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Caveat Emptor

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When it comes to the world of business, there is much that goes on behind the scenes that would scare consumers. As someone who has seen firsthand what goes on in a restaurant’s kitchen, I can tell you, it’s not a place people would find particularly appetizing. This is an example of how sometimes keeping the buying public in the dark is in the best interest of everyone. By contrast, this doesn’t work for all buying decisions, and it’s not uncommon for people to be victims of backroom deals that often turn into situations where consumers are convinced to buy products that benefit the vendor more than the consumer. For example, when you bring your car in for a simple fix, but are, instead, sold a new transmission.

When it comes to HR Technology, especially considering current market conditions, every potential customer should vet service providers thoroughly.  Asking, “Can I trust you to do what is in the best interest of my company?” is a start, but you need to dig deeper. It’s important to understand what business model the prospective service provider follows and whether this model serves customers and users or investors and shareholders.

The best companies integrate with other brands to form partnerships which provide a fuller array of products and services to their customers that make the purchased product more comprehensive and of greater benefit. In an ideal world, product manufacturers should select product integrations or alliances based on functionality, price and service… the things that benefit their consumer directly. It’s important to note, there’s a distinguishable difference between companies that offer integrations with third-party products without a financial relationship versus those companies that benefit financially from their recommendations.  Unfortunately, there’ll be always be vendors that succumb to the pressure of predatory venture capitalists and/or shareholders to maximize short-term cashflow as their number one priority. This can result in the organization only referring vendors that pay them the highest referral fees versus vendors that serve the best needs of the customer with functional products that are backed with good service and fair pricing. Given this, it’s always fair to ask these two questions, “Do you have outside financiers or shareholders?” and “Do you benefit financially by referring third-party products to me?” The best vendors will always consider the customer their primary business partner and work exclusively on their behalf. For consumers, understanding what is and is not good, honest customer service can be a tough thing to decipher at times, but you should have peace of mind in knowing you can trust your supplier to serve your best interests.

And You Need This, Too

As an example, imagine purchasing a large ticket item such as a company-wide HR technology upgrade. After purchase, you’re presented with an array of complementary third-party solutions that are integrated with your supplier’s product.  Once presented, the benefit is obvious, such as job postings or background checking… but do you know why your vendor is recommending this product? If you find that your vendor is pushing a lot of third-party products, and you later discover they’re getting paid to refer these third-party vendors, this should raise an eyebrow and a doubt about whether this vendor’s business model can deliver good customer service.

When It Goes Sideways

As an example, Facebook started as an innovative social media product designed to bring people together into communities of friends, relatives and like-minded enthusiasts. Unfortunately, due to pressure from predatory shareholders demanding more immediate cashflow, Facebook changed their business model from providing a valuable social product into a marketing platform where they make money by selling your information, browsing proclivities and preferences off to the highest bidder, and diverged from the original business model which indelibly changed the customer experience for the worse.

Summary

Keep in mind, there are legitimate and valuable reasons why someone should purchase products from a supplier’s list of vendor integrations. Understanding the motivation and underlying relationship between the supplier/company and its vendors is important, as this may give you valuable clues you can expect to experience over the years.

Photo Credit: anneperry855 Flickr via Compfight cc

6 Things To Make Your Customer Service Standout

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Have you ever heard the saying, “The moment you win a new customer, you begin to lose them?” There’s definite truth to this, but there are simple ways to keep your customers engaged with you, your product and company that can make them long-term partners.

Build a Personal Relationship

One of the biggest engagement factors with clients is how they feel they are perceived and treated by their service provider. So how much do you know about your clients, not only their product issues and concerns, but them personally? Ultimately, people want to deal with people, preferably people they actually like because they have a personal connection. Companies that overly automate their service communications may do this for expedience and in some instances it makes sense, but with this, some of the personalization from a human voice is lost. It doesn’t really give customers a chance to feel appreciated or understood by a fellow human being. Even though we live in a very technology-driven world, most people still prefer to hear the voice of a customer service person on the other end of the phone or to have an attentive live chat on a website.

Additionally, an inviting and friendly voice asking someone about their day shows interest and an effort to connect on the human level, and this is not only always welcome but also helps build a relationship. Also something as small as asking about their day can increase customer satisfaction and all with little effort.

Setting and Managing Expectations

Service reps often fall prey to setting unrealistic expectations because they want to tell customers what they believe they want to hear. But setting unrealistic expectations creates a false stage for what people can expect and if you don’t deliver on what was promised, you can expect to meet with resistance and hostility the next time you speak with your customer. Articulating this in clear terms is a very important responsibility for anyone working in a service capacity. Good communication and timely feedback can give your customers peace of mind, even in the instance when the solution to their problem cannot be fixed in a timely fashion. People prefer to know upfront what can and what cannot be done, but more than that, they want to know they can rely on the expertise, follow-through and sincere interest by the service provider to make inroads on the resolution… this means honest communication about the limitations of what you can do, explaining what resources you will need to bring in to fix the problem, how much time it will take, what might potentially make the resolution stall, and the timing of the subsequent communications they can expect to receive. Also, put yourself in their shoes. Think about the last time you had to call someone to help you with a product or service. Did you get off the phone feeling confident that your problem would be resolved, or that you’re just a voice on the phone with a complaint? Was the explanation of how to solve the problem reasonable or just words to end the call more quickly?

Keep in mind, following up with customers is another essential aspect of setting expectations. No one wants to feel snubbed and that their issue has fallen through a crack. Even under circumstances when the service rep assumes a problem is solved, they need to regroup with the customer to ensure that the problem has, indeed, been solved and the customer is satisfied. This is where good communication skills are called into play. When working with clients, gaining their trust and confidence can work in your favor as you assist them during the service experience. Some problems are a quick fix and others will take time to investigate and resolve. Communicating this to customers helps them to better understand what to expect and doesn’t leave them feeling in the dark.

Own Your Mistakes

One of the worse things any business can do is not accept responsibility for errors, or worse misdirect the error back to the client as something they did wrong. Customers don’t like mistakes… no one does, but when people know there is a human being on the other end who is taking ownership of the problem, it becomes a much more tolerable situation. Taking the time to forge relationships with customers means you are much more likely to be dealing with an understanding customer when inevitable issues arise. Knowing this, companies need to take the necessary steps to ensure their frontline service providers are empowered with the authority to take responsibility. For these employees that are customer-facing, being able to solve problems empathetically, and with swift and confident determination not only assures your customers that they are in competent hands, but also empowers your employees to go the extra mile… and this includes having the confidence to say, “I don’t know, but will find out,” as part of the resolution process. This response, also, requires confidence and faith in your employees to know they can do this if the problem cannot be corrected at the moment they are interacting with the customer.

Bending Over Backwards

Have you ever experienced working with a customer service rep that pulled out all the stops to help you? If you’ve been lucky, you can say, “yes,” to this. Those of us who have, know we’ve been considered a priority and our problem is the only thing that is in the spotlight to receive attention. It’s abundantly obvious when customers are made to feel important and it’s also obvious when customer service representatives are bothered or annoyed by the interruption of a customer’s request for help. Getting the brush-off when the interaction is face-to-face or being rushed off the phone is not an effective way to engender oneself with a customer. In a survey conducted by help desk software developer Help Scout, they found poor service delivery not only affects a company’s ability to satisfy their customers’ needs, but not surprisingly affects a company’s bottom line.

Respect Their Time

Time is a commodity of which we all wish we had more. In today’s world we are all called upon to do more with less and with that want our time observed and respected. In regards to service delivery, this means giving customers your undivided attention and listening to understand and not just to respond in some obligatory way. If your company is organized to deliver service via the phone, you need to be attentive to the customer on the other end of the phone and not scanning emails, or preoccupied with other work sitting on your desk. People can “sense” when their time is being wasted and may either get angry at the lack of concern or worse, the customer ends the call before their issue has been addressed and resolved. With this later action, some form of retribution may be sought out by the customer, so be prepared to deal with backlash.

Loyalty is a Two-way Street

Most consumers will stay with a brand or service provider for the long-term, if they have received the service they expect, and are consistently shown the value of their patronage with honest, personal and timely service and follow-up. (Further, they may in turn express their satisfaction by acting as a referral source for your company.) Keep in mind, it takes more than treating people as you wish to be treated, it means treating them as they wish to be treated. There is no one size fits all when it comes to working with people, but certain skills like listening to understand, remaining focused on the customer in front of you or with you via the phone, and even remaining attentive when your company website provides a chat option for service, will help you to gain the customers’ confidence in helping them resolve a problem.

Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and image your reaction to how you were last treated by a service provider. Providing great customer service is a skill that not everyone has, but is one that a willing and determined person can learn.

Here’s to your next great customer interaction.

photo credit: d_t_vos Week 6 via photopin (license)

How Evolved Are Your Customer Relationships?

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“Customer experience is the perception that customers have of all their interactions with an organization. Customer engagement is something different, it’s a behavior and attitude, an outcome of customer experience.” ~ Bruce Temkin

I came across an article in my archives about customer relations that got me considering my own business relationships. The article discussed the differences between customer experience and customer engagement. I forgot what an excellent article this is and how well it explains the difference between the two.

Often times, I find companies proclaim a devout loyalty to customers, which can be unfounded. Customer loyalty is when a strong, and often times, symbiotic relationship exists between the service / product provider and the end-user / customer. There’s an emotional connection… one which goes beyond superficial platitudes, or an acquiesce to continue interacting. What it means is that both parties are invested in each other and gaining an advantage through the relationship. This is positive engagement and that is the mark of an astute and usually successful company.

Enter Technology

The digital age has changed many things, including the way companies and customers interact. When customers are engaged, they will provide (unsolicited) testimonials, tweet appreciation, post comments about positive interactions and gladly acknowledge the company / service provider. The venues are many and the dissemination of their acknowledgements are, often times, instantaneous. For the organizations that “walk the talk” for service, this immediate recognition is a blessing. However, for the companies that provide only lip service, these customer responses can be highly detrimental especially with social media amplifying these vitriolic messages with speed.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

To truly understand the customer experience, companies need to delve into understanding customer expectations and set them appropriately. Even if a customer is new to an organization, this person will come into the relationship with a subconscious expectation of how they want to be treated, what will be considered satisfaction with the end-result, how the quality of the service or product is delivered, the simplicity or difficulty of the interaction, and how this experience compares to that of equal or similar products and services. Of course these perceptions are based on each person’s individual history, but in general, many people will agree on what is a bad service experience versus a good one.

Is Price Really the Reason?

The one thing that many customers and companies easily confuse is mistaking price for value. Though price is a factor in the purchasing decision, it’s not the main reason why people buy. This is why online sites like eBay do so well. People are bidding for items they deem as valuable with the intention to purchase based on their reality of value. This reality of value is where companies have an opportunity to get aligned with the consumer. This understanding allows companies to position themselves and their products / services to an audience in the market for their wares. In this instance, the organization’s value proposition is congruous with the consumer’s view of value, which better allows the customer to believe the price is indicative of the value for the item they desire.

Keep in mind, there are consumers who believe they can always have the best quality for the lowest price. These individuals have not evolved in their understanding of what value and price mean and how they are two separate things. They are a tougher sell and will require more education, a more in-depth series of questions to understand their motivation, and they need time to comprehend why and how your product / service is of value, regardless of the cost. Customers who lose sight of why they want to purchase something and only focus on getting the lowest cost can become a service nightmare after the sale. They haven’t listened well as their focus was strictly on price, and subsequently they may require more time and energy after the sale, which can be costly. Keep in mind, your time is part of the equation and with that has a value associated with the transaction. Selling at any cost can be a losing proposition for the service provider, as profits can be negatively affected, as well as your brand reputation. Carefully weighing the pros and cons in this instance is highly recommended and don’t be afraid to walk away from prospects who maintain a myopic focus on one thing… the price.

Everyone Needs to Understand Value

It’s important for the company and those selling to fully understand and appreciate the value of the service and product being offered. Articulating the benefits is a must for successful comprehension to occur. When companies can explain the benefits of their products and services, a door opens to a more in-depth engagement. Likewise, the buyer is reassured in knowing this understanding exists so the reality of value is easier for them to understand and to move forward with a purchase. Companies that understand their value proposition and know how to position their products and services to trigger appeal have made the commitment to evolve their customers’ experiences to a higher level of engagement in the relationship. This is where the win-win situation happens.

Engagement Create Advocates

The multitude of advertising venues available today is endless. Yet all these venues cannot compare to one singular form of marketing… promotion by word-of-mouth. Testimonials and endorsements are by-and-large the bellwether of customer satisfaction and impending engagement. According to one source, 90% of consumers will look at reviews prior to interacting with a company. Testimonials and endorsements allow engaged customers to promote and advance the value of your product / service because they deem the value to be in direct relation to the price they paid. This sweet spot is when you know the company’s value proposition and customers’ reality of value meet at the center of the interlocking circles. This is, also, where engagement flourishes and the customer relationship needs continual nurturing. This attention will encourage customer engagement to endure and grow, all the while an infusion of new customers begin interacting with your product / service

Though both have value, customer experience and customer engagement are two separate interactions. Engagement is the by-product of a well-managed relationship and one that all companies strive to attain. It’s the win-win and the most beneficial to both parties. Elevating your customer interactions should be a goal and one that is part of your company’s value statement. Engagement will always beat out experience.

photo credit:  Consumers via photopin (license)