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Hey there everybody! Welcome to podcast #86! It’s an essential part of any business, so today we are talking about great customer service.
What did Andrew McCauley and Heather Porter learn this week?
Andrew learnt of a bill recently passed by the California State Government to prevent businesses from taking legal action against customers who write negative reviews. Businesses had been fining customers for negative reviews on sites like Yelp and there were some crazy stories, such as a hotel which told a wedding party they would fine them $500 for any negative review written by a guest.
Heather noticed that for videos that are uploaded directly to Facebook, a stats bar has just shown up underneath so you can see how many plays your video has had. Video views on Facebook are huge now, just make sure that you are uploading directly to Facebook rather than from YouTube as the preference for Facebook views is in keeping people on their platform.
Great Customer Service
Why do people wait for so long for the latest Apple product? Is it the best in the world? Probably not always but one thing they do very well (apart from their brand story) is their customer service. Their tribes are built because they provide amazing service.
We have chosen four points to take into consideration for great customer service…
1. Random gifts
There’s a story from Gary Veynerchuck where he was working in his parent’s wine business. He found a customer who had purchased a $15 bottle of wine and looked the guy up online. From his Twitter feed he found that the guy was a huge fan of a certain sports team. Gary sent him a team jersey as a surprise and the guy was so shocked to receive it! Afterwards, imagine what an evangelist that customer became for the wine business…
The moral of the story is that if you actually take the time to get to know your customer, you can really do something that is special for them rather than sending out a blanket company gift.
2. Handwritten Cards
We are in such a digital age today so handwritten cards are actually rare! It’s a great way to stand out too as hardly anyone is sending them anymore. If you do this as a thank you to your customers or staff, it really helps to make them feel appreciated.
3. Polls or Feedback
What can you find out from your customers to bring better customer service? You could use a survey site or poll, or you could use written feedback forms if appropriate. Just make sure you’re asking the right questions! We’ve seen some terrible feedback forms that look as though they are designed to protect the confidence of the speaker/event holder. We also suggest that if you’re doing a live event you work time into it to have people fill out the form.
4. Listening!
We have examples where just listening to a person helps them to go from rage, back to a reasonable conversation. Advice from Heather’s Dad who managed 800 personnel in a large company was that he did that by becoming a master at listening. Often if an upset person came into his office, he would just listen to them and eventually they would work out the problem themselves…
What could you use in your business? Is there anything that has worked well for you? Please share below!