Customer Service

by Michelle Wolf

Your Distinct Advantage •  Farmers’  marketers  and  people  in  direct  marke2ng  have  one  major  advantage  in  their  business  model  –  the  opportunity  to  connect  directly  with  your  customer  (rela2onships)  

•  Authen2city,  trust,  and  mutual  regard  –  these  are  the  founda2onal  elements  of  direct  marke2ng  and  they  are  also  key  elements  of  excep2onal  customer  service  

•  Businesses  hoping  to  succeed  with  direct  marke2ng  must  manage  their  customer  service  thoughCully  –  it  can  make  or  break  your  marke2ng  efforts  

Customer Service •  Challenging  to  be  masterful  at  customer  service  •  People  oGen  think  they  know  about  customer  service,  that  it’s  a  ‘given’,  but  in  actuality,  people  aren’t  always  intui2vely  good  at  it  –  must  learn  

•  We  think  too  simplis2cally  -­‐  good  customer  service  isn’t  just  about  being  nice  or  friendly  

•  It’s  about  an  on-­‐going  series  of  commitments  you  make  (and  remake  and  remake…)  to  your  customers  

•  It’s  about  responding  to  the  interac2ons  people  have  with  you  by  offering  reliability  of  experience  and  consistency  

•  This  is  where  your  “A  Game”  can  really  shine  

Moments of Truth •  There  are  several  different  2mes  in  the  sales  cycle  when  people  connect  with  you  and/or  your  business.  Each  one  is  a  “moment  of  truth”  for  your  customer  service:   When  they  see  you  in  person  for  the  first  2me  (30+  seconds)   When  they  call  or  email  for  informa2on   When  they  read  your  newsleYer  or  see  your  post  on  FB   When  they  speak  with  you   When  they  buy  from  you   When  they  store,  use  and  eventually  discard  your  product   When  they  see  you  at  curling  on  Wednesday  evening…  

•  All  of  these  points  of  contact  are  “moments  of  truth”.  Ask  yourself,  how  are  people  leaving  those  interac2ons  with  me?  What  are  the  basics  that  I  could  be  doing  beYer?  

Moments of Truth •  Customer  service  comes  down  to  how  an  interac2on  makes  a  person  feel  

•  It’s  not  about  the  facts,  it’s  about  percep2on  •  Every  2me  a  person  comes  in  contact  with  you  or  your  business,  you’ve  had  a  “moment  of  truth”  

•  The  key  is  to  fully  meet  their  needs,  in  the  easiest  way  possible,  in  the  same  way,  every  2me  

•  Consistency  in  handling  your  “moments  of  truth”  make  you  masterful  in  customer  service  and  creates  very  loyal  customers  

Good or Exceptional? •  One  common  approach  to  customer  service  is  to  strive  for  excellence,  ‘deligh2ng’  and  ‘exceeding  customer  expecta2ons’  –  but  it’s  a  myth  

•  In  truth,  loyalty  has  a  lot  more  to  do  with  how  well  companies  deliver  on  their  basic,  even  plain-­‐vanilla  promises,  than  on  how  dazzling  the  service  experience  might  be  

•  Exceeding  customer  expecta2ons  during  service  interac2ons  (ex.  tea/coffee,  free  product,  or  free  service  such  as  expedited  shipping)  makes  customers  only  marginally  more  loyal  

Good or Exceptional? •  Making  it  easy  for  customers  to  have  their  customer  service  needs  met  fully  &  consistently,  and  fixed  quickly  if  there  is  a  problem,  is  the  most  cost-­‐effec2ve  and  loyalty-­‐building  customer  service  commitment  you  can  make  

•  Having  a  ‘hit  or  miss’  customer  service  track  record,  with  occasional  spurts  of  ‘excellence’,  is  much  less  cost-­‐effec2ve  and  sustainable  than  focusing  simply  on  doing  a  ‘good  job’  consistently  and  reliably,  every  2me,  for  everybody  

•  The  ‘red  carpet’  impresses  less  than  the  sturdy  linoleum  does  

Unsatisfied Customers •  Why  do  some  exis2ng  customers  choose  not  to  do  business  with  you  any  longer?   1%  deceased   3%  move   5%  buy  from  friend  or  rela2ve  who  opens  a  similar  business  (familial  loyalty)  

 9%  come  to  prefer  another  brand/farmer/product   14%  had  an  unresolved  service  problem  

•  All  those  above  make  up  32%  

 68%  leave  because  they  felt  no  one  was  interested  in  giving  them  service  

•  2/3  customers  feel  ignored/taken  for  granted  

Unsatisfied Customers •  25  out  of  every  100  customer  are  not  fully  sa2sfied    •  70%  of  customers  who  have  had  a  problem  don’t  complain  

•  About  80%  of  people  who  do  not  complain  simply  take  their  business  elsewhere  without  giving  the  company  a  chance  to  make  things  right  

•  But  they  will  tell  at  least  10  other  people  about  their  experience  

•  The  math:  average  companies  lose  154  prospects  each  2me  they  serve  100  people  because  their  unsa2sfied  customers  generate  a  lot  of  ‘bad  press’  

Unsatisfied Customers •  154  lost  prospects  based  on  the  service  the  typical  business  provides  to  100  people  

•  In  a  week,  it’s  easy  to  have  a  connec2on  to  100+  customers  

•  In  a  season,  it’s  easy  to  have  1000’s  of  customer  interac2ons  

•  Nega2ve  word  of  mouth  has  a  stronger  influence  on  the  decision  to  purchase  than  posi2ve  word-­‐of-­‐mouth  tes2monials    

 

Customer Service Summary

Q:  The  take-­‐away  here?  1.  Minimize  the  number  of  unsa2sfied  customer  

service  experiences  that  your  customers  have  –  every  person  who  is  ‘sa2sfied’  instead  of  ‘unsa2sfied’  represents  11  saved  poten2al  customers  

2.  Focus  on  consistent,  reliable,  ‘good’  customer  service.  Do  the  basics  right,  consistently.  The  ‘excep2onal’  bonuses  don’t  leverage  resources  well  or  efficiently  

Customer Service Basics •  Solve  problems  for  people  now,  even  if  you  think  you  can  offer  something  beYer  later  

•  We  want  to  be  served  by  someone  who  can  handle  the  issue,  rather  than  being  passed  on  to  someone  else  

•  Use  good  eye  contact,  a  firm  handshake,  and  smile  at  people  –  generate  a  feeling  of  paying  aYen2on,  really  focusing  on  people,  they  maYer  in  some  way  

•  Kind  trumps  cool,  and  shy  is  uninspiring  •  Ask  people  for  their  opinions  and  input  –  they  like  to  know  that  their  thoughts  maYer  

•  Address  people  by  their  names;  spell  them  and  pronounce  them  correctly  

Customer Service Basics •  Many  organic  food  consumers  and  farmers’  market  shoppers  are  savvy,  educated  and  knowledgeable  about  your  products.  Many  are  quite  informed  and  have  very  real  product  exper2se.  You  need  to  know  what  you  are  talking  about  and  don’t  talk  down  to  people.  

•  You  can’t  promise  the  moon.  You  don’t  even  have  to  promise  that  much.  But  whatever  you  do  promise,  you  need  to  bend  over  backwards  to  provide.    

•  Work  on  the  principle  of  “the  absence  of  doubt”  (ex.  giving  change,  phone  message,  etc)  

Customer Service Basics •  Each  interac2on  you  have  with  someone  builds  an  emo2onal  bank  account  between  you  

•  Reliable,  posi2ve  interac2ons  and  consistent  “moments  of  truth”  build  that  bank  account  

•  If  you  slip  up  at  one  point,  you  make  a  withdrawl  but  the  healthy  bank  account  balance  is  s2ll  in  the  posi2ve  

•  With  new  customers,  there  is  nothing  in  the  bank  account  so  a  nega2ve  experience  immediately  puts  you  in  the  red,  overdraG  

•  This  is  why  it’s  so  cri2cal  to  build  your  business  by  keeping  a  core  group  of  dedicated  customers  happy  –  there  is  no  wiggle  room  for  error  if  you  are  always  trying  to  find  new  customers  (and  it  costs  more  too)  

Remember •  Do  the  basics  right,  and  consistently  •  Cul2vate  the  attude  that  it  is  a  privilege  to  be  of  service  to  others  (they  give  you  the  opportunity  to  do/grow  what  you  love  to  do!)  

•  Promote  a  ‘whatever  it  takes!’  attude  in  yourself  and  your  staff/family  –  minimize  problems  but  when  they  happen,  fix  them  promptly  and  with  gra2tude  

•  Business  owners  represent  their  businesses  24/7  –  you  are  your  business.  In  smaller  and  rural  communi2es  especially,  you  can’t  ‘hide’  and  your  consistency  of  character  maYers