and their expectations today are formed by whoever gives them their best service experience, whether in or out of your industry.

So, back to the questions … What company do you think delivers the best service? Is it one of the iconic brands previously mentioned, or that local company? What is it that this business or person does to make you think they are the best? And, here is the more important question:

What do they do that you don’t do that you can do?

That’s where you start. Maybe it’s something you can copy although my suggestion is not to copy but to adopt and adapt. Adopt the strategy, but change or tweak it to make it uniquely yours. If you’re open to the best customer service practices from every industry, then you will spot trends and strategies before your competition. At that point, keeping up with your customers will be nothing but good news for your bottom line.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Categories
Growth Leadership Operations Personal Development

Four Ways to Provide Exceptional Customer Service

What if your customers said they would be willing to pay you twice what you normally charge? All they want in return is an amazing customer service experience.

Really? That’s it? That’s all they want? We already give great customer service. This will be a piece of cake! (Or, will it?)

If someone is willing to spend more, they will surely expect to get more value, and that value should be in the form of a better customer experience. A recent study by Aspect found that 52% of consumers said that they would pay more for “good” customer service while 66% will pay more for “great” customer service. And, an astounding 75% will pay more for what they consider to be “exceptional.”

The point is that great customer service makes price less relevant. Three out of four people are willing to pay more for “exceptional” customer service. How much more are they willing to pay? And what defines “exceptional” customer service? Maybe customers wouldn’t pay double the normal price, but what if they would? What would you do differently? Here are a few ideas to consider:

Return your customers’ emails

Can you believe that 62% of companies don’t?! That’s according to a recent Super Office study. And, not only would you return them, you would do so quickly. And, by quickly I mean minutes, not hours or days. And, the same goes for your customers’ phone calls.

Contact your customers more often

A salesperson could check in with their customers to see how they are doing or to notify them of a promotion, sale, or special event. A customer service rep could follow-up to make sure everything was working. There are plenty of reasons to stay in touch.

Be as convenient for your customers as possible

You might be open longer hours or drive to a customer rather than make them come to you. There are many ways to make yourself more convenient.

Send a Thank You note

I know that sounds so basic, but you can’t believe how few people send thank you notes. And, given how we are in an age that’s moving away from paper, I’ll accept an email or text message – as long as it’s personalized. Be sure to say something that truly connects with the customer. That said, the “snail mail” note has more impact than an email or text. After all, they are spending twice as much to do business with you!

So, maybe the customer isn’t spending twice as much. Maybe they are paying you the same thing they would pay a competitor. Do any of the four customer service tactics seem so far-fetched that you couldn’t or wouldn’t do them regardless of what the customer paid? I don’t think so.

Do you want to stand out from your competition? Do you want to make price less relevant? Sit down with your team and discuss what “exceptional” customer service looks like to your customer. Then do it!

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Categories
Best Practices Growth Leadership Personal Development

Customer Service Goal: We Don’t Want You to Come Back

Do you ever get the feeling that some business’ customer service goal is the keep the customer from coming back?

Sometimes, it is an employee’s lousy attitude that makes you feel unwelcome and unwanted. Or perhaps it is some other type of poor service, but the end result is that the customer has no desire to return. It’s not likely that this was the company’s customer service goal.

As I teach about customer service techniques, tools and tactics through books, articles and speaking engagements, I try to impart to companies how to keep customers coming back time and time again. There are times, however, that you might actually have the goal of not having the customer come back. Or, to state it another way, there are times when you don’t want the customer to need to come back.

If a customer calls with a complaint or service issue, you want to resolve the issue and make the customer happy. In this case, he or she doesn’t need to return for the same reason. There is a name for this – first-call resolution – and it is the goal of many customer service support centers. Some companies take it one step further. In the process of resolving the customer’s original problem, they ask questions to try to predict any future problems the customer may encounter and then solve them as well. If they do their job well, the customer won’t need to call back.

This approach can work for other types of businesses as well; it’s not just limited to complaints or call centers. Take Ace Hardware, for example. If you go into an Ace store to buy a can of paint for a home project, the sales associate will try to ensure that you go home with everything you need. The associate will ask questions about the project so you don’t have to return to the store an hour later because you forgot brushes, or rollers, or drop cloths. If he does his job right, you will be fully equipped to finish your project without visiting the store again. But, the next time you have a project to do, where will you turn? You’ll remember the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the helpful Ace employee and will most like head for Ace again.

So, do you want your customers to come back? Yes and no. Not because they are repeatedly seeking a resolution to an ongoing problem or because you didn’t do your job thoroughly and they are forced to return for something they need. Ask enough questions to be a one-stop shopping destination. However, you do want to be the one the customer turns to in the future – not because they need to, but because they want to.

Categories
Leadership Operations Personal Development Sales

Respect your Customers’ Time: Resolve Customer Service Complaints Quickly

Did you ever stop to think about how much time people spend on the phone making calls to complain about bad customer service?

An article in The Street pointed out that, on average, adults in the U.S. spend about 364 minutes every year placing calls to report complaints, waiting and hoping to talk to someone who will make things right. In other words, if you are one of the “average people,” you spend about six and a half hours each year on the phone. In six years’ time you lose almost an entire work week, and over 25 years, an entire month of your life will be dedicated to complaining about bad customer service. Much of that time will likely be spent “on hold” (which could in itself be considered bad customer service).

The author of the article, Brian O’Connell, used data from Populus Research and Kana Software, which refer to the “complaint wait” as the “hidden price of doing business.” Here are some other interesting facts that the study produced:

  • More than 70 percent of consumers in the U.S. have taken the time to voice a customer service complaint in the last three years. The average time spent to lodge a complaint was one hour and four minutes – for just one complaint!
  • In most cases, actually getting problem resolution didn’t just happen in one attempt. Sixty-nine percent of consumers had to repeat their complaint, and on average, it took three attempts to get a problem resolved.
  • Thirty-nine percent of complaints were made by phone call, and 33 percent via e-mail.
  • Despite its growing popularity, social media – such as Facebook, Twitter and Yelp – was the channel for only 7 percent of the complaints.

Personally, I expected the number of social media complaints to be higher. Other surveys show that more consumers are turning to social media to air customer service grievances. Even at 7 percent, however, complaints via social media have to be taken very seriously as they are visible not only to the company receiving the complaint, but also to the customer’s friends and followers, and in some cases (such as Yelp) to the public. Even if the overall percentage is low, customer service complaints via social media are definitely on the rise as consumers realize its effectiveness and companies’ desire to maintain a positive image.

This article should be a wake-up call to all types of businesses, especially those that market to the general consumer. It’s surprising to learn just how much time is spent on the phone dealing with customer service issues. Time is a precious commodity, and if you “steal” it from a customer, you are showing a tremendous amount of disrespect.

Customers have limited time and can’t afford to waste it with repeated calls or long waits on the phone. If you don’t have respect for their time, it won’t be long before they decide to find another company with better service and faster resolution when a problem does occur. Be smart. Respect your customers’ time and always fix problems quickly … and with the right attitude!

Categories
Growth Leadership Operations Personal Development

How to Create a Customer-Centric Culture

Want to create a customer-centric culture? That’s a lot of words that begin with C. However, we’re going to focus on D’s in this article. No, not the kind that you get in school – that’s not a very good grade! And when I went to school, “D” was slang terminology for a demerit, which meant a Saturday morning spent at school in study hall – not a fun Saturday for a kid. But our D’s today are of a different variety. They will lead you and your company on the path to building a customer-centric culture and offering great customer service.

The Six D’s of Creating a Customer-Centric Culture 

Define – How can you deliver customer service as part of your brand promise if you don’t have a clear picture of what it is you want the customer to experience? Define your customer service promise in clear and simple terms. Ace Hardware, for example, calls itself the “Helpful Hardware Place” and is known for its customer service. It has defined its service with just one word – helpful – and that guides its hiring, training and customer interactions.

Disseminate – Now that you know the type of service you want to deliver, don’t keep it a secret. Train your employees on what you want and how to make it happen. There are many ways to keep your brand promise foremost in your employee’s minds. The Ritz Carlton hotel chain has laminated cards with its “credo” and several other important core values printed on it.  Employees carry the cards with them, and many have it memorized as well.

Deploy – Once you have your brand promise defined and employees trained, you must follow through and act on the customer service promise. This holds true for everyone in the organization, not just the front line employees who interact with the customer. Others must support their “internal customers”.

Demonstrate – Customer service is everyone’s job. From the leaders to the most newly hired employees, once everyone has been taught and trained, they must demonstrate the customer service brand promise. Leaders must be on board and show how it’s done, but anyone can be a role model for delivering amazing customer service.

Defend – Upholding your promise to customers is so essential that if you see someone doing anything contrary, you must step in to help. This is not about reprimanding someone for doing something wrong, rather a teaching opportunity that keeps your culture and employees going in the right direction.

Delight – Take time to celebrate the success you have built with your employees and your customers. Delight in the company and the individuals who work to advance your vision and deliver amazing customer service.

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Skills

Engaged Employees Make Happy Customers

Are your employees engaged?

Shep Hyken sits down with Julie Ann Sullivan, author of Blueprint for Employee Engagement: 37 Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire, discussing the impact that engaged employees can make on customers.

Top Takeaways:

  • When employees feel like they are making a contribution to the company, they are going to become problem-solvers and idea-makers.

 

  • When employees feel acknowledged and valued, they exude that to customers. This leads to listening to the customer and showing them that they have value.

 

  • A few of the Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire:

 

  1. Communication – Even just one word can change the whole meaning of a sentence.

 

  1. Service – When your job is in customer service, it truly isn’t about you. It’s about the customer. The motive behind service should never be because you have to. The motive should be that you love the company and you want the customer to love it as well.

 

  1. Patience – You may never fully get rid of your impatience. But if you are aware of when you are impatient and can catch yourself, then you can change.

 

  1. Purpose – When people know the purpose behind what they are doing, they can do it much better.

 

  1. Relationships – They grow over time. You don’t meet someone and immediately know them and care for them. Relationships must be nurtured. It’s the same with customers and clients.

 

  1. Leadership – People need to feel, without fear, that they can ask questions. If you have a business culture where people are too afraid to approach the leadership about problems, more mistakes get made. Leaders must be able to let go. They must trust their people and give them the power to do what is right.

 

  1. Respect – You must give it to get it. You can’t just demand it.

 

  1. Gratitude – A little bit goes a long way. The more you are grateful, the more things you find to be grateful for.

About:

Julie Ann Sullivan is the author of Blueprint for Employee Engagement: 37 Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire. Julie Ann works with organizations that want to create a workplace environment where people are productive, engaged, and appreciated.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.

Quotes:

“Customer service is people to people. If the people who are giving out customer service are not happy, that’s what they’re going to portray to the customer.”

“When you have a good workplace culture, people are more productive. And, they’re more careful in what they do so they make less errors.”

“Customer service is easy when everything is going well. I only know how good a company is when things don’t go well.”

Questions:

  1. How can I engage my employees?
  2. How can I be a better example to my employees?
  3. How can I be more approachable to my employees?
  4. How can I be a better manager?
  5. What can I do about employee turnover?
Categories
Marketing Operations Personal Development

Seven Ways to Build Online Customer Trust

How do you build a relationship of trust with your customers? It’s easiest when you can connect with them in person – you can read their expressions as you interact and more easily understand their needs and their perspective. Even in phone conversations, the customer’s tone of voice can help you ascertain their feelings. But what about building trust in an online business?

Building trust online is different. Not necessarily more difficult, but there are certain things to consider when building an online business. There are companies that have mastered the art of building trust online and have the reputation and accolades to prove it. Some of these, such as Apple and Sephora, are ranked at the top for both their traditional and online customer service, while others, including Zappos and Amazon, originated online and built trust through smart practices to rise to the top. Here are some basic ways to build customer trust online:

1. Keep it simple. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and go through the motions of navigating your website and placing an order. Is the website easy to understand and simple to navigate?

2. Be accessible. People do business with people. Offer multiple channels through which a customer can reach you for support or questions – a call center, email, texting, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

3. Post contact information prominently. Put it on every page of your website. Make it easy for a customer to call, email, or connect with you instantly.

4. Keep telephone hold times to a minimum. Customers who have to wait on hold get frustrated and feel as if the company doesn’t care enough to staff properly. You might want to make use of technology that can let the customer know how long the wait will be and give the option of an automatic call-back.

5. Respond quickly on social channels. When a customer contacts you through social media, you should respond within minutes – not hours or days. Continuously monitor your social media channels.

6. Share testimonials from happy customers. This social proof from others will help build trust and increase potential customers’ confidence in doing business with you.

7. Ask your customers to post online reviews. Encourage reviews from not only those who have had a great customer experience throughout, but also any customers who may have had a problem and were satisfied with your handling of the issue.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Categories
Growth Management Operations Personal Development

Five Customer Service Tactics to Increase Sales

You might be looking at that headline wondering if this article should fall into the category of sales tactics, but it is all about customer service. It is about the way you engage with customers and how you make them feel – which also happens to be an indicator of whether or not they will want to do business with you again. And, although the examples focus on retail interactions, the lessons can work for any type of business or industry.

1. Engage with your initial greeting. Offer a strong, sincere welcome to make the customer feel comfortable and appreciated. The first impression sets the tone for the rest of your interaction with the customer.

2. Ask a question that will elicit a specific answer. Simply asking “May I help you?” is not enough. Ask the customer an open-ended question such as, “What can I help you find today?” The answer to that type of question will be more likely to offer specific information about how you can best serve the customer.

3. Ask a follow-up question. Often, this second question will be “Why?” Once you know what the customer is in search of, more knowledge about why it is needed or how it will be used may reveal additional selling opportunities. (Or simply the opportunity to be helpful by sharing some knowledge or expertise.)

4. Upsell. Those “additional selling opportunities” from the follow-up question and conversation with the customer can lead to appropriate upselling. Which, by the way, is a form of good customer service. For example, at Ace Hardware, if a customer comes in to buy a can of paint, the associate would be amiss if he or she did not ask about the customer’s project and whether any additional painting supplies are needed. It’s about making customers’ lives easier by ensuring they have everything they need the first time.

5. Make sure the customer is satisfied. Don’t forget to ask if there is anything else that the customer needs. Asking, “Did you find everything you needed today?” or “Is there anything else I can help you with?” gives the customer a chance to reflect and perhaps make an additional purchase. They may even let you know if there is an item that is out of stock – which is valuable business information for you as well as an opportunity to let the customer know when it will be available.

Bonus: One final tactic – never forget to say, “Thank you!” This is one of the most important tactics. Always end with an expression of gratitude for the customer and leave a strong last impression.

Interweaving customer service into the process of selling is essential. Hire the right people and train and motivate them to engage with the customers to provide an excellent customer experience.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken