|
|
|
9 Ways to Gain Expert Recognition
No matter what business you are in it always helps to be seen as
an expert. If you were calling someone to fix a drain or sell
your house you would approach the person you saw as most
credible and reputable in that area of expertise.
To...
Online Promotion Beats Traditional Ten-One
While traditional marketing can work for the book author or publisher, the return is dim for the huge effort it takes. You must promote 90% of the time to even get a milligram of attention. While you may have a success or two, most of...
Sales secrets you can use
Sales secrets you can use You dont have to be a salesperson to use techniques of persuasion that work. After all, most of us have to present ideas to committees or Boards of Directors, lobby for a promotion, or even talk someone into trying a...
Tweaking Your Tweakables
"Tweaking Your Tweakables" Yeah, I know...a crazy title, but at the moment, I was laughing so uncontrollably that I just let my fingers do the walking. But, take a look at the below email classified ad that started all of this... ...
What is a Business Analyst? (Part 2)
WHAT IS A BUSINESS ANALYST? (Part 2)
Today the term Business Analyst is synonymous with a career in
the IT industry but the most successful and valuable analysts
are those who understand the "business" rather than those who
understand IT....
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sweat the Small Stuff for Great Customer Service
Undoubtedly youve heard about the popular book series that started with Dont Sweat the Small Stuff, followed by Dont Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, in Love, with Your Family, etc. While these books relay a message containing a great deal of wisdomdont let the little things in life stress you outits important not to make the mistake of overlooking the little things that can be critical to achieve wildly successful customer service in your business.
At first I was hesitant to write this article because the message seemed so basic and even felt a bit preachy. However, I reconsidered after numerous reminders from family, friends, clients and my own personal experiences that every day people are subjected to poor service. Youve heard the stories; youve experienced it first-hand. Driving through the fast food restaurant without a word or a glance when you pick up your food. The store clerk that doesnt say thank you. The teller that greets you with only a gruff Next! The receptionist that ignores you while discussing last nights social events with other employees. The bagger at the grocery checkout that complains about the newest company policy.
Consumers are starving for good service. And what theyre often hungry for may sound like little things common courtesies that certainly wouldnt be considered rocket science but combined together provide a strong foundation for great customer service. In many industries or markets there are usually a few select players that far exceed the rest of the pack, while the rest trail far behind, or drop like flies. After all, comparable product, place, promotion and price are the requirements to even be in the running. Read the news and consider retail, dot-coms, etc. The differences between those that are thriving verses merely surviving are the people and the little things they do (or dont do).
Heres a list of some of the little things, when experienced together can make a big difference to customers and how they view your organization:
* Answering a call by the third ring
* Transferring a call quickly to the proper person
*
Timely return of voice mail and e-mail
* Eye contact
* A warm smile
* A friendly hello
* Just a moment, Ill be right with you
* Excuse me just a moment, let me find out
* A polite and sincere tone
* A genuine apology when warranted
* Youre welcome
* A heartfelt thank you
* An honest attempt to help
* Your undivided attention
* Following up as promised
* Taking the extra step in any situation
* Honesty about problems and mistakes
Customers can usually accept that problems and errors will occur from time to time in any business relationship. What often matters more to customers than the mistake itself is how these difficult situations are handled. Customers crave the common courtesies, which is not to say that the common courtesies can make up for gross negligence or repeated problems. However, the little things can go a long way to establish trust and rapport and create customer acceptance of your efforts to resolve problems when they arise.
If youre concerned about creating great customer service, begin by asking yourself this question: "Is your organization sweating the small stuff in customer service?" It really can make a big difference!
Reprint Information
Your organization may reprint this article for your newsletter, online publication, or mailing list. We ask that you print the:
* article in its entirety;
* byline of the writer;
* information about the writer, which is available at the end of each article; and
* contact information, including our toll-free phone number in the U.S. (800-886-2MAX) and website address (www.AchieveMax.com)
We would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy of the articles you reprint.
About the Author
Kathleen J. Wheelihan is a professional speaker for AchieveMax, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Kathleen has made presentations ranging from creativity to customer service and leadership to teambuilding. For information, call 800-886-2MAX or visit http://www.AchieveMax.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| Oral Presentation Advice |
| Your presentation should not replace your paper, but rather whet the ... Below I consider goals for academic interview talks and class presentations. ... |
| www.cs.wisc.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| This site contains annotated links to resources concerned with presentation and communication skills. |
| lorien.ncl.ac.uk |
|
| Presentation Helper - Free PowerPoint templates, help, advice and ... |
| Resources on how to make effective presentations. Includes tips on PowerPoint and topic ideas. |
| www.presentationhelper.co.uk |
|
| Neurobehavioral Systems, Inc. |
| Neuroscience stimulus delivery software can be used for cognitive psychology, fMRI, erp and single unit research (Windows). |
| nbs.neuro-bs.com |
|
| Why tables for layout is stupid: problems defined, solutions offered |
| Why tables for layout is stupid:. problems defined, solutions offered. Tables existed in HTML for one reason: To display tabular data. ... |
| www.hotdesign.com |
|
| The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation |
| This presentation prepared with the help of Microsoft Powerpoint Autocontent Wizard. ... Permission is granted to use this presentation in any course or ... |
| norvig.com |
|
| Presentation Zen |
| I love the clear presentation of the ideas in the book and the fact that the ... In the context of presentations, moving info away can help you and the ... |
| www.presentationzen.com |
|
| Presentation Tips for Public Speaking |
| Better Public Speaking & Presentation - Ensure Your Words Are Always ... On the Job: Public Speaking Tips - Twelve Steps to Great Presentations by Elise ... |
| www.aresearchguide.com |
|
| Presentation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Presentation is the process of presenting the content of a topic to an ... You should plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least four times. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| OSCON 2005 Keynote - Identity 2.0 |
| A barn-burner of a presentation. I loved this. - Cory Doctorow. I watched it twice, and greatly enjoyed it both times. - Jon Udell ... |
| www.identity20.com |
|
| Presentations - Effective Communication - Public Speaking |
| Tips and tools for creating and delivering presentations: text, techniques and technology. |
| www.presentations.com |
|
| Presentation Information Resources - Presentation Technology News ... |
| Presentation Information Resources - Comprehensive presenter's resource providing instant access to up-to-date information on technology and techniques for ... |
| 199.249.170.231 |
|
| Effective Presentations homepage |
| In addition, the skills needed to prepare an oral presentation can be used ... A spiffy presentation discussing Effective Teaching with Powerpoint from the ... |
| www.kumc.edu |
|
| Impress |
| Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, ... Slide show Animation and Effects bring your presentation to life. ... |
| www.openoffice.org |
|
| PRESENTATIONPRO - experts for Microsoft PowerPoint |
| A series of products and services to help enhance PowerPoint presentations with templates and backgrounds. |
| www.presentationpro.com |
|
| Leadership - Presentation Skills |
| Presentation, PowerPoint, and Leadership. ... Presentations and reports are ways of communicating ideas and information to a group. But unlike a report, ... |
| www.skagit.com |
|
| Presentation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with presentation on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| Secretary of State Addresses the U.N. Security Council |
| My friends, this has been a long and a detailed presentation. And I thank you for your patience. But there is one more subject that I would like to touch on ... |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
|
| Rubric |
| Organization, Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. Audience has difficulty following presentation because ... |
| www.ncsu.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| Presentations are one of the first managerial skills which a junior engineer ... This article looks at the basics of Presentation Skills as they might apply ... |
| www.see.ed.ac.uk |
|
|