Good customer service requires rethinking and, in some cases, slowing down fulfillment and delivery. Yes, s-l-o-w down. Here’s why: Once people get accustomed to a standard—say two-hour grocery delivery—they will be disappointed and frustrated more readily when delays occur. Amazon’s same-day and one-day free Prime fulfillment and delivery options are a perfect case in point. […]
Thought leadership is ever-present. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle provided enduring thought leadership when he uttered, “Moderation in all things.” While upsides to well-conceived thought leadership include brand-building, increased profits and the feeling of satisfaction and empowerment that comes with helping build a better world through “expert advice,” there can be downsides as well. It’s kinda […]
A recent New York Times article describes a decided priority shift in the corporation thought leadership arena, proclaiming, “Shareholder Value Is No Longer Everything, Top C.E.O.s Say…Chief executives from the Business Roundtable, including the leaders of Apple and JPMorgan Chase, argued that companies must also invest in employees and deliver value to customers.” This will […]
Two-for-one is typically a great return on investment. Well-written, well-conceived thought leadership content—articles, blogposts, whitepapers, ebooks, presentations, videos and the like—offers value to customers/clients and readers/viewers/listeners, and can help the thought leader get more business. Here’s how it can serve dual purposes: Thought leadership, both addressing personal and professional topics, can help establish the author […]
A little extra bit of encouragement or support (or lack thereof) can make all the difference between a positive and negative experience—and a corresponding thumbs-up or thumbs-down review. When it comes to customer service, those little details can make or break a company. “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things […]
Legendary basketball player and coach John Wooden said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” When it comes to customer service, those little details can make or break a company. That little extra bit of encouragement or support (or lack thereof) can make all the difference between a positive […]
Companies accustomed to getting enough business from referrals, reviews and word-of-mouth supporting their solid customer service often forget to address the flip side of the coin. What am I leaving on the table by not marketing proactively? Larger companies such as Costco do just fine without a formal marketing department. The buzz about their legendary […]
Companies looking for ways to let the world know about their committed customer service are going back to the future to do it. Snail mail, once the junk repository for most, is now new and shiny again. Email has become the primary junk repository for most. And, while online advertising is now a powerful, influential […]
Six must-read posts on customer service. Customer service weak links can doom otherwise exceptional efforts to serve customers and other stakeholders. Identifying and remediating the weakest customer service links in your company can pay substantial dividends now and down the road. Companies unwilling or unable to examine potential weak links likely will discover the hard […]
Let your customers drive your marketing efforts. In turn, make your marketing reinforce all the good and valuable stuff people say about your company. My concept for this is “Marketing from the inside out.” I coined the phrase back in nineties to address the importance of making performance match promises. That performance applies to customer […]
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