I like shopping at warehouse type stores.

Chemist Warehouse. JB Hi-Fi. Bunnings.

You know, the stack ‘em high, sell ‘em low set-ups?

In doing so I actually feel as though I save quite a lot of money.

Unfortunately though, as a general rule, the customer service stinks. Does it really cost more to smile? To look someone in the eye and ask if they need assistance? To advise how long something might take? To say “Have a ripping day!”?

I think not. The only thing I can think is that these businesses are under-staffed, so everyone’s under the pump. But at least that way they can charge less.

What do you think? Am I being harsh?

It often occurs to me that customers and prospects only know a little of what I offer.

Does this mean my offer is too broad? Or is it that I don’t make clear what it is I do?

I suspect it’s both…which is kind of ironic given I specialise in marketing communications of which Lesson 1, Term 1 is to be simple, clear and single-minded in all your communications! Ah well, nobody’s perfect.

But that’s OK…I’m in the process of fixing that up as I write this post. And I like to wear my heart on my sleeve!

The thing is, there’s a great opportunity awaiting all marketers and business owners to detail exactly what it is their business offers. And I don’t just mean in terms of products or services…although this is surely top of the list.

I’m talking about other things as well like:

• Payment terms
• Opening hours
• Contact details
• Payment options
• Guarantees
• Training
• Special deals

The list is endless. Why keep any powder dry when there’s a potential sale at stake?

Let your customers and prospects know all there is to know about your business…they can cherry pick the necessary information to make an informed decision…which is hopefully to buy…FROM YOU!

What do you think? Should you keep some powder dry?

How often are you pleasantly surprised by great customer service? If you’re like me, then sadly not very often. But recently, I had a good customer service experience that demonstrates the best way to handle customer complaints.

Last winter I had a fire grate made. For $170 I got what appeared to be a solid piece of craftsmanship. But after only twenty fires, it started to lose shape, bend in the middle and generally stop functioning.

Because I generally like to avoid conflict at all costs, I tossed up for a couple of weeks about whether or not to take it back, but I finally decided I should. I was of course expecting the worse – “Sorry mate, our guarantee only extends to 14-days” or “Sorry but you shouldn’t have kept using it.”

To my astonishment the fellow who made it apologised, offered to fix it and/or replace it and advised that it would be all done within two days. The end result was that it was fixed on the same day, at no charge and now works better than ever. And he didn’t even refer to me as “Mate”. As a side issue, I think referring to a customer in this way is very unprofessional. My favoured approach is to use their first name, but that’s another article in itself!

Now, back to my fire grate. Okay, so maybe the problem shouldn’t have arisen in the first place and they should pay more attention to their craftsmanship…but mistakes do happen. From a business owners perspective, the learning here is how you handle customer complaints.

I could almost guarantee the fire grate fellow has had no training in customer service, he just did what seemed right. He listened to the customer, made a judgement that the customer’s request was reasonable and then over-delivered. In fact he under-promised and over-delivered…even better!

This doesn’t mean giving in to every customer’s request – of course there are times when they are simply unreasonable. But it does mean being sensible and mature about your options for the best way to handle customer complaints.

How you handle customer complaints can create an opportunity to promote your business. Handled well, they are a great way to generate word-of-mouth. That said, I’d buy another fire grate tomorrow from Flash Weld in Mornington, Victoria!

Many Clients ask me if they should be utilising the various social mediums available to them.

As long as they’re up for providing ongoing content, and they (or someone within their business) has an inkling about how to find their way around the web, then my view is GIVE SOCIAL MEDIA A GO. And here’s 12 reasons why:

1. To engage in conversations with their customers. (Do we need any more reasons?!). Assuming we do then…
2. To attract prospects.
3. To provide customer service (answering questions, giving advice).
4. To gain information on our competition.
5. To exchange information with others who know more than you.
6. To extend your reach globally (this may force you to develop a new offer).
7. It costs nothing but time (compare that to other marketing channels).
8. It’s fun (nothing wrong with that!).
9. It’s measurable and accountable (compare that to advertising, sponsorship, direct mail).
10. To attract quality employees, suppliers.
11. To attract media attention.
12. To position yourself as an expert…or at least someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Let’s create the ultimate list. Why do you believe businesses should use social media?

Is it me or is it them?

I’m feeling a bit let down at the moment.

You see I’m running these two marketing workshops in March for Not-For-Profit organisations to learn about traditional and innovative marketing ideas.

Attendance fee is $347 for each session. A session runs for 4-hours. Here’s the info http://theideasguy.com.au/workshops

Getting them to sign up has been slow…but this is expected…they have lines of approval to go through and that takes time.

What I didn’t think would be slow was getting my corporate colleagues and friends to sponsor some of the smaller charities to attend. Those ones that just couldn’t afford to do something like this but would benefit greatly. I’ve provided incentives, discounts etc but I can’t do any more…I do need to maker a buck.

So, I’ve been sending out emails asking these people (mainly in medium to large businesses) to take out a sponsorship.

I even put this package together for the bigger companies http://theideasguy.com.au/nfp-sponsorship

The response…Either “No thanks, we’re committed” or none…silence! “No thanks”  I can deal with but  silence, I’m finding hard. Surely the curtesy of a response is the least they can do. They always respond when I email them something that doesn’t involve an ask for dollars.

Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe times really are tough and they can’t bring themselves to having to decline. Maybe my email got spammed…I don’t think so. Maybe they think I’m trying to line my own pockets…I think they know me better than this. Maybe they’re flat out.

So why don’t they respond?

The objective of this post is actually not to answer that question. I’m actually wanting to understand generally why  people don’t communicate. I actually think it’s really rude. When I was Marketing Manager of a large Travel Agency, I used to say to the staff in the store who had a customer phone inquiry…”If you’ve got nothing to tell them (a customer) ring them up and tell them that you’ve got nothing to tell them!” At least the customer knows that you’re looking in to their inquiry.

Anyway, enough of my bleating. What do you think? Be honest. Are my expectations to high?

How often are you pleasantly surprised by great customer service? If you’re like me, then sadly not very often. But things changed on Monday.

You see, last Winter I had a fire grate made. For $170 I got what appeared to be a solid piece of craftsmanship. But after only twenty fires, it started to lose shape, bend in the middle and generally stop functioning.

After tossing up for a couple of weeks as to whether or not to take it back (I avoid conflict at all costs you see!), I finally decided I should. I was of course expecting the worse – “Sorry mate, our guarantee only extends to 14-days” or “Sorry but you shouldn’t have kept using it.”

To my astonishment the fellow who made it 1) apologised, 2) offered to fix it and / or replace it and 3) advised it would be all done within two days. The end result was that it was fixed same day, at no charge and now works better than ever. And he didn’t even refer to me as “Mate”. (As a side issue, I think the referring to a customer in this way is mighty unprofessional…My favoured approach is to use their first name. That’s another article in itself.)

Now, back to my fire grate. OK, so maybe the problem shouldn’t have arisen in the first place – maybe they should pay more attention to their craftsmanship…but hey, mistakes do happen. From a business owners perspective, the learning here is how you handle customer complaints. I could almost guarantee the fire grate fellow has had no training in customer service, he just did what seemed right – Listened to the customer, made a judgment that what the customer was requesting was reasonable and then over-delivered. In fact he under-promised and over-delivered…Even better!

This doesn’t mean giving in to every customer’s request…of course there are times when they (we) are simply unreasonable. But it does mean being sensible and mature about your options.

Customer complaints are an opportunity to promote your business. Handled well, they are a great way to generate word-of-mouth. That said, I’d buy another fire grate tomorrow from Flash Weld in Mornington, Victoria