Don’t Make Them Tell You a Thousand Times

It’s safe to say we’ve all been in a customer service situation where we wondered if our issue was ever going to get resolved. You may have had multiple concerns simultaneously or simply had to explain your concern one way and then explain it again…and again.

Recently, I was listening to a phone conversation my dad was having about a customer service issue in which he had one simple request and one simple question. They were not unreasonable and certainly sounded like things the company should have dealt with and taken care of on a daily basis. Despite his patience, I listened to him repeat the same two statements at least five times in the same phone call. He was transferred from person to person, each time having to start over and express in detail why he was calling and what he needed. He was on the phone for almost 45 minutes. I started thinking: There has to be a more efficient way of resolving this issue. Why isn’t he off the phone yet? My dad concluded the conversation fairly confident the problem would not happen again, but not 100% sure.

So why did it take the company so many tries to fulfill a simple request? Of course, not every associate will know how to handle every situation, but there should be a streamlined system in place to get customers to the right person in a matter of minutes. This company’s customer service procedures were clearly disorganized—make sure yours won’t be with a few easy tips.

First, associates need to be prepared for various customer service scenarios. My dad was very polite, but not everyone will be. Employees need to learn how to listen to the problem, remain calm, acknowledge the mistake, and if needed, ask for help. If they take every disgruntled attitude personally, they will never survive in their position. If the first person didn’t know what to do, he should have known who to put on the line to take care of the issue and that should have been the end of it. Second, policies and procedures for daily operations and simple requests should not only be taught in training to each employee, but also available in writing for quick learning on the fly. When ideas for improvement come about, they should be implemented as soon as possible.  Finally, no matter what the problem is, don’t make the customer repeat themselves a thousand times to explain the problem to several different people. If you are the first person they contact, listen carefully and take notes if needed so that if someone else (or more than one person) needs to step in, you can be the one to reiterate their request, not them. At the very least, you can tell them you will call them back within the hour if more time is needed to resolve the problem. This will save the company and the customer time and hopefully, keep them from getting frustrated. Make it happen.

© 2014 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

 

 

Tech Mistakes Small Businesses Make

The era when it was not important to be tech-savvy has come to an end. It’s just important to be smart about IT as it is to be smart about what you do in your business.  You want to appear reliable and ahead of the game to your customers. Don’t make these tech mistakes in the meantime.

Looking small online: Look big, not small online. If you have a great looking website that works well and is easy to use, that’s a big part of it. Have a large web presence with a blog, discussion forum, and social media pages. Making a big splash on the internet opens up a word of opportunity.

Overlooking computer security: Make sure you have adequate security software and policies that employees should follow. Of course, you’ll want high quality virus protection software, but there’s more to it than that. You need a system for protecting your data, customer lists, account numbers, passwords, and contracts. You also need to let employees know how to handle laptops, how to properly download software updates, and how to secure their smart phones. Educating your team on these procedures is your first line of defense against any security issues.

Not backing up information: Schedule time to regularly back up your data. Enforce how important it is for the team to back up all their work because computers can malfunction, programs can crash, and you don’t want them to lose hours or days worth of work. You can do this manually or with an online service, but the important thing is that it is done regularly.

Lack of reputation management: Keep an eye on your online reputation. What are people tweeting about you? What do review sites such as Yelp say about you? If you don’t know, you could be overlooking some of the negative, and that’s a huge mistake. Set up alerts on sites like Google Plus so you can take down bad “tweets” or reviews if you have to.

Be smart about handling technology issues and if you avoid mistakes, that will contribute to your success. Make it happen!


© 2013 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Needs and Benefits of Online Training

In recent years, more and more online training websites have developed. Many offer employers a membership which the entire team can access and lessons are free to watch once the company has joined. The courses are often very long, but broken down into short chapters that allow the employee to choose which ones are most relevant and complete the course at their own pace. Some even have practice files attached so that employees can interactively try out what they’ve learned.  A few popular ones include Lynda.com, TotalTraining.com, and W3Schools.com. It’s also fairly easy for a company to create its own online learning system through a Moodle account. Some focus on a particular area such as software programs or marketing, and others cover many subjects and employee might want to learn more about. Do your employees need to take online training courses and what are the benefits of these programs?

While an employee has to have a developed skill set to perform successfully, they can never run out of things to learn and should always be expanding their knowledge. If the company adopts new procedures or software programs, employees unfamiliar with them can get up to speed in a matter of hours. Most courses offer certificates of completion, which is good for the company reputation and the employee’s resume. If an employee gets promoted, they might need to brush up on some of the new skills they will be using, which can be possible through online training. If employees seek out these opportunities on their own, that shows their dedication to the company and to developing their career.  You may recommend or require your employees to complete short lessons during work time on a schedule or go through complete courses on their own time. Whatever you decide, always encourage continued learning, online or offline. The online versions can be a cost effective method of accomplishing this.

If you want to implement a program like this, start by researching different websites and choosing one to create an account with. Then introduce your team to the training through a brief meeting and provide them with the login credentials. Assure them that this is meant for personal growth, not an indication that their skills are not up to par. Then suggest or require a schedule of doing these and ask for updates regularly. Make it happen!


© 2013 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Making Time to Learn New Software

Maybe you’ve hired a new employee who needs training on a software program, or maybe the company has the need to use a new program. In the midst of running a business, how do you take the time to learn new software yourself or teach it to others? While it needs to be done, you don’t want to take time away from the business at hand.

If you are teaching someone the software, review all its fundamentals to see how clear the instructions will be a new user. For example, some programs have tags that tell the user what will happen if they click on a certain element. A lot of programs provide prompting instructions as the user is using features of the software. If you can, use this and other methods to cut down on face-to-face training because that can take a lot of time and get interrupted. If you are creating separate training materials, you could put them into a PowerPoint presentation or use screenshots in your notes to match the visuals to what they will see when using the software. Remember that no matter how much is covered in training; there will be questions that will come up later, so keep that in mind. Creating short quizzes after different stages of the training will gage how much the person has learned and help them remember key points.

Rather than simply enabling someone to learn the nuts and bolts of a software program, emphasize how the software is a tool that helps the business reach their goals. Defining processes, procedures, and policies along with software training shows employees how their efforts contribute to the larger effort of the business. Start with the basics and add more in-depth training when they begin to feel confident. Also, the training doesn’t have to be completely separate from the job they will be doing—have them use the software for real, on the job tasks even if they need someone there to coach them.  They will be able to do the job you hired them to sooner, rather than being sidelined until their training is complete.

Think about who should do the training—if you choose a veteran employee who must train someone in addition to their workload, one of the two may suffer if you aren’t careful, so make sure their schedule can work with this extra job. Also remember that different people learn in different ways, through seeing, hearing, doing or a combination of those. Some people need to know how things work and why they are done that way in order to learn something. Formal training in isolated situations is enough to make the new employee bored, unenthusiastic, and annoyed, so be careful to integrate training into other tasks where they can talk to coworkers and take breaks. While you can’t hold their hand too much, do not just place a new employee in front of a computer with the software and tell them to just start using it. This will not work--even online training tools need to be accompanied by answers from real people. Use a blend of training methods to get the best results.

Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

How fast should I return phone calls and emails?

As soon as you can. By getting in the habit of returning your phone calls and emails as soon as practical, you will get more things done and less things will fall in the cracks. For sure there are times when you need to do some research, think about things before you do it or commit to it but in general you want to respond sooner rather than later. I know people who like to wait several hours or a day before returning emails.

Keep in mind you are setting an expectation with the people you communicate with that it is okay to wait half a day or a full day before responding to any communication from YOU. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Be careful what message you are sending to people with the way you return calls and emails.

When in doubt, always respond as soon as possible.

© 2009 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Is Text messaging on a cell phone the same as getting an email feature on your PDA?

No, they are not the same. Text messaging is a quick way of communicating with people you know by using your phone keypad and typing (texting) a short message to them versus calling them. Texting works well for people that don't have time to carry on a full-fledged discussion, but there is a limited amount of space in which to write, so choose your words wisely.

Texting is a casual form of communication and should be used primarily with people you already know and have a relationship with. Texting people that you do not have a solid previous relationship with may be viewed as cold or unprofessional. ALWAYS make the extra effort to email contacts in which you are interested in doing business with. Remember, you get only one chance to make a first impression.

So now you want text messaging capabilities, how do you go about getting them? Most cell phones are capable of texting already and it’s only a matter of putting a plan together. Be careful because many providers charge extra for texting, so find a cell phone plan including text messaging before you start texting everyone you know.

For information about cell phones that receive email read our article titled Do I need a phone that has email on it for my business?.

© 2009 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

How often should I check email each day?

This is a great question that we each wrestle with on a daily basis. The answer is: as often as you absolutely need to. That means a different amount for each person. If your business is one that you are getting lots of email inquiries from your web site or online leads, than you should probably check your emails more frequently throughout the day or even consider getting a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) type of phone so you can receive your emails where ever you are at.

If the majority of your inquiries to your business come to you by phone, then you should check your email at least 3 times per day, morning, noon and afternoon. If you do not get many emails than you might consider checking them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Another good idea for you is to forward your phone calls from your office phone to your cell phone when you are out and about, especially if your inquiry’s are time sensitive.

Remember, to build your small business you need to be in front of prospects and customers. Prospects to get more new business and customers to get repeat business and to ask for referrals! Stay closest to where the sales come from!

© 2009 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

What is the difference between an email address and a domain name?

A domain name is the address where a web site typically resides. For example: http://blog.em4b.com is our domain name. If we want to have an email address associated with our domain name we could use questions@blog.em4b.com.

It’s kind of like your physical home address where you live. Your home address is 123 Main Street (Domain name) and your address for mail at your home is John Doe @ 123 Main Street (email address).

Hopefully this is making sense to you. If someone gives you their email address and its: billsmith@smallenginerepair.com most people that want to know about your company will go to their web browser and put in your domain name of www.smallenginerepair.com to see more information about your company. If they want to contact you directly they will use your email address at: billsmith@smallenginerepair.com.

Hopefully all this is starting to make sense to you now. The other most commonly used terms for domain names are: URL, Web Address or Web site address.

It’s best to try and keep your domain name as short as you can and as easy to remember as possible.

© 2008 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Should I get a MySpace page for my company?

For most businesses the answer is no. If you’re target market and current customers are all under 30 it may be a good idea but chances are most businesses will not benefit from a MySpace page.

Why not? If your business creates a MySpace page, most likely you are doing this to expose your products & services to the public and eventually obtain new customers. To generate interest in your site you’ll need to invite people to be your “friends”. As you invite people to be a part of your page any searches for your company will now start to appear with the “quotes or notes” that your new friends have left on your site.

Imagine someone searching out your company online, they enter “ACME Pluming Supply Denver, CO” and here is what comes up:

· “Acme plumbing supply…..Me and Suzy wanna party and we like staying up all night long texting our friends in Amarillo.”

· “Acme plumbing …..Party at Pure Saturday night and bring all the fine women you can find!!!!

You get the picture. When you have a MySpace page the crawlers from search engines pick up your company name and you have no control what else they pick up with it. Be very clear who your audience is and who you are trying to get as customers before you decide to get a MySpace page. Whichever way you decide to go, Make it happen!

© 2008 eMarketing 4 Business LLC