CUSTOMER CENTER

Sam Miller asked:


If you want to further please and serve your customers, it is imperative that you determine the level of their satisfaction in products and services your business provide. This is a very basic transaction when setting customer-business relations. Through the years, companies have been recognizing the fact that the basic key to their success is to get to know customers better and strive to satisfy and serve them well.

Through the years, companies have been actively adopting customer service measurements in aim of gauging the level of customer satisfaction. However, experts and company research aficionados attest that there are usually misconceptions and misrepresentations when doing such efforts. Thus, it is advisable that you recognize and familiarize yourself with the usual flaws or mistakes when performing and using customer service measurements. Those commonly committed errors are as follows.

- Customer service measurement covers inappropriate population. Before performing customer service measurements, it is essential to target the study on appropriate customers. The survey should be administered on actual customers who know and use the products and services well instead of people who do not even know the products or the brand itself. Also, it is important to determine and set the demographics of the potential respondents to the study. Focusing on customers with higher purchasing power would be more advisable.

- The customer service measurement program does not cover sufficient volume of respondents. When determining customer satisfaction level, it is advisable that your business strive as hard to cover a bigger percentage of customers. You simply cannot determine satisfaction level based on just a few of the customers. In statistics, a 90% minimum or greater level of confidence with a 10% error rate is ideal and lower than that could render the measurement inappropriate and ineffective.

- The customer service measurement is based on an inaccurate hypothesis. Look at the questions employed. Are they appropriate? Will the questions solicit answers that would measure customer satisfaction level? If not, you should look at the original and applied assumptions and see if there are modifications or changes needed. Customer service measurements would render futile if the basic concepts and assumptions are not appropriate in the first place.

- The customer service measurement is using ineffective or technical words. The common mistake among different customer service measurements is that such studies use vocabularies that are not easily understandable. Remember that technical terms and jargons might seem too common for you, but for your customers, they might not be too familiar with such words. Misunderstandings on words would surely arouse discomfort among customer-respondents of such customer service surveys.

- The terms used are overly generalized. If the assumptions and questions are also general instead of specific, the customer service measurement would surely be ineffective.

Time and attention should be particularly allotted if you are to run a customer service measurement program. You should bear in mind that the data you would be attaining from such surveys would be essential in gauging the level of satisfaction in your business’ products and services.

Kris Koonar asked:


There are often situations when small, medium and even large companies find themselves in a tough spot as far as revenues are concerned. They are at a loss of funds or finance to undertake a project that is expected to give good results. In such a scenario the option available for financing is accounts receivable financing.

Accounts receivable financing is a secured loan for which accounts receivables are pledged as collateral with financial organizations. For small businesses it acts as a boon to help improve their cash flow. Generally small businesses find it hard to receive finance from a bank as they have less credit rating to show because they are yet in a developing stage. Unless finance is available, it is not possible for business to grow at a good pace. A timely finance from finance companies or even banks proves to be helpful for their growth. They often have customers who do not pay before 30-60 days. In such cases the accounts receivable are given as security to a financial organization and finance is received.

Any company can opt for accounts receivable finance. It is very popular with transport or trucking companies, construction companies, manufacturing companies, textiles, staffing and engineering and other small businesses. It benefits medium business and any other business that needs finance on a daily basis. These companies would need to have accounts receivable in hand. The companies who can qualify for such finances would need to have accounts receivables from credit worthy customers.

Moreover, aging of accounts happen to very large extent. They may have regular contracts with organizations with good credit history or government organizations. Some financial organizations also consider the period for which the credit is given, which they prefer should be within 30- 60 days. Companies which are experiencing modest speed of growth and find it hard to keep the cash flow constant find the accounts receivable finance very beneficial.

These finances ensure growth and stability of a company. The process is very quick and you can get the finance in a very short period of time. As finances are available on a timely basis, the companies may be able to get some advantage of reduction of overheads. The processing time of this type of financing is very less. Some of the companies also have online submission, and invoice submission systems which are then verified and checked and finance is provide in less than 2 days also which is a very timely help for these companies which need finance to undertake their daily activities. One more benefit that you get from such a finance function is that the accounts of the companies are managed better as proper records and collection on the due date is very important. For the small companies it is an additional benefit that the business in itself is well organized to make the entire process cost effective.

Accounts receivable financing is available to all those organizations that are in urgent need of finance or cash and are caught up in tricky situations wherein customers make payments very late. Companies find this financing highly beneficial to keep the growth of their organization on track.

Robert Riles asked:


Imagine going on a trip with your friends and someone suggests going to the golf course for a game of golf. You then take out your fine clubs, and the custom logo golf balls that have your company logo printed on them. Your friends will be in awe and stand gaping at them, wondering how it was possible to get golf balls with your logo on them. These days, it has become a trend to get customized balls done. Most corporates are following this, since they make for thoughtful gifts and are also used to promote the business, drawing in new clients and customers.

There are so many companies into this business of customizing products to suit individual needs. Gone are the days, when only caps, clocks and diaries where printed with company names or logo. Today, golf has become a sport that most men and women are getting interested in and becoming popular across the world. So, it is only fitting to give away customized balls so people can use them during their game of golf.

You can choose from Nike, Callaway, Hass- Jordan, Srixon and Wilson to name a few of the brands, and give them your details to print on the golf balls. They will come in boxes of 12balls, and can be shipped to your address in less than a week. Sometimes, people even choose to have a logo of different colors on the balls. A company survives through its logo, which acts as a brand ambassador for it, spreading the word wherever it goes. Today, if we were to notice a tick sign anywhere, we would know instantly it is “Nike”, similar every company has their own personalized logo that it can be identified with.

Most of these custom logo printing companies have an online presence, which makes it easier for clients to be in touch with them. They can place the order, and keep track of the shipment as well. The golf balls could be white, or in any other color of their choice, and the logo will get printed on the ball. However, some companies have the policy of minimum order, so make sure to check that before placing your order. Sometimes, it is 2 dozens, other times it could be 10 to 12 dozens. Also double check with them on the kind of golf balls they use.

Some of the custom logo golf balls making companies will do a rush delivery within 3days if you are in a hurry. But set aside about 5days for the delivery to happen. Thereon, you can use these customized balls as a promotional item when launching a new business, product or service. You could even use them as gifts for your employees and business contacts during special occasions. It will remind them of your company every time they use the balls. For professional golf players, you could give out Titleist extreme golf balls, which will give them extra boost in distance while playing on a range.

3D John asked:


As the implications for 3D solid modeling and rapid prototyping continue to grow the impact for consumers and small businesses to manufacture products continues to grow as well. If a new product is needed by a business of customer a CAD file can be purchased, uploaded and the 3D solid modeling can reproduce it. Maybe a plastic ABS buckle needs replacing or a new product appeals to the consumer, 3D solid modeling has the capability to produce replicas, models or prototypes quickly and easily. Advancements in fabrication materials allow an almost unlimited potential for products with 3D solid modeling technology.

3D Solid Modeling Applications

3D solid modeling technology is on the brink of enhancing product availability for everyone. The technology once used only by manufacturing industries is becoming available for general use and not just for large manufacturers. 3D solid modeling will provide enhanced capabilities for production techniques to be used by the average person. Just imagine that you have a broken fan in your computer and you have no time to purchase another. What to do? With 3D solid modeling technology you can produce an exact replica of the part needed. Once produced you replace the old one with the new and your back in operation. 3D solid modeling can apply prototyping technology in a variety of applications. The technology for 3D solid modeling is computer assisted design software instructing a 3D printer to build models layer by layer on a platform until an exact reproduction according to specifications is produced.

Everyone with kids has games and toys needing repair or replacement parts. These parts could be replaced as 3D solid modeling technology would manufacture a brand new toy or just the piece that needs repairing. 3D solid modeling along with 3D printers has opened up a whole new set of options by allowing consumers to play a role in the design and manufacture of products they wish to purchase. Because of 3D solid modeling consumers will not have to purchase products in colors and designs they don’t want or need. 3D solid modeling will eventually allow the customizing, designing and manufacturing of many products by the same individual who will be purchasing them.

3D Solid Modeling Advantages

The use of 3D solid modeling for businesses is also one of many applications of 3D solid modeling technology. In this application the small business would produce a custom product for the consumer by purchasing or downloading a (CAD) software package for the item they wanted and produce it exactly to the specifications of the customer, many times while they waited. One of many 3D solid modeling printers would then begin to manufacture the customized item for the purchaser.

3D solid modeling offers options such as customizing colors and product materials would be available to the consumer with a 3D solid modeling program. In a short period of time a customized product would be ready for the consumer to take home and use. Think about purchasing a gift and having it made in the store while you wait. Maybe that special train or model car for a grandchild as a gift could be produced by 3D solid modeling technology.

The Maverick Marketeer asked:


These are the all around best network marketing tips for success. This check list will not only provide you with a recipe for success with network marketing but success in anything you choose to apply the method to.

I’d say that’s pretty powerful stuff eh…?

What many people seem to have trouble grasping is the fact that success it self, be it with business, sports or even academics, has the very same formula. Basically, if you know what it takes to be successful at one thing, you can often apply the very same approach in a different context and duplicate that same kind of success for yourself over and over again.

Network Marketing Tips #1:

This first tip for success is also one of the most difficult to master. Time management may sound like a simple thing, but that’s far from the truth of things.

Ask yourself,” how do I spend my average day?” How many hours do you spend working, sleeping, eating, traveling between places, etc.? There are only so many hours in a day. If you work 8 hours, and get 8 hours of sleep, you only have 8 more left to do everything else.

The point I hope to make here is that your time is extremely valuable. The average American watches 4 or more hours of television a day. That 4 hours a day, equals a 28 hours a week that could be spent building your success.

Network Marketing Tips #2:

This second tip is nearly as important as the first. Being able to properly budget your finances is a must for any successful business owner. Being aware of how you spend your valuable resources, like your time and your money, will allow you to decide how to use them to your best advantage.

Also when planning to advertise and promote your business or service, preparing a set budget will help motivate you to promote your business as wisely and effectively as possible.

Network Marketing Tips #3:

This third tip is one that keeps on giving. Be sure to a lot both time and finances toward continuing education with your chosen industry niche. Think of this as an investment that will undoubtedly give you a serious return provided you stick to it.

There are possibly dozens of helpful hints to be lain at your feet in hopes that the right combination will guarantee success for you and your business. However, if you can properly manage your time and you finances as well as maintain the focus to continually increase your business knowledge you will all but have such a guarantee already in hand.

Successfully mastering just these three network marketing tips will require focus, discipline, and dedication. These are characteristics a great majority of successful individuals share. Work hard to develop them within yourself and success is sure to follow.

Jerry Sparger asked:


In business-to-business markets, the key element of the customer relationship can be defined as how much strategic value your products and services add to a client’s business. Yet “strategic-value-added” is one of the most difficult things to measure and nearly impossible to gauge using third-party customer surveys. The best way to understand how clients perceive value you provide, and identify opportunities to improve your business, is to skip the customer satisfaction surveys and opt, instead, for collaborative conversations with decision-makers at key accounts.

Our client, A Washington, D.C., technology services firm-”Washco”-wanted to grow existing strategic customers and attract new ones. Washco was seeking profitable long-term relationships in which it could concretely contribute to its customers’ success.

With this goal, Washco’s executives sought to understand what would or would not motivate customers to buy. They identified four key questions:



What are we doing that works well, and how can we do more of it?

What are we doing that is not working, and how can we improve those activities?

What should we stop doing because it provides no value to our customers?

How much strategic value do our customers think we are providing, and how can further contribute to their success?



 

Washco commissioned a customer survey, which provided broad statistics on such topics as Washco executive interaction; understanding of the customer’s mission and how well Washco served it; and the ease of interaction with Washco across all areas.

The survey showed that Washco’s customers were generally “satisfied”; it also revealed that customers were “somewhat unsatisfied” with problem resolution. More troubling, the survey results did not provide any insight into why customers were unsatisfied. In Washco’s complex custom solution business, the problem could have stemmed from a number of areas. Were the issues in time to acknowledgement, time to resolution, resolution quality, executive involvement, problem ownership, the impact on customer business, a combination of elements or something Washco executives hadn’t thought of?

‘The company created a solution to its customers’ problem that no other vendor was currently addressing.’

While the survey could have been redesigned to include all possible touch-points in the problem resolution process, Washco executives realized that static survey responses would not capture the nuances of the interplay of factors that were frustrating customers. They concluded that only face-to-face discussions with customers would give them the necessary actionable intelligence improve their business processes.

With our help, Washco developed a structured interview designed around their four questions, then sat down with executives at each strategic account for a collaborative meeting.

Help us help you

The Washco team started each meeting by presenting to client executives specifically what Washco was doing to help them reach their goals. Next, team members asked the clients for feedback, saying to each customer, “This is what we think we do to help you achieve your goals and what we want to do to help you more in the future. Help us understand where you agree and why and where you disagree and why. Help us focus our resources on maximizing our value to you.”

Washco’s customers appreciated the “everything is on the table” approach and the opportunity to brainstorm new products, services and business processes with their vendor. Customers not only enthusiastically offered frank appraisals of Washco’s efforts but also volunteered some of their strategic objectives and in-house issues, asking Washco for their help in achieving their goals.

Customers expressed concern over the delays of both Washco and their competitors in finding personnel with specialty skills such as Oracle knowledge. Washco pointed out that the customers were unwilling to bear the cost of keeping such talent on the bench. Washco determined that its best alternative was to develop internal and external third-party rapid recruiting and hiring teams that would keep tabs on talent to pursue at a moment’s notice. The company created a solution to its customers’ problem that no other vendor was currently addressing. In return, customers acknowledged the challenge that Washco faced and agreed to give Washco more notice when they needed specialty skills.

In highly competitive markets, the decision to buy or keep buying from one company over another is based on whether or not the customer sees the vendor as a source of strategic value. Everything a vendor does affects the buying decision. Sales, order entry, delivery, legal, accounting, customer service and support all impact how customers feel about doing business with you. Over the long run, a company that keeps strategic customers and attracts new ones must integrate all business functions around providing value to clients.

Tear down department boundaries, eliminate unnecessary activities and focus your energy on doing things that serve customers well. This is a significant undertaking that affects your entire. Before making changes, know exactly what customers perceive as value. The best way to understand how customers value your activities is to ask them directly.

A custom questionnaire will help you get at the heart of what needs to be done within your company to add customer value. Start by answering the questionnaire yourself, having key company leaders pretend to be clients. Then imagine how clients might answer the questions regarding your major competitor. Finally, sit down and review the questions with at least one trusted client executive.

Don’t miss this opportunity to use your time with the customer to delve into the issues behind the answers. Follow Washco’s example. This is an opportunity to collaborate with clients to create innovative solutions that differentiate your business in the marketplace. In this age of technological applications, sometimes simply sitting down with people face to face can tell you more about what customers think.

The better you understand the nuances of how to best serve key accounts and add value, the more likely you are reduce price competition and keep competition out.

Dave Roth asked:


One of the most important things that a company can do is correctly manage its customer base ? and this includes potential customers, as well. These potential customers are the ones who talked to the company at trade fairs, and the ones who asked for information but then never bought anything. A lot of companies just write them off because they have not yet spent any money, but smart companies know that they just have not spent any money yet. They may be back, so it is a good idea to follow up with them ? without nagging them ? to make sure they remember that the company is there for them should they ever need anything. One of the best ways to do that is through CRM, or customer relationship management, software. This software is designed to store all kinds of customer information, including names, addresses, important dates, and any kind of notes that the company might feel is important. It is often used when people call in to an 800 line for service or sales, to record what is talked about, so that a salesperson can follow up later.

Not everyone likes CRM software, because some customers feel like it is very intrusive. They do not want their information stored, and they feel like their privacy is being violated. Used correctly, though, CRM is a very good choice, because companies can get the information that they want but yet not contact the customer or potential customer so many times that it becomes a problem or a nuisance. Getting the right balance between letting a customer know that the business is there and not inundating them with sales calls and information is also something that CRM can be very good for. The software can be set up to send out reminders at specific intervals, or to alert the salesperson on a particular day that there should be a contact made with a certain customer. By doing this, customers can be managed just like other aspects of the business. Being organized is very vital, and this is especially true today because the society is becoming a lot more global. People who only did business in their local town a few short years ago now can sell their goods and services to people all over the country and the world.

Not everyone thinks of this, but it is an important and valid consideration. The businesses that use CRM software find that they are better equipped to handle these global kinds of issues as well, making them better suited to handle large sales, build stronger client bases, and do more in the business world. Because CRM can help them meet deadlines and address other issues, it can move a smaller business into a more global and respected category is a short period of time, helping both the business and its customers to enjoy the benefits that come with things like that. Most customers think that CRM provides them a lot of benefits without too many problems, and most businesses would agree. The advantages that are offered to both salespeople and their customers are much greater than any problems that the software could cause, with the possible exception of software that stores sensitive information, and most of this is carefully guarded.

Paul Lavesque asked:


Despite all the rumbling and grumbling about poor customer service, there are always a handful of renegade businesses that somehow find ways to keep their workers fired up and their customers delighted and coming back for more. In these rarified places, highly motivated employees pursue customer delight with a passion; they ignite a flashpoint of contagious enthusiasm that spreads throughout the organization like wildfire.

How do they do it? They conscientiously avoid what I call the Top 5 Monster Customer Service Blunders”:

Monster Blunder #1: Trying to solve the problem with superficial employee training. Workers call it smile trainingprograms intended to convince staff to look and sound more cheerful, while giving them no particular reason to feel any more cheerful. When you boil it down, this kind of training does nothing more than itemize the specific service behaviors workers are expected to exhibit. It then becomes managements job to somehow enforce these designated behaviors into the daily operation of the business. If this approach has any effect at all, it typically creates conduct that strikes customers as mechanical and insincere. Worse, it often intensifies worker resentment and cynicism.

Instead of attempting to dictate what workers should be doing to delight customers, the better approach is to give workers opportunities to generate their own ideas for delivering a better customer experience. Managements role then becomes helping employees implement these ideas, allowing workers to enjoy the motivational boost they derive from positive feedback from delighted customers. This level of employee ownership and involvement is a key cultural characteristic of virtually all flashpoint businesses.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Train managers and supervisors, not just employees, to facilitate interactive brainstorming sessions in which employees come up with their own strategies for improving the customer experience.

Monster Blunder #2: Blaming poor service on employee cynicism. When business leaders complain to me about the cynicism of their workers, Im always inclined to ask them if they believe these workers were already cynical before their first day on the job. If so, the organizations hiring practices are clearly not working very well. If not, then the cynicism may be a direct product of something in the organizational culture.

Employee cynicism is the direct product of an organizations visible preoccupation with self-interest above all elsea purely internal focus. The focus in flashpoint businesses is directed outward, toward the interests of customers and the community at large. This fundamental difference in cultural focus makes all the difference in the world.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Instead of trying to fix the employees, set out to fix the culture by removing operational obstacles to customer delight. Invite workers to participate in identifying and removing cultural roadblocks to further enhance their sense of involvement and ownership.

Monster Blunder #3: Using negative customer feedback as the primary basis for action. Businesses often implement elaborate customer surveys and other feedback mechanismsbut then use them primarily to highlight customer problems and complaints. Employees come to dread these measurement and data-gathering initiatives, since the emphasis is always on the negative, on finding out whos to blame for anything and everything that went wrong.

Flashpoint businesses, too, rely on a variety of customer feedback toolsbut for an entirely different purpose. Here its positive feedback that becomes the primary basis for action. Feedback is used to uncover and highlight everything thats going right. Managers actively seek out hero storiesexamples of employees going the extra mile to deliver delight. Positive feedback is the catalyst for ongoing recognition and celebration. In this kind of culture, theres always some new reason for cheering and hoopla. Its why employees in flashpoint businesses find it easy to see themselves as winners on a winning team.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Start using your own customer feedback data to uncoverand celebrateexamples of service excellence.

Monster Blunder #4: Reserving top recognition for heroic recoveries. Does this scenario sound familiar? A customers order gets fouled up, and a dedicated employee catches the problem and goes to heroic lengths to correct the situation or make up for it in some way. The appreciative customer advises management of this employees heroic initiative and management in turn gives the employee special recognition for his or her efforts. You may be wondering, Wheres the blunder in this?

Its a monster blunder when these kinds of recoveries are the primaryif not the onlysources of employee recognition. If foul-ups represent workers only chance to feel appreciated on the job, then in effect such foul-ups become almost precious to the workers. If, later, management announces that steps are being taken to correct these foul-ups for good, its news that may not win much support from employees. It can feel like this kind of corrective action will rob them of their only chance to shine.

Flashpoint businesses celebrate heroic recoveries, of coursebut they hand out the splashiest recognition to employees who delighted customers where no foul-ups were involved. This makes it easier to motivate workers to strive for the elimination of operational problems.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Reserve your most extravagant recognition for service champions who deliver delight in routine transactions that have no element of heroic recovery associated with them.

Monster Blunder #5: Competing on price. This is one of the most commonplace (and costliest) mistakes in business. When it comes to purchasing decisions, price becomes the ultimate deciding factor only in cases where everything else is equalwhich is almost never. Theres usually at least one little something that gives one business an edge over another one. The real competitive advantage belongs to the business with the highest perception of value, not the one with the lowest price. The overall sense of value is based on the total customer experience, which takes into account less tangible factors, such as helpfulness, friendliness and the personal touch. These values often allow businesses to retain their competitive edge despite slightly higher prices.

TO AVOID THE BLUNDER: Institute a formal process by which employees can continuously come up with new ways to expand customers perception of value.

Concluding Thoughts:

The kind of customer-focused cultures we find in flashpoint businesses obviously don’t happen by accident. These organizations create, implement and refine a process for producing delighted customers. A good place to begin is to stop the top five customer service blunder monsters from rearing their ugly heads in your organization.

Marketing Guy asked:


Not two weeks ago I had a chat with someone (an SEO) about some online media buying and although the figures made an infinite amount of sense (6 figure monthly page views – prime location banner purchase for less than £90 per month!), he said, “but there is no SEO value from the banner link” (it was JavaScript)! Astonished, I spent the next hour arguing the case for buying the coverage, but it would seem that the majority of SEOs just don’t see the value of applying traditional marketing techniques to the web – they just don’t “fit” into the SEO mindset.

What is really bizarre though is that while the optimisation industry doesn’t see the value in some less search engine focused marketing techniques, they will pay a veritable fortune for paid links. The likes of ReviewMe (http://www.reviewme.com) change up to $250 for a single “review” (which is SEO speak for a plain text link not so subtly hidden in a purpose written article). One text link. One! Not just that, but a single text link on a new page that has no PR (and will maybe only will ever receive minimal PR filtered through from other page links)!

For that $250 (around £150) there are so many different options you could aim for. While a lot won’t have any direct SEO benefit, we still need to consider traffic and branding benefits.

$250 would allow me to buy banner advertising on a niche site / forum / blog for a limited amount of time. Depending on the type of site and its subject area you could be looking at a decent amount of traffic, enquiries and exposure – certainly enough to justify the cost.

An alternative would be to spend the money on a directory listing on a site such as TheBestOf (http://www.thebestof.co.uk) – £10 per month for a year and you get a full page listing (written by your local contact), an audio advert where you can pitch your service, inclusion in a high traffic site and a direct (SEO friendly!) link back to your site. A link AND qualified traffic – that’s like SEO Christmas!

Online marketing professionals do focus on SEO a lot and that isn’t a bad thing – it just isn’t the only thing and you should be looking to spend your budget wisely and spread your marketing scope.

Jerry Sparger asked:


Some companies can’t seem to get out of their own way. Declaring themselves customer-centric, they turn right around and design business processes along departmental boundaries, creating stovepipe operations that frustrate customers. Upon review, management discovers the company is accomplishing its internally generated goals. Yet the customers aren’t happy. People are “doing things right,” but they aren’t doing the right things to create outstanding customer experiences.

 

Why? Because too many companies fail to obtain meaningful customer input before designing business processes. They fail to understand which behaviors their customers value and which behaviors create frustration in the customer experience. Ultimately, senior managers must ask themselves a single question before including any given activity in their business processes: “What is the value of this activity to my customer?”

 

I recently asked the president of a midsize subsidiary of a large, highly visible company, what his sales agents would say prevented them from selling more. He laughed and replied, “They would say ‘us.’” When I asked what he meant, he gave me several examples; this one is very typical.

 

This company sells a complex technical solution, tailored to client needs. Sales and pre-sales consulting teams spend months collaborating with the customer to define a very specific, customized solution. The sales team then prices the solution and presents the “final” proposal to the customer for approval. So far, so good.

 

At no point in the long, complex collaboration among sales, pre-sales consulting and customer is either party’s legal team involved. The legal teams of both companies are blindsided by complex solutions that sales and the customer consider “a done deal.”

 

The customer’s legal department often finds real problems in the solution definition that must be corrected before approval. The vendor’s legal department, not fully understanding its role in the sales process, often adds unreasonable legalese that sometimes protects the vendor right out of relationships with customers. Failing to involve legal early in the sales process creates unnecessary turmoil for the vendor and, more importantly, the customer. This vendor is quickly earning a reputation for being difficult to work with.

 

Inclusion

Here’s how you fix that. You include both legal teams early in the sales process, at key steps in the process. Allowing legal to act as advisors to the sales team and customer earlier in the process helps avoid contract difficulties and keeps expectations clear. Lawyers aren’t put in a position to have to delay contract signing, and the proposed solution is more accurate. To make such an approach truly effective, senior management must ensure this change is mandated through procedures that define responsibilities, triggers of engagement and information flows for sales and legal. By including legal early in the process, you ensure that members of your legal team understand the role they play in creating an outstanding buying experience for the customer. And you help them create better contracts that protect you and establish a good relationship with your client.

 

This is but one simple example; every interaction with a customer has the potential to either be problematic or to delight the customer. Take the time to examine how each department—legal, sales, technical, customer service, delivery, shipping and transportation and finance and accounting—interacts with your customers.

 

To deliver an outstanding customer experience, ask your customers what they value the most, then design your business operations in response. Focus on doing those things well that the customer values most, and stop wasting their time and your money!

 

Develop your information flows, business processes and activities with customer interaction in mind and tear down departmental boundaries, improving your value to your customers, while reducing wasted activities.

 

The best way to discover which activities provide value to your customers is to create a detailed questionnaire for senior account managers and executives to use to start meaningful conversations with customers. This approach, rather than statistical surveys, will provide you with actionable insight into your customers’ needs. Look at each activity from the customer’s point of view. What works well? What does not? Why? Select customers of the greatest importance to you and that fit your profile of a good customer.

 

Armed with these two views of customer interaction, you can align your customer-impacting activities with your customers’ ideal of how they want to work with you.

 

Senior managers can examine how their strategic goals and objectives fit with what they have learned from their customers. This might yield some strategic changes, such as new objectives or metrics, targeted at improving customer value.

 

Key frontline managers and staff should work as a single team, regardless of departmental boundaries, to determine if activities are adding value; considering information flows, users, owners and timing.

 

Finally, any changes in strategic objectives or metrics—and any changes to process and activities—should be implemented with a communications plan. This ensures everyone understands management’s intentions and support—and that all your people understand their individual role.