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A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

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TIME – A Business Retention & Expansion Pro’s Constant Battle

Posted on August 26, 2014 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

Blog 8-26-14You may have heard the saying “Work expands to fill the time allotted.” The idea is that – for many people – if they have 8 hours of work to do and 8 hours to do it, they’ll get it done; however, if they have 5 hours of work to do and 8 hours to do it, it will still take them 8 hours.

Many Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) professionals never have to worry about this situation because there’s usually too much work for the time. There are internal meetings, client visits, research on current clients through surveys and reviewing publications, support for the business recruitment staff, facilitating resolution to issues with the local government permitting issues, and on…and on…and on.

Where time is the issue for BRE professionals, here are four key questions to ask:

  • What activities are being performed that provide no value to the client? Find, eliminate, or reduce the time spent on these meetings, reports, and other tasks.
  • Where is time spent on research that could be outsourced to others? Don’t spend hours culling through newspapers or web alerts just to learn a little nugget that you can use with a client (have others do it for you).
  • Which are the key clients most at-risk of job loss or with the most opportunity for job gains? Knowing this can help you to allocate more time to those with more opportunity/risk.
  • In what situations are you doing something manual that could be automated? It’s the handwritten survey v. the web-based survey. It’s the handwritten notes that you rekey later. It’s the hardcopy documentation and manual files that build and build and build only to be purged every 3 years in a fit of frustration.

When you’re frustrated that you can’t get everything done, consider stopping what you can, outsourcing where you can, spending more time with those with the most opportunity/risk, and automating whenever possible.

Find more time to do what you do best.

Did you like this post? Check out otherBRE-relatedposts athttp://brebuzz.com/bre-blog-posts


Teamwork Spurs a Title

Posted on June 26, 2014 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Blog 6-25-14Basketball can be a beautiful game. While dunks are great shows of physical force, it’s the constant movement of the ball ending with a slash to the basket, a 3-pointer from the corner, or – yes – a vicious dunk that make it beautiful.

The San Antonio Spurs won their 5th championship last week in 15 years, but it wasn’t just a tribute to the longevity of their star players. It was also a tribute to teamwork; it was meshing of young talent and an “over-the-hill” 38 year old. It was about a coach who would yell at you one minute for using poor technique in guarding a shooter and then encourage you the next. It was about that leader showing what Vince Lombardi called “football love” – love of a teammate or a player even if you don’t love the action. Working together for the good of the whole, even if that means that statistics of the individual may suffer.

How does this relate to customer service? Well it relates to the culture of an organization, and to sustain great customer service, it’s not about hiring a few key individuals and hoping they overcome the shortcomings of others or overcome bad leadership or overcome poor processes.

Service EXCELLENCE requires having a culture that fosters teamwork for the good of the organization and the customer. Great customer service requires everyone to understand how they impact the success of co-workers and to work to make those fellow employees successful.

The Spurs story for this season, in particular, was one of selflessness and continuous movement – players working in concert on offense and defense – trusting the system and the leaders. It was a beautiful thing to watch – and it was successful, setting records for point differential in a playoffs and in a finals.

Does your company truly want to have great customer service? If so, keep the information moving. Work together toward a common goal. Make the team win more important than the individual accolades. Have leadership that can teach, redirect, reinforce, and reward. Do what you do for each other and the customer, and your personal success and rewards will follow.

Learn a few Spurs lessons in Teamwork.

Did you like this post? Here are other Sports-related posts:

Also, check out our CSS Sports Consulting, Training, and Research Page at: http://cssamerica.com/sports


Ensure Your Voice of the Fan Approach Includes These Key Points

Posted on May 1, 2014 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Blog 5-1-14Voice of the Fan – we use that phrase with many of our clients, but to clarify its meaning, sometimes it helps to look at examples.

The University of Florida’s “University Athletic Association” (UAA) is forming a fan advisory group that will provide feedback on how to improve the fan experience at UF football games, in particular. According to the article UAA to improve gameday experience through new fan advisory council, the advisory group “will select representatives from several season-ticket-holder demographics, including current students and boosters…The issue that needs to be discussed is how we can help students come in, but at the same time help people who have been season ticket holders for 40 years still have a good time at the game.”

These comments go to the heart of why a Voice of the Fan strategy is so important in sports. We can’t make the assumption that all fans are the same. Conversely, we can’t make the assumption that the long-time fans don’t matter – which often turns out to be a concern in the heavily marketing/sales-oriented world of sports.

We have to develop a strategy of dialogue with our fan base, that not only includes the surveys and 1-on-1 discussions with staff, but it also includes the sit-down discussions that get you depth on issues, creativity on solutions, and the fan’s perspective on potential changes being considered for the future.

Develop a Voice of the Fan approach that has at least these characteristics:

  • Includes a quantifiable component to evaluate multiple aspects of the fan experience, preferences, renewal drivers, etc.
  • Includes trended data through ongoing (including real-time) research or point-in-time annualized surveys.
  • Includes Focus Groups for deep dives on specific issues or about consideration of future changes/improvements.
  • Includes Advisory Boards that provide some consistent feedback mechanism as ideas are developed, refined, and moved toward implementation.
  • Crosses all key demographics or fan types.
  • Has predictive characteristics about retention/growth likelihood.
  • Uses multiple platforms (face-to-face, web, social media, e-mail, telephone, etc.) to ensure breadth of response.
  • Results in actionable information.
  • Shares back with fans the results and actions taken.

When you’re thinking about an advisory board, focus group, survey, or other research method, first make sure it’s getting at the voice of your true fans. Create a strategic approach to listening to and utilizing the Voice of the Fan.

Did you like this post? Here are other Sports-related posts:

Learn about our CSS Sports services at: http://cssamerica.com/sports/


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