 |
 |
 |
           |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
What Do Your Clients REALLY Think of You?
********************************************* Know Thyself - Socrates ********************************************* I'd like to start this article with a test ? What do you get when you cross a Northern Canadian male, a 4x4 truck and heavy rain? You guessed it! ? Mud Bogging!!!! That is how I spent my morning. My husband's new truck was too shinny, so he felt he had to get it dirty again just so he could wash it for the fourth time this week. Of course, I won't say no to adventure so I hung up my leather coat and pulled out my bush jacket. Put away my fashion footwear and pulled on my rubber boots. Then we hit the trails! I bit my tongue, possibly dislocated a shoulder and lost my sunglasses, the whole time yelling, "Yahooooo!" We made it home in one piece but I think our mechanic is going to make some real easy money in the next couple of days. :0) What does this have to do with business you ask? It's called balance ? and if you don't have balance, work and business are a whole lot tougher and a lot less fun. This week I created a rather enlightening assignment for myself. My coach and I were discussing the importance of knowing what kind of an image we portray to the world. How we think others see us and how we are actually perceived may be worlds apart. Being a successful business owner, or achieving success in any endeavor, has a strong connection to how others regard us. Building a solid, successful business is highly dependent on the relationships we build with our clients and customers. You can provide a top quality product or service, but if a potential buyer does not feel comfortable with you or a sense of trust or caring on your part, it doesn't matter how good your product is. In order to measure how I was portraying myself to others, I created a questionnaire and distributed it via e-mail to my family members, friends, peer coaches, clients, and acquaintances. I asked for feedback from people I have known for only a few weeks, and some who have known me for years. I wanted to capture a good cross-section that would cover the many different relationships over varying time periods. I asked them to list for me the first five words or images that come to mind when they hear the name, Laurie Hayes. The results came quick and I received close to 90 different answers. Many answers were also the same and this greatly assisted me in determining what the top five images were. There was a tie for first place between "caring" and "funny." Actually, I collected, "humorous," "funny," "very funny" and "funny as hell!" This gave me great peace of mind knowing that if some day I decide to abandon entrepreneurship, I can always join the circus! ;-) This exercise was wonderful in that it demonstrated I am on track with my purpose. My goal is to move others to where they want to be by providing support and inspiring action while keeping it fun. And through the feedback received, I know I am on course. This was a great (and very important) exercise. How many businesses have failed because owners have failed to solicit feedback? Often times, people will not tell you where you are falling short. And if they do, are you listening to them? Instead of sharing their thoughts, some may let the friendship fade, find a new supplier, or even though they continue to associate with you, not recommend you to anyone else although they have ample opportunity. It is very important to ask for feedback so you can measure your position. If you want to portray a certain image, ask for others' opinions. This will help you know if you're accomplishing what you set out to or to the degree that you could be. You must let those you ask know that absolute honesty is desired and that you respect their input and candor. You should also be willing to accept what is presented. If you don't like some responses or if you disagree with them, look at the math. If several people have indicated, "uninterested," take this seriously. Do not allow your judgment to step in and decide that they are wrong. Think about what role you play in creating this feeling for them, and then decide what you will do about it. If this response has been generated by several of those questioned, how many others may not have felt comfortable enough to offer you the same feedback even though they share it? How do you think you portray yourself to others? How are you really portraying yourself? Measure and remain open to the results. If you want to achieve success, you need strong, healthy relationships and you play a pivotal role in creating and maintaining them. As a Life Strategy/Small Business Coach, Laurie works with small and home-based business owners who face the distinct challenges presented to small business. She is the author of numerous articles and a bi-weekly newsletter, "The Heart of Living." To subscribe to her free newsletter and learn more about coaching, visit http://www.wheretheheartis-lifecoaching.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Aint We Wonderful! It may come as a surprise to you to discover that customers don't buy your products or services because they feel that you have a right to make a profit. In other words, their motive for doing business with you is not to help you buy the latest Jaguar or put your children through college. Client Service as a Competitive Advantage As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusing how people answer the questions I pose.For example, if I ask people, "What is your unique differentiation in the marketplace?" or "What does your organization really excel at?" They will almost always reply, "It has to be our client service. Customer Service Consultants When all else fails in your company to meet the needs of your customer consider a customer service consultant. If you find that agents in your company are constantly having misunderstanding that result in loss of customers bring in a consultant. Accountability The Call Center world is an intense pressure-driven environment continually being shaped by pressure to ensure steady profitability and a secure competitive advantage.Accountability and a basic fundamental understanding of Performance Management serve as two of the most power tools a Call Center manager has at his/her disposal. Setting Up a Customer of the Week Program for a Mobile Car Wash In a mobile detail or mobile car wash business you are on a first name basis with your customers. You sink or swim with your ability to please your customer and rely on them to build your business by referring their friends, associates and neighbors. Stellar Customer Service in 10 Simple Steps If you're like me, you've had plenty of experience with BAD customer service. Just think about the last time you had a bad experience with a product or a service. Establishing Yourself as an Expert in the Eyes of Your Customers The most important aspect of a successful business is developing the correct mindset toward your customers. And this is not the over used phrase The customer is always right. Post Office, Incredible Lady Postmaster There are two Post Offices that I routinely visit. One is the office that delivers my mail and the other is frequently on the path of some daily errands. It Is All About Customer Service! In this day of terrible customer service, it should come as no surprise that serving your customers, also known as visitors to your web site, must be a top priority. Forget about return on your investment, how your site looks, keywords, meta tags, and the like. Whats The Customer Service Buzz About Your Business? If you're a regular reader of my column you know that my number one pet peeve is bad customer service. Nothing chaps my backside more than paying hard-earned money for a product or service only to have the provider of said product or service become apathetic, obnoxious or just downright rude after the transactional smoke has cleared. How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I just include the total of the past due balance on his next bill or contact him first to let him know that it's coming? This client has been difficult in the past, so I'd rather not deal with him until I absolutely have to. Listening to Customers - 5 Tips In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers.Susan Rice, CEO of Lloyds TSB makes it clear how vital it is for great leaders to listen and hear. Customer Satisfaction Is Your Business Regardless of what business you are in - you are really in the business of satisfying customers. The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business. Dont Forget your Existing Clients Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the billsAcquisition. It's a big word in small business marketing. Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In today's competitive world of business, it is becoming more and more important to deliver customer service that is unbeatable. Why Passenger Surveys are a Transport Operators Best Friend Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service. What Every Employee Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc. Poor Customer Service - Are Your Customers Driving Away Other Customers Every customer you have is a word-of-mouth advertiser for you. Unfortunately 90% of this free advertising is negative. How to Keep Customers Who was it that said - "The customer is always right"? Well for those of you who can't get through the day without knowing, it was H Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges's department store in London.The question I want answered is; did he ever work with customers on day-to-day basis and if so, was he some kind of saint?Let's face it; customers can be a real pain in the neck. Attitude of Service When conducting a training session about customer service, I always spend a fair amount of time talking about attitudes. After all, to be of service, you must develop an attitude of service.
|
 |