Customers pay more to do business with companies where people smile

According to Vernon Hill, customers want to do business with companies where people smile, where they have a sense of humour, and customers will pay more to do business with those companies.

A smile is a universally understood gesture that knows no limitations.

Whether it’s in person, over the telephone or in written form, how many times do you smile each day? When we smile to our customers, we are making a connection, building trust and loyalty. When customers feel as though they are just being processed, you lose this connection.

I say over the telephone and in written form because even through these mediums a person can tell if there is emotion behind the words.

Vernon Hill, entrepreneur and founder of a new style of retail banking in the USA, says that banks should rely on service rather than interest rates to attract customer deposits.

Hill founded Commerce Bancorp in 1973, basing its business model on ideas borrowed from retail giants such as Target and Gap, businesses staffed by front-line employees who ‘wowed’ customers with smiles.

He changed the way the American banking system did business with its customer, issuing credit, debit and ATM cards on the spot, replacing the term ‘branches’ with ‘stores’ and operating a seven day a week operation staffed with customer service driven employees.

Founding the company with a single branch valued at $1.5 million, the enterprise quickly grew, eventually sold for $8.5 billion.

The concept of great customer service to grow your business is simple. So why aren’t more organisations doing it. Simple, as Hill describes, they just don’t believe in this idea, it’s the ‘too good to be true’ response.

Hill believes that organisations can’t imagine delivering great service and offering things for free whilst still being able to make money.  “What they just don’t get is that customers want to do business with companies where people smile, where they have a sense of humour. And customers will pay more to do business with those companies.”

A great entrepreneur will look at the whole picture and have an ability to respond quickly said Hill. Big organisations only look at the parts. And big company executives simply have an aversion to going out on a limb.

It’s not about being the ‘best’ at something, Hill’s entire career has been built on his commitment to be ‘the most of something’, the most convenient, the most responsive, the most customer-friendly.

Hill has shown that in most cases, it’s not about how deep your pockets are but how innovative your idea is.

Here are five ways you can provide your customer with great customer service:

1. Smile
2. Be friendly
3. Do as much as you can for them
4. Look for a connection
5. Keep your promises

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Are you ready to engage with your customers via two-way communication?

Have you considered the benefits of the Net Promoter Score?

Don’t be a market of one

Is it time for monovision?

mono- a combining form meaning “alone,” “single,” “one”

How many times have you experienced a long winded sales pitch where the individual reels off every service you could possibly imagine an organisation to offer? Establishing your ‘single-minded’ proposition will be crucial to your success and allow you to communicate clearly with customers and prospects exactly what solution your provide.

Put simply, what does your organisation do from your customers’ perspective?
You may be surprised to know that what you may think you do and provide is different to what your customers think you do and provide. Have you ever asked them the question? The major benefit in asking is that these people will assist you in finding the best way to market and communicate your business.

I found an excellent example of this in Wendy Evans – Choose & Grow your own business in 90 days.

“The single-minded reason for sending red roses is sex & guilt. I see no reason to disagree! Yet most florists promote their wares generally and delivery service primarily. One memorable day I did a workshop on the single minded proposition with an advertising agency. My brief to them was to create the name of and the tag line (from the single minded proposition) for a business that sold only red roses: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, plus the balloons and cards that went with such a purchase. Their response?

The name was to be Bad Boys and the tag line, based on the understanding that red roses were about sex and guild, was to be, ‘We get you into and out of trouble, 24 hours a day’.”

Spend time listening to your customers, listen to the language they use to describe your business that you can use to promote your business. Go on to communicate this correctly and you will have established exactly what you do and why people should buy from you.

It’s time for monovision – differentiate yourself!

Writing a PR Style Guide

One of the most common questions from organisations is ‘what is Public Relations and what does it entail?’ Fundamentally, it is the management of communication between an organisation and its audience or public.

It is the process of communicating topics of interest and news that portrays your organisation in a positive light that results in a positive perception of your brand to the media and public. These communications are broadcast through a variety of mediums using a tailored and consistent message.

To ensure that, as an individual or organisation, you are speaking with a common voice, a PR Style Guide is used to guide you through the process. A consistent and comprehensive PR Style Guide will create a unified message and system for delivery that meets your objectives.

So what does it include?

1. Who are you and what do you do? List the products/services that your organisation offers.
2. A point of contact. If stakeholders have been contacted by the media or have general PR questions, whom do they contact? List this person and make them accessible.
3. When do I contact the PR person? List the items that the PR team is responsible for what purpose they should be contacted e.g. media relations (press releases, photography, story ideas).
4. What mediums does the PR team use to engage its audience? E.g. responding to media enquiries, responsible for Social Media updates, writing and distributing press releases, providing marketing communications collateral.
5. Target audience. List internal and external audiences and relevant stakeholders.
6. Annual Calendar. This is a good way to be across what’s happening throughout the year that will require a PR effort.
7. When contacted by the media. What is the process for speaking to them?
8. Media response. What is the process for responding to the media? Provide details of who can make comment and what can be commented on.
9. Crisis Communication. A process should be put in place to deal with a crisis or major event that could have a damaging and lasting effect on the organisation. This should include scenario planning and process for responding to stakeholders.
10. Media kit. Having a good media kit is necessary! It contains readily available information such as backgrounds sheets, fact sheets, press releases, publicity photos, audio files, MP3, HTML links etc. It is information that can easily be distributed and should be updated regularly.
11. Key messages & themes. Detail the organisations key messages and themes. These will be woven into communications that allow the organisation to speak with a common voice. It should include the organisations stand on certain issues, theme of conversations, what to say in a crisis and the like.
12. Written voice. Clearly articulate how your organisation should appear in the written form. E.g. the organisation’s name should always be written with a Capital letter, when referring to position titles the same applies, when using social media our approach is casual and relaxed using terms like ‘Hi’ and ‘Thanks’ as oppose to ‘Hello’ and ‘Thank You’.

Being busy does not equal productivity or success – the power in saying NO

Is there power in saying no?
How many times have you taken on more than you can handle and in hindsight wish you had said no?

NO. A simple two letter word yet sometimes so difficult to say aloud, particularly in a business environment where we often feel as though we are not entitled to say it through fear of retribution or loss.

It is as if saying YES has been programmed into our brains as we attempt to survive in a world of ‘people pleasers’. Every person has met at some point in time a person that never says ‘NO’ and as a result may be seen as a more ‘capable’ person. In some cases, this individual may actually be able to handle all of the things asked of them and produce successful outcomes. However, for the rest of us, the danger is that being busy does not always mean being productive, nor successful.

Sound familiar? Are you being realistic in what you can achieve? Every one of us has the challenge of assessing whether something fits with our strategy and capabilities. Success is as much about what you do do as what you do not.

Ask yourself:

1. What business are you in?
2. What do you do?
3. Who is your customer?

These three simple questions will filter out who you can, and who you cannot satisfy.

Some quick tips for saying No in business & in life:

1. Be assertive – say no quickly without giving a detailed reason. It’s your decision and you do not have to give an explanation if you do not want to. If you feel compelled to explain, keep it brief e.g. “No, I already have an appointment at that time, would later in the day suit?”
2. Be polite – whilst you need to be assertive, always be polite.
3. Be honest – don’t say Yes if you actually want to say No. If you are able to help under different circumstances then say so e.g. “We have a number of projects on at this time so are unable to assist at this point in time. We are however free at the end of September if this suits?”
4. Be realistic & value your time – time is money and should always be seen as such. If someone wants to pay you less than you believe your time is worth then say No and use this time you now have to find an alternative.

When was the last time you said no?

Why thinking strategically is a MUST!

Thinking strategically is a much-discussed topic in most of today’s business environments where it is often seen as a core competency for leaders. But what does it actually mean to think strategically and what are the benefits?

There are many definitions for strategic thinking but in essence, it is the ability to shift ones focus from operation efficiency to long-term effectiveness.

To think strategically, one must be:

1. Systems orientated – an end-to-end understanding of value creation
2. Focussed – focussed on the end result, the goal, and the ability to achieve this without distraction
3. Broad thinker – the ability to review the past, present and the future at the same time to make better decisions
4. Balanced, focussed and adaptable – keeping an open mind to changing environments and responsive to good ideas
5. Good communicator – focussed on two-way communication; the ability to ask questions, give direction and listen

Organisations that have achieved the integration of strategic thinking throughout their business; from the individual, group and organisation have created a core competency that forms the basis for competitive advantage. In any business, strategic thinking which results in strategic planning will save time, get your team focused and provide a pathway to success.

So what are the benefits?

1. A well defined vision
2. A proactive, rather than a reactive approach
3. A detailed plan with action items to achieve goals
4. A united approach with all members of the team moving in the same direction to achieve the same outcome
5. A method to be held accountable for and success to be measured against

Strategic thinking involves many things; the ability to embrace innovation and creativity that will energise the individual, interactions with others and challenge conventional thinking.

Are you a strategic thinker? Do you put strategies into actions, make decisions and communicate priorities?

How does your organisation build a customer focused culture?

In an increasingly competitive environment customer service and engagement becomes vital to the success of an organisation where great service can often outweigh price when customers are choosing which organisations to do business with.

Without a doubt, in every organisation, the core focus is its customers, whom without; the organisation would fail to exist.
So then why, in so many instances, do bad customer experiences seem to exist, and even be on the rise?

We have all been a customer at some point in time, and for most, have had a bad customer experience. Should this be correct, why do so many organisations, and people within it, treat its customers with the same level of bad service as they have received, and didn’t appreciate?

In many instances, it is a direct result of an organisation that has not invested the time and money in building a customer focused culture.

Do you know what your customers needs are, what they expect? You may be surprised that customers do not expect a lot. A good customer experience can be as simple as a fast, accurate and fulfilling one. If you understand what your customers want, when they want it and how they want it then you are already on your way to building a customer focused culture.

So how do you create a culture that ‘lives’ good customer service and takes nothing less than 100%?

1. Firstly, what is realistic and feasible for your organisation to achieve? Set some goals for the organisation and for the individual. The main reason an organisation fails to achieve a customer focused culture is when it is not linked to the overall strategy.
2. Ensure senior management supports it. If it doesn’t stem from the top down through the organisation, its chances of success are slim.
3. Recruit competent people. Ensure they are customer focused from the beginning and are able to demonstrate this ability.
4. Create a positive environment. A negative individual/team will have a negative impact on others in the group and ultimately the customer.
5. Actively manage and review. Include customer service focused KPIs and review progress. If there is no accountability, it will most likely not be done.
6. Train if required. Not every individual is going to be a star performer, train your teams to ensure you are all striving towards the same goals.
7. Celebrate success. It is just as important to celebrate success, as it is to address negative customer issues.

If you follow these seven simple steps and continually review, evolve and grow based on the changing needs of you customers and prospects you will inevitably see an increase in your bottom line.

And remember, customer service and engagement is an investment, not an expense!