Improving the Sales and Service Culture
Jeff Mowatt's Influence with Ease® Training Tip #94
Close the Customer Feedback Loop
Many companies collect feedback from customers -- then, unfortunately, do nothing. They conduct surveys, stage focus groups, monitor complaints then merely report the information to local managers. The problem is that if manages don't have a system for evaluation and implementing necessary changes, all the time and money spent collecting customer info is wasted. When I work with companies to enhance customer retention, I often introduce the process of Customer Service Team (CAST) Meetings©. At these on-going regularly scheduled sessions, managers and employees exchange customer feedback and then formulate plans to prevent problems from reoccurring. The CAST Meetings keep employees focused on the truth that customer satisfaction is not a survey or one-day event -- it's an ongoing process that keeps you in business.
This Influence with Ease® Training Tip is one of a series. For more information about the ordering the series, click here Influence with Ease® Training Tips.
Influence with Ease® Article
7 Keys to Creating a Customer Focused Culture
Walking the Talk of your Mission Statement
by Jeff Mowatt
Issue: "I'm just doing this until something better comes along - like retirement!" With so many employees adopting this attitude, managers need to do something different to motivate workers and enhance customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, conventional approaches to achieve this through the creation of mission statements have often fallen short.nbsp; What's needed is a new approach to create a customer-focused culture where employees want to contribute.
Article Features:
- Describes the problem of de-motivated employees and how mission statements - that were touted as being the great saviors of workplace culture - have fallen short.
- Outlines a new management concept called CAST Meetings. The idea was developed by Jeff Mowatt after 10 years of working with organizations that face this challenge.
- Describes how, within the first year of using this method, one organization improved employee morale noticeably, increased worker productivity by 34% and reduced customer complaints by 400%.
Length: 1,638 words To view the full article click here.
Influence with Ease® Article
Are your People Problems Really the Issue?
Take this mini-quiz to find out if your problems involving attitudes and teamwork are actually just symptoms of flawed infrastructures.
To take the quiz, click here.
Influence with Ease® Article
Buying Trends - the Shift to Hassle-Free
You may have noticed a shift in recent years in what it takes to satisfy customers. Customers are now making buying decisions less on the quality of an organization's products and services, and more on the quality of the buying experience itself. If you're a business owner or manager, this trend offers both risk and opportunity. To ensure that your organization profits from this shift in customer loyalty, consider a recent history of buying behaviors...
To read the full article click Buying Trends - the Shift to Hassle-Free.
Influence with Ease® Article
Speed Kills
The service standard that does more harm than good
by Jeff Mowatt
As a business owner or manager, you have probably heard management experts refer to the importance of service standards for frontline employees. The idea is that managers should give customer-contact people a performance goal or service standard by which they can be measured and rewarded. Sounds good in theory. Unfortunately, over my years as a consultant and business advisor, and as a customer myself, I find that some service standards are not only ineffective, they are actually counterproductive. I wonder if this may be the case in your organization...
To read the full article click Speed Kills.
Influence with Ease® Article
The Myth of Treating People Fairly and Equally
by Jeff Mowatt
I'll just come right-out and say it. I believe that treating customers fairly and equally is a mistake. It's unprofitable. It belittles customers and employees. And it's unethical. There, I've said it...
To read the full article click The Myth of Treating People Fairly and Equally.
Influence with Ease® Article
When the Cat's Away
Getting better frontline decisions - without you
by Jeff Mowatt
As a manager, you may assume that the guidance you give to your employees while you're on-site, will translate into them making better decisions when you're away. Unfortunately, the reverse may be true...
To read the full article click When the Cat's Away.
Influence with Ease® Article
How not to Plan your Company's Future
5 common mistakes when identifying customer needs
by Jeff Mowatt
When managers plan their business strategies, common sense dictates that these game-plans should be in line with customer needs. The first step in planning is therefore to identify customer preferences. Unfortunately, most conventional approaches to determining customer needs are flawed. Here are five of the most common methods used to gather customer opinions along with their drawbacks. Keep these often-made mistakes in mind when planning your business strategy...
To read the full article click How not to Plan.
Influence with Ease® Article
Management Lessons from a Car Wash Guy
by Jeff Mowatt
If you're serious about strengthening customer loyalty, consider this management lesson I learned from an odd source - a car wash attendant. It's an easy customer service concept that may change the course of your business...
To read the full article click Management Lessons from a Car Wash Guy.
Training Resource - Book
Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month
by Jeff Mowatt
Imagine leading a team whose service is so outstanding it becomes your brand. Customers would hear about you, be drawn to you, and refuse to leave you because your team would be the industry Service Icon. You'd be one of the few leaders who no longer has to deal with the hassles of constant staff turnover, customer complaints, and interpersonal staff pettiness. Your reputation for excellence would spread. Naturally, you'd enjoy an enrichment in lifestyle for yourself and your family.
This is more than just wishful thinking. Introducing the groundbreaking new book by Jeff Mowatt that reveals how you can achieve all this in just 90 minutes a month!
Click here to find out more about Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month.
