“ He MySpaced me.” – Mary – He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
 
Not long ago we read that back in the late 1800s when electricity was first demonstrated people fell to their knees in amazement.   The individuals who demonstrated it probably felt omnipotent. No one questioned or challenged them.   Today you’ve got to do something really spectacular to get more than a few lines in someone’s blog.   Technology permeates everything today.   It is an integral part of almost every movie.  Even girlie girl movies (we go to keep peace in the household)!  Tech toys have become integral parts of our homes/offices.  They’re indispensible. Our kids feel lost if they don’t have them … all. 
 
Staying Connected
You know:

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Literary and Human Rights students will remember Zola for his defence of Alfred Dreyfus when the French Army was convicted of treason solely because he was Jewish.

But he had a second important contribution to the world which was the documenting of Parisian marketing techniques in his novel “The Ladies’ Paradise”.  And America’s early fascination with everything French certainly paid off decades later when they finally started to adopt some of the French Revolutionary marketing ideas as Mouret (the leading character in the novel) implements to make himself richer and the consumer experience more rewarding.

Marketing Strategy & Consumer Behaviour Analysis

Selection of women as primary targets

“Mouret’s unique passion was to conquer woman.  He wished her to be queen in his house, and he had built this temple to get her completely at his mercy.  His sole aim was to intoxicate her with gallant attentions, and traffic on her desires, work on her fever.”

Targeting women through children

“His most profound idea was to conquer the mother through the child, when unable to do so through her coquetry; he […] created departments for little boys and girls, arresting the passing mothers by distributing pictures and air‑balls to the children.”

Customer Service Orientation

Home delivery

“Why weren’t six pairs of sheets, bought by a lady yesterday about two o’clock, delivered in the evening?”

“The first four conveyances […] had gradually increased to sixty two trucks, one‑horse vans, and heavy two‑horse ones.”

Employee training (in sales and foreign languages—for international customers)

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Every time that your business telephone rings, there is an opportunity to build or damage a customer relationship. When an existing or prospective customer calls your company, the way that you address him or her plays a major role in whether or not the outcome of the conversation will be positive or negative.

No matter who answers the telephone in your business, that person’s words and actions form the basis of your company’s image among people who call your company. Regardless of the type of business you have, it’s important that you and every member of your team observe these basic telephone etiquette tips for professionals at all times.

1. Use The Equipment Properly
Don’t let new employees work the phones without first training with you or other experienced employees. Even if you’ve hired someone with years of multi-line telephone experience, you need to spend some time making sure that your new hire knows the ins and outs of how your system works. If not, you may end up with agitated customers and lost business from calls that get cut off accidentally, or that get transferred to the wrong extensions.

It’s important to keep in mind that new employees aren’t the only ones who can benefit from training on how to use the telephone equipment. It’s not uncommon for employees who work in a company for years to have very little practical knowledge of using any functions on the company telephones beyond simply taking calls. At a minimum, all employees should know the proper procedures for placing callers on hold and transferring calls to other extensions.

2. Answer Promptly
If the telephone rings so long that the customer on the other end wonders if he or she has dialed the wrong number, you are not practicing proper telephone etiquette.

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Would you say that your customers are satisfied with the products and services provided by your organization?  Do you think that having satisfied customers indicates that your organization is one that provides exceptional customer service?  If so, think about what the word satisfaction really means.    When your customers are satisfied, it simply means that you have met their service and performance expectations.  It’s like earning a “C” on your report card.  Your performance is average – not worse than expected, but not better either. 

If you want to be recognized as an outstanding provider of customer service, you have to consistently exceed the expectations of your customers.  This is how your organization can build customer loyalty, which is much more important than customer satisfaction.  Satisfied customers aren’t angry or upset with you, but they still may choose to do business with your competitors.  Loyal customers, on the other hand, are those who choose to keep coming back to you, and choose not to purchase from your competitors.  Customer loyalty is based on the relationship between your organization and its customers.  

Organizations that are recognized as exceptional providers of customer service are the ones that have incorporated customer-focused behaviors into their daily operations.  You can do this at your organization.  

Customer focused behavior requires:

1. Make the Customer #1· Positive initial contact· Establish rapport· Don’t keep customers waiting.

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Word of mouth advertising is the most effective marketing tool for any business. Positive word of mouth is directly proportional to your customer’s perceptions of the quality of service they receive from you and your organization. Customer service is the key to fostering positive word of mouth advertising and generating repeat and referral business.
Customer Service is important to the success of all businesses, especially those that provide services rather than products. It is a simple fact that in a service-oriented industry, you don’t manufacture anything. What you are selling is your service. It costs almost nothing to develop and maintain policies that help ensure quality service. On the other hand, not developing those policies can cost you a fortune.

The customer service your company provides is what separates you from your competition. The less your company focuses on service, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to attract business, and it becomes impossible to retain customers.

Smart service providers know that their customers are the bottom line, both literally and figuratively. Customer focused organizations never lose sight of the fact that keeping customers happy is the key to long term success.

Customer service is more than something that you put on a to-do list and check off every day. Providing exceptional service is a way of thinking, even a lifestyle. Customer service has to be woven into the philosophy with which you approach your business. Respect, fairness, and a true desire to serve the needs of your customer base should motivate everything you do and say.

Customer service means different things to different people. In reality, the only perspective that matters is the customer’s concept and perception of good customer service at the time service is needed and delivered.

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Are you spending money constantly trying to attract new customers?  Realize that you could possibly be sitting on a goldmine, without spending another cent on advertising. How would you feel if you could build a one to one relationship with each and every customer to the point where they then become an advocate for your business?

It’s amazing how many companies fail to take advantage of their most important asset, their customer list.  Most small business owners are constantly searching for ways to attract new customers, when its been proven time and time again that you can make more money from your present clients than constantly looking for new business.

Here are the secrets to begin the process of retaining good customers and generating greater profits from them.

Secret #1: GET TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

Small Businesses today are finding that in order to survive super discount competitors and online competition they must go back to the relationship building of the good old days.  In cities and towns of yesteryear, jewelers knew their customers by name, the type of jewelry they preferred and made certain he had it in stock.  This kind of relationship coupled with personalized customer service and a genuine empathy with customers, is what keeps them coming back to you instead of your competitors.

Secret #2: GATHER CUSTOMER INFORMATION

A database of customers is the most valuable asset your business has.  Yet only 10% of the retailers in the United States keep a current list of their customers!  Statistics show that businesses spend five times as much for new customers than they do on their present customers, yet a regular customer is worth 10 times the cost of acquiring a new customer!  Today, however, a customer list is not enough.

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At a party I started chatting with a nice guy, late 20’s or so, neatly dressed, with bright, intense eyes. We talked weather, current events, the usual stuff, and then I popped the question. “So, what do you do?”

He smiled. He said he recently bought a route in his area selling cold cuts and other provisions to delicatessens and restaurants. He proudly mentioned their name. I recognized the brand. Anyone would.

So how’s business, I asked. His smile intensified. It’s terrific, he said. I’ve asked that question a few thousand times over the years, and I don’t remember anyone admitting it wasn’t. I asked what was so terrific.

“I’ve got this account up on Route 7. I was there last week. I wondered why he was carrying another brand of turkey, so I asked him. He told me that our product was more expensive than the other brand. I told him that although the price of mine was higher, our marketing people tell us most people find it tastier and as a result end up buying more of it than the other brand. On a napkin, using how much business he does with his current product, I showed him that since the margins were better selling my premium product and he would sell more of it, he would make more money. I showed him how much more, on paper. He put in an order right then and there and after a week, he’s dropped the other brand. He’s happy, and I am too, since he is ordering more from me.”

I asked where he learned how to do this. He described the many weeks of intensive training he received - products, marketing, customer service, accounting, and sales. Apparently the company has very high standards not only for the quality of the products they provide, but also for the route owners/drivers themselves. I learned it’s not enough just to come up with a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a route.

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You have to be able to sell something to someone if you are in business. Most people do not have the perfect product or service that sells itself. A business needs customers and clients to like it. Learning to be nice is an essential skill for any business.

It is, therefore, amazing that so many businesses don’t know how to be nice or whether or not their customers like them. Relationship management is all about learning what your customers like and delivering on it.

Large corporations can spend hundreds of thousands on integrated computerised relationship management systems, but often neglect to think about the actual human interactions between customers and staff.

My first ever job was in a suit hire business over the school summer holidays. Summer was the wedding season and my job was to fit suits to new grooms and best men. My boss could look at someone as they came in and pick a suit that fitted perfectly. I had to ask what size they needed. Typically, a man would say he had a 36 inch waist. It used to take three sets of trousers before he finally, grumpily, admitted that he needed a 42 inch waste. By the end of the summer, I too had stopped asking the customer what size they thought they were and just gave out the right sized suits.

Customers are not always right, but good service is.

The value of having good relationships is your reputation. Reputation is a more valuable commodity than people think. It is not just famous people who have reputations – everyone has one.

By far the best advertising is when someone says how good a company you are. People invest thousands in advertising and very little in relationships. I pay far more attention when someone I know says they have a good dentist, or a lawyer who does not charge you twice if their answering machine takes a message and they call you back, than any sort of advertising.

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