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Further
Reading ...
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Two IPO Academic Resources - William Cate Two IPO Academic Information Resources By William Cate Published August 1999 [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/] [http://home.earthlink.net/~beowulfinvestments/globalvillageinvestmentclubwelcome/] About eight years ago, an Eastern...
How to Make Trading Profitable? - Joseph Sgro How to Make Trading Profitable? If you have read: "10 Simple Rules to Make You Serious Money in the Sharemarket and Keep it!" you will have read about options. Here is a free excerpt of the Trading Ebook: (This is a short version) ...
Financial Aid - when should I apply for? - Vanessa McHooley Financial Aid - when should I apply for? Many different types of financial aid are available to you in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans. With billions of dollars at stake, it is important to begin the search process early and to apply...
Content Management: Wise Investment For Business Prosperity - Alex Polonski The time when a website was just a simple set of HTML pages has gone by. It’s true, just five or seven years ago simple websites developed with HTML and JavaScript were usual. Nobody thought there could be another option. However, year by year,...
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Customer Service Is King
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Written By:
Michael Ambrosio
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Customer Service Is King - by Michael Ambrosio
Do you know the one thing that can make or break your business faster than anything else?
If you said Customer Service - give yourself a prize.
For the past 15 years, my job has been customer service oriented. Let me tell you that it's the number one thing on your customers mind.
Customers know whether or not they can trust you simply by the way you service them, and usually on the small issues. Let's face it, handling big problems for your customers will always make you try harder. After all, if it's a big problem you know full well that they'll be watching closely.
But it's those tiny little every day service issues that can jump up and bite you if you're not careful. Those are the ones we tend to pay less attention to, which subsequently fall through the cracks.
Another tell-tale of the kind of service you provide is what you do when something DOES fall through the cracks. How do you handle it? Do you try to hide it? Are you up front with your customers?
There are some basic "rules", if you will, when it comes to handling mistakes or mis-steps.
1- Always be honest. Remember that if you are exposed as a liar, chances are you'll lose your customer along with your reputation.
2- Offer a concession of some kind right on the spot. This is important. It has been proven that customers are very likely to stay with your services if you compensate them satisfactorily for your mistakes. What it costs you to do this pales in comparison to losing their business altogether.
3- Follow up. After you have worked through your mistake with your customer, make sure you follow up to make sure they are happy. It's important you give them that "warm, fuzzy feeling" about your company.
In my years as a customer service rep., I have built many relation- ships both on a business level AND a personal level. This is essential as well. Let's face it - if you had to choose between a service rep that is all business and one who takes the time to get to know you, (assuming that they are equal in all other aspects) who would you call?
Your customers should know you by name. They should know some personal tidbits of information about you, like whether you're married, how many kids, etc. And you should know some about them as well.
In my business, I know a little something about all of my customer contacts.
- John and his wife just had their second child. - Val has just defeated cancer. - Raj is under allot of pressure from his bosses. - Jim and his wife are having serious problems.
I lend them my ear when it's needed. I give them sympathy or a pat on the back or encouragement - whatever they need. They know they can TRUST me.
Does your business card have your home or cell number on it? It should. This tells your customer that you're always available. No need to worry about late night calls - I have found that any calls - continued below ...
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that I have received on my private numbers were few and far between, and always valid emergencies. Just the fact that you give it to your customers tells them that you care about their needs.
On all of my websites, you will find my phone number and address. Good customer service applies to your on-line business just as much as any off-line business. In fact, I have heard time and again customers say that they don't do business with someone on line unless their contact information - preferably with a phone number - is posted on their site.
Here's another axiom about customers that you should remember:
It's easier to GET a customer than it is to KEEP one.
Any customer that's in the market for your type of service is as likely to hire your company as anyone's. After all, it's really a matter of having a better sales presentation, better prices - or whatever strikes that customer on that day.
So, wonderful - you're now in the door. You have your shot. This is when your new customer REALLY gets to know you - and your quality of service. The stuff you can't "sales pitch" away.
Never EVER take your current customer base for granted. Do that and watch how fast the door slams in your face.
You may remember some years back a television commercial that was (I believe) for an Airline. The boss was talking to his staff about customer relations because they had just lost one of their oldest clients. So he gave all of his staff plane tickest to pay personal, face-to-face visits to ALL of their customers.
While that commercial provides a good lesson about customer service it should also be a reminder to you to keep the lines of communication between you and your customers open.
Personal visits to your clients should be on-going. Never stay away long enough to give them a chance to look elsewhere for the service they need. They need to feel that you're connected with them.
In 15 years of servicing customers, I have never lost one. Not once.
And - this is probably the biggest business benefit to all of this - they recommend my services before they recommend anyone else. I have gotten more new customers through recommendations from my satisfied customers (friends) then from ANY for of paid advertisement.
And in the end, isn't that what it's all about?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Copyright 2003 Michael Ambrosio - Webmaster/Owner http://www.getprofitsnow.com Subscribe - mailto:gpn@inmarkon.com Get Profits Now. Newsletter and tools for your web success. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
About the Author <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Copyright 2003 Michael Ambrosio - Webmaster/Owner http://www.getprofitsnow.com Subscribe - mailto:gpn@inmarkon.com Get Profits Now. Newsletter and tools for your web success. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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The Multi Level Affiliate Program (MLAP) FAQ - Terence Tan What is a Multi Level Affiliate Program(MLAP)? A MLAP is an affiliate program that is free to join, and pays affiliates a commission when they make a sale, as well as when subaffiliates under them make sales. How is a MLAP better than basic...
Where Is Your Arrow Aimed?? - Michael Lemm Visiting my local Barnes & Noble I discovered a book called "This Glorious Quest" by Colin Pearce. Leafing thru it I found a little story that I quite liked. Quote: Robin Hood lay dying. Maid Marion gathered the Merry Men to hear his last words...
Are You Ready To Be Your Own Boss? - Abel Cheng You have this burning desire you want to be on your own. The temptation is so great that you want to quit your job. Enough is enough. You're sick of working for other people for a ridiculous pay. To be your own boss means controlling your own...
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