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Refresh on the Reasons to Appreciate the Customer - 11/25/25


This is a great time of year to give thanks, not just because it’s Thanksgiving week in the United States, but also because – with 2025 coming to a close - it gives us the opportunity to do some reflecting on the recent past. The idea of reflecting on reasons Read more

Confirm the Customer is Cleared for Takeoff - 11/18/25


An airplane pilot is told when they’re “cleared for takeoff” before they begin to accelerate down the runway.  The air traffic controller (ATC) has looked at everything in front of the pilot, on the runway and in the air space, and checked to ensure the pilot is good to Read more

Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

Last Impression Faux Pas - 11/4/25


Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas. What many people tend Read more

Familying with Customers - 10/28/25


In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term.  But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to Read more

Avoid These Techniques - 10/21/25


We had a Customer Service Tip of the Week recently that addressed gaining control of the conversation.  One of the key points was that the focus should be on gaining control of conversations in various circumstances, but trying to avoid making it your goal to gain control of the Read more

View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

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Do You Know if They Know?

Posted on June 8, 2010 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

We’ve designed a great number of surveys for municipalities and their agencies, focusing on customer satisfaction, perception, and awareness. What is so important with these government-based research instruments that is often downplayed or overlooked entirely is the focus on awareness.

Awareness questions typically focus on two areas: (1) Gauging the resident’s awareness of services and programs offered by the municipality and its agencies and (2) Gauging the resident’s awareness of processes – essentially how to do things.

These questions are vital because all the radio public service announcements, flyers, and government TV channels cost money; but the goal is not to implement a strategy to push information to residents. The goal is for the residents to understand, to remember, to be aware. So that awareness has to be measured – municipalities want participation (i.e., people using their parks, getting access to support services, attending events, and utilizing their recreation centers), and they want whatever revenue is associated with that participation.

But in this age of customer service being balanced with customer “self-service,” residents must also be aware of HOW TO do things. What’s the process to apply for Medicaid, to reserve a park shelter, update my business listing online, get a new recycle bin, or report that the neighbor puts oil down the sewer drain? The more educated residents are on how to do things themselves, the more efficient a municipality can be in providing that service since the resident either goes through the process on their own or they contact the right employee to help them the first time.

These principles are universal in business – customer awareness is a huge asset to any business wanting to grow (i.e., increasing awareness of products/services) and any business wanting to improve efficiencies (i.e., increasing awareness of service processes).

When you conduct your customer surveys, make sure you’re researching your customer’s awareness.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/


Renew with Research

Posted on June 2, 2010 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

I was recently involved in a discussion about key strategies for renewing season ticket holders for a professional sports franchise. The basic question was "What best practices are there on renewing 90%+?"

That was a great question to ask. It was great for 2 reasons; first, why reinvent the wheel if there are methods that have worked in the past? Consider utilizing best practices first before developing your additional solutions. The second reason why it was a great question is because it involves an aggressive goal. To hit 90% plus in renewals is tough but achievable – remember, you’re often going to have 5%-7% of your season ticket holders (STHs) move away annually, so your retainable level is maybe 93-95%. Adding in those that have been hammered by the economy, and your retainable target is even lower.

We’ve worked with several pro sports teams, and most of our work has been in increasing retention and growing business with existing STHs. Much of what an organization with this retention goal needs to do focuses on having ongoing touch points throughout the year, leading up to the annual renewal period. When you think of those touches, however, think strategically – there should a purpose to each, whether that purpose is gathering intelligence, providing something of value, addressing a retention driver, or making an offer. Many of those touches should be pre-planned on day 1 and executed throughout the year.

There’s no silver bullet because each season ticket holder (each client) has their own motivator. The key is finding that motivator through research. Don’t view retention like you do marketing. Retention and renewals are done one at a time at a certain point (usually annually), not en masse. The good news is that you have about 9 months every year prior to the renewal cycle to ask and determine their retention driver. It’s a lot easier to address the retention driver if you’ve identified it.

Don’t spend tons of time coming up with the perfect benefit or gimmick or perk; find out what your clients base the renewal decision on first.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/


Customer Service Leads to Customer Involvement in Schools

Posted on May 18, 2010 in Business Advice, Carolinas, Education Please leave a comment

Several South Carolina schools were given "Red Carpet" awards for excellence in customer service. That’s right, high schools, middle schools, elementary, and other school-types received recognition for being "family friendly." An article (http://www2.scnow.com/scp/news/education/article/schools_win_awards_for_family-friendly_atmosphere_customer-focused_service/157334/) published yesterday noted that the winners of these awards received actual red carpets to display in their school lobbies – great form of recognition!

Schools had to describe their "family-friendly philosophies and environments, along with the methods used to promote and self-evaluate those efforts. They also were required to include copies of their school’s communication plan."

Examples of the winning schools included how one school made their library open to the community to use (particularly for internet access); another school opened its gym to community leagues/groups; another ensured it had extra coverage of phones and the front desk during the busiest hours; another increased their bilingual capabilities to match the changing mix of local residents.

It’s wonderful that schools understand and embrace the importance of customer service. The winners realize that they need to create a positive environment through their facility and their people. The examples of winning schools illustrate some key points which apply to any business including: be accessible to your customers to attract them (note the library and gym examples), make sure that you match your staffing to your workload to minimize wait times (note the front desk example), and change your service offerings and the way you do business based on your changing customer base (note the bilingual example).

Customer service is a large part of what customers consider when they’re evaluating any business – even schools.

Learn from these schools to attract customers to you, to minimize customer waits, and to make sure you’re delivering on your customers’ changing needs.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/


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