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Entries categorized as ‘Best Practice’

The Eyes Have It: What You Need to Know About Eye Contact

March 12, 2010 · Leave a Comment

There’s a lot you can learn from considering the phenomenon of eye contact.  Just a fraction of a second’s eye contact yields a huge amount of information that you can – and do – use as you communicate with your interlocutor.  Thinking about how this works, and why we’ve evolved to do it, can pay big dividends. Take a look at this picture of three women and consider the amount of information you get almost instantly just by looking at their eyes.  For just a little time invested you know a lot about if each person is happy or sad, if she’s anxious or if she’s at peace.
Eye contact is a big part of any conversation.  And as you absorb the information – the feedback – you get from eye contact while having that conversation, you’ll find that you make subtle course corrections in what you’re saying and how you’re saying it.
This is a perfect, beautiful example of a feedback loop.  What is it that makes this feedback loop so successful?  In thinking about this, two things jump out at us.  First, it’s simple.  (On its surface, anyway.)  Your brain filters out extraneous information and focuses on certain vital cues which you’ve learned to watch for.  You’re not overloaded with feedback.  You’re fully focused on the other person’s eyes and what they’re doing with them. Second, it’s fast and it’s repetitive.
We don’t make eye contact once.  Rather, we maintain this feedback loop during our conversations. Why have we evolved this feedback loop?  Communication is among our most important human characteristics, and the ability to understand nonverbal cues is a big advantage.  What’s even more interesting to consider is how this feedback system’s simplicity and repetitiveness has allowed it to evolve to become so important to us.
What’s evolving in your organization?  Customer feedback initiatives are like anything else in corporate life.  If we’re not careful, these programs can become bloated and ineffective.  We suggest taking a page out of nature’s playbook and examining how you can use your customer feedback to give your organization “virtual eye contact” with lots of customers.
The big take-aways we see are those that have allowed eye contact to evolve into such an important part of who we are and how we communicate.
  • Keep it focused by concentrating only on those vital cues that drive results.  (For more ideas on this, read Choose One Thing.)
  • Find a system for streamlining the results so your employees don’t have information overload.  There are a variety of ways – including our software – to do this. Make it repetitive.
  • Ask for feedback and share it with your employee-facing customers regularly.
How we use eye contact to help us communicate is one of those great examples of nature accomplishing something very powerful with simple elegance.  We’d do well to emulate it.
About the Author: Max Israel is the founder of Customerville, a Customer Satisfaction Measurement Solution for Multi-unit Operators that can help you create happier customers and drive sales.
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Categories: Best Practice
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5 Steps Toward Turning Your Commodity Into a Great Customer Experience

March 5, 2010 · 1 Comment

When a consumer buys a service there are a set of intangible activities carried out on his/her behalf.  When a consumer buys an experience, however, he/she buys a set of memorable events that a company has created – as in a theatrical play – to engage him/her in a personal way.  Engaging a customer in a personal way gains their trust and their continued loyalty as well.

The nature of economic value follows a natural progression from commodities to goods to services and then to experiences.  Each step along the way adds value.  Think of coffee.  The coffee bean is a commodity to be sure.  It is widely traded on the futures market and is a classic example of economic elasticity.  When it is roasted and packaged it now becomes a good that is distributed throughout various retail channels.  When it is brewed it now becomes a service that is available at cafe’s, restaurants, etc.  When it is served in a high-end restaurant or espresso bar, where the ordering, creation, and consumption of the cup embodies a sense of ambiance or sense of theater, it now becomes a distinctive experience.  It is interesting to note that the price one is willing to pay increases as the good or service moves along this evolutionary path.

  1. Engage consumers in a personal way.  How?  Well, it’s always best to ask.  Asking customers what they want sounds almost too easy but it’s surprising how many businesses forget about this critical step.
  2. Watch customers.  Observe your customers and note their frustrations as well as their enjoyment.  Are there any unmet needs you notice? Anything you could do to enhance the experience?
  3. Think about the difference between opening a Dell computer (not too exciting) and opening a new Apple computer (exciting).  Think about the coffee shop that double seals your bag of freshly ground coffee because they knew you were traveling and didn’t want the coffee to get stale.
  4. From a technical services point of view, think of how you can make a typical service call an experience or think of something that the client always asks for and then just add that into your routine.
  5. Does your client often stop at a specific coffee shop before a meeting?  Next time, have the coffee shop mention that their drink is free – compliments of you.  They will remember this gesture – for a very long time.

There are many types of experiences that can engage an individual and the challenge of the business is to create experiences compelling enough to make a lasting impression.  When you do this, you create loyalty and loyal customers are one of your best forms of sustainable competitive advantage.  They are priceless.

So the next time you hear about something being a commodity – think about how you can make it invaluable by creating an experience around it.  It’s value will increase greatly and you win by creating loyal customers.

About the Author: Shane Ketterman is an IT Professional and MBA grad.  He owns Gorilla-Force.com and is a Certified Professional Coach focusing on the IT industry.  He is passionate about social media, marketing, and seeing others succeed.  His website is http://www.fiveforcesgroup.com

Categories: Best Practice

Optimized Copywriting: Attract Prospects to Your Site through the Words You Use

February 17, 2010 · 3 Comments

As part of 2009’s Search Marketing Secrets series, you discovered that using effective keyphrase research is one of the top three ways to create breakthrough results for your company.

Keyphrase research allows you to find out what language your prospects are using to find the products and/or services that you offer. By incorporating the results of your keyphrase research into your page copy, you are guiding prospects towards your site – where they can order your products and choose your services.

When you write optimized website copy – that is, copy containing the keyphrases your prospects use – write for two different audiences:

1)   First, write for the people who visit your website. They are the ones who buy your products and services. So, your text must be clear and compelling to them.

2)   With optimized copy, you’re also writing for the search engine spiders. Once the spiders understand what your web pages are about, they can return those pages in response to prospects’ queries. So it’s important to provide enough cues (keyphrases!) to the search engine spiders so that they “understand” what your pages are about – and always remember that your main audience is the people who visit your site.

Here’s how optimized copy helps your company.

Think of using keyphrases as placing breadcrumbs down so that your prospects can use them to find your site.

Here’s an example. Let’s say that you’re a professional organizer and you’ve found, through keyphrase research, exactly how prospects search for your services. There are a steady number of searches on “professional organizer” and “certified professional organizer.” You’re proud of your certifications and that’s a key differentiator for your business – and so you select these keyphrases as part of your core strategy.

When you put those phrases in strategic places in your text, you’ve increased the chances that the search engine spiders will present web pages from your site when people search on the keyphrases that you’ve placed in your optimized copy.

Search engine spiders have actually become more sophisticated and are capable of doing more than making exact matches between the text typed into a search engine box and the text found on your website –we’ll cover that in a  future post.

Optimized content on your site can appear in many formats, including:

1)   Web pages where you’re selling your products and/or services

2)   Informational articles that educate site visitors

3)   Blog posts

4)   Press releases/news updates

5)   Archived e-newsletters

Next month, we’ll share part 2 of our successful copywriting series – giving you more information to help attract targeted traffic (sales leads!) to your website.

This month’s opportunities:

Knowledge is power – this month, you’ll be filling any gaps in your understanding of SEO copywriting.

  1. Read through the Search Marketing Terms Glossary
  2. A few quick reads about blogging:
    1. Discover how to create an editorial calendar for your site’s blog.
    2. See how corporate blogs really do influence buying decisions.
  3. Read about how to create effective landing page copy on your site.
  4. Discover what questions your prospects are asking – and then answer them on your site.
  5. Bonus: read back issues of the newsletter here: http://www.thesearchguru.com/email-archive.asp to learn more.
  6. Burning question or comment? Email me at Results@TheSearchGuru.com.

About the Author: Leslie Carruthers is President of The Search Guru, a best practices full services Search Marketing firm creating breakthrough results for their clients since 2004. Leslie can be reached at 440-306-2418 orResults@TheSearchGuru.com.

Categories: Best Practice · Newsletter · marketing strategy

How to Reduce Buyers Remorse

February 15, 2010 · 1 Comment

Have you noticed that the political pundits have been using the term “Buyers Remorse” in relation to how Wall Street Democrats feel about putting Obama in the White House?   I’m not sure that it’s a good idea to mix references to regrets in purchasing with voting — but that’s another story.  These recent references made me realize that all customers go through some sense of regret after they’ve made a purchase.

Just to make sure that we are talking about the same thing.  Buyers remorse refers to the emotional response in the consumer after a purchase is made.  The higher the price and the higher the involvement in a purchase, the higher the potential for buyers remorse.

Yet, most businesses like to look the other way and pretend that this doesn’t happen or doesn’t have that much of an impact on their business — let alone measure it.  But don’t be fooled.  Buyers remorse is real and if you don’t track it, it will come back to bite you.

Where to Start Looking

The most obvious place to start is with your customer lists.  Run a report that gives you a list of your customers and sales by customer over the last five years.  Now compare one year to the next and look for which customers are no longer on your list or which customers have stopped purchasing one product or another.  Look for people that only made one purchase or look for people who have been loyal customers and then dropped off.

This is a golden opportunity to start digging into what their experience was and why they chose not to purchase again.  Depending on the size of this list of departed customers, you may choose to call them directly (I recommend that) or if it’s a large list, you can create a feedback survey and send them an invitation to tell you what happened.

What Buyers Remorse Looks Like in the Car Business

Remember, the higher the price and the higher the emotional involvement, the higher the potential for buyers remorse.  In the car business, buyers remorse can take the form of being disappointed in the actual purchasing event or worse, it can become a growing disappointment as customers actually LIVE with the consequences of their purchase.  For example, 17% of the people who purchased new cars during the “cash for clunkers” program now say that they regret their purchase.  Mostly because of having a car payment that they didn’t have before as well as increased insurance costs.  About 6% to 8% of car buyers feel some level of regret within a month of their purchase.

There is a Goldmine of Opportunity in This Data

While it can be appealing to not ask questions and take the money and run.  There is profitable gold in mining what causes buyers remorse in your customers.  It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.  You only need to care enough to put some triggers and elements in place to grab that feedback.

  • If your product or service is sold face-to-face, train your sales people to help customers make a decision that they can live with.  Provide a guarantee or a risk-free option that makes it easy for them to make the purchase AND to come back and return it if they are unsatisfied or have second thoughts.
  • Actually talk about regrets and second thoughts while customers are thinking about the purchase.  If they’ve had the conversation, they will be less likely to have regrets later.
  • Grab their e-mail and send them a survey within 24 hours.
  • Create a space on your web site (on every page) where visitors can easily give you their thoughts while they are having an experience.

Buyers remorse is a given.  So don’t look the other way.  Use this potential for customer regret as an opportunity to help them make a decision they are happy with.  After the sale is done, stay in touch with them and give them lots of ways to reach out to you.  This opportunity to reverse their decision will actually solidify their choice of purchase and have them come back for more.

What have been your experiences with buyers remorse and how have you solved them?

Categories: Best Practice · customer research

The Frequent Responder Paradox

February 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment

There is a paradox in the market research industry around respondents.  We do all we can think of to convince people to take our surveys.  When they respond enthusiastically to our pleas and become frequent responders, however, we tend to deride them as “professional respondents,” accuse them of “gaming the system” and doubt the accuracy of their answers. This contradiction can hurt our credibility with the public we are seeking to engage in our research.

Moreover, our distrust of frequent responders has been proven to be unfounded.  Studies that Survey Sampling International (SSI) and our clients have conducted examining responses of frequent vs. less frequent responders show little, if any, correlation between response frequency and quality.

Frequent Responders Are Not Speeders

For instance, our research reveals no evidence that frequent responders try to speed through surveys.  They are no more likely than less frequent responders, for example, to select “none of the above” on questions such as what brands they have purchased in a category over the last three months.    In fact, they make a relatively high number of marks on “check all that apply” questions.

To illustrate that point, consider a section of one survey that presented a “brand imagery” grid question that asked respondents to indicate which of the 17 – 19 statements (depending on the category) exemplified each brand of which they were aware.  The frequent responder group indicated, on average, that 46% of the statements applied to a brand included in three categories.  Among the entire group, respondents, on average, associated only 40% of the statements with a brand.

A second survey, which focused specifically on the effects of panel tenure and response frequency, reinforced that frequent responders do not rush through surveys.  The data revealed response integrity among heavy responders.    As would be expected, the very experienced panelist s moved through the survey somewhat more quickly than new panelists.  Their shorter completion times, however, appear to be the result of their greater experience and dexterity in navigating the survey page and instructions, not of speeding.

Frequent Responders May Be More in Synch with Actual Consumer Behavior

Our research shows some evidence that responses from frequent responders actually may be more in line with real-world consumer behavior than responses from less frequent responders.  Intent-to-buy scores are often over inflated in consumer survey research.  Our research shows, however, that very experienced panelists have scores that are not as over inflated.  Therefore, they appear to be more in synch with actual behavior.

This finding contradicts conventional wisdom that past participation is not desirable.  That contradiction raises a key question.  Are the scores from very experienced panelists more in line with reality for a good reason—they don’t have a desire to answer in an expected way, so they are more truthful?  Or are their scores different for a bad reason—respondents want to get through the survey quickly and have discovered from their experience that answers indicating heavier usage and greater enthusiasm to buy often result in more follow up questions?

Our results indicate that the latter is not true.  Experienced respondents are not trying to rush through the survey by under-reporting usage and intent-to-buy.

Conclusions

In today’s environment, when consumers are faced with a daily barrage of hundreds or even thousands of marketing message and survey opportunities, it may be time to re-think traditional ideas about what it means to be a frequent responder—and what effect past survey participation has on research results.  Before “blacklisting” frequent survey takers, the industry needs to undertake further research and revise some potentially outdated assumptions about survey frequency, if the evidence continues to show it doesn’t affect quality.

While it’s important to be vigilant against fraud, research shows that real survey “cheaters” are a tiny minority of survey takers.  In fact, the major causes of poor quality responses are fatigue, boredom and ineffective survey design.

There is much the industry can do to engage respondents.  At SSI, for example, we’ve formed a focused Respondent Experience Team that is dedicated to engaging and serving respondents, checking surveys from the point of view of the people taking them.  Research proves that better survey design and keeping respondents happier directly improves data quality.

Respondents should be viewed as customers, just as companies who commission research are.  They should be encouraged, consulted, engaged and valued—not locked out for frequent participation.

NOTE: For a copy of the white paper The Effects of Survey Frequency on Panelists’ Responses with the full results of the studies cited in this article and to share your comments, go to www.Research-Voice.com.

About the Author: Chris DeAngelis is the Vice President of North American Sales for Survey Sampling International.  SSI provides access to more than 6 million research respondents in 54 countries. Sources include SSI proprietary panel communities in 27 countries, a growing portfolio of managed affiliates, and our extensive global partner network.

Categories: Best Practice

Five Tips for Getting Your Press Release Published

January 22, 2010 · Leave a Comment

You have something interesting to share and you’d like to get a mention in the press. Trouble is, news staffs are getting smaller as the volume of ideas vying for their attention is getting bigger. Understanding the changes in the media industry can help to get your own news published. These tips should help you get noticed, which is the first step to getting mentioned.

  1. Don’t make the editors work. News rooms are short staffed. Most editors just don’t have time to mess with salvaging the tiny gems of information from a poorly written press release. The easier you make it for them to use the information you provide, the better your chances of getting a mention.
  2. Know who you’re sending to. Staff overturn can quickly screw up even the cleanest of email lists when your contact is no longer working there. Be sure to double check their Web site staff lists to make sure.
  3. Use a format that’s easy to manage. When sending information digitally, if you’re sending a file, be sure that is easy to “copy and paste” like a Word document. If your PDF format is set up so the text can’t be highlighted and copied, then don’t bother. Better yet, have your email body copy be the press release and avoid an attachment (and extra step) all together.
  4. Grab them before they even open your email. Editors can receive thousands of press releases every week via email. Make sure yours stands out with an email subject line that sparks their interest. Use specifics and details. “Gainesville Company Wins XYZ Award” is a far better subject line than “For Your Information.” “What 83% of Middle-age Men Prefer” is better than “Men’s Survey Information.”
  5. Sometimes “Snail Mail” gets faster results. With the huge volume of emails, your paper press release in a real envelope may be a sight for sore eyes. If you do send a “hard copy” through the mail (and have the time), envelopes that are hand addressed and use a real postage stamp are typically opened and read before mail that uses address labels or postage meters. You could even try using a bright envelope color to grab attention. And if you really want to make sure they get the information, invest in next-day air via UPS, FedEx, or Priority Mail. If grabbing the attention of a specific media resource is very important to your marketing, then it may be worth the investment. Be sure to offer the option of receiving the info digitally if they prefer.

Sometimes even the best information gets buried, but using these tips can help better your chances of getting noticed – and published – to enhance your overall media presence.

Patti Renner is known for her no-nonsense approach for effective marketing messages. A direct response copywriter, she specializes in helping small business perform better online. You can reach her at patti@pattirenner.com.



Categories: Best Practice

Divide and Conquer: Learn Power Segmentation Tips at New Webinar

January 15, 2010 · 1 Comment

With all the new marketing strategies out there.  Segmentation remains the most powerful and profitable way to build a profitable business.

If you’re only segmenting using the “basics” of geography or product type, then you might be missing out on opportunities and profits that come from powerful segmentation strategies.

Learn How to Segment Your Markets in a Few Easy Steps

Join Research Rockstar, Katheryn Korostoff as she hosts a FREE webinar for QuestionPro on January 20, 2010 from 11am to 12pm PST.

Katheryn will share her tips for do-it-yourself segmentation with big research budget results.  At the end of the seminar, you’ll find yourself well on the way to your very own power segmentation model.

REGISTER NOW for:

Segmentation Tools 101: Become a Rockstar at Segmentation Analysis
Wednesday, January 20, 2010  11:00AM – 12:00PM PST

Categories: Best Practice · customer research

Five Tips for Press Releases that Work

January 13, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Print journalists may soon have to be added to the Endangered Species List!

Many traditional newspapers, trade magazines and local news channels are sinking financially. As a result, their reporters and staff — even some of the best in the business — have been tossed overboard in an attempt to keep the media afloat. Those who remain are doing the best they can to get the news out, but it’s tough.

When it’s time to do a press release, understanding the changes in the media industry can help to get your own news published. These six tips can help.

  1. Know what you want. You need to decide if you want your release to result in a news blurb (short mention) or a full article. For a blurb, keep it simple and to the point. Add an info-packed headline that conveys the main points you want them to pick up. If you want them to use your release as a full article, make sure it’s relevant, unique, and is written in “newspaper” style. Include interesting quotes and comments from key sources, with contact info for follow up. (Keep it simple. If your version of Word offers a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale, your press release writing should score an 8 or less.)
  2. Find an interesting angle. Finding an angle or approach that is fresh, current, and intriguing helps increase your odd of getting an editor’s attention. People don’t care as much about your company as you do… but they might be interested in the results of your most recent QuestionPro survey that reveals something about your industry. Editors need fresh news, but may not have the time or the energy to dig for it. Make it easy for them to share something interesting, and they’ll be more likely to use your information — and publicize your company.
  3. Don’t be a copycat. When you’re writing a press release yourself, go ahead and look at other releases for inspiration. But the last thing you want to do is be guilty of “copied-writing.” Be aware that there are scanning services on the Web like Copyscape (www.copyscape.com) that help detect plagiarism. Keep it original.
  4. Know your audience. My best advice when it comes to actually getting published is to ask yourself  about thereaders of the publication or site that picks up your story… why should they care about your news? How does it affect them? How does your information change things for the better, or for the worse? Try to write your press release around the interests of the reader and you’ll get better results.
  5. When in doubt, hire it out. Ad agencies, PR professionals and professional copywriters often do press releases for a reasonable fee. They also take loads of the stress out of the task of sending the information. Check with professionals — it may be cheaper than you think!
  6. Don’t hold your breath… but it’s still worth the effort. With the huge amount of “news” out there, and the shrinking “ads to column inch” ratios, don’t be surprised if your fantastic release doesn’t get any play. Not to worry. Use it on your website. Share it on your blog. Upload it to the many PR Services out there. Offer it as “free content” on appropriate websites. Send it to people of influence within your industry. And by all means, email it to your clients and prospects.

Press releases are one easy way to bolster your credibility, and get your name “out there” so people can find you. It’s all good.

About the Author: Patti Renner is known for her no-nonsense approach for effective marketing messages. A direct response copywriter, she specializes in helping small business perform better online. You can reach her at patti@pattirenner.com.

Categories: Best Practice

Customer Feedback Programs to Implement in 2010

January 11, 2010 · 2 Comments

Are you STILL doing surveys the old fashioned way?  While most traditional methods have their benefits, there are many other new and improved ways to collect customer feedback that will enhance your relationships with customers AND your profitability.

In this article, I’m going to outline some of the wonderful methods I’ve used with clients over the last year and where I can, I will also share some of the programs that we implemented as a result and what those results were.

Reassess Your Strengths and Brand Promise

Companies are a lot like people and go through life stages.  Not only that, but economic environments and technologies change and this causes your organization to change in ways you may not have noticed.  It’s a good idea to have a branding and positioning expert come in (someone from the outside who doesn’t really know your company) and interview your employees, management and associates over a few days.  Their objective should be to get a general feeling for the personality of your company.

Customers have personalities and literally take on the human idiosyncrasies like detail orientation, sociability, extroversion, introversion, and so on.   That stands to reason since companies are made up of people and are led by people with preferences for certain ways of doing business.  These personality traits attract a certain type of customer who sees value in that.  But what often happens, is that we are all too close to things and lose sight of what that special sauce is that our company has that attracts out ideal customers.  This is why an internal brand assessment is such a good idea.

I recently conducted an internal brand assessment with a new client.  While they were clearly aware of their natural tendency to please the customer and do whatever it takes to make them happy.  They weren’t quite sure how to differentiate themselves in that area.  We are currently in the process of documenting all the things they do “naturally” and are testing these “services” against what’s important to the customers and what value that has.

You can do the same thing.  Simply create a list of attributes and use the “Importance/Satisfaction” question type to test which of these attributes has the most value to your customers.  This will show you exactly which attributes to feature and focus on and how to price appropriately.  You can take this one step further and ask your customers what other providers they use and have them rate their satisfaction with that provider across those same attributes.  This will uncover those two or three attributes where your organization is strongest.  Sell to that competitive strength and you will know why they should choose you.

Use Social Media Like  a Focus Group

Focus groups can get expensive.  But you actually have a focus group of customers chatting about all kinds of things — even your product online.

Use www.search.twitter.com to search on key words to your business and start following the people who are chatting about your industry or your company.  Search on your company name or products and services that you offer and see what real-time words your customers and users are using.

Use IdeaScale as a way to gather new product and service opportunities that come straight from your customers’ experiences.  There is a wonderful widget that you can cut and paste onto your own web site and then watch the user ideas come pouring in.  I’ve used IdeaScale as a way to build involvement and even generate PR by keeping customers informed of new features and products that have been developed from their ideas.

If you haven’t started a Facebook Fan Page for your company – do it NOW.  Connect that facebook fan page to your web site and be sure to ask your customers to join your fan page.  Make sure that you post links from your web site and your blog to the fan page to inform customers about new things going on in your company.  Another wonderful way to use this tool is to generate excitement.   Just look at what IKEA did to get customers involved and the word out.

Get Started TODAY

Don’t let another day go by without getting your customers involved in your business and getting feedback that’s honest, true and FREE.

About the Author: Ivana Taylor is CEO of Third Force, a strategic firm that helps small businesses get and keep their ideal customer. She’s the co-author of the book “Excel for Marketing Managers” and proprietor of DIYMarketers, a site for in-house marketers. Her blog is Strategy Stew.   You can reach her directly at Ivana@thirdforce.net.

Categories: Best Practice · Branding · Newsletter · customer research

Oz Was No Wizard at Customer Service

January 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment

In The Wizard of Oz, the title character is beloved and revered by all the people in that magical land over the rainbow. Yet when you look at it from a small business/customer service perspective it’s really hard to understand why.

In fact, the Great and Powerful Oz is probably one of the best examples of what not to do if you want to grow your business. Let’s take a look at some of his mistakes, and see how an alternative strategy might suit your business better.

. Be difficult to reach. In order to seek an audience with the Wizard, Dorothy and her friends must first navigate a strange and unfamiliar landscape with confusing twists and turns. It’s a little more difficult than the simple advice to follow the yellow brick road. How tough are you to reach? Is your contact information (phone number and/or email) clearly spelled out on your Web site, or do you hide behind a contact form? Customers and prospects don’t like filling out forms. They want to speak to a real person. Make it easy for them. Actually publish your phone and email information in the ‘Contact Us” section. Even better, add a “Call us” button on the site that automatically makes the call for the customer.

. Hide behind a gatekeeper. When Dorothy and friends finally get to Oz, they think they’re going to make an appointment and see the Wizard. Instead, the gatekeeper says Oz never sees anyone. When customers or prospects call your business, can they get through to the person they’re calling? You want to make sure your phone system makes it easy to get to the right person. A virtual phone system helps with that, because its virtual receptionist can direct callers to the right extension – even if they’re not sure what that extension is. It also provides options to forward office phones to home, mobile or other phones, making you and your employees reachable even when you’re out of the office.

. Work in an ivory tower. Or in this case in Emerald City. The Wizard only knows his own perspective because he never sees or talks to the regular people. He thinks it makes him mysterious, which is true. But it also means he has difficulty relating to the people who need his help. It’s important to maintain regular contact with customers, prospects, business partners and others so you can seek out their perspectives and points of view, and understand better what motivates them so you can deliver what they want.

. Go back on your word. The Wizard tells Dorothy if she and her friends want him to grant their requests, they must first bring back the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West – a daunting task. When they return after fulfilling their end of the bargain, though, the Wizard starts to backtrack because he knows he can’t actually do what he promised. As a small business you have to know what your capabilities are, then A) be sure not to promise things you can’t deliver, and B) deliver on the things you do promise.

All that being said, the one thing the Wizard got right was creating that larger than life image. Today, small businesses have the opportunity to make themselves look larger and more professional by using tools and technologies that provide the same capabilities as those enjoyed by large enterprises.

Oz may have been great and powerful, but when it came to customer service he left a lot to be desired. Learn from his mistakes and you’ll have more happy customers saying there’s no place like your company.

About the Author: Kevin Baker is my1voice Product Marketing Manager for Protus (www.protus.com), provider of the highest quality Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) communication tools for small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and enterprise organizations, including my1voice, the cost-effective, feature-rich virtual phone service that travels with the user from phone to web, award-winning MyFax, the fastest growing Internet fax service and Campaigner, an email marketing solution with advanced automation features. Kevin can be reached at kbaker@protus.com. .

Categories: Best Practice