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Recent posts:
- Good customer service is so simple. Why is small business so bad at it?
- Distinctive Or Different. Which Is Best?
- Has Web 2.0 killed humility?
- Want dollars in the till? Start marketing.
- The Cost of Keeping Your Staff
- Creating relationships in quiet times
- Marketing the 21st Century way
- Don't buy into recession
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Small Business Blog
Good customer service is so simple. Why is small business so bad at it?
Laurence Harrould - Thursday, July 14, 2011
Recently, I purchased something which I then decided was incorrect and wanted to return. I hadn't opened the box, removed the price sticker or anything. It was in EXACTLY the same condition as when I'd taken it out of the store. When I tried to return it I had such an unpleasant experience that I left feeling angry and wanting to start sending out tweets and blogging about how bad this company was and how people should avoid dealing with them. After I calmed down I decided it wasn't worth it.
However, it did get me thinking about my experiences as a customer. Whenever I've dealt with large corporates, whether banks, telcos and others I've found their customer service to be polite and attempting to be helpful. Mostly they've been able to address my issues. Yes it did take a fair bit of time and repeating the same request a number of times until I got to the "right" department or person but I usually felt I'd been heard and had an answer to my issue even if the answer was "no".
Dealing with small business has lately been a different story. Often, you can't get through to anyone at all, multiple phone calls leaving messages, emails, SMSs go unanswered and I'm left angry, frustrated and wanting to tell everyone what a pain this crowd is to deal with. In this day of instant global communication and viral marketing that can be really bad news for a business.
So what should a small business do? Firstly, respond to emails and messages. Return calls. Listen to the client. Even if you can't do what they're asking simply taking the time and paying attention will have them feeling heard and acknowledged.
Anthony Robbins talks about the six human needs: Certainty, Variety, Connection, Contribution, Growth, Significance. While we may not be able to meet all these needs if we aim to cover as many as possible in our interactions we'll be way ahead.
Small business people are very busy. They usually have many roles to fulfill. You don't need to be available 24/7. However, if someone leaves a message, respond. If they send an email - reply even if it's to say "I can't give you an answer right now but will get back to you within x days, hours, weeks" - whatever you need to do the job. And then fulfill your commitment.
If you have a restaurant, coffee shop, store etc don't leave customers standing around. There have been a few times recently where I've been wondering if I've discovered an invisibility cloak and hadn't realised it. It doesn't cost anything to be polite and helpful but it costs a heap if you're not.
Distinctive Or Different. Which Is Best?
Laurence Harrould - Wednesday, May 05, 2010
If you’ve ever wanted to stand out from the crowd and create a competitive edge 
no doubt a well-meaning advisor may have said ‘be different!’ Whilst this may be useful advice for some, in terms of reputation branding, it’s not necessarily a smart strategy to follow.
Novelty and innovation can set you apart, attract attention and make you memorable – for a time. The downside of this is that being different and straying too far from the accepted norm can raise doubts in the minds of those you most want to influence.
Being different is risky. Being distinctive, on the other hand, can make you memorable for all the right reasons, help differentiate yourself from your competitors and enhance your competitive edge if whatever it is that makes you distinctive is viewed positively. If the distinction is not viewed positively, it can leave you being perceived as odd, strange or risky. Inappropriate differentiation can raise doubts that can be hard to overcome.
So how can you create a positively distinctive edge without being riskily different?
Of course, being distinctive attracts attention. Be prepared for others to copy you. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but to remain distinctive ongoing effort is required and a willingness to push the boundaries within acceptable levels.
Copyright Hannah Samuel. Originally published in Reputationz Newsletter May 2010 by Hannah Samuel, The Reputation Champion. www.hannahsamuel.com
Laurence Harrould - Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I recently received the following newsletter from Hugh Guyton (Just a Conversation). It got me thinking about the impact of the web especially social media. We have Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing and so many more its impossible to keep up. The point of all these "tools" is ultimately self promotion - it's a way to tell the world about who I am and what I'm doing.
Now that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, are we becoming so self obsessed that we're turning into the lady at the dinner party - see Hugh's article below? Is the web providing a global forum for FIG JAM's (F..k I'm Great Just Ask Me)? Is it possible to survive today without ASKING people to become a fan of your Facebook page?
What do you think?
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Hugh's Newsletter.
The other day I was driving numerous children around, and their conversation was basically big noting themselves. "I've got more toys than you; a bigger house; I'm taller, I'm faster" etc. It was really irritating. Initially I turned the radio up in an attempt to drown out the verbal sparring but that simply meant they shouted at each other.
So I turned off the radio, took a deep breath and, in a possibly overly strong voice, asked "How do you think that type of talk might make the other one feel? Are you trying to make each other feel sad?" Silence. I rarely shout at the kids, I think they were in shock. We continued our journey home in silence.
That night, whilst trying to wind down from having quality time with my children, I joined my wife who had started watching a cooking program called "Come dine with me." The concept of the program is that a group of five people take turns to host a three-course dinner party. At the end of each evening the guests vote on how the evening went. In this particular episode, the hostess was determined that her guests would think she was better than anyone else. She bought ridiculously expensive wine (my wine's better than yours) and went to extreme lengths in the kitchen to show them just how talented she was (I'm a better cook than you).
This meant (sadly) that she rarely had time to sit and just be with her guests. As the wine flowed between the guests, she became more and more remote from them. When she did finally sit down, in desperation to win their approval, she ended up making ridiculous interjections into the conversation like "Don't you think my table settings are beautiful?" which was greeted by much giggling from her rather inebriated guests. This show further demonstrated to me that when one person attempts to be seen as better than the other, the very opposite can occur. Oh, and that adults can be as childish as kids.
So the question is: Should you be trying to view yourself as better in the first place? Good conversation comes from balance, viewing yourself as equal to those around you. Thinking you are superior or indeed inferior to the person you are talking to, will upset the balance of the conversation and your message is lost. Think about the conversations you are having at the moment, are they balanced?
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For more about Hugh and Just a Conversation go to www.justaconversation.com
Want dollars in the till? Start marketing.
Laurence Harrould - Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Firstly, marketing is the ONLY activity a business can undertake that will result in ‘dollars in the till’. It’s vitally important that we don’t confuse marketing with selling, the skills are similar, but ARE NOT the same.
Selling ONLY OCCURS when a sales opportunity is converted into a sale, this opportunity can come either from a new prospect or a new opportunity to an existing client.
Either way, marketing is involved in order to CREATE THE OPPORTUNITY, or if you will, generate the lead. You see, marketing can be used to both acquire new customers or retain existing ones and the tactics involved usually differ.
ACQUISITION MARKETING is typically broad brush, scatter gun ‘above the line’ advertising, obviously to a selected target audience but still designed to cover a lot of ground. It can measured in the usual ways, “where did you hear about us” type questions or bring in or mention this coupon etc. Google now allows us far better analysis but is still quite broad in its reach and is predominately an acquisition tool.
RETENTION MARKETING on the other hand is all about increasing the frequency of purchase or adding new or different products/services to existing clients who already know us. You know the client and they know you and must use this intelligence to PREDICT future needs and your marketing activity is single shot rifle aimed right at the heart of the client. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A ‘ONE SIZE FITS ALL’ RETENTION STRATEGY!!!
Clearly your company and by association your brand must stand for something positive in the customer’s intellectual and emotional quotient, being a me too is not good enough and spurious claims of service or price or warranty can be claimed by everyone of your competitors. You must take the time to build your brand to a recognition point that exudes trust and you won’t get that solely from a sales/marketing funnel, it comes from hard work and dedication to your customer.
In conclusion, you have to have a BRAND in order to identify yourself and it is up to you to CREATE YOUR BRAND.
From Jack Fraenkel www.motivatories.com.au
The Cost of Keeping Your Staff
Laurence Harrould - Friday, March 05, 2010
For many businesses staff costs are the biggest expense they have. If you’re a business owner check your P&L to see what proportion of your outgoings are directly or indirectly staff-related. I suspect you’ll find you spend a considerable amount on the maintenance and upkeep of equipment but how much are you spending on the maintenance of your most important asset, your people?
Consider the situation of someone leaving. We’re assuming this is a good employee who has the right attitude, is loyal, honest and committed as well as having the perfect skill set for your business. What happens when they leave?
Firstly, you need to find a replacement. This is costly both in time and money. Should you decide to do the recruiting exercise yourself you’ll need to learn how to write and place ads in various media outlets; newspapers, Seek, magazines etc. Then you’ll probably receive hundreds of resumes, often many pages long. You’ll need to spend time going through all these applications to narrow them down to an initial short list. Then there’s the interview process, reference checking, skills testing and the list goes on. Do you have the time for this?
Alternatively, you may opt to employ the services of a recruitment consultant. This takes away many of the tasks listed above but you’ll still need to interview at least 3 or 4 candidates. Your recruiter can assist with this process to ensure the best possible fit - ultimately though it has to be your choice.
Once this person starts, how long will it be before they’re up and running effectively? It often takes months or even years to have people operating at the level you’d like. Part of this process may include the need for skills training for which there are additional costs.
As well as these costs in time and money the other issue is the loss of “corporate” knowledge when an employee leaves. They know your customers and in a business where relationships are critical (and isn’t that all of them?) these connections are lost.
What’s your staff attrition rate? How often do you need to replace your employees?
As you can see it’s a much better business decision to retain your staff rather than replace them. One of the big mistakes business owners make is thinking this involves paying more, often it doesn’t. What it does involve is an understanding of what motivates people to stay. This is especially important if you’re employing GenY staff.
Aviel provides training and support for business owners and managers in the tools and techniques to ensure good employees are kept for as long as possible. Contact us (click here to email or phone 02 8282 5295) to find out how we can help you reduce your staff attrition rate.
Creating relationships in quiet times
Danita Needleman - Monday, February 16, 2009
Is it noticeably quieter for you at the moment? Given the amount of negativity around, it's not surprising that the phone may not be ringing as often as it did last year since many people are being more cautious. What will you do with the spare time this lack of activity has brought?
Continuing to foster and create relationships is paramount right now. Fostering great relationships through networking as well as with
suppliers, customers and anyone with whom you come in contact can all
contribute to your business and its growth. So, the more you can give of yourself, your knowledge and your friendship, the greater the quality of your relationships.
There are a number of low-cost activities which will keep you in front of people. Local networking groups for example are terrific ways to meet other small and larger business people and where you can start to forge new working relationships or business alliances.
Six touch points or contacts are apparently the key to forming a relationship. Regular attendance at these kinds of events provides the opportunity for this as you're repeatedly interacting with the same group of people as well as meeting newer members who join.
In this time of caution and limited funds for many, cold calling and more traditional marketing methods may not prove to be as successful. Your next big client maybe just as likely to come from an existing or newly-formed relationship. Now could well be the time to "start a conversation, not close a sale" (Kirsty Spraggon).
Marketing the 21st Century way
Danita Needleman - Tuesday, February 03, 2009
This week we've had the good fortune to meet with one of Australia's experts on social networking, Iggy Pintado (www.iggypintado.com). What a vast treasure of knowledge!
If you think sites like LinkedIn and Facebook are just for Gen X and Y people or for social purposes only, then Iggy is the man to speak to. (Just let him know the referral was through us!). His ability to use these as business tools is astounding and soon you too can be using these as no-cost marketing tools. Very handy in these times where people may be thinking of cutting costs and where marketing is often the target (just when it shouldn't be!).
Time for many of us to really get into the 21st century - have you reviewed your marketing strategy lately?
Danita Needleman - Monday, January 26, 2009
Want to have a great 2009?
Our suggestion is minimise reading newspapers and watching TV news
programs especially commercial TV! These sadly only propagate bad news
(for some reason good news doesn't sell!) and so if you're constantly
bombarded with negative messages, you'll buy into the terrible state of
the economy and convince yourself you won't have a good year.
OK, we're not suggesting becoming an ostrich with your head firmly
buried in the sand; of course we all need to know what's going on in
the world. A quick online check of a media website will give you the
gist without drowning in all the negativity.
In these challenging times, you need to work smarter and be more
intelligent. A positive 'can do' attitude is an imperative!! Spend
time with positive like-minded people who, just like you, want to have
a great year. Join an appropriate networking group perhaps and make
sure you look after yourself physically to stay mentally alert.
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