Customer Service Tip #1 – Hug your customers!
May 3, 2010
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl
Recently, the ABN kicked off the Booked for Lunch Webinar series with bestselling author Seth Godin and his new book – Linchpin. In this book Seth outlines that linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organisations: they invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. More importantly, a linchpin loves their work and pour their best selves into it – they turn their work into art!
During the webinar, I spied a book on my shelf – ‘Hug Your Customers’ by Jack Mitchell. This is an excellent book that outlines the customer service that Mitchell/Richards use for developing long-lasting and loyal customer relationships.
Mitchell/Richards own exclusive menswear stores in Connecticut and achieve the world-best margins in retail and have had a customer retention rate of 99.12% for the past 32 years. Their service philosophy is simple and is based on ‘hugs’ – personal touches that impress and satisfy the customer.
Some of the personal touches used are:
- Remembering the name of your customer’s dog
- Calling a customer to make sure he’s satisfied after a purchase
- Having a “kids’ corner” with TV, books, and treats
- Knowing your customers golf handicap
- Introducing customers to business contacts
- Letting your customer use your office to make a personal phone call
Look closely at the Mitchell/Richards philosophy and you will see a great example of Linchpins – connecting with others, doing things differently and adding value to their customers
Any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues.
Let me share with you a little story that highlights just how rare linchpins and customer hugs really are.
Like most of you, I shop, buy and subscribe from a range of businesses all of whom collect personal data – date of birth is captured by just about everyone. A fortnight ago was my milestone birthday. How many of the 45 that have my details sent through birthday wishes? 3 – that’s it just 3. They were: Bigpond Movies, Rolling Stones and Mitchell/Richards (who I haven’t brought anything from since 2002).
Was it hard for these businesses to do it? NO. Their CRM tools have the data. So they’ve linked up an auto-email based on date to auto send. Every business can do this.
Does it carry PR value? YES – you’re reading about it.
Did it hurt the other companies? Not right now but I do look at them slightly more ‘oh-hum’ and they do not have my loyalty.
Did I feel ’special’ because of these emails? I sure did. The emails from the last two companies were so personally written it felt as if they were specially written for me. Major brownie points.
Any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues.
At a time when customer service is the difference between success and failure, it is worth every business owner stopping and thinking about how or what in your business can you change to bring about the art, make a connection and give your customers a hug!
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Julie Wise - The SilverOwl
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| Email: | julie@thesilverowl.com.au |
| Website: | www.thesilverowl.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/julie_wise |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/juliewise |
| Member Profile: | See Julie’s Member Profile |
Win, Lose or Synergise?
April 23, 2010
By Cat Matson, Alito
The news has been dominated of late with the Prime Minister’s discussions about health reform … or more accurately, with his attempts to ‘win-over’ the Premiers during heavy-duty negotiations.
Watching the commentary about these negotiations got me wondering … why does he think he needs to ‘negotiate’ a reform system that he obviously thinks is in the best interest of the country? Why is it not a discussion or facilitation or think-tank?
Unfortunately his approach reflects, I think, our adversarial approach to power – not only in federal and state politics, but also in business. As business owners, we often think we need to negotiate with our staff, and negotiate with our suppliers … and goodness knows, our customers and clients often think they need to negotiate with us to get the best deal.
The problem with this approach is it pits the parties against each other … in some kind of competition where someone will win, and someone will lose. Or, if you subscribe to the notion of win-win, where someone will win ‘more’ and the other party will win ‘less’.
What would happen in business if we stopped ‘negotiating’ and started ‘co-creating’?
- There’d be less conflict
- Entering into what is currently seen as ‘difficult’ conversations would be less stressful
- We might create solutions that we hadn’t considered before
- We might actually create something bigger, better, more effective or more enjoyable for everyone
- Synergy
Yes, I appreciate that such a utopian approach isn’t always possible … but I suspect it’s possible more often than we think. Business isn’t really about ‘us vs them’ (whoever the ‘us’ and ‘them’ are) – rather everyone is trying to do their best … to do their best.
If we stop thinking adversarially and start thinking collaboratively … wow, the possibilities are literally quite breathtaking.
Have you been thinking ‘us vs them’ in your business? What would happen if you shifted that thinking?
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Cat Matson - Alito
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| Phone: | 07 3289 7055 |
| Email: | cat@alito.com.au |
| Website: | www.alito.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/catmatson |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/AlitoFusion |
| LinkedIn: | www.linkedin.com/in/CatMatson |
| Blog: | www.alito.com.au/blog |
| Member Profile: | See Cat’s Member Profile |
Maintenance is the key to organised numbers
April 16, 2010
By Alycia Edgar, Coastal Accounting Services
In order to keep on top of your business paperwork, you need a system for keeping it organised all of the time; a maintenance program.
Maintenance must occur regularly, preferably weekly, regardless of who is doing it. Schedule a regular appointment with yourself (or your bookkeeper) to get it all sorted. Let’s say every Wednesday at 10am. Wednesday is selected because you have to pay employees anyway so you may as well do it all at once!
So what is required to maintain your paperwork?
1. Your paperwork needs a home before it’s entered into your accounting software. For this example we’ll assume that you enter all supplier invoices before being paid.
2. This means you need a home for:
a. Supplier invoices to be entered
b. Supplier invoices paid
c. Supplier statements
d. Customer invoicing information (if invoiced after the fact) OR
e. Daily register and EFTPOS receipts (for retail)
f. Bank statements
3. I have always found that manilla files work well for a, b, c and d above. Bank statements should be kept in your financials folder.
4. With daily register and EFTPOS receipts from a cash register (or POS) I recommend an envelope to keep them in one place. Just write the date on the top left hand corner. This can usually be kept near your register so that at the end of each week, that week’s envelopes can be transferred to your office after completing the reconciling process.
5. When Wednesday comes around take your manilla files and:
a. Enter your supplier invoices
b. Apply payments made to supplier invoices
c. Process customer invoices or cash register sales information
d. Reconcile bank and credit card statements
e. Make payments to suppliers – you should always have a day that you pay them
f. Pay your employees (if you have any)
6. Now, how does that feel? Great, doesn’t it? All sorted and empty manilla files! You do have to repeat the process next week but if you follow this method it is much easier to keep on top of your paperwork.
7. On a monthly basis you will need to check your supplier statements against your system. You will also need to reconcile your bank, loan and credit card accounts (this could be done weekly).
8. The maintenance program above will only work if you’re willing to commit to the process. If you’re not willing to do it then look around for someone to do this for you and get them to commit to this weekly process. Really be honest with yourself here – let’s face it, you can probably earn a lot more money doing what you do best than spending your time doing a job that a bookkeeper can do much quicker and probably much cheaper than your hourly rate.
Alycia Edgar will present the Managing Business Performance: Financial strategies for the growing business webinar on 21 April. Be sure to join us. Register here. Learn more.
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Alycia Edgar - Coastal Accounting Services
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| Phone: | 0403 983 529 |
| Email: | alycia@coastalaccounting.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/alyciaedgar |
| Blog: | www.numbersarelife.com |
| Member Profile: | See Alycia’s Member Profile |
10 Recruitment Tips for the Time Poor Manager
April 14, 2010
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
1. Know what you are looking for
Nothing can be a bigger waste of time than getting half way through the recruitment process only to realise you really aren’t sure exactly what you want and need from the person you are looking for. Knowing what you are looking for in the person and the role is vital to a successful, pain free recruitment process.
This may include:
- Reviewing what the previous incumbent was doing and assess whether changes are needed to improve efficiency and outcomes from the role.
- Discuss the role with the rest of the team, or the core leadership group. Getting their feedback and commitment to the direction of the role at the outset ensures everyone is on the same page.
2. Write a great PD
Having a through, accurate and detailed Position Description (PD) before you start recruiting goes one step further to knowing exactly what you are looking for. Your position description helps you clarify the parameters for the role and determine the qualifications, skills and experience which are essential and desirable from the successful new incumbent.
3. Write the right ad
One of the key reasons clients come to us to seek assistance in the recruitment process is because they simply don’t have time to wade through the seemingly endless number of applications they receive. Writing an ad that attracts the right sort of candidates, and lets readers know what are the essential components for the role will save you time by ensuring your applicant pool is generally better suited to what you are looking for. To get the best people for your role you will need to sell the role, and the company to the reader, and make it clear what you are seeking in regards to their skills, experience and qualifications.
4. Act fast
The best applicants tend to be the quickest to find new work, so if you take weeks to go through your ad response, chances are you will lose the best candidate for your position.
5. Know your screening criteria
Before you start looking at any applications or resumes, set your criteria by which you will screen all applications. To do this, decide what are the most vital – non negotiable – criteria for the role. Then have a secondary list of desirable criteria, things that you would like the applicant to have, but which are non essential.
When you start screening quickly look over the resumes, those that meet all of your essential criteria plus some or all of your desirable criteria place in a ‘yes’ file or folder, those who meet most of the essential and none or some of the desirable place in a ‘maybe’ file or folder, and those that don’t meet the essential criteria go in a ‘no thanks’ file or folder.
6. Schedule Your Time
If you go through each application as it hits your inbox you will feel like you are constantly reading resumes and that it is taking up all of your time. Schedule time in your day and week to complete the screening and assessing process and stick to this time.
7. Conduct Structured Interviews
By conducting interviews where there are a number of questions which are set and asked standard to all applicants you will have a common set of responses by which to assess and compare them by after the interviews. You should also allow time for free talk, discussion and questions within each interview to help you understand those non tangible factors such as team fit and personality style. Set a timeframe for your interviews and stick to it, one hour per interview is ample.
8. Reflect on your interviews straight after each one
Immediately after each interview, review the respondent’s answers and reflect on your first impressions. A great way to do this is to have a standard form which you can use after each interview, this way when you get to the decision making you won’t waste time trying to remember who was who.
9. Seek help from experts
The single best way to save time recruiting is to get someone else to help. Engaging the services of a skilled, experienced and knowledgeable recruiter will save you time, stress and ultimately money.
10. Share the decision
Being the sole decision maker in a recruitment process can sometimes be difficult as you spend time thinking over your decision trying to make the right choice. By sharing the decision making process with other team members, managers or even external advisors cuts the time spent doubting yourself and ensures your decision are the best one for you and your team.
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Kristy-Lee Johnston - Footprint Recruitment
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| Phone: | 02 4367 5500 |
| Email: | kristy@footprintrecruitment.com.au |
| Website: | www.footprintrecruitment.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/footprintcc |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/footprintrecruitment |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/kristyleejohnston |
| Member Profile: | See Kristy’s Member Profile |
5 Steps to Attention-Grabbing Business Cards
March 31, 2010
By Nerida Gill, AdminBandit
A business card is not much bigger than a Tim Tam, yet this humble slip of paper is your most important marketing tool.
Given that most people glance at your card for no more than a few seconds, it has to work mighty hard to communicate your brand, skills and ability to do a job.
So here are five steps to make potential clients look twice.
Design Counts
Cards printed at home or created using a generic online template sell your business short — they’re amateur and cater for one-size-fits-all, which means you’ll never stand out from the crowd.
So choose a graphic designer whose portfolio contains business cards that “speak” to you. Brief them on your desired brand and look, then trust them to come up with the goods.
Clear, clever and a stand-out in the crowd — graphic designer Carolyn Wilkinson’s business card ticks all the boxes for an attention-grabbing business card.
Double Your Space
What’s on the back of most business cards? Vacant space. Turn this into valuable real estate by giving potential clients reasons to remember you. Try:
- A product/service list
- Product shots
- Your tagline
- Relevant facts/information
- Special offers/incentives, or
- Industry recognition/awards.
Colour and Typeface
Colour and typeface carry emotional associations, which means your choices influence how people will perceive you and your business.
Ashleigh McIntyre’s article, “Colour Psychology for Business”, is an excellent starting point on colour, while Erik Spiekermann’s short documentary, Typomania, uses plenty of examples to explain typeface. Produced some 25 years ago for the BBC, it’s still spot on, although you’ll probably giggle at the famous typographer’s dinner suit and bow tie!
Reinvent Yourself
Business cards date, just like shag pile carpet and lime green kitchens … so review yours as your business grows and changes. Collect other cards that have “wow” factor and ask yourself why they appeal and if those elements might enhance your card.
Use Them
Even the most beautiful card is useless when left on your desk, so get yourself a business card holder, and keep it topped up and in the side pocket of your handbag (the last thing you want is to be scrabbling among lipstick and tissues for dog-eared cards).
And don’t be a business card scrooge … they’re cheap to print, so hand them out liberally, enclose them with invoices or deliveries, and arrange to leave a stack on the counters of complementary businesses.
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Nerida Gill - Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Is your slip showing? Ways to protect your mobile devices.
March 1, 2010
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl.
Laptops, mobile phones, iPhones, Blackberrys and USB drives can conveniently store data outside your work environment. But portability has a downside.
Devices are easily stolen and their data is valuable with many thieves admitting to stealing devices for the information stored on them.
Protect your device from damage
It goes without saying that one of the most common threats to mobile devices is physical damage. What happens if you drop your laptop, accidentally sit on it or spill that much-needed coffee over your iPhone? There is no fail-safe way to protect yourself against this risk, the important thing is take precautionary measures to avoid losing data if your device is damaged.
A couple of simple ways you can protect yourself include using a secure, encrypted USB flash memory drive to back up your data, the thought being your back up is on your person and separate from your laptop. Best of all is back up data to an online storage site so your data doesn’t go missing if your laptop is damaged.
Get smart when it comes to which data you carry.
Finders keepers
However, your greater risk is that your device will be lost or stolen. Your data is the most valuable and hard-to-replace thing about your device, make protecting your data the number one priority.
Some things to help with physical theft!
- Be smart. Don’t let your mobile device out of your sight. Don’t be showy with your equipment. Carry your gadgets and laptop as inconspicuously as possible.
- Label your property. Labeling reduces the value of the equipment, since it’s extra work for the thief to remove the labels. You can purchase devices that will imprint your logo onto the case of the device. (Check with the manufacturer before branding equipment.)
- Use security products. You can increase the physical security of your device by investing in a cable lock, beaconing software, lock boxes, or BIOS settings. Any of these can greatly improve physical security and deter theft. Even a password required at login helps.
- Complex passwords and encryption solutions make it difficult for your laptop to be “hacked” by criminals if it is stolen.
- Remote data protection so sensitive data can be wiped remotely if your device goes missing.
- Use the hard drive password setting on your laptop. It provides good security, but is also the most unforgiving if a password is lost. If you do set the hard drive password, store it in a safe place (which is not on the laptop or in the laptop case!).
Get smart when it comes to which data you carry.
Look at the data you have stored on your device and ask yourself whether you really need to have this sensitive data stored on the device, or whether you could remove certain aspects of it to be safer. Some questions to help you determine your real needs – whether you have sensitive data, and whether you really need to:
- Do you have old personnel files or employee evaluations that can be deleted?
- Have you collected ABN / TFN /ACN / Bank Account as identifiers?
- Do you have a file with credit card numbers from clients or users? OR even your own?
- Do you collect birthdates along with names for any reason?
- Did you answer “yes” to any of these? If you did, consider whether you have a legitimate business need for this information, and if you do, whether you really need to store this data on a mobile device:
- If you do have a legitimate business need for sensitive data on your mobile device, consider some ways you could make this data safer:
- Could you access it on a server versus storing it on the local hard drive?
- Could you remove elements of the data that render it harmless if it were to be unintentionally disclosed? (For example, TFN numbers by themselves pose no threat. However, if coupled with names in a file, they can prove to be injurious.)
- Could you encrypt the data?
- If you do have a legitimate business need for sensitive data on your mobile device, consider some ways you could make this data safer:
- Ensure you’re only carrying the data you think you are. It’s a good idea to look in your most frequently used folders, and your “Temp” folder, and purge any unneeded files, every week or two.
Ensure a secure Internet connection everywhere – including at home
Taking all the care in the world with the security of your mobile devices won’t matter if you connect them using low-security Internet connections such as public, unsecured wireless. Don’t sabotage your efforts to protect your property and sensitive data by making mistakes borne of ignorance or overconfidence.
- Use secure wireless. While using a public wireless networks at airports, bookstores, and coffee shops is convenient, it’s also one of the most dangerous things you can do with your mobile device. You’re just asking for someone to “shoulder surf,” steal your data, or your identity. Use only approved wireless access points. Ensure you only connect to wireless networks that you actively choose.
- Disable file and print sharing. You may not have this enabled, but in case you do, turn it off before going mobile. It allows other users to connect to your computer, something you may find desirable while in a work environment, but certainly not so while on the go.
- Disable your wireless Internet connection when not in use. When you’re not using it, having your wireless Internet on is just an added security risk. Many newer devices literally have an on/off “switch” for the wireless card.
Don’t get caught with your slip showing! Be prepared: better safe than sorry.
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Julie Wise - The SilverOwl
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| Email: | julie@thesilverowl.com.au |
| Website: | www.thesilverowl.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/julie_wise |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/juliewise |
| Member Profile: | See Julie’s Member Profile |
