All Posts in Customer Service

|In: Customer Evangelism|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

A new study shatters the myth that, in retail stores, most shoppers do not like to be disturbed by Sales Associates. It also highlights the highly positive influence sales associates have on influencing shopper purchases. The cross-industry survey was released by Mindtree, a leading digital transformation and technology services company.

Many shoppers rely on interaction with sales associates to make purchasing decisions, especially in more complex product categories like consumer electronics, home improvement and others. When helped, it leads to significant increase in the amount of the shopper’s transaction, as well as in repeat purchases. Too often, shoppers can’t find sales associates when they have a question. This is a negative experience which leads to shoppers moving to either a different store or to an online channel.

Sales associates are aware that their influence leads to more sales conversions. However, their efforts are spread thin – they assist both serious shoppers and casual browsers, reducing their efficiency and conversion ratio.

Gaurav Johri, Senior Vice President and Head, Platforms & Solutions Group, Mindtree said

A key part of successful omni-channel retailing is all about delivering timely and helpful recommendations to shoppers that help them feel more confident in making a purchase. There is a huge untapped opportunity for retailers to increase conversions and enhance customer loyalty in the store.  Mindtree’s platforms, Flooresense and ShotClasses, are built to equip sales associates with real time capabilities to enhance in-store shopper experience and optimize sales time.

The purpose of the survey, which is titled, Impact of Sales associates on the Shopper’s Purchase Journey, and conducted by independent market research firm Grail Research, was to understand the role that sales associates play in the consumer shopping journey. The consumer sample included 600 qualified shoppers that made purchases of $100 or higher in the last 3 months. The sales associate sample included 100 employees from companies spanning five retail segments – home improvement, electronics and consumer goods, department stores, fashion retail, and specialty retail.

Key findings from the survey include

  • Shoppers who interact with a sales associate are 43 percent more likely to purchase a product, and their transactions have 81 percent more value, compared to those who don’t interact with an associate. In addition, they are 12 percent more likely to revisit the store.

  • Conversely, shoppers are less likely to make a purchase if they are not reached out to proactively by a sales associate. Forty percent of shoppers are unable to locate a store associate when they need help in a typical shopping trip.
  • Ninety one percent of sales associates strongly agree that positive interactions with shoppers result in higher conversions, yet 94 percent feel this requires more advanced technology tools and training that they currently don’t have access to.

The survey identified a gap that exists in terms of assistance provided in the store. Associates would like to have access to technologies that help identify shoppers in need of assistance, improving their productivity. However, few brands have capitalized on this need.

Companies should identify an automated technology platform that has the ability to

  • Notify sales associates to locate and target the right shopper once they have entered the store
  • Share recommendations on additional products based on product category
  • Provide timely training on new products and features

For more details of the study, please download the Detailed Report

|In: Customer Evangelism|Last Updated: | 4 Comments

Off late, I have been facing lot of issues with my Airtel DTH service & after repeated complaints there has been no actions taken by Airtel. The worst part is that every time when I call them, I have to repeat the entire Ramayan about the the issues that I am facing i.e. There was no one-point contact to look into my issue. The crux is that “Customer Service has become more important than before especially after the advent of Social Media where any information can spread like wild-fire !!!”. The end result was that “I finally gave up Airtel DTH”; as you might have rightly guessed the focus for this article is “Customer Service“…

Today, we have a guest article from Julie Robert who is a B2B wholesale trade & B2B marketing expert. She writes frequently on the topics related to UK Wholesalers & Wholesale supplies. She gives us some tips on how to maintain excellent customer service & how to convert your one-time customers into repeated customers.

It is an undeniable fact that no retail and wholesale trade can exist without customers. For a business’ success, it is important to work closely with your customers to make sure what you are offering to them is what they want and is according to their demand.

Increasing competition forces entrepreneurs to pay more attention towards a strong customer service that helps in bringing your customers closer to your business and satisfying them. Following are a few pointers that can make your customers feel valued and help you measure and manage customer satisfaction.

Focus on direct dealings

Direct dealing with customers is the most important yet the scariest and the most stressful experience for entrepreneurs, if they are not used to this. When you are working on a special project, you must meet your customers face to face to know their requirements and demands from your offers. The process gets easier with every meeting.

Be confident while meeting your customers and ask them what their needs are and what kind of solution they seek from you. The meeting over time makes it easy for you to propose a solution and close a deal.

Keep your customers well-informed

How annoying is it to wait for days to get a response for an important email or query? Customers do not understand that it is difficult for you to deal with a number of queries within a few hours so you have to manage to at least email or call them back to satisfy them that you have received their queries and you will contact them back with a solution as soon as possible.

Even if you are busy working on another project and cannot cater to a particular set of customers, you can assure them that their issue is in your knowledge and you are working on it.

Define customer service policy

Another annoying thing for customers is when they have any problem but do not know who to turn to. You are likely to lose a customer, if you pass him from person to person without solving his problem. To avoid any such situation, you must define a sound and a comprehensive customer service policy so that both your employees and customers know exactly what to do at each stage of inquiry.

Make sure your customer service policy is visible to your employees and your customers also have access to it so that both parties know what to do and how to proceed at each stage.

Keep your promises

The most important factor that helps you run a successful business is honouring and fulfilling your promises. Experts suggest entrepreneurs should always deliver to their customers and do exactly as they promise. Never disappoint your customers. It is essential to keep your customers connected to you.

A valuable customer service can help you achieve your targets and you must practice this art continuously though it takes time and effort to master. Treat your customers well and keep them connected to your business and they will surely want to buy from you again.

About the author

Julie Robert is a B2B wholesale trade and B2B marketing expert. She writes frequently on the topics related to UK Wholesalers & Wholesale supplies.

I am sure there are many other tips to make Customers Happy & Delighted, if you are aware about any such “Mantras”, please leave them in the comments section & we would include them in the main article.

|In: Customer Service|Last Updated: | 4 Comments
Few weeks back when I started blogging, there was mention about my old online lifeline – JustDial. Most of us who are online more than half the time always rely on mediums like Wikipedia, Google Maps, JustDial etc for information. The advantage is you have ready-made information which comes free of cost & MOST of the times it is proven and might be CORRECT.

Let me start off with a terrible incident with JustDial which made a repeat customer like me to walk away from the service !!!

Before the delivery
The episode started when I called up JustDial for Packers & Movers [M&P] in Hyderabad. As soon as I hung-up the call, there was a series of calls from different small to big M&P. I got a good deal with a P&M named DG P&M, Hyderabad. Though it is a small M&P, they gave a great deal as well as promised an on-time delivery[i.e within two working days the luggage would reach Bangalore]. After I reached Bangalore, there was no trace of the luggage for more than 4 days. I spoke to close to around 4-5 guys from DG P&M & 2-3 drivers who told me that the luggage is very close to my place and it would reach in few hours.This continued for more than 5 days and finally I received the luggage[though it was not in the state in which I gave to them].

After the delivery
Once my fearful moments were over, I immediately called up JustDial and there were number of lessons learnt about JustDial[and in general the mis-information floating on the internet]

Authenticity of information
When I asked the customer care executive about the authenticity of their huge database, she had no clue about the same.In fact, even as an anonymous user, I was able to change the mobile number of the DG P&M which was a complete security breach in JustDial !!! JustDial has an interesting Terms Of Use with a special mention to it’s authentication – While every attempt has been made to ascertain the authenticity of the site content …

Customer is NOT the king
JustDial would be definitely serving lot’s of people daily[considering it is a Rs 500 cr enterprise] so it would not bother about every single customer but what if the customer has called back with a grievance.Even on my narration of the complete incident, the executive completely denied to transfer the call to the right person. In fact, she told me to read the Terms of JustDial & further added that they cannot remove any company listed in their database [even if the customer says that they had a horrible experience after using their service].

Why care about Media/Social Media
After I got a bad response from one executive, I called back again after some time. After completing my narration, I informed the executive that I have decided to share this message on TV through CNBC Pahredar , she was least bothered & argued with me for a long time. Not to mention that social media tools like blogs, Facebook were not new to her but she never cared how much it would affect JustDial’s online reputation.

Is Internet just for FUN ?
Like me , many people rely heavily on the information available on the internet but this incident made me wonder – Can we trust this information [even if it comes through a reputed service like JustDial]. Or should we say- Information can be used as long as there is no serious motive attached with it [ i.e we can use it to find Theaters, Pizza corners but not if you are looking out for something which may turn your life upside-down….

If you have any such mis-incident to share, please leave them in the comments section and it would be added to the main article.

Photo Credit
Movers and Packers

Important Update –
A similar complaint raised against DG Movers and Packers

|In: Blogging|Last Updated: | 2 Comments
Few days back, there was a post which highlighted “How language barrier could be a hindrance to your business“. Today’s article came in as an email forward from Alok Padhi that very well explains the above mentioned problem[& would surely bring a smile on your face smile ].

A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East assignment.A friend asked, “Why weren’t you successful with the Arabs?”

The salesman explained

“When I got posted in the Middle East , I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there. But, I had a problem I didn’t know to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters…


First poster
A man lying in the hot desert sand…totally exhausted and fainting.

Second poster
The man is drinking our Cola.

Third poster
Our man is now totally refreshed.

And then these posters were pasted all over the place “Then that should have worked!” said the friend. “What the hell it should!? said the salesman,but I didn’t realize that Arabs read from right to left”

|In: Books|Last Updated: | 5 Comments
There is an interesting e-book “Testify-How remarkable companies are creating customer evangelists” which focuses on how companies are winning customers and effectively making each one their evangelist !!!

It is a very interesting compilation, the companies about which I enjoyed reading the most are:

You can download the ebook from here

|In: Business|Last Updated: | 13 Comments
Next day being the auspicious occasion of Diwali,I decided to get a different look wink and the time spent at the saloon shaped up in an excellent learning experience.

The barbers at the shop showed great professionalism[both in terms of work and customer delight] which can be easily co-related to our day to day activities.

Below are the 6 simple learnings from that experience:

1. Always be watchful for customers
I went to the saloon in the afternoon & due to heavy rush there, I returned back home.When I again went in the evening, that same barber recognized me & asked me the reason to do the same i.e whether there was a problem or I was not satisfied with their service during the previous visit or any other reason.
It is very important to take feedback from the customer since, in today’s time, customer always has more choices than you can ever think of !!!

2. How to break the communication barrier
As I don’t belong to Bangalore,some times it becomes difficult to communicate[especially if the other person does not know Hindi or English].Hence,if I don’t hand over the exact requirements, I cannot expect a proper output from that person.Same was the case in the saloon where language became a communication barrier sad.But soon, I remembered about my passport size photo in my wallet and that photo became a single line requirement for the barber.
It is of utmost importance to find alternate as well as smart ways to break the communication barrier else it would have a negative effect on the deliverables.

3. Benchmarking always helps
As mentioned in the previous point,my photograph became a benchmark for the barber and benchmarking always speeds up things.
Always check out if there is a benchmark in what you are doing & that would speed up your entire process of development.

4. Team-work is the mantra
At one point,the barber who was making my shave got confused & could not proceed.Immediately, the other barber came to his rescue[though he was not called for any help] & took over the baton from him.
In a team,it becomes very important to gain as well as share knowledge as at the end of the day, one person failing in a team would lead to the entire team’s failure !!!

5. How to kill the Distraction
As you are aware that all saloons at least have a TV & many times, it becomes a source of distraction rather than entertainment.Same was the case with the barber, who concentrated equally watching the TV along with the hair-cut.His co-worker switched off the TV[after a while] when his slow output was creating an irritation to customers.

Every person has at least one source of distraction but when the individual distraction results in a negative effect on the other co-workers, it is time to take strict action !!! As a team, your intent should be to deliver the best and convert your first time customers to repeat customers to loyal customers to customer evangelists [as stated below].

6. How to create Customer Evangelists
As I was paying the barber,I appreciated him for his work and he reciprocated for the same.The other guy[who had got confused as mentioned in point(4)] did not only thank me but also promised me to deliver his best next time [that too without requiring the photo biggrin]
Simple words of gratitude helps develop as well as maintain a good relationship with the customer.Though the barber could not deliver, his promise [to deliver next time] makes me recommend his shop to others and this way his/your loyal customers would become your evangelists !!!

Image Courtesy:
Clipart ETC

|In: Books|Last Updated: | 4 Comments
Few months back, I came up with an article titled “What before a Business Plan”.Today, we would focus on something which is inseparable from the Business Plan called “Feasibility Study”. It is true that once we have the B-Plan ready, the very next step is to get going and focus on how to achieve the optimistic figures mentioned in the B-Plan rolleyes However, few things mentioned the B-Plan is written keeping the investor’s in mind but along the entire journey; Customer is and will remain the HERO. !!! This leads to a report titled “Customer-Driven Feasibility Study” [from this point referred as Customer-Driven F.S. ] and my current read The New Business Road Test by John Mullins explained that to the core of it !!!

This article is divided into three parts namely:

  1. What is Customer Driven F.S ?
  2. Thin line of difference between B-Plan and Customer Driven F.S
  3. Contents of Customer Driven F.S

What is Customer Driven Feasibility Study
During the course of any opportunity, the Market Analysis/Study phase always remains iterative.However, at one point of time, the evidence gathered through the research would help us understand whether the opportunity is REALLY an opportunity.This feasibility study is Customer Driven because , unlike most organization charts which has the founder/ CEO at the top and people serving the customer at the bottom, the feasibility study begins with the target customer, without whom there would be no business. It is an internal document that should cater to the seven requirements which are discussed later.

Difference between Business Plan and Customer Driven Feasibility Study
Though there are a number of overlaps in the B-Plan and Customer Driven F.S , there are three major areas where they tend to differ :

1. Customer Focus :
The purpose of any business it to win customers and the Feasibility Study completely caters to that requirement which is quite different from that of most B-Plans – to win an investor. If there is no likelihood for customers, there would not be any investors.

2. Fundamental Economics :
The feasibility study addresses the fundamental economics of the business, by identifying the key drivers of cash flow: revenue, required capital investment, gross margins etc. If these drivers are satisfactory, than detailed strategies like marketing, operations and financing can probably be developed to make the venture economically viable.

3. Mindset :
The purpose of the study is not to sell the venture’s merit whereas a B-Plan organizes the answers delivered by the feasibility study and goes on to develop marketing, operating and financing strategies in an effort to sell the opportunity, in a focussed way, to the investors and other stakeholders.

7 step “Customer Driven Feasibility Study”

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY :
This briefly describes what follows [tells the reader(s) what you are going to tell them]

2. MICRO- level MARKET assessment :

  • TARGET market and it’s pain identified; benefits of your solution identified, with evidence that those in this segment are willing to pay a price that works.
  • Target market segment, size and growth rate.
  • Options to grow into other segments.

3. MACRO- level MARKET assessment :

  • OVERALL market size and growth rate.
  • Macro trends analysis to assess future market growth and attractiveness.

4. MACRO – Level INDUSTRY assessment :

  • Five forces analysis : Whether or not the industry is attractive.
  • Likely changes that may happen going forward.

5. MICRO – Level INDUSTRY assessment :

  • Any proprietary elements.
  • Any superior organizational processes, capabilities or resources identified that are not easily duplicated or imitated.
  • Economic viability of business model established :

– Revenue Forecast.
– Customer acquisition & retention costs and time required to obtain a customer.
– Gross margins.
– Break even analysis.
– Operating Cash Cycle characteristics.

6. TEAM assessment :

  • Team’s mission, aspirations and tendency for risk.
  • Team’s ability to execute the mission.
  • Team’s connectedness up, down and across the value chain.

7. SUMMARY and Conclusions :
Tell the reader(s) the key highlights of what you have told them – why this is/is not – opportunity attractive and future prospects of the opportunity.

|In: Business|Last Updated: | 13 Comments
There are lot of resources available on the Internet about “Customer Service“, how to serve customers like God, and how one customer can turn into a chain of Customers [just by hitting the bullseye with the first one biggrin]

Just came across an interesting video of a child selling peacock fans on the streets of Mumbai [near Hanging Garden], the special part is , He has learnt many languages, only to the extent that he can answers his customer’s queries – “What is Peacock Fan”, “It’s uses”, “It’s Price” etc. etc.

Reader Contribution:

Mahatma Gandhi’s definition of CUSTOMER:
1. A customer is not an outsider to our business. He is a definite part of it. A customer is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it.
2. A customer is doing us a favor by letting us serve him. We are not doing him any favour.
3. A customer is not a cold statistic; he is a flesh and blood human being with feelings and emotions like our own……. More here
[Thanks Purnank Harjivanbhai Ghumalia]