customer service

We live in our own reality. Each of us has this one area we dwell in, and to us it's reality. End of discussion.

Everyone trying to sell to you should want to understand that reality, or a reality similar to yours, so they can position their products and services in a way that makes you want to buy them. They should understand you are bright enough to make solid decisions. Should. Key word there, should.

That's not always the case.

To quote Drucker (from The Essential Drucker):

Manufacturers are wont to talk of the "irrational customer." But there are no "irrational customers." As an old saying has it, There are only lazy manufacturers. The customer has to be assumed to be rational. His or her reality, however, is usually quite different from that of the manufacturer.

This is the difference between success and failure, or success and market dominance. It's what takes an organization to the level they are trying to achieve.

Understand who you are targeting.Read more

How likely are you to refer me to a friend?

According to the Harvard Business Review, that’s the only question you can ask which will determine how easily you can grow your business. The people who tell others about you are far more valuable than anyone in your sales organization because they will grow your company for you. Yes, this is true even if you’re flying solo.

Think about it for a moment. Which is more powerful, the company telling you how great they are or a friend of yours telling you how great they are? So people who are going to tell people about you – not just likely, those who will or already have – are the most credible in spreading the word. They’re the people you want to shower with love.

One of our customers is testing this question out in a customer survey. I'm looking forward to checking out the feedback.Read more

The worst experience in retail shopping is giving in to their “Can I help you?” with a “yes,” only to have the employee be of no help at all.

Here’s what happened: I walk into an office supply store (which I will not name) looking for two things, being a long network cable and a small table. I’m going to this store because we have an account there, and they sent us a discount card for the month of April. I answer “yes” to the first store employee, and the next thing I know she takes off without me, expecting me to follow (which I do). She walks down an isle and stops, looking around, lost.

What am I doing? Walking over to the network cables and picking up the longest one they have. She had no idea where they were. How is this helping me?Read more

Have you ever had a salesperson help you find what you’re looking for whether or not they’d get the sale?

It happened to me this morning. My fiancée and I are looking for a place to hold a wedding reception. The coordinator we met with, Marla, from one of the places we looked at over the weekend, the Emerson Inn, called me to ask if we had made any decisions in a courteous way. I told her we loved the place, though we want an evening reception and the Emerson only does afternoons. She asked a few more questions about what we were looking for and offered to send me some suggestions via e-mail. I thanked her and hung up.

Her e-mail hit my inbox about 3 minutes later.Read more

Flying to and from Hawaii was a tiring experience. I'm not looking for sympathy here, as Hawaii was paradise - I'm wondering how one of the airlines I flew is still in business. Seriously.Read more