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Talk Up Your Teammate - 12/5/23


It happens all the time in business. The salesperson transitions the new customer to their service representative.  The nurse tells the patient about the doctor about to come into the room.  The gatekeeper tells the customer about the supervisor they’re about to transfer the customer to, in order to Read more

Use Silence Wisely - 11/28/23


Silence is golden...until it isn’t. Silence is an excellent tool to use when talking to the customer.  Silence can convey that you’re listening, that you are patient, that you are being kind and are deferring to the other person.  Being silent can convey that you’re intentional about what you say, Read more

Be Grateful for the Good - 11/21/23


There are several different ways you could define gratitude, but I like the simple definition:  Being grateful for the good.  There’s a lot to be upset about, a lot to be frustrated with, there’s a lot to lament about in our customer service roles.  But even in these challenges, Read more

Sport Some Customer Perks - 11/14/23


Of all the industries we work with, the one that talks most about providing perks and benefits to its customers is pro sports.  We’ve worked with NASCAR, MLS, the NBA, and a little bit with the NFL and the NHL. And most of the teams or organizations will provide their Read more

Customer Service Lessons from the E.R. - 11/7/23


Every industry is interesting in its own way, and healthcare is definitely no exception.  We’ve done many different types of studies and projects in the emergency rooms at hospitals, and it’s interesting to look back at some of the results of focus groups we conducted with the E.R. patients. We Read more

I Did This…For You - 10/31/23


Michelle needed to run by the grocery store during her lunch break, and because it’s October in the USA, that means it’s Halloween month!  Fittingly, the grocery store had every shape and size of a pumpkin you can imagine; there was even this small basket of mini pumpkins. They were Read more

Make Deposits with Your Customer - 10/24/23


Carrie has a 50+ hour a week job, and - financially - she does better than many.  She’s in the media, but she doesn’t like everything to be public.  Carrie’s a real person with real issues and real needs and real gifts, as well. One day, her best friend, the Read more

Find Their Future Motivators - 10/17/23


We’ve provided fan experience and customer retention consulting in professional sports for a couple decades now.  One of our professional basketball clients was the Miami Heat.  We were working with them just a year or so after they had acquired superstar Shaquille O’Neal.  When they signed him, ticket sales Read more

How to Exceed the Promise - 10/10/23


It’s the never-ending battle between marketing and customer service.  Marketing makes promises, and customer service has to deal with upset customers when the company doesn’t deliver.  To ensure we deliver on promises, let’s assess promises by looking at some famous quotes over time… Promises may get Friends, but ‘tis Performances Read more

What “One in a Million” Means - 10/3/23


You are One in a Million! That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  Depending on the tone in which it’s said, the phrase can be a compliment or a criticism.  If there are 8 billion people in the world, that means there might Read more

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Make Deposits with Your Customer – 10/24/23

Posted on October 24, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Carrie has a 50+ hour a week job, and – financially – she does better than many.  She’s in the media, but she doesn’t like everything to be public.  Carrie’s a real person with real issues and real needs and real gifts, as well.

One day, her best friend, the person that knows her best as well, asked Carrie a simple question: Why do you give so much to other people?

You see, Carrie has paid people’s rent when they were in a tough position.  She has paid others’ medical expenses and taken care of other life necessities.  And typically the only person that knew what she did was the person she was helping.  Sometimes she helped others anonymously, so even that person did not know.

Her best friend knew of Carrie’s giving because she pieced it all together, story by story, understanding how all the people helped somehow had some deep or tangential relationship to Carrie.  So, the friend asked Carrie the question, and Carrie gave the answer.

Carrie said: I always like to put in deposits because it’s the right thing to do, and I’m able to do it.  But also, I know, someday I’m going to have to make some withdrawals, and it’s probably going to be easier to make some withdrawals if I’ve built up a bank account of goodwill.

That’s a long story to make a short point about customer service.

When we do the bare minimum for the customer, we are providing a product or service. We are giving them the commodity they’re purchasing.  But when we do a little bit more – when we give them a little bit more time, when we show them a little bit more patience, when we reach out to them just to check in even when it’s not really necessary – We are making deposits.

And every business at some point in time is going to mess up, where our action or inaction will be a withdrawal from the account we have with that customer.  So, let’s give a little extra at every opportunity, and maybe when we make a mistake, the customer will be fine with us making that withdrawal.

Keep making deposits with your customer.

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Find Their Future Motivators – 10/17/23

Posted on October 17, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We’ve provided fan experience and customer retention consulting in professional sports for a couple decades now.  One of our professional basketball clients was the Miami Heat.  We were working with them just a year or so after they had acquired superstar Shaquille O’Neal.  When they signed him, ticket sales went through the roof. That often happens in pro sports – where the superstar will immediately drive higher revenue and attendance.

One of the recommendations we made to the team was to make sure they were honing in on those people who bought season tickets right after O’Neal was signed, developing relationships with them, and trying to uncover what else would motivate them to stay.  The main point I was making was that O’Neal was not going to be on the team forever, and you don’t want what motivated the season ticket holders to buy tickets (his presence on the team) to be the only reason that they stay as season ticket holders.

You don’t want them to leave immediately after he leaves.

That’s the case with many of our customers.  What motivated them to initially engage our business may not be what motivates them to stay, and oftentimes it shouldn’t be what motivates them to stay.  If a discount or a 1-time feature or benefit is the initial hook, that motivation is fleeting, and we don’t want the customer to flee when that motivation is gone.

One of the key drivers of retention is obviously what brought the customer to your business, but uncover other reasons for them being there.  Ensure that you find out what’s most important to the customer about their engagement with your business, because those reasons, as well, are retention drivers.

Even beyond the reason you acquire their business, make sure you uncover the other reasons why customers stay with you.

Find Their Future Motivators.

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How to Exceed the Promise – 10/10/23

Posted on October 10, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

It’s the never-ending battle between marketing and customer service.  Marketing makes promises, and customer service has to deal with upset customers when the company doesn’t deliver.  To ensure we deliver on promises, let’s assess promises by looking at some famous quotes over time…

Promises may get Friends, but ‘tis Performances that keep them. Thomas Fuller

Why you gained a customer is not necessarily why you will keep that customer. Typically, that carrot that leads the customer to your organization is not based on their personal experiences with your business. But their personal experiences are what determine whether they come back or not. 

Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.  Lou Holtz

Promises in business create expectations, so it’s better to under promise and over deliver. Remember, the difference between an expectation and reality is a problem when the expectation is greater than the reality.  Make the reality a little greater than the promise.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.  James

Just like you need to be clear with the customer about what you can do, be clear with them about what you cannot Don’t give the customer the impression that you can hit a deadline when you probably cannot, that you can process a full refund when you probably cannot, that you can fix a problem exactly how they’ve defined the solution when you know you cannot.  Don’t create your own issues.

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.  Mae West

The ultimate judgment of an organization is their performance. The lasting impression of an organization is much more likely to be based on the last impression or experience rather than the initial promise.

Deliver on promises by under promising at the start.  By looking for ways to deliver a little bit more.  By being clear when you cannot do something.  By understanding that performance is what makes the lasting impression.

Exceed the Promise.

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