retention | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 16

Home  /  From Lament to Leading the Way – 3 Steps to BRE-Building  /  retention

Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

•••••

From Lament to Leading the Way – 3 Steps to BRE-Building

Posted on October 21, 2013 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

I was having a conversation with an economic development professional (a Business Retention & Expansion manager), and he was sharing his organization’s approach to retaining and growing with existing local companies. It started positively, and then the more he talked, the more he described his issues:

  • He wanted to a “real” and robust BRE program.
  • The current program was too limited to conducting site visits once/year with key businesses.
  • He wanted “to have a continual dialogue with companies.”
  • He needed to more quickly use the results of the interviews in issue-resolution for the client and community.
  • There’s no system to their relationship-building with companies. It was too much of a task-focused endeavor.

Much of what the BRE professional was lamenting is common in the industry. Too much work, and too little time. So the focus is on hitting a targeted number of site visits, helping when issues arise in a manner that’s not efficient or systematic enough, having large lag time between gathering information and acting on well thought out strategies, and getting activities done more than relationships developed.

This is common…but it doesn’t mean it’s the step to greatness.

To take that next step, even if staffing resources don’t increase, several other aspects of the program should change:

  • BRE programs need to have a mix of research activities; overreliance on site visits (the most labor-intensive data collection method) reduces capacity for issue-resolution, planning, and real relationship development. Phone/web-based surveys, and BRE News Research are efficient ways of complementing site visits.
  • Creating 12-month Touch Point Plans helps organizations build client knowledge and relationships, often without having to take a step onsite. These need to be developed/executed to make relationship-building happen on an ongoing basis.
  • Developing resource databases and detailed search capabilities such as exist in some BRE applications expedites identification of people/grants/processes/services that can be used to impact business needs and issues. These databases can also expedite the sharing of resources with the business itself.

If you’re lamenting the difficulties in moving your BRE program to greatness, take these 3 great steps.

See more BRE blog posts at: http://brebuzz.com/bre-blog-posts/


Is Your Fan Experience a Reason to Stay or Leave?

Posted on October 16, 2013 in Business Advice, Sports 1 Comment

It’s not about winning. It’s not about the more popular sport. It’s about convenience and interactions with the people around you….

In the article Why I Gave Up My NFL Season Tickets, a former Washington Redskins season ticket holder shares why he’s no longer an NFL season ticket holder (STH) and is now a STH of the Washington Wizards. In short, he wanted an easier commute and not to be exposed to out-of-control drunk fans.

I was once told by a major sports owner that the only thing that drives attendance is “Wins and Weather.” He was echoing what his marketing consultant had said many times to the press. But in the case of this fan and many others, it’s not just about “Wins and Weather,” it’s about the fan experience. It’s about whether the fun outweighs the effort, the hassle, the cost, and the time.

This is a short post because the article itself has many key points, but keep this point in mind as well. The team, its wins, its marketing, its sales pitches, its image can bring fans in, but that’s often not what keeps fans.

If you want to keep fans for the long-term, you need to start by getting to know them, developing a relationship with them, learning their renewal drivers, and helping their experience to change and improve as their lives change.

Make the fan experience a reason to stay…not a reason to leave.

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


Retention-Driving Data (Know Your Numbers…and Your Customers)

Posted on September 26, 2013 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Here’s a quick article on using data analytics for client retention (Analytics Boost Customer Retention for Ohio Mutual). Although I like the article because of its obvious retention-focus, some of the key nuggets relate to the metrics that Ohio Mutual utilizes including:

  • Retention/renewal rates (historically 87%)
  • Profitability of the renewal business (15%-20% higher than the profitability of new customers)
  • Identifying premium increase opportunities (upwards of $175 annually for some clients).

Does your organization have similar metrics? If not, just take a minute to think of how your strategies and decisions would be different if you knew retention rates, profitability of renewal v. new customers, and specific dollar increase opportunities with existing clients.

If you can’t afford a SAS solution, we’ve worked with many organizations on analyzing retention rates, at-risk profiling, retention and growth strategies, client exit interviews, etc. without using some high-end system. It’s not about the system. It’s about you, your customer, and the methodology to uncover retention opportunities and act on them.

Know your numbers to better target and achieve retention and growth with current customers.

For more information, check out: http://cssamerica.com/cssstrategy.htm


« Previous   1 2 ... 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ... 31 32   Next »