Last week I talked with a CPA who related an interesting experience that a current client of his who I will call Bob had had with another firm. The first time that Bob walked into that firm’s office, he was greeted by the receptionist. As she greeted him, she stepped out from behind the desk and offered to hang up his coat. Turning to doing so, she asked him if he would like a cup of coffee and offered him his choice of four flavors. Along with the cup of coffee she brought several magazines. “You may find an article in one of these magazines interesting to read while you are waiting,” she suggested.
He was not finished with an article that he did indeed find interesting when the person he had come to see was ready to meet. As he rose from his comfortable seat, the receptionist once again came over to him. “I noticed that you were engrossed in the article that you were reading,” she began, “but that you were not finished reading it. Would you like me to make you a copy of it that you can take with you?”
Taken aback at her offer, he murmured, “Yes, thank you. I would like that.”
What particularly surprised the CPA was Bob’s admission at the end of the story. “That firm was expensive,” Bob confessed, “but it was worth it.”
After hearing this story, the CPA had been so impressed by this handling of a customer that he had had his office staff set up their own unique version.
While Bob cited that the firm saved him money and helped him, what stuck in his mind about the firm was his initial encounter with the receptionist. Her actions were focused on him and what she could do for him. She made him feel special. She went the extra mile by offering to copy the article for him. She laid the groundwork for his perception of the firm and the price that he was willing to pay for their services.
She established value for the firm by her contact with the customer.
The impact of initial customer contact on securing a customer’s business, getting a price, and setting the tone for future customer interactions is often overlooked by businesses. Since marketing is any communication that you have with a customer, this initial communication is critical to the success of your marketing system.
As I write this, I am reminded of a question that I received from an attendee to a workshop that I gave at a bed and breakfast association gathering. “How do you handle price resistance over the telephone?” he queried. “Should I not give out a price?
“Whether you are encountering price resistance over the telephone or in person the reason that you are doing so is the same,” I answered. “In your initial contact, you are not providing information about your bed and breakfast before you give the price. Price alone tells a customer nothing. Customers want to know what they are receiving for that price. Always tell what the customer is receiving before you quote a price. Tell them about the experience that they will have at your bed and breakfast. Make them understand what’s in it for them to stay with you. Understanding what they receive gives them a basis to justify the price.”
That is just what the receptionist had done for her firm. She had justified in Bob’s mind that the price the firm charged for services rendered was worthwhile. His attitude had been formed by the receptionist’s actions because she had established the value of the firm during her initial contact with him.
What is your customer’s initial contact with your business? Does that contact make your customer feel special? Does that contact establish the value of your business?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Teaching Respect by Example
One of the most shocking examples of bad customer service happened in Eau Claire last week when a Radio Shack employee punched a customer who was attempting to return an item. While I don’t know the circumstances, these actions on the part of the employee were not warranted. Many jokes have been made of the incident, but treating a customer in such an angry fashion is not funny. This is cause for grave concern.
About the same time as this incident I had the privilege of accompanying one of Monarch Tree Publishing’s authors, Nancy Bjornson, to Colfax Elementary School. Our reason for visiting the school was for Nancy to talk to the students about the first three books in her Jesse and Cash series. We were welcomed at the office by the secretary who shared, “The students are very excited about your visit.”
Her statement was the beginning of a day in which Nancy was made to feel very special.
As we walked down the hall to the classroom, Nancy remarked, “Isn’t that great? I am always amazed when students are excited to see me.”
They were. Their teachers had thoroughly prepared the students for Nancy’s visit. First, they had read the books to the students. While doing so, the fifth grade students had summarized each chapter and then compiled their summaries into booklets with hand-drawn pictures for covers. The fourth grade had drawn a picture of their favorite part of the book. At the end of her talk, the teachers asked Nancy if she would sign each booklet and picture. Nancy was very complimented and took the booklets and pictures with her to look them over carefully as she signed them.
Then the teachers did more. They went off campus to buy Nancy and me a delicious lunch. While we were enjoying the lunch, they handed Nancy a gift which was a beautiful plaque that said “Let joy bring a smile to your face and let your smile bring joy to others. Thank you for bringing joy to our school. Colfax students and teachers.” They thanked us profusely for our visit, and, after Nancy had arrived home, she received a delivery of an arrangement of cut flowers which the teachers had forgotten to give her at the school.
Through their actions, the teachers showed their gratitude for our visit and made Nancy feel special. They taught their students respect by their treatment of us. They led by example.
Contrast the teachers’ treatment with that of the Radio Shack employee. The difference is night and day, isn’t it? Having been a manager, I know that you cannot always control how an employee will act, but you can set the tone for how customers are treated. The teachers set the tone for our treatment. Likewise, owners and managers set the tone for customer treatment.
Just like students, employees follow the example of those in authority.
In the day-to-day operation of a business, we can get caught up in a flurry of activity and become irritated with customers because they interrupt other work, ask “stupid” questions, or make unreasonable requests. Often the irritation is not caused by the customer but rather a result of our having too much on our schedules. Customers sometimes are that interruption that comes at the wrong time. Expressing frustration over a customer to employees sets a tone of disrespect. How this tone will be used by employees is unknown. Perhaps they will be less tolerant of customers. Perhaps they will treat customers with less respect. Perhaps they will act toward customers in ways that are unacceptable.
The next time that you are tempted to speak poorly about a customer to an employee, remember how the teachers treated Nancy. Follow their lead and teach respect by example.
About the same time as this incident I had the privilege of accompanying one of Monarch Tree Publishing’s authors, Nancy Bjornson, to Colfax Elementary School. Our reason for visiting the school was for Nancy to talk to the students about the first three books in her Jesse and Cash series. We were welcomed at the office by the secretary who shared, “The students are very excited about your visit.”
Her statement was the beginning of a day in which Nancy was made to feel very special.
As we walked down the hall to the classroom, Nancy remarked, “Isn’t that great? I am always amazed when students are excited to see me.”
They were. Their teachers had thoroughly prepared the students for Nancy’s visit. First, they had read the books to the students. While doing so, the fifth grade students had summarized each chapter and then compiled their summaries into booklets with hand-drawn pictures for covers. The fourth grade had drawn a picture of their favorite part of the book. At the end of her talk, the teachers asked Nancy if she would sign each booklet and picture. Nancy was very complimented and took the booklets and pictures with her to look them over carefully as she signed them.
Then the teachers did more. They went off campus to buy Nancy and me a delicious lunch. While we were enjoying the lunch, they handed Nancy a gift which was a beautiful plaque that said “Let joy bring a smile to your face and let your smile bring joy to others. Thank you for bringing joy to our school. Colfax students and teachers.” They thanked us profusely for our visit, and, after Nancy had arrived home, she received a delivery of an arrangement of cut flowers which the teachers had forgotten to give her at the school.
Through their actions, the teachers showed their gratitude for our visit and made Nancy feel special. They taught their students respect by their treatment of us. They led by example.
Contrast the teachers’ treatment with that of the Radio Shack employee. The difference is night and day, isn’t it? Having been a manager, I know that you cannot always control how an employee will act, but you can set the tone for how customers are treated. The teachers set the tone for our treatment. Likewise, owners and managers set the tone for customer treatment.
Just like students, employees follow the example of those in authority.
In the day-to-day operation of a business, we can get caught up in a flurry of activity and become irritated with customers because they interrupt other work, ask “stupid” questions, or make unreasonable requests. Often the irritation is not caused by the customer but rather a result of our having too much on our schedules. Customers sometimes are that interruption that comes at the wrong time. Expressing frustration over a customer to employees sets a tone of disrespect. How this tone will be used by employees is unknown. Perhaps they will be less tolerant of customers. Perhaps they will treat customers with less respect. Perhaps they will act toward customers in ways that are unacceptable.
The next time that you are tempted to speak poorly about a customer to an employee, remember how the teachers treated Nancy. Follow their lead and teach respect by example.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Just a Sample
After finishing a late lunch at Culver’s the other day, a client and I were sitting and discussing business when one of the staff came up to our table holding a tray. On the tray were small paper cups with a spoonful of frozen custard inside each one.
“Would you like to try a sample of our maple nut custard?” the tray-holder asked. “It’s our flavor of the day.”
“Sure,” we replied in unison, and the tray-holder promptly placed a small cup and spoon in front of each of us.
As we savored the frozen custard, I offered, “This is delicious.”
“I agree,” my client replied. “I think that I will have a dish. Would you like one, too?”
“I would. Thank you.”
While he went to get a dish for each of us, I mulled over what had just transpired. The management at Culver’s had taken the opportunity to increase the amount of money that customers already in the restaurant spent by offering a sample of frozen custard. This was an excellent example of one of the three ways to grow your business, which is to increase the amount that a customer spends each time the customer does business with you. By offering the sample of frozen custard, Culver’s had directly tickled our taste buds, thereby prompting us to buy more. Culver’s had increased the amount that we spent that visit, and we had enjoyed the frozen custard.
As I reflected on this, my mind skipped back to another recent example that I had experienced of sampling. I had received a sample of Grammy’s Pot Pie flavored dog food in a shipment of dog treats. After I dropped a handful of the Pot Pie into a dish, my border collie had dashed to the dish and growlingly had driven my shepherd away. You see, my German shepherd readily eats almost any food, but my border collie mix is a very picky eater. Therefore, I was amazed.
“Wow, she likes Grammy’s Pot Pie,” I commented.
Thinking her reaction may have been a one-time event, I offered her some Grammy’s Pot Pie kibbles at her next feeding. She hungrily devoured them.
At that point, I went to the company’s Web site and decided which size bag to order.
By inserting a sample into the shipment, the company increased how much I spent with them on my next purchase. Just like Culver’s, the company grew its business by increasing how much a customer spent on the next purchase by offering a sample.
Sampling is an effective marketing technique to employ but one many of us forget to use. Offering a sample is an easy, noncommittal way to get a customer to try a product or a service. Every business has ways to offer a sample. Even if you sell a big-ticket item, you can sample doing business with you by offering a customer advice or information on how the product can be used to the client’s benefit. That is a sample.
Do you offer samples to increase your customer’s purchase? What samples can you offer? How can you add them into your marketing plan to increase your customer’s purchase?
Remember, just a sample leads to an easy sale.
“Would you like to try a sample of our maple nut custard?” the tray-holder asked. “It’s our flavor of the day.”
“Sure,” we replied in unison, and the tray-holder promptly placed a small cup and spoon in front of each of us.
As we savored the frozen custard, I offered, “This is delicious.”
“I agree,” my client replied. “I think that I will have a dish. Would you like one, too?”
“I would. Thank you.”
While he went to get a dish for each of us, I mulled over what had just transpired. The management at Culver’s had taken the opportunity to increase the amount of money that customers already in the restaurant spent by offering a sample of frozen custard. This was an excellent example of one of the three ways to grow your business, which is to increase the amount that a customer spends each time the customer does business with you. By offering the sample of frozen custard, Culver’s had directly tickled our taste buds, thereby prompting us to buy more. Culver’s had increased the amount that we spent that visit, and we had enjoyed the frozen custard.
As I reflected on this, my mind skipped back to another recent example that I had experienced of sampling. I had received a sample of Grammy’s Pot Pie flavored dog food in a shipment of dog treats. After I dropped a handful of the Pot Pie into a dish, my border collie had dashed to the dish and growlingly had driven my shepherd away. You see, my German shepherd readily eats almost any food, but my border collie mix is a very picky eater. Therefore, I was amazed.
“Wow, she likes Grammy’s Pot Pie,” I commented.
Thinking her reaction may have been a one-time event, I offered her some Grammy’s Pot Pie kibbles at her next feeding. She hungrily devoured them.
At that point, I went to the company’s Web site and decided which size bag to order.
By inserting a sample into the shipment, the company increased how much I spent with them on my next purchase. Just like Culver’s, the company grew its business by increasing how much a customer spent on the next purchase by offering a sample.
Sampling is an effective marketing technique to employ but one many of us forget to use. Offering a sample is an easy, noncommittal way to get a customer to try a product or a service. Every business has ways to offer a sample. Even if you sell a big-ticket item, you can sample doing business with you by offering a customer advice or information on how the product can be used to the client’s benefit. That is a sample.
Do you offer samples to increase your customer’s purchase? What samples can you offer? How can you add them into your marketing plan to increase your customer’s purchase?
Remember, just a sample leads to an easy sale.
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