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Customer Service

“Relationship Marketing…A better, smarter way of doing business”

By Kelli C. Holmes

Determine the value of referrals to your business.

• Are referrals an important part of your business?

• What percentage of your business comes from referrals?

• What percentage of your business do you want to come from referrals?

• How are you currently developing referrals for your business?

• What or who are the sources of your referrals?  Your clients?  Friends?  Contacts?

• What is the basis for you to receive referrals?  Your reputation?  Credibility?  Quality of products or services?

Once you have determined the value of referrals to your business, look for ways to develop good referral sources for your business.  Ask yourself the following:

Are you professionally visible?  Being an “expert” is not enough.  You need to be visible, approachable, understood, trusted and be able to leave a lasting impression.  Check your professional visibility by answering these questions.

• How visible am I in my community?

• Do people seek me out for my expertise, products or service?

• Is my impression better than my competitors?

• Do people view me as a credible resource?

• How do people react when I present information about my products or services?

• Are my “networking” activities productive?

Networking Do’s and Don’ts:

DO:

·        Have a networking plan in place.  Know what you want to achieve from your networking        activities and how you plan to get it.

• Know your own strengths, talents and resources.  Listen for when a situation may be right.
• Help others build relationships.  Make only those offers you intend to fulfill.  Relationship marketing only works when you are genuine.
• Have business cards with you at all times.
• Develop a system to track your networking activities and the results.
• Follow up promptly and professionally on the referrals you receive.  Remember to thank the person who referred you.

DON’T

• Wait until you need a network to develop one.   It takes time to develop relationships.

·        Give out your business card indiscriminately.  Ask for a business card from someone you would like to give your business card to.

·        Don’t be afraid to jump in and network!  Networking is a contact sport, it requires your physical presence.

Kelli C. Holmes is the Founder of TEAM Referral Network, a professional referral organization that turns success-oriented business people into a strong team of networking professionals who work together to build their businesses by referral.  Relationship marketing is a better, smarter way of doing business.  For more information visit their website www.teamreferralnetwork.com or call (866)311-TEAM.       

3 Ways to Use Facebook Groups to Attract and Keep Customers

By Amy Porterfield       

Many business owners think about Facebook in a one-dimensional way: Create a page of your own where you can promote your brand and products or services. But there's potentially a lot more to it than that. One underutilized strategy is creating Facebook groups, which provide an easy way to segment customers. With groups, you can create communities around particular products, improve customer service, provide a networking forum for customers and even drive new sales.

You segment your email list, right? So why not segment your Facebook community, too? To create a group, login to your Facebook account, go to the Home page and in the left column you will see an option to "Create a Group."
So far, few business owners are using Facebook groups for customer retention and acquisition. Get a jump on the competition by trying out these three Facebook group strategies:


1. Use closed groups as a customer support hub.
A closed Facebook group can be used to deliver support to a specific customer segment, cutting down on customer email clutter and providing a central place to get feedback on what is and isn't working for your business. For example, I have closed groups for all my online training programs to offer support to my clients and give them a chance to network with each other.

The goal is to generate an open dialogue between you and your customers by providing a special spot for them to ask questions. Although Facebook users can see who is in the group, they can’t see members’ posts without joining the group. That way, group members don’t worry that their questions will end up in a friend’s newsfeed.

Use the group to share documents, such as FAQs, and appoint one of your community managers to jump in and answer customer questions. This can also be an ideal forum for announcing product updates, sharing discounts and inviting customers to events and contests. Group members who have already made a purchase are usually more likely to engage with your brand again, especially if they’re happy with the customer service.

2. Use 'secret' members-only groups as networking hubs for current customers.
If your goal on Facebook is to create a tribe-like community, then a secret, members-only group can be worth investigating. Unlike closed groups, only members can see who is in the group.

Secret groups allow you to create a personalized, private feedback loop, which can be a priceless engagement and retention tool. They’re ideal for providing extra value to your VIP-level clients and customers.

A private group may be especially appropriate for businesses whose products and services have a more exclusive audience, such as coaching organizations and training and consulting providers. The closed group atmosphere can create a sense of exclusivity and your clients will get direct access to you and your team.

I use secret groups both for retention and customer acquisition. A private group provides a forum where my consulting clients can network and share strategies with other marketing professionals. Clients love having a place to candidly ask me and experts in the group for feedback.

It’s been such a popular feature that I now use secret groups with all of my products. As a result, I’ve seen a 30 percent increase in returning customers after I introduce a new program. Also, my return rate has dropped because customers know I am there to support them when they have issues.

3. Use open groups to build awareness, authority and interest in your brand.
There already are plenty of open groups on Facebook. The narrower the niche or hyper-local the group, the more likely it is to be lively and engaged -- such as these local “free-cycling” and photographer groups.

Start or join an open group focused on your business niche. Use it not to sell your products directly, but rather to establish yourself as an expert and to network with others in your industry. For example, if you edit photographs for a living, a photography group is a way to share your expertise and provide relevant content in a more personal and community-focused way than with a brand page.

For all types of Facebook groups, use the “About” tab to outline the purpose and goals. Create and post membership guidelines to the "Documents" tab, especially for closed and secret groups, because you may want to allow members to invite friends when appropriate.

And focus more on participation than messaging. Groups are about dialogue, not direct sales. Encourage customers to interact and post often.

  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224154?cam=Dev&ctp=PopRightMod&cdt=10&cdn=224154

Providing Great Customer Service

How to Become a Customer Service “Hero”

By Wendy Connick

If you want to retain your customers – and encourage them to refer more customers to you – you'll need to give them a reason to do so. And excellent customer service is a pretty good reason.

Keep in mind that having a good product is a prerequisite to good customer service. If your product offering is useless, no one will buy it no matter how well you treat them. On the other hand, excellent customer service can strengthen an adequate product and make it great. Providing top-tier customer service is also one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors, which can definitely give your product offerings a little extra kick.

Communicate With Your Customers

How do you know what your customers want? Well, the easiest way to find out is to ask them! It's amazing how often businesses will change a product or launch a new service only to find out that their customers hate the new offering. Check with your customers periodically to find out how they feel about your product, and ask if they have any suggestions to make it even better.

Talking to the customers regularly will also identify any problems before they become critical. If a customer is not particularly happy with your company for some reason, you'll have a chance to make it right before they simply take up with one of your competitors.

Resolve Problems Gracefully

When you do find out about a problem, here's the process you can follow to resolve it:

1. Apologize to the customer. It doesn't matter if it was your fault or not, apologize anyway. A simple “I'm sorry for the inconvenience” helps to smooth down any ruffled feathers.
2. Fix it or explain why you can't. Don't just let the customer languish in Service Limbo. You need to either resolve the problem in a timely manner or get back to the customer ASAP and explain why you can't change the situation.
3. Follow up to confirm resolution. Contact the customer a few days or weeks later and make sure the problem really is resolved. This is also a great chance to touch base and make sure there aren't any other issues lurking.

Customer complaints are a golden opportunity. Don't dread them! Fixing a problem in a helpful and pleasant way actually endears a customer to you more than if no problem had occurred. After all, your customers don't really think about your product... until it stops working or something else goes wrong. When it does, the product and the company come to the front of the customer's mind. If they leave the encounter feeling good about your company, that's an improvement over the merely neutral feeling they probably had about you before things went wrong.

Reward Your Customers

Businesses often launch promotions to snare new customers, but they rarely think to reward their existing customers. So occasionally giving your customers something of value will make you stand out in a good way. It could be something as simple as a holiday greeting card with a coupon for their next purchase from you, or as elaborate as a “Customer Appreciation Day” where you hold a party for your customers and provide games and prizes. Again, it's a good idea to sound out your customers and find out what kind of reward they'd prefer.

http://sales.about.com/od/customerservice/a/Providing-Great-Customer-Service.htm

6 steps to Better Networking for Young Entrepreneurs

By Matt Villano 

 

"All young entrepreneurs know that time is money, which makes the time we spend at industry networking events almost as precious as the funding for which we’re all gunning. How can you maximize the benefits of attending these soirees? Here’s what real-life “treps” -- as well as some networking event experts -- have to say:

Have an agenda.
Not all networking events are created equal. It behooves you to research the best of the bunch in your area and decide which might be best for your overall start-up goals. What is your objective for the event? Are you looking to find a cofounder? Are you looking to meet investors? Are you simply looking to get more educated or inspired? Asking yourself simple questions like these before selecting a networking event can help refine your search -- and, in turn, get more out of your selections.

Nathan Beckord, principal and startup advisor at the San Francisco-based consulting firm VentureArchetypes, will scan the guest list of networking events he attends to identify people in the crowd he wants to meet. "I also will familiarize myself with the speakers -- not only who they are, but what they look like," he says. "That way, if they are hanging out before their chat, I can go up and meet them, whereas if I want until after they speak, they are often swarmed by a mob."

Fly solo.
We all feel more comfortable attending work functions with a "buddy," someone with whom we can seek refuge when the constant meeting-and-greeting gets old. But Priyanka Sharma, marketing director for iSwifter, a Menlo Park, Calif., startup that makes a Flash web-browser app for the iPad, suggests reconsidering. "When you’re solo, you’re forced to talk to people, it's easier to insert yourself into conversations, and you're less intimidating to mingle with," she says.

Work the room.
Consider the law of averages -- the more people you meet at one of these events, the greater the likelihood of making networking magic. Sepideh Nasiri, a director of off-line activities at Women 2.0, a San Francisco-based networking organization for women, suggests that entrepreneurs spend no more than 5 to 7 minutes per conversation. "You shouldn’t need any more time to figure out exactly what the person in front for you is looking for," she says.

Take notes.
It’s impossible to remember specifics on every person you meet at these shindigs, so don’t be afraid to take notes. According to Azam Khan, a social-commerce and marketing entrepreneur in Fremont, Calif., the easiest place to jot stuff down is on the back of someone’s business card. Use keywords to help you contextualize a person’s strengths when you get home and sort through your stuff.

Khan notes that this philosophy works both ways. "Give a card but don’t dwell on it," he says, "and let them write notes, too." Another option here is to use your Smartphone (or bring along a small steno pad) for more detailed scribbles -- though (so as not to make anyone nervous) it’s best to do this in the privacy of a corner or the rest room.

Watch what you drink.
Sure, alcohol makes it easier for all of us to meet new people. And, yes, beer and wine (and sometimes cocktails) are standard at most of these networking events. Still, moderation should rule the day. "If you need a drink to loosen up a bit, that’s probably fine. Anything more could lead to trouble," notes Nasiri, whose Founder Friday events draw up to 500 people per month in more than 10 cities around the world. "The last thing you want is to wake up the next morning and wonder, 'What did I say?'"

Follow up.
The most important step in making new acquaintances is following up. Tweet, email, Facebook -- whatever -- just close the loop. Sharma, the marketing guru at iSwifter, says that in addition to following up with fellow attendees, you always should follow up with the hosts of the event, too. "It’s a good way to get an invite to future and similar events," she says, noting that organizers frequently have large networks and can connect you with others easily. Hey, you never know.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223916

Words of Wisdom

For every sale you miss because you're too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you're not enthusiastic enough. Zig Ziglar