Customer Service

Customer Service, Empathy and Success all walk the same walk!

“To err is human, to forgive is divine.” –Alexander Pope

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This week's topics include:

* Customer Service for Small Businesses - Linda Fayerweather
* Take it from a Success Coach
- Rebecca Booth
* The Inspired Entrepreneurs are Empathetic - Pat Altvater
* 29% Solution Diversify - Paula Fraizer
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Customer Service for Small Business – Part 3
This week’s customer service tip for the rest of 2009 is Recovery.
To err is human. . . is an old quote that ends with “to forgive is divine” and with customer service, sometimes we have to forgive ourselves, learn and move on. When you have a customer service issue with a customer you value, try this process:
1. Identify WHY it happened. Asking “WHY” at least 5 times of yourself or your staff is a great Lean tip that works and will help you get to the root cause of the problem.
2. Develop a process to deal with these types of problems or clients. Sometimes we can’t stop the problem from happening but can mitigate the angst our customers feel.
3. Now, make things right by recovering in style and create a deeply loyal customer.
4. Document the process and build a procedure that is repeatable.
5. Schedule to review your new procedure at least quarterly and tweak to perfection.

These steps are work, but in the end, problems become a welcome, fine-tuning of your business model. I personally would rather run then have a customer service problem, but knowing where I fail my customer is so important to getting and keeping the right customers.

Week 1: Diversify
Week 2: Compensation and Tracking
Next week: Say NO

Copyright 2009 Linda Fayerweather
What's working in your Business?
Changing Lanes LLC
http://www.changinglanes.biz/

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Take it from a Success Coach
The most powerful business tool is the ability to learn from your mistakes. Entrepreneurs are sponges when it comes to knowledge. We are constantly on the outlook for innovative ways to improve our business practices. We attend workshops, talk with our peers, garner feedback from our clients and devour magazines and books in hopes of taking our businesses to the next level.

Success Coach, Romanus Wolter, says that all of this information is meaningless without our own unique interpretation of it. Things move so fast that we often forget to apply what we’ve just learned to our businesses. With this said, we can – and do – falter. While we can’t reverse or change that history, Wolter says can change four very small habits and improve our businesses:
1. Make Hindsight Your Mentor – document your lessons – those you’ve learned the hard way by a mistake or those that you’ve learned from that workshop you just took. Keep a notebook with you at all times and take note of the what you’re doing right, wrong and what you can implement.
2. Trust Your “Sixth Sense” – your natural instinct is a powerful one. Finetuning your instincts will show you how seemingly random events fit together in your business. When you get that tingle in your gut, don’t ignore it. Stop and evaluate the information and explore how you might use it.
3. Integrate Hindsight with Foresight – History is a great teacher. Let past experiences provide you with helpful advice for the future. Weave what you’ve learned into future projects. Chronicle your lessons and update your business practices accordingly. By disciplining yourself to look at the past and future simultaneously it helps you make significant breakthroughs.
4. Let Yourself Make Mistakes – Making mistakes is a natural part of the process. Be open to tweaking your hindsight lessons to fit the particular needs of a new project. Open your mind to new strategies and recognize that errors may occur. Be truthful with yourself even it if hurts. By drawing on lessons you’ve learned as you engage in everyday actions, you’ll achieve even more with less effort. Hindsight is an effective tool in propelling your business forward and an important reminder that you have the ability to attain any goal.

Go for it!
Copyright 2009 Rebecca Booth
Marketing Goddess
Imagine That!
419.855.3399
Celebrating 10 years of delivering results for our clients.
http://www.rebeccaboothmarketinggoddess.com/
http://www.marketinginabox.biz/

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Awakened Entrepreneurs Cultivate Enthusiasm for Their Work.

“I have found enthusiasm for work to be the most priceless ingredient in any recipe for success.” ~ Samuel Goldwyn
Those words are so true, aren’t they? It’s difficult to act enthusiastically when your energy is low. Neither can you muster up much creativity. In fact, studies indicate that when your morale is low day after day, the creative part of your brain becomes thinner and when you are excited and positive, the creative part of your brain becomes thicker. So your ability to think creatively is directly tied to your energy level.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll discuss some of the ways to keep your enthusiasm for your work high.
One way to have more enthusiasm is to participate in activities that produce morale lifting endorphins, such as exercise. Start your day with vigorous exercise which will cause the body to produce endorphins and you’ll feel better all day long. Or, if you feel your enthusiasm waning as the day goes on, spend 20 minutes exercising, and you’ll return to your desk ready to press on.

Copyright 2009 Pat Altvater
Transforming Bodies and Minds
http://www.outsmartweight.com/
http://www.transformationsinstitute.com/
http://www.ignitethepowerwithinbook.com/
419-344-6613
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Dear MMM Readers,

As someone that relies completely on word-of-mouth to build my businesses, I’ve found The 29% Solution, written by leading referral marketing expert Dr. Ivan Misner, to be instrumental in my success. He offers 52 weekly networking success strategies (one per week) and specific actions to take to experience success through focused, purposeful networking efforts. I look forward to sharing them with you in the coming weeks.

WEEK 9: Meet the Right People

“Master networkers know that a good contact isn’t necessarily a good connection. One of the most important things we’ve learned is that it’s not what you know, or even who you know – it’s how well you know them and how well they know you that really counts in building a powerful network.”

“A contact is someone you know, but with whom you haven’t fully established a strong relationship. A connection is someone who knows you, likes you and trusts you because you’ve taken the time to establish credibility with [them].”

I can’t tell you how many networking events I’ve attended over the last 20 years. Without exception, there are always two main groups of people you can easily recognize. One group is enjoying, or finds comfort in, the food and drinks. The other group is there shaking hands, kissing babies and collecting as many business cards as possible from their new contacts hoping to find that one special person that will become their next client.

One of your main goals should be to meet the right people. Quick note: I’m not saying that there are “wrong” people; simply people that are better suited than others to help you build your business. How do you know who the right people are?

TAKE ACTION this week to identify them:

1. Identify 5 professions (other than your own) that serve your preferred clients. Those are the folks you want to meet when you’re out and about.
2. Identify 2 specific business goals and then identify the specific people you can seek out to help you accomplish each goal.
3. Identify 3 associations and organizations you can ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in to meet and develop relationships with the right people.

Unless and until you can take all of those business cards to your local bank and cash them in, it’s probably not in your best interest to become a card collector. Instead, you should attend networking events with purpose…the purpose of connecting with the right people.

Paula Frazier is a referral marketing trainer, consultant and keynote speaker. She is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Paula’s business networking articles have been published internationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion – Busting Networkings Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a twist! Paula can be contacted at paula@referralinstitute-va.com.


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Have a profitable week.

Linda Fayerweather, Editor
Changing Lanes LLC