Davinci Virtual

I went to the dentist yesterday, and let me say right now that I hate going to the dentist.  It all goes back to when I was a little girl.  I used to have this horrible dentist - a big mean man who had the worst breath ever - talk about poor advertising!  Anyway, I went to this new dentist today, and (big surprise) I actually had an enjoyable time. Not only was my dentist extremely gentle and friendly, but he went out of the way to actually educate me about what he was doing, and why things were happening in my mouth.  The entire staff was friendly and accommodating, and once I actually relaxed, I found myself enjoying their company.

The lesson to take away from this? The customer service this dental group provided in one visit, completely changed my outlook about their services.  Now I am actually looking forward to my next appointment, and I will be much more likely to recommend my friends and family to them.  To apply this lesson to your business, look at the services you provide to your customers, and ask yourself, how can I make their experience better?

All to often businesses focus on just getting the job done, instead of helping the customer become comfortable or enjoy their time spent with your brand.  Always remember, in times of hardship, great customer service is one of the best ways to maintain your current clients and grow your customer base.  So smile, and ask your customers “what can I do for you!”

We have all experienced it.  The worst customer you could imagine.  They are rude and almost uncontrollable, and make even the nicest business owner think that sometimes the customer is not always right.  Along my business’ growth, I have dealt with many “bad customers,” and hopefully you can learn something from my experiences.  Here are a few tips to help:

• Accept that the customer is not always right.  This is a hard concept for some to grasp, but you must be able to understand that some customers are not right for your business and you must let them go, especially if your business is suffering because of it.
• Pick out the “bad seeds” from your good customers.  Identify who your problem customers are.  This will help you understand who your customers are, and who truly appreciates your services.
• Once you understand who your bad customers are…Fire them.  Keeping bad customers just to maintain revenue is not beneficial to the company in the long run.  By getting rid of your “bad seeds,” you will be making room to plant the “good” ones.
• Target the right customers.  This may sound like a no-brainer, and I am sure no one intentionally targets the “wrong” customers, but it is important to fully understand who your ideal customer is, and then form a plan of action to specifically target them.
• Finally, Don’t be afraid to ask your customers what they want.  Today’s consumers are bursting at the seams to tell companies what they want.  All companies have to do is ask.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the leading small business association in the United States. In July of 2008 the NFIB polled small business owners to find out their what issues were causing them to losing sleep over at night. The top response was the sagging economy.

Pockets are tight across America right now, and everyone, from the large corporations to the small family run businesses, is feeling the effects of the past few months. There is one way that small businesses are able to stay afloat, however, and that is to continue providing quality products/services, excellent customer service, and communicating with their customers.

With budgets being tightened all across America, consumers are being especially wary of where they spend their money. Consumers are becoming frustrated with the cold indifferent attitude projected by many large corporations, and are looking to small businesses to provide the quality and communication they need.

Small businesses can take advantage of this movement by engaging their customers, and continuing to provide personal, quality service. Customer loyalty develops as customers build a relationship with a company or brand. The Harvard Business Journal reports that if you can prevent 5% of your customers from leaving you, you can increase your profit by 25 – 95%. More importantly, U.S. News and World Reports has found that 82% of customers leave one business and go to another because of a customer service issue.

The bottom line is that in this sink or swim economy we are facing right now, one of small businesses’ best lifeboats is providing quality products, services and customer service to you clientele. Your customers are one of the most important parts of your business. Take care them.

Virtual assistants and offices couldn’t help AIG. As I sat watching the hearing for the AIG executives, I listened to the report that they had taken a 400K+ vacation to a spa the week after AIG had been a part of a hugely expensive bailout. I sat in disbelief and realized, we needed a second post on customer service this week.

 Because the truth is, the quickest way to lose a customer is to leave them feeling used. Period. It is almost impossible to come back from, the unforgivable sin. It’s one thing to under-appreciate or even ignore a customer…that is certainly bad enough, but used? USED? That’s the end of the rope.

There are any number of reasons for people the world over to be mad during this time…but this is the worst of the worst. Essentially, we have a company that was brought back from the brink of collapse with taxpayer (read: customer) money, only to misspend it again.

And what we can learn from it is this: when a customer puts their trust in you, purchases your goods or services, if you provide a shoddy product, a cut the corners, make all we can, provide no value to the customer product, you are using your consumers. And while they may shop with you once, they will not return.

As an ethical business person, you must strive to find ways to create value, infuse your products with your hopes and passions. Never send anything out the front door that you wouldn’t buy yourself…or that you wouldn’t want your mother to buy.

And this is really the edge you have if you are an entrepreneur or small business. You have the chance to be very hands-on, making sure that your product is something that you will be very proud of, something that has an exceptional quality and a great story.

Think about ways that you might be about to cut corners in order to respond to the current budget challenges. Will your products/services suffer? If they will, you’d better think again.

Virtual Assistants are a boon in tough economic times. By creating a system of client cultivation, you can strengthen existing relationships and build new ones. This system combined with a bit of extra time from slower business growth create a perfect opportunity for you to really focus on customer service.

The key to a successful client cultivation system is combining automated responses with personalized responses. Sketch out a cultivation program and determine which components need to be directly handled by you and which ones can be managed by your virtual assistant.

Start by creating a list of existing customers, categorizing by new, established, spending amount, etc. Identify categories that will help you determine how much time to invest and what type of action should be taken.

Create a list of customer cultivation tactics that are easily achievable. Ideas include personal visits to top customers, personally taking care of customer concerns, starting a newsletter that features employee and clients in different capacities.

Attend community functions and fundraisers that support the communities where you do business. Showing that you are a vital presence and interested party helps build relationships and deepens your investment in your customer base.

Create a special mailing that focuses on the loyalty of your customers. Send a personal note to as many as you can, acknowledging a personal detail to show it isn’t automated.

Create a follow up call list for customers making purchases for the first time. Use this initial contact to start a strong foundation for ongoing business.

These are just some ideas, and there are many others…think creatively about how you can strengthen ties and give extra TLC to loyal customers…Putting energy into your client relationships is never an investment gone bad!