‘The Social Contract’ – A Great Free ebook!

Came across a great ebook today from The Social Customer. It’s called ‘The Social Contract: Customers, Companies, Communities, Conversations in the Age of the Collaborative Relationship’. There’s some brilliant stuff from some of the leading lights in the social media world, including ‘experts’ and practitioners – people who are ‘making it happen’.

It’s free, but you will need to register – I can assure you it’s well worth your time doing so.

Dramatically Different Oranges!

So many people say to me that it’s difficult to be ‘Dramatically Different’ in their sector, and I agree it’s not always easy.

In fact, if it was, then everyone would be doing it and you’d be back to ’square one’!

Anyway, just to show you that there are lots of ways of ‘3D’ thinking, and the fact that it’s friday, I thought I’d share this with you – heart shaped oranges which are on sale in a department store in Seoul!

Not sure what it tells us really, but I’d argue that if you can be ‘Dramatically Different’ in orange production, then there’s hope for everyone!

The Changing Face of Customer Service – Then and Now

Here’s my first ever ‘guest post’! It’s from Brenda Harris of  Executive MBA Programs. She’s from Houston, Texas, so welcome Brenda! (Incidentally, if anyone else would like to contribute something ‘topical’, please don’t hesitate to do so). Anyway, here goes…. over to Brenda:

There are some things that don’t change down the ages when it comes to customer service, like the fact that the customer is king. But then, there are many others that change with each passing year or even month, and this is why customer service as most of us remember it a few years ago has undergone a sea change. While there are many factors that have contributed to this change, we cannot deny the fact that it is mostly due to the way we access and share information today – in other words, the World Wide Web. 

Then – It was a time when organizations did have policies in place for customer service and tried to satisfy their customers as best as they could. But then, they were not too worried about the repercussions that the actions and words of a few unsatisfied customers could bring about.

Now – Any organization that is worried about its reputation cannot afford to take even a single customer for granted, not with the viral nature of social networks and the far-reaching tentacles of the Internet. If you have one unsatisfied customer, you can bet your last dollar that they are going to shout out your misdeeds or lack of concern for the customer from the highest rooftop in their loudest voice (or in Internet parlance, post adverse comments on popular forums or start hate groups on social networks like Facebook and Twitter which spread faster than wildfire because people are always tuned in to these communication channels.

Example: The Southwest Airlines was recently in the eye of a storm involving a plus sized customer who created a hue and cry on Twitter following the airline not allowing him to travel on their aircraft because he was overweight and did not fit comfortably in one seat. Following the controversy, the airline had to issue an apology and offer the passenger a $100 refund before the angry voices on Twitter would subside.

Bottom line: At the end of the day, the fact is that the quality of customer service may or may not have changed, but organizations are being held accountable for their actions on a public arena, one where the customer is almost always right and the company is almost always the bad guy. It does not really matter that the organization has set policies in place and that this is how things have always been done; today, when the customer has a voice that’s loud and clear and a bright and visible platform to air their grievances, perceived or real. This means that companies have to be extremely careful of how they tread, or better yet, they must have a presence on the Internet too where they can address legitimate grievances and expose the fraudulent ones for what they really are. Comcast did this quite successfully when they got on Twitter to address the negative diatribe against them before it got out of hand, so there’s no reason why others cannot adopt the same strategy to address the customer service needs of today.

 

This guest post is contributed by Brenda Harris, who writes on the topic of executive mba programs . She can be reached at her email id: brenda.harris91@gmail.com .

Are You Human?

‘Your call may be recorded for quality control and training purposes’. Have you ever heard that? It’s one of those phrases that’s been around for years – you’d think by now that they’d have got the training right!  It can be worse – ‘your call is important to us’, then why are you keeping me waiting so long?

Of course, people are busy, of course we have to wait on phones sometimes, I completely understand that – that’s the real world. 

Wouldn’t be brilliant if a call centre said  ’sorry we’re tied up, leave us your number and a message and we’ll get back to you’, just like a human being would. ‘Humanising’ businesses is a great way to ‘delight customers’ and create real competitive advantage.

How ‘human’ is your business?

Have A ‘Delightful’ Christmas!

Well, that’s the desk tidied (not!), the office neatly organised (not!), and all the outstanding things ’sorted’ (not!).

Still, as you’ll see, I did manage to get the Christmas tree up and decorated!

It’s now time to sort out those  few last – minute presents!

Back to work in January, but because of the wonders of modern technology, no doubt, I’ll get the ‘odd’ blog post up here in between all those mince pies!

Just a quick note to say hope you have a ‘delightful‘ and wonderful Christmas and a brilliant New Year!

It’s been a great year – thanks for all your support in 2009!

Here’s to a fantastic and successful 2010 for all of us!

A Dramatically Different Gift Voucher 2

It probably seemed ‘really edgy’ when the divorce lawyers Lloyd Platt and Co came up with the idea of their ‘divorce vouchers’ for Christmas. It’s in the news today on the Lawyer Website.

I ‘praised’ B&Q for their ‘personalised’ voucher recently, because I think they got it right – I don’t think these guys have. Both examples do ‘Demonstrate a Dramatic Difference’ - one does it positively, the other does not.

Apparently, they’ve quoted a client saying they’ve played a ‘blinder’ (oh, very ’street cred’!). The only ‘blinder’ I see is their inability to see that a such a cheap gimmick undermines their reputation, professionalism, and possibly that of others in the profession too. I’m all for ‘professionals’ showing their ‘personal side’, in fact, I think it’s a significant influencer on how people choose their ‘advisors’, but not sure this says anything ‘positive’ about them.

Interestingly, I went on their website, and a couple of things I noticed:

Their most recent ‘Stop Press’ news was from July and the one before that, was June 2007, so maybe they’re in desperate need of some ‘publicity’!

Secondly, the website has a section for ‘The Team’. It’s headed up by a nice picture of ‘proprietor’ Vanessa and explains that they ‘represent many celebrities in the world of television, radio and entertainment as well as Judges and MPs.’   It adds that ‘The firm also represents men and women from all walks of life’ which is reassuring to know to us ‘mere mortals’!

Then comes ‘The Team’ with 5 members in it. And then, and I suggest this might say something about the business, comes a bunch of people under the heading, ‘Rest Of The Team’!

Q: “So, what do you do?”

A: “Oh, I’m a key player in ’the rest of the team”

I might have got them wrong, but you can only go on what you see. Anyone who ‘encourages’ people to use their ’divorce vouchers’ probably doesn’t need people like me to point out these sort of things to anyone.

And, that Your Honour is the case for the prosecution!

And Now For Something ‘Wheely Different’!

I’m speaking at a wheely interesting event in Sheffield next week. It takes place on the Sheffield Wheel (yes, we do have a ‘Sheffield Wheel’!) on Friday 20th November. The event is for local entrepreneurs wanting to get off the ‘merry go round’ of running a business for a short while and are looking for ideas to improve and differentiate their business. 

There’s a chance to get some amazing views of our fine city and all its highlights (yes, you can see Bramall Lane from it), and to mix in ‘new circles’ network with like minded entrepreneurs. 

For more details, have a look here.

Are You Dealing With Your ‘Little Ones’?

Here are two lovely examples of  ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ business cards (courtesy of the Holy Kaw website). Obviously, I’ve no experience of the latter’s services (honest), but they do ’stand out’ and suggest a forward thinking approach.

We all know that your logo isn’t your brand and your business card is not generally the thing on which buying decisions are made.

However, it can, and does, contribute to the overall ‘customer experience’ – and generally, because it tends to be given at the beginning of the ‘experience’ can make an impact (and raise expectations).

It’s a great example of the ‘little things’ that can make a difference. As ever, it’s worth pointing out that everything that your customer (or prospective customer) experiences can do one of three things:

1. - Positively reinforce your brand
2. - Negatively reinforce your brand
3. - Be ‘neutral’ – Does nothing

The challenge for us all is that as a minimum, we need to eliminate all the ‘negatives’ and then work on ways to create more ‘positives’, no matter how small.

Remember, lots of those little ‘positives’ can all add up and create that ‘1+1+1=10′ impact!

Where are your little ‘1’s?

What can you do to make them ‘add up’?

Entrepreneurs’ Forum Property Portfolio Panel Event

 

Andy has been asked to facilitate a refreshing and upbeat panel event which will examine the current property climate – a topical issue affecting many of us today. Three of the North East’s most distinguished property entrepreneurs will share their knowledge, experiences and stories with you.

Click here for more info

Dial A Human!

Just a quick one – a follow up to the ‘how easy are you to buy from?’ post below.  There’s always a way! Well, people will always find one!

I love this website: Dial A Human! is a simple list of companies and highlights the steps you need to take to cut through the automated phone response and talk to a real human being! Anyone can (and does) add their tips to help others. Brilliant!

Quick update…….Further investigation has identified one here in the UK too – Get Human does the same thing! Fantastic.

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