Tricks to Give Your Business a More Personal Touch

21 Aug, 2015 | Tags: , , , , ,

According to a recent Gallup poll, customer engagement is more critical today because consumers prefer to have an emotional connection to a businesses. Fully engaged customers are emotionally bonded and loyal to the company. On the other hand, actively disengaged customers easily switch between products or services. For example, fully engaged bank customers add up to 40 percent more annual revenue, compared with disengaged customers. Below explains three ways to personalize your customer’s experience with your business.

Genuine Engagement


Surprise your customers by actively engaging them through genuine interactions. Set the standard that employees address customers by name and require that all employees wear name tags or state their name at the beginning of an interaction. Most customers appreciate not being treated like just another face or account number. Encourage employees to engage customers in polite conversation while focusing on meeting their needs. Whenever a customer has a problem, instruct employees to actively listen and problem solve at the lowest possible level. Employees should not simply transfer the phone or pass the problem along to someone else. If the problem is more complex, a timely follow up is critical, even if there is no immediate solution available.

Elicit Feedback

Many businesses want to adjust their business practices to meet their customers’ needs, but are unsure how to go about doing this. Improving the customer experience begins with properly documenting and responding to customer comments and complaints. Hard data and numbers work best when it comes to improving the overall customer experience. Consider formally surveying customers through email, phone, or in-person surveys. Monitor social media sites for postings that shed light on improvement opportunities. Cloud-based platforms that customers can access, such as healthcare communication systems like Solutionreach Patient Engagement, offer Patient Reminder Software and allow customers to easily connect to the company more personally.

Improve the Customer Service Experience

According to Forbes, certain industries are better suited to excel at customer service, such as the real estate and healthcare industries. However, retail and social media are at the bottom of the list. According to Forbes, the key to a satisfying customer service experience is through personal relationships and ample self-service resources. Every customer service interaction should begin and end on a positive note. As mentioned above, genuine and helpful customer service interactions will resolve most problems. On the other hand, many savvy customers can take care of their own problems, but often lack the means to do it. Be sure that your website and social media sites offer right resources, such as FAQs and Forums, so customers can answer their own questions as well.

To recap, businesses today can offer a more personal experienced through genuine engagement, eliciting feedback, and improving the customer service experience. Businesses that offer a personalized experience will increase the number of fully engaged, loyal customers and increase their revenue as a result.

“Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan.”

Is Your Answering Machine Driving Away Potential Customers?

22 Jul, 2015 | Tags: , , , , ,

You’ve created the perfect product, service, or eating experience. You worked hard to effectively market it, and are now receiving a  stream of calls from prospective buyers. Everything appears to be going according to plan – after all, you’ve made plenty of sales – but what about those sales you’ve missed because your office was closed, the phone line was busy, or for whatever reason, no one was able to answer the phone?

If you’ve been letting your answering machine take your calls or worse yet, letting the phone endlessly ring or send out a busy signal, then you might be losing out on some potential sales.

Now obviously losing sales is bad for business. That’s why partnering with a professional answering service can make a big difference. Because live agents  will be able to speak with your potential customers when you aren’t able to, you’ll never have to worry about missing out on a sale, simply because you were away from the office or too busy to answer the phone.

The People Effect

Your customers will enjoy the added benefit of being able to talk with a live representative any time they wish and your company will profit from the additional sales that might otherwise have been lost.

At this point you may be asking yourself if hiring an answering service to represent your business is really necessary. An answering service is an additional expense and money is tight. Well, think about it from a different perspective – how much money have you lost out on as potential sales have fallen through the cracks? How many interested customers decided to simply hang up the phone when they were redirected to your answering machine and never bothered to call back?

Quick is More

Granted, not everyone who reaches your machine will hang up. Some have probably even left their contact details so you could get in touch with them at a later time, but in today’s world, most buyers are seeking immediate results and will simply hang up the phone when there’s no one around to take their call. If you’re lucky, some potential customers may call back at a later date, but those who don’t may lose interest in your product or take their business to one of your competitors.

The easiest way to ensure that you aren’t losing your potential customers after sending them to your company’s answering machine is to simply take the machine out of the equation. Instead of merely hoping your customers will react favorably to your answering machine when you are unable to take their calls, why not enlist the help of a professional answering service?

Training

By taking full advantage of an answering service, you can rest assured knowing that trained agents will always be available to represent your business should a potential customer wish to inquire about or buy one of your company’s products.

Partnering with a professional answering service means your customers will be able to say goodbye to your answering machine and hello to your company’s new round-the-clock by phone availability. It also means you’ll never lose a potential customer whenever you are unable to come to the phone, because the answering service will be there to help you retain and convert any callers who may have otherwise fallen by the wayside. As a result, you should see an increase in both your customer satisfaction rating and your overall product sales – a win-win for all involved.

5 Helpful Twitter Users Your Business Should Follow

14 Jul, 2015 | Tags: , , , , ,

Vanessa O’Connell: @VanessaOConnell

Vanessa is a journalist at Wall Street Journal; that should be reason enough to be interested in following her Twitter feed, but there’s a lot more to tell. She is the entrepreneurship editor for WSJ, the creator of “The Accelerators” (a blog dedicated to start-ups), and was part of the small team of journal editors who launched the “Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year”. She coauthored the nonfiction book Wheelmen about Lance Armstrong, and lastly is a monitor for the WSJ panel “How I Built It” featuring well-known American entrepreneurs. 

Rick Wartzman: @RWartzman

Rick Wartzman is a must follow. He is a contributor to @FortuneMagazine writing a colum titled Work 3.0, and he is the author of “The King of California” and “Obscene to the Extreme.” He is currently the Executive Director of Drucker Institute–Strengthening organizations to strengthen society. Rick’s Twitter feed is funny, honest, and full of helpful information for business owners.

Jeff Hoffman: @SpeakerJeff

Jeff is considered a business expert and has been on Fox News, CNN International, Bloomberg News, ABC and in publications including Forbes, Inc, Time, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal and many more. He has been the CEO and senior executive of many well-known startups, including Priceline.com. He serves on many charity and nonprofit boards, travels often as a keynote speaker at entrepreneurial and business leadership conventions. But there’s also the simple fact that his Twitter feed is probably the most lighthearted listed here. One of his most recent tweets is of him holding hands with the Dalai Llama in New York as he judged the Tibetan Innovation Challenge.

Rakia Reynolds: @RakiaReynolds

Rakia is the Twitter account you can’t miss. Her feed is personal, successful, and imaginative.  While we’re talking about social feed, we’re also going to throw in that you’re missing out if you’re not also following her on Instagram. Rakia is the owner of SkaiBlue Media, a marketing agency for lifestyle, technology, and non-profit brands. Rakia is a very successful small business owner, and she’s worth a follow if you’re looking for more upbeat success stories in your feed.

Howard Lewinter: @HowardLewinter

CEO’s, Presidents, and business owners have called on Howard for over 25 years.  He gives advice on business survival, stability, and profit turnaround. Howard’s motto on his Linkedin profile states, “If you’d like more success – more profit – less stress, then let’s talk.” He also hosts his own radio show called “Talk Business With Howard.” He has also been a contributing writer for the Linkedin Business and Selling Fearlessly blog. His Twitter feed has personal and motivational quotes, and many useful links to articles pertaining to running a successful business.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Unexpected Costs all Business Owners Have in Their Company

09 Jul, 2015 | Tags: , , , , ,

Before a business can thrive and start to make money for its respective owner and investors, it has to weather out the costs of doing business. The process of making the product to landing it to the customer’s doorstep involves a variety of expenses. However, even with the most diligent planning and preparation, a business owner can still miss a few unexpected costs on their list. Failing to identify and address the costs can drastically cripple your business in the long run.

Overdue Returns and Penalties

Regardless of the size of a business, there are bills to pay. Not paying them on time can lead to late payment fees that you might not have considered while making your business’ budget plan. If you do not yet have the cash to pay your bills, contact a representative to discuss alternative payment options.

Workplace Injuries and Accidents

When something goes wrong in the workplace, you are responsible for any financial damages it caused. For instance, you will have to hire a workers’ compensation lawyer to handle paperwork and of course the actual settlement amount for the injured employee. Work-related accidents are never a pretty sight, but is not an uncommon situation, especially in businesses related to construction or manufacturing.

Web-Based Expenses

Your online footprint leaves a trail of additional expenses incurred every month. Majority of businesses nowadays use the online space for their client acquisition and marketing strategies. But a lot of business owners do not recognize costs beyond the obvious monthly internet plan. They fail to account for expenses like annual domain name registration, hosting services, and even search engine optimization.

Strategic Changes

A business may face unexpected costs while trying to adjust their operational or marketing strategies. Costs may be incurred from hiring third-party advisers or from having to retrain the entire workforce to adapt to the strategy.

Hidden Liabilities

This is a tricky part, especially for new business owners. Hidden expenses and liabilities come in various forms depending on the market in which you operate at. Look for charges cryptically embedded in the fine print. This includes introductory teasers, poor quality materials, insurance coverage gaps, professional charges, or underutilization penalties.

No matter how much preparation you put into it, unexpected costs will keep popping up year after year. A smart and financially savvy business owner will be able to weather the increase in costs when competitors are already filing for bankruptcy.

Company Morale: How to Keep Your Employees Happy

03 Jul, 2015 | Tags: , , ,

Employee turnover and the effort required to hire new employees can take a huge chunk out of a company’s budget. Hiring new employees is expensive since it requires training, significant time on the part of the hiring manager, and there is no guarantee that a new hire is going to pan out. New hires cost the company in terms of recruiting, training, workplace integration and other factors that go into hiring. Companies that view their employees as investments and valuable assets tend to have better overall financial pictures. By keeping your employees happy, you can avoid a high turnover rate and significantly decrease your hiring expenses.

The Cost of Added Value

When you consider the average company spends $1200 per year on training employees, it becomes clear that it’s more cost-effective to keep existing employees than hire new ones. A well-trained employee saves your company money. One of the ways to increase employee morale and save for the future is by adding incentives that make it enjoyable for a company to stay on at a particular company. Facebook, Google and Adobe all have unprecedented company benefits from free food to flexible work/life balance initiatives. These programs cost very little compared to the overall cost of hiring and training new employees each year. When you consider that only 12 percent of employees quit due to salary, it becomes even more important to provide some of these basic programs to help improve employee morale.

Make Employees Count

Taking your employees thoughts and needs into consideration is a great way to improve employee morale. Set up weekly or monthly meetings where employees can voice their concerns and suggest ways to improve the company. Listen to your employees and take action when necessary when an employee has a complaint. A simple review of the information available at Glassdoor.com shows that many reputable companies simply don’t take their employees concerns seriously. For example, ASEA reviews indicate that most employees are happy with the company, but they still desire more opportunities for advancement and growth. Create opportunities within your company, and give employees a chance to shine in their respective roles within the company.

Benefit and Insurance Packages

Employees that have good benefits and insurance packages often find that their employees are happier. Having the ability to take time off work to see a doctor, take care of their mental health and be with family is an important perk to any job. By offering flexible work schedules and good vacation pay, employees are more likely to stay happy and loyal to a company. Adobe is a premiere software company that lets employees take as much time off as they need provided their work is completed. While this isn’t possible for every company, it’s an example of how the company looks at its needs and provides benefits based on those needs. Adobe focuses on production, and as long as those needs are being met, an employee doesn’t need to be sitting in the office when they could be taking care of life issues.

Don’t Focus on Salary

More money isn’t always the solution to keeping your employees happy. Offer a system where employees can get discounts with local businesses, or find ways to increase benefits while keeping salary capped at a certain amount. Minor benefits can make a difference in an employee’s happiness. Free coffee, discounts on gym memberships, life insurance, disability and other major incentives make it less likely that an employee will become disgruntled and leave for another company.

Treat your employees with respect, listen to their concerns and create programs that add real value to their lives and you will see your company thrive. Happy employees work harder and take more responsibility for their roles in the company. By taking care of your employees, you’re feeding the machine that helps your company to reach higher profits, produce better results and you can feel good knowing that you’re making your employees lives better.