A friend who worked in radio once told me how she achieved what she called her “radio voice.”  As soon as she entered the studio, “I said oh, this’ll be fun, and started smiling,” she said. She kept the smile in place so her face felt relaxed, no matter what the content of the news or feature story she was about to read into a microphone.

“The audience can’t see you, so that’s a great advantage in working on how you sound,” she said.  “I listened to tapes of myself speaking on the air and I always sounded better if I was smiling. Tension or fatigue comes through in your voice, either on the air or on the phone. If you smile, you can rise above that.”  The very act of smiling sends a message to your facial muscles, and your mindset instantly improves:  something fun is afoot!

How often have you made a phone call in a hurried manner and the person on the other end says, “What’s the matter?” Your tone, your distracted mindset, travels loud and clear, whether via Verizon, AT&T or even a string and tin cans.  It’s not natural to smile all the time, so we don’t. But the smile in your voice warms your tone, relaxing your listener, inviting real attention.  Something to sell? Great, they’re on board.  It takes energy, especially if you’re tired, or dreading a call, or distracted by something unrelated. Do what my radio friend did: wave a hand in front of your face, to symbolically banish everything else but this.

Think fun, put on that megawatt smile—you’ll sound like a friend. And your customers will stay tuned.

• Want to know how your employees are coming across to your customers on the phone? Mystery shopping can help!
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If you made a resolution by the dawn of January 1’s early light, it was likely a self-improvement promise. To walk another mile a day, or hit the gym twice a week.  To cut the caffeine, learn to love green tea, and bypass the fast food.  These promises to ourselves usually come after some overindulging prompts us to start a new, healthy habit.  If we’re vigilant, we’ll carry through for at least a few weeks. If we’re really determined, we’ll turn a resolution into a regimen.

Did you make any similar promises in business?  Even the most successful among us—you know who you are, lucky you!—can always improve the bottom line.  The simplest way is communication. Customers love to know you’re not only listening to what they say but looking at what you can do about it. The promise by auto-email to ‘get back to you within 48 hours’ is standard communication-speak for most companies now. Customers who are really frustrated will continue to simmer for those 48 hours, and be ready to unload anew when they finally hear from you.

But what if you ditch the standard pitch? Instead of the random blanket promise to “get back to you,” freshen up the wording, and the emotion behind it.  Promise to examine their concerns, address their individual ideas. Remember on the show “Frasier” when Kelsey Grammar’s character would sincerely say “I’m listening” to his radio callers—while doing something else? Not multi-tasking, just Frasier-tasking.  Good for sit-com laughs but not for business.

If you promise customers a new level of attention, not just to the details in your day-to-day dealings, but in their concerns and suggestions, you’ll open a dialogue that adds weight to your promises.   And if you’re honest about what you’re promising—that a concern will be addressed and there will be follow-up, no matter the outcome—the customer will be inclined to make his or her own promise to you. The promise of continued business.

• Want to know if your staff is following through on the promises your business makes? Consider mystery shopping as a way to accomplish this task!
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Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

The Rolling Stones told us you can’t always get what you want. But I beg to differ with Mick and the guys.  Sometimes you CAN—you just have to shop in the right place.

A weekend sale plus a discount coupon should add up to savings and satisfaction, right? I was poised to make the score, pick up that brand new printer-scanner combo and head for the cash register, and victory at the Big Box Store.

Except the shelves, filled with many other printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines, did NOT have one single box with the model I wanted, the one on sale, the one compatible with my new computer. Not ONE,  and not even a form for a rain check.  “When are you getting more of them in?” I asked the salesclerk. “No idea,” he said. “Maybe next week, maybe never. And the price may go up.” At least he was honest.

I asked another clerk to please check in the back, just in case a lone printer was hiding there. She was cheerful, if unable to help. “None,” she said, then glanced around before whispering, “Why don’t you go to to OtherMart? THEY carry it.  And you can use the coupon.” Her voice dropped even lower. “My daughter got the same one there yesterday. Five dollars cheaper than here.”  I felt like the shopper in “Miracle on 34^th Street,” when the Macy’s salesman sends her to Gimbel’s to find the toy she’s seeking. Sending a customer to the competition?

Isn’t that the truest definition of Customer Service? The salesclerk wanted to help a frustrated shopper find what she sought, even if it was in another store.  She served her customer, not the seller—oops, her employer. (And yes, I did get the printer. In the Other Mart. )

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Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

Reach out and touch someone: remember that ad campaign for what was once known universally as The Phone Company? Now if we want to reach out, we IM, we Tweet, we text, we leave a voicemail.  And at times all of those communiqués seem annoying, even intrusive, to the recipient. Is it any wonder we no longer anticipate a phone call with, well, anticipation? And how many times do you get Good News from a phone call anyway? But some savvy companies realize the power of the personal call—not one of those robotic taped ones from a politician or fundraiser. The Phone Call as a service device may be returning.

My car was the subject of a massive recall. Some part could possibly burst into flames, or fall off on a highway. The car maker would of course replace the defective part at no cost. All I had to do was take it to any dealership. Except every dealership I spoke to in a 40 mile radius refused to deal with me because I hadn’t bought the car there.  I wrote a heated email, backed up with an actual snail-mailed letter, to the manufacturer. I stopped short of saying “If my car bursts into flames, you’ll be sorry.”  Expecting a formula email or a postcard, I was stunned to receive two phone calls. One from the vice president of something, apologizing  for how the dealers had treated me. The other from customer service, offering to book an appointment at the most convenient dealership. They did—and after the car was fixed, they called again.  Just reaching out to stay in touch.

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• Market Viewpoint …helping you see your business through your customers’ eyes.
• Follow Angela Megasko, president of Market Viewpoint on Twitter today! www.twitter.com/AngelaMegasko

Our thanks this month to guest blogger, Kathy Blumenstock. Kathy currently writes Animal Planet’s “The Mole” blog http://blogs.discovery.com/the_mole.  A career journalist, she has been a reporter and writer for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, USA Today,  NBC News and Entertainment Tonight.  Kathy also contributes feature stories to Knitchmagazine.com and Knit ‘N Style magazine.

When a computer is involved, most of us non-tech types cringe. I’m no different: replacing my long-serving ibook, I braced for the worst, fully expecting to fumble through new programs and finding the shortcuts and pathways to get me back on track. I was pleasantly surprised—okay, speechlessly shocked—when my worst fears were cushioned by understanding, helpful customer service professionals.

They talked me through setting up the laptop, even when I couldn’t figure out which purple cord belonged with which yellow port. With their guidance, the laptop morphed into an autopilot dream. Of course, all was going too smoothly.  That’s why the new modem decided to rebel. State-of-the-art, speedy and sleek, it’s designed to plug into multiple computers and phone lines.  The compact black box blinked on, grew hot to the touch, then quit. “Shouldn’t happen,” said the cheerful rep on the line. “I’m shipping you a replacement overnight.”

Okay, the new modem appeared a day later. And didn’t respond at all.  Another replacement was sent out,  while I wondered if I’d be the modem junkyard for the free world. When Modem #4 balked,  the service rep on the phone gave me her direct line, home and cell phone numbers. “From now on, I’m on this personally, if there is a problem, don’t go through the main number,” she said. “I’ll come out there in person if I have to.”

She didn’t: Modem #5 was the magic number, linking me to the cyberworld with green lights blinking. I was so glad it worked, and my personal service rep still emails me once a month to make sure I’m still happy with the modem; she has offered to send a backup just to keep on hand. “We want this to be a customer success story,” she says.  For me, it’s been one all along.

• Like what you read? Digg, Stumble or Tweet this post!
• Market Viewpoint …helping you see your business through your customers’ eyes.
• Follow Angela Megasko, president of Market Viewpoint on Twitter today! www.twitter.com/AngelaMegasko