At the cornerstone of every good business is a good buying experience. This entails an offering of something the consumer wants or needs that has perceived value and provides the buyer satisfaction from the purchase. Over the last decade technology has changed our lives and our businesses dramatically. Technology has altered the landscape in many industries. Contractors use digital images in the place of printed paper to bid projects. Publicly traded companies deliver annual reports in PDF format via e-mail as opposed to mailing a hard copy. People in general write far fewer checks for goods and services. When was the last time you sent a personally written letter via the postal service? How often do your kids talk on your land line? Technology has changed how we communicate, how we do business, how we get paid, how we pay our bills, and how we receive our information.
I used to think that my grandparents, who went from riding horses, to using the automobile, to using airlines, and finally by the end of their lives witnessing a man landing on the moon; saw the greatest amount of change in the last millenium. The change they experienced was incredible. However, I believe we are currently living in the age of the greatest technology shift in the last thousand years. It is the age of the most disruptive technology that is causing more industry changes than anytime ever in modern history.
Technology has changed the medium by which we read the written word. It has changed the way we buy things. It has forever changed our lives. What hasn't changed is the level of customer service you receive from these new era technology giants. In successful businesses the buying experience will always be at the forefront and succesful businesses will always be customer centric. The companies that capitalize on these new technologies will focus on the buying experience and the customer service you receive. It is no wonder that when you walk into an Apple Store, the largest grossing retail stores per square foot on the planet, that there are nearly as many employees as there are customers. Innovation may change the game, but it will never change the need for a good buying experience. Where there is a poor buying experience, there is the opportunity for competition and there is a competitor waiting to rise to the occasion.
When people make purchasing choices, they do so because whatever they are buying meets a need. Whether it is emotional or financial, there obviously are many reasons why people buy something. I like to explore the buying experience and how people impact the experience. I will discuss why people make the choices they make. I hope you enjoy my posts and join the discussion.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Leadership and Providing Value
How do you equate value in leadership? How do leaders provide value? I think we can agree that there is more than one way to lead effectively. Jack Welch's leadership style is different than Jeffrey Immelt's. Warren Buffet's management style is certainly different than Carl Icahn's. Steve Job's management style I am quite certain varies greatly to Bill Gates' management style. All these leaders have been hugely successful. All have their own personalities and styles to match. Leadership takes on many different characteristics and components and the value at the end of the day in most companies is measured by profits. Here are some of the important characteristics I value in a leader. I certainly recognize the list can be as long as you want to make it, but these are some of the important characteristics that I value.
Great leaders recognize talent and cultivate future leaders. A succesful leader must provide vision and direction. They must effectively communicate this vision and give their staff the tools to do their jobs effectively. Great leaders have the ability to visualize the goal and impart that vision so that others can see it, believe it, and achieve it. Here are some famous quotes related to leadership that I have enjoyed:
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
- Jack Welch
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.
- George S. Patton
Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.
- Sam Walton
People want something to believe in. They want to work for someone that shares common goals and beliefs. They want to work for someone that they believe will treat them fairly and others fairly.
This certainly does not equate to a homogeneous work place, on the contrary, a very diverse work place with people sharing the same moral and ethical ideals is incredibly effective and desirable. Break through changes are often made by people thinking outside the box and looking at a problem differently. What better environment to develop break throughs than a place where employees are encouraged to express their opinions, to voice their concerns, and to know that they will be heard. Strong leaders are able to attract diverse talent and mold a strong team that work well together. The team is able to learn from each other and the complement of the peices make the sum of the parts much stronger.
A good leader is someone you believe in and want to follow. The value that is derived from the confidence that the leader is moving in the right direction, that the employees will be supported, that the employees believe in what they are doing is hard to put a price tage on. However, the results are usually quite tangible.
Great leaders recognize talent and cultivate future leaders. A succesful leader must provide vision and direction. They must effectively communicate this vision and give their staff the tools to do their jobs effectively. Great leaders have the ability to visualize the goal and impart that vision so that others can see it, believe it, and achieve it. Here are some famous quotes related to leadership that I have enjoyed:
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
- Jack Welch
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.
- George S. Patton
Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.
- Sam Walton
People want something to believe in. They want to work for someone that shares common goals and beliefs. They want to work for someone that they believe will treat them fairly and others fairly.
This certainly does not equate to a homogeneous work place, on the contrary, a very diverse work place with people sharing the same moral and ethical ideals is incredibly effective and desirable. Break through changes are often made by people thinking outside the box and looking at a problem differently. What better environment to develop break throughs than a place where employees are encouraged to express their opinions, to voice their concerns, and to know that they will be heard. Strong leaders are able to attract diverse talent and mold a strong team that work well together. The team is able to learn from each other and the complement of the peices make the sum of the parts much stronger.
A good leader is someone you believe in and want to follow. The value that is derived from the confidence that the leader is moving in the right direction, that the employees will be supported, that the employees believe in what they are doing is hard to put a price tage on. However, the results are usually quite tangible.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Customer Service in the Compassion Business
This summer has been a summer of great loss for me. I lost my father to alzheimer's and had to face the reality that he is gone. During the timeframe that my family and I knew he was declining and was inevitably leaving us, I experienced the most incredible customer service and compassion I have ever experienced.
For those of you that may not know me, let me provide some quick background information. My family knew my father had alzheimer's for several years and the inevitable was coming. He progressed through the disease and as you would expect his memory and mobility slowly digressed. Over the last year or so, it became necessary to have personal care for him to supplement the care he was receiving from the assisted living center. We were very fortunate to meet and hire two gentlemen, Darren Brown and Kevin Celestain, that became my father's primary care givers. They became constant companions to my father making sure he was bathed, fed, medicated, entertained, and generally maintained the highest quality of life he possibly could.
My father was an incredible person and he and my mother had nine kids (one died at child birth) as well as starting and cultivating a multi-million dollar business that he grew and left to his children to continue to grow and manage. As you can imagine with so many kids, the family grew and family was a very big part of his life. Seven of his eight children lived in Houston and we tried to make sure that one of us saw him and spent time with him every day.
As the disease progressed it was incredibly important that my father regularly exercised (walked and simply got out of bed without hurting himself), took his medications, ate his food, and was regularly bathed and cleaned. And it was just as important that we knew if he did not do these things. Darrin and Kevin provided these very basic human services that opened my eyes to the incredibly difficult and vitally important role they played in the maintaining my father's quality of life and his dignity. They were his advocate, his friend, his communication vehicle to his children, his wife, the nurses, and the doctor. In those difficult, demeaning situations that can take away a person's dignity, they showed their compassion, humanity, and love. On the rare occasion when my father struck out at them because he was experiencing discomfort or embarrassment, they turned the other cheek and realized it was the disease and not the man. Their over abundance of compassion and love in the most difficult of situations was truly inspiring and venerable.
The care that both Darrin and Kevin provided my father, and the care that other care givers provide to other families in similar situations, is an example of humanity at it's finest. The service of compassion, patience, and love that they provide on a daily basis is truly awe inspiring. To label this customer service is difficult because the service is so personal and human. However, it is the best possible kind of customer service. It is a service that is critical and often not thought of until you have to experience it first hand. I was fortunate enough that my customer service experience was one I will always appreciate and be grateful for.
For those of you that may not know me, let me provide some quick background information. My family knew my father had alzheimer's for several years and the inevitable was coming. He progressed through the disease and as you would expect his memory and mobility slowly digressed. Over the last year or so, it became necessary to have personal care for him to supplement the care he was receiving from the assisted living center. We were very fortunate to meet and hire two gentlemen, Darren Brown and Kevin Celestain, that became my father's primary care givers. They became constant companions to my father making sure he was bathed, fed, medicated, entertained, and generally maintained the highest quality of life he possibly could.
My father was an incredible person and he and my mother had nine kids (one died at child birth) as well as starting and cultivating a multi-million dollar business that he grew and left to his children to continue to grow and manage. As you can imagine with so many kids, the family grew and family was a very big part of his life. Seven of his eight children lived in Houston and we tried to make sure that one of us saw him and spent time with him every day.
As the disease progressed it was incredibly important that my father regularly exercised (walked and simply got out of bed without hurting himself), took his medications, ate his food, and was regularly bathed and cleaned. And it was just as important that we knew if he did not do these things. Darrin and Kevin provided these very basic human services that opened my eyes to the incredibly difficult and vitally important role they played in the maintaining my father's quality of life and his dignity. They were his advocate, his friend, his communication vehicle to his children, his wife, the nurses, and the doctor. In those difficult, demeaning situations that can take away a person's dignity, they showed their compassion, humanity, and love. On the rare occasion when my father struck out at them because he was experiencing discomfort or embarrassment, they turned the other cheek and realized it was the disease and not the man. Their over abundance of compassion and love in the most difficult of situations was truly inspiring and venerable.
The care that both Darrin and Kevin provided my father, and the care that other care givers provide to other families in similar situations, is an example of humanity at it's finest. The service of compassion, patience, and love that they provide on a daily basis is truly awe inspiring. To label this customer service is difficult because the service is so personal and human. However, it is the best possible kind of customer service. It is a service that is critical and often not thought of until you have to experience it first hand. I was fortunate enough that my customer service experience was one I will always appreciate and be grateful for.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Difference between Good Customer Service & Poor Customer Service
As you can imagine I have a passion for good customer service. I enjoy going into stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, etc.. where I am treated very well. I also find it fascinating to be treated very poorly. Not that I like it, because I don't, but I find it interesting to analyze why my experience was so poor. Most often it is one of two reasons: the employee not caring about the customer experience, or the owner not providing proper training and/or oversight in order to insure the customer experience was a good one.
When you go to Nordstrom's or Disney their incredible customer service is no accident. It is no wonder they have such great customer service because they provide their employees great customer service training and they hire people that care about the customer experience. If you have a bad service experience at Nordstrom's or Disney, it gains attention very quickly from management and the customer is generally catered to until their problem is resolved. Does that mean if you do not like a price or you cannot get a last minute dinner reservation on one of the Disney Cruise ships they will lower your price or get you the dinner reservation? Well no, but what it does mean is that if you cannot find a pair of shoes, or slacks they will look in all their stores for that specific item and ship it to you at no additional cost. If you go buy a shirt and notice a stain on it after you arrive home they will exchange it no questions asked. When you get off the plane in Orlando their is a Disney person waiting with a sign directing you to the Disney bus to transport you to the Port Canaveral Disney cruise ship terminal. They understand the process you are going through and work hard to make it as simple or painless as possible.
Both organizations treat the customer as king. They go above and beyond. They care about your customer experience and try to make it pleasant. They do this with enormous attention to detail. They try to remove barriers and the the unpleasant side of the customer experience. This starts with their personnel and the training they receive. It has been incredibly effective and certainly has had an endearing impact on me. Good customer service always ends with a good customer experience. Too many service providers forget they are in the business of providing customer service.
When you go to Nordstrom's or Disney their incredible customer service is no accident. It is no wonder they have such great customer service because they provide their employees great customer service training and they hire people that care about the customer experience. If you have a bad service experience at Nordstrom's or Disney, it gains attention very quickly from management and the customer is generally catered to until their problem is resolved. Does that mean if you do not like a price or you cannot get a last minute dinner reservation on one of the Disney Cruise ships they will lower your price or get you the dinner reservation? Well no, but what it does mean is that if you cannot find a pair of shoes, or slacks they will look in all their stores for that specific item and ship it to you at no additional cost. If you go buy a shirt and notice a stain on it after you arrive home they will exchange it no questions asked. When you get off the plane in Orlando their is a Disney person waiting with a sign directing you to the Disney bus to transport you to the Port Canaveral Disney cruise ship terminal. They understand the process you are going through and work hard to make it as simple or painless as possible.
Both organizations treat the customer as king. They go above and beyond. They care about your customer experience and try to make it pleasant. They do this with enormous attention to detail. They try to remove barriers and the the unpleasant side of the customer experience. This starts with their personnel and the training they receive. It has been incredibly effective and certainly has had an endearing impact on me. Good customer service always ends with a good customer experience. Too many service providers forget they are in the business of providing customer service.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Employee Empowerment Impacts the Customer Experience
This weekend while I was out with my daughter, we were eating at a local restaurant chain. While she was eating she had the unpleasant experience of finding a foreign object in her food that obviously should not have been there. It was something that no one likes to go through. We quickly pointed out the problem to our waitress and she apologized for the problem, asked my daughter if she would like the same thing or something different. My daughter opted for something different, placed the order and the waitress took her food away. While we were discussing the unpleasant surprise, the manager of the establishment came over and first apologized for the problem, took responsibility for the problem, and told me that he had discussed the problem with the cooks and was truly sorry it occurred and he was going to work to make sure it did not ever happen again. He told us there would be no charge for the meal and he hoped it did not ruin her meal.
As it turned out, my daughter received her replacement and she enjoyed her breakfast. If the staff did not react the way they had reacted it would have been a completely different experience. The fact that they were apologetic, they took responsibility for the problem and wanted to correct it, changed the whole dynamic of the situation. What could have been a terrible problem was now an isolated experience that was handled well. From the waitress to the manager, both handled the situation very professionally and both added value from a customer service stand point for the restaurant chain.
In Japan, it has been said that the rigid emergency training that the populous received saved countless lives. The people responsible for excuting the evacuations prior to the tsunamis added immeasuable value. In every organization the front line staff that interact with your customers can either provide value or can take away value. Many years ago I was involved in some training that taught me a tremendous lesson. It was pointed out that if the employees are not empowered to make decisions that impact the customer service experience at the time critical to determining if the client is going to have a positive or negative experience then it is more likely that the experience will be negative. If the employees are empowered to make these decisions then it is more likely these occasions can be positive and actually create more loyal customers.
I have been very fortunate to work with with people that cared very much about customer service. Our organization has been recognized many times as a great place to work and a place that people enjoy doing business with (Houston Business Journal Best Places to Work multiple years, Printing Industries ofAmerica Information Network -Best Workplaces in America multiple years, BBB Awards for Excellence multiple years)
As it turned out, my daughter received her replacement and she enjoyed her breakfast. If the staff did not react the way they had reacted it would have been a completely different experience. The fact that they were apologetic, they took responsibility for the problem and wanted to correct it, changed the whole dynamic of the situation. What could have been a terrible problem was now an isolated experience that was handled well. From the waitress to the manager, both handled the situation very professionally and both added value from a customer service stand point for the restaurant chain.
In Japan, it has been said that the rigid emergency training that the populous received saved countless lives. The people responsible for excuting the evacuations prior to the tsunamis added immeasuable value. In every organization the front line staff that interact with your customers can either provide value or can take away value. Many years ago I was involved in some training that taught me a tremendous lesson. It was pointed out that if the employees are not empowered to make decisions that impact the customer service experience at the time critical to determining if the client is going to have a positive or negative experience then it is more likely that the experience will be negative. If the employees are empowered to make these decisions then it is more likely these occasions can be positive and actually create more loyal customers.
I have been very fortunate to work with with people that cared very much about customer service. Our organization has been recognized many times as a great place to work and a place that people enjoy doing business with (Houston Business Journal Best Places to Work multiple years, Printing Industries of
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Buying Experiences
I was thinking this weekend about some of my favortie buying experiences. It made me think back to my youth when I would go grocery shopping with my mom. I absolutely loved going grocery shopping with my mom. The reason for my intense pleasure related to the experiece created by the owner of the family owned grocery store my mother patronized. His name was Sam Sacco and everyone would call him Mr. Sam. Mr. Sam's grocery store, "Sacco's", was jam packed every Saturday morning. When we would arrive bright and early Saturday morning Mr. Sam would always be near the front door with a broad smile on his face and a warm welcome for his customers. He also happened to have a pocket full of suckers of various flavors, or a pocket full of chewing gum he would happily hand out to all the children that came in with their parents. This personal touch still resonates with me today.
Mr. Sam made my experience both memorable and pleasant. Because I was content, he made my mother's experience happy as well. She did not have a child pestering her for a treat while shopping because her child was already happy and content with the treat Mr. Sam had provided. I am sure this was symptomatic of the overall customer service clients of Sacco's received. There are many firms known for their attention to detail and the high level of customer service they provide. Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, and Disney are among the most famous for providing world class customer service.
Great customer service starts by anticipating your clients needs and exceeding their expectations. In order to anticipate your client's needs you have to know what their needs are. You have to understand what the client is trying to accomplish. How many times have you dealt with a customer service person that has created a wonderful buying experience? When this has occurred to me, it has happened because the customer service representative was dedicated and focused on providing me world class customer service. When I have experienced world class buying experiences, the buying experiences have occurred because not only were my needs met, but they were well exceded. The experience was typically marked by something extra that went well above and beyond what was called for. Think back to your incredible buying experiences, does this sound familar?
I have to admit my family and I love cruises and we have had the good fortune of going on many different cruises. I have patronized many different cruise lines, but far and away the best experiences have been with Disney. From the organized approach of picking you up at the airport and transporting you to the cruise ship, to the fantastic dining experiences and the wonderful animal shapes formed from towels left on your bed each night, Disney goes the extra mile to excede your expectations and make your experience one you will remember and tell your friends about.
There are numerous examples of companies that go the extra mile to make your buying experience extraordinary in an effort to make you not only a pleased client, but an advocate for their product or service. The best form of advertising is word of mouth and those people that experience customer service that excede their expectations are the clients that will be your greatest advertisers. I am a strong believer in "The Golden Rule", treat others as you would like to be treated . However, doesn't it make sense in a customer service environment that we should also be following the "Golden Rule of Customer Service", treat others as they would like to be treated?
Mr. Sam made my experience both memorable and pleasant. Because I was content, he made my mother's experience happy as well. She did not have a child pestering her for a treat while shopping because her child was already happy and content with the treat Mr. Sam had provided. I am sure this was symptomatic of the overall customer service clients of Sacco's received. There are many firms known for their attention to detail and the high level of customer service they provide. Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, and Disney are among the most famous for providing world class customer service.
Great customer service starts by anticipating your clients needs and exceeding their expectations. In order to anticipate your client's needs you have to know what their needs are. You have to understand what the client is trying to accomplish. How many times have you dealt with a customer service person that has created a wonderful buying experience? When this has occurred to me, it has happened because the customer service representative was dedicated and focused on providing me world class customer service. When I have experienced world class buying experiences, the buying experiences have occurred because not only were my needs met, but they were well exceded. The experience was typically marked by something extra that went well above and beyond what was called for. Think back to your incredible buying experiences, does this sound familar?
I have to admit my family and I love cruises and we have had the good fortune of going on many different cruises. I have patronized many different cruise lines, but far and away the best experiences have been with Disney. From the organized approach of picking you up at the airport and transporting you to the cruise ship, to the fantastic dining experiences and the wonderful animal shapes formed from towels left on your bed each night, Disney goes the extra mile to excede your expectations and make your experience one you will remember and tell your friends about.
There are numerous examples of companies that go the extra mile to make your buying experience extraordinary in an effort to make you not only a pleased client, but an advocate for their product or service. The best form of advertising is word of mouth and those people that experience customer service that excede their expectations are the clients that will be your greatest advertisers. I am a strong believer in "The Golden Rule", treat others as you would like to be treated . However, doesn't it make sense in a customer service environment that we should also be following the "Golden Rule of Customer Service", treat others as they would like to be treated?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Understanding the Clients Needs
I consider myself very fortunate to live in America and have so many choices. For example, I can get milk from probably 15 different places within a mile from my house. I can go to a variety of grocery stores, a variety of convenience stores, a variety of drug stores, and a variety of Mega stores that sell groceries, clothes, hardware, etc.. The pricing differs from store to store, but my buying decision is not always based upon price. I tend to make my buying decision based upon my need at the time. We find this scenario often in our everyday activities. There are many different factors that influence my buying choice daily? Location, convenience, price, how quickly I need the the product, do I need other items at the same time, what was my experience with the location I am buying from?
Much is the same when we buy any item. If we can understand the clients needs, then we can more effectively cater to the client and positively impact their buying experience. This is something I have always been particularly interested in. Throughout my career our company has sent out customer surveys that give us feedback regarding our clients and non-clients buying experiences. We have gained a tremendous amount of information related to this feedback. From this information we have been able to positively influence our customers buying experiences.
Over the years when we have trained our staff, we have tried to teach those members of our staff that interface with our customers a methodology that has positively impacted their buying experience. We did this by training our staff to ask questions effectively and making sure that we understood what the client was trying to accomplish. Often times there has been information we discover that has lead us to a better, more cost effective way for the client to accomplish their goal.
We have all experienced great customer service, and we have all been the victims of poor customer service. Once you have experienced great customer service, it is no great surprise that your loyalty to the service provider goes up dramatically. When you have experienced poor customer service, there is no rush to frequent the service provider again. As a matter of fact, there is often a resistance to return to the service provider. Our experiences influence our perceptions, and our perceptions contribute to our decision making. If we can positively impact our clients perceptions, it is likely we will receive more repeat business. If the client receives exceptional service, then it is also likely our clients will be our ambassadors. Shouldn't this be the goal of any service provider?
Much is the same when we buy any item. If we can understand the clients needs, then we can more effectively cater to the client and positively impact their buying experience. This is something I have always been particularly interested in. Throughout my career our company has sent out customer surveys that give us feedback regarding our clients and non-clients buying experiences. We have gained a tremendous amount of information related to this feedback. From this information we have been able to positively influence our customers buying experiences.
Over the years when we have trained our staff, we have tried to teach those members of our staff that interface with our customers a methodology that has positively impacted their buying experience. We did this by training our staff to ask questions effectively and making sure that we understood what the client was trying to accomplish. Often times there has been information we discover that has lead us to a better, more cost effective way for the client to accomplish their goal.
We have all experienced great customer service, and we have all been the victims of poor customer service. Once you have experienced great customer service, it is no great surprise that your loyalty to the service provider goes up dramatically. When you have experienced poor customer service, there is no rush to frequent the service provider again. As a matter of fact, there is often a resistance to return to the service provider. Our experiences influence our perceptions, and our perceptions contribute to our decision making. If we can positively impact our clients perceptions, it is likely we will receive more repeat business. If the client receives exceptional service, then it is also likely our clients will be our ambassadors. Shouldn't this be the goal of any service provider?
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