We are all born with a marvelous sense of wonder and awe. Think about it. The next time you see a baby; watch their faces and bodies as they learn to do something new.  Rolling over onto their back for the first time, taking that first step without holding on, drinking from the Sippy cup all by themselves…a baby’s eyes will get wide with excitement, they’ll smile, maybe even clap their hands or wiggle their legs and feet. They did it! Not only does the baby react with excitement, the adults who are present for these momentous events get excited too. They smile, laugh, clap their hands, and praise the baby for the achievement. While the baby is learning the new skill, the adult is present to guide and assist until the baby is able to perform on their own. Then something happens along the way. The laughter, clapping, and guidance stop for some reason.

As we mature, we begin to get new kinds of messages from those in authority. Maybe it’s our parents, the older siblings we look up to, coaches, teachers, scout masters, or even the media who begin to tell us we’re not good enough, strong enough, pretty or handsome enough, intelligent enough, etc. These negative messages play over and over in our minds until we come to believe the untruths we’re told by those we admire and trust.

What does all this have to do with customer service?

Plenty.

Negative messages about our skills, abilities, and outward appearances to the world erode our sense of self-esteem. Employees with low levels of self-esteem are generally unhappy people. I am sure this isn’t who you want serving your customers or prospects.

Here are some self-esteem facts:

• Self-esteem is the most important thing an employee brings to the job each day. An employee needs to feel good about themselves before they can help others feel good too.
• Higher levels of self-esteem are usually accompanied by higher levels of success. These two factors build on each other creating more success and greater self-esteem for the individual.
• Self-esteem begins in our heads. As adults, it is our responsibility to reverse the negative messages we hear and replace these with positive messages that we know to be true about ourselves.
• Unhappy people, and you know who they are, tend to have low levels of self-esteem. They tend to blame others (government, management, parents, siblings, etc.) for their problems, taking on the role of victim.

It is the smart CEO and manager who compliment their employees and contractors when their performance warrants praise and gently guides them when their performance warrants improvement or adjustment. This allows the employee to ultimately experience success. This communication is essential. Employees with healthy self-esteem mean happy employees and happy employees mean happy customers.

What behaviors and performance levels do you value? How do you communicate this to your staff?

You know when you’ve just gotta have it now, whether it’s pizza, a new outfit or an answer? Instant gratification is everywhere.  Why wait, when you want—NEED—it faster than five minutes ago? I spotted a prime example of instant gratification in action just last week.  A new item, advertised as the perfect accessory for spring, created a buzz in the stores that make up a small chain.

The item, a delicate pendant spun from multicolor threads and embellished with tiny silver charms, was a surprise hit for the chain.  The buyer who liked it, underestimated its appeal, so the small order quickly sold out.  The trendy “gotta have it now” item of the moment was on backorder, much to the annoyance of those who fell in love with its design.

“We’ve been to every store,” one customer said. “They all say to place an order and we might get it in a month.” At the store where I stood, one saleswoman wore the necklace, its pastel-toned shadings enhanced by her simple black blouse.  “How many could you sell, if you had them in stock?” I asked, and she rolled her eyes. “No one wants to even look at anything else.  We could move hundreds, along with coordinating accessories. It’s like trying to sell pink flowers for Fourth of July.”

I watched as she patiently explained to yet another young teen that no, there were no more in the back.  “She really wants one,” the girl’s mother pleaded, waving a platinum credit card. “But not for herself.  It’s for her friend’s birthday.” The teen explained, “Jen’s dad‘s been out of work since summer, and she’d never be able to afford one. “

The saleswoman unclasped her own necklace, discreetly placing it in a small box, while the teenager’s face lit up like a sunrise.  When the happy sale was complete, I looked at the clerk, who shrugged. “I really hate disappointing customers,” she said.  “My grandfather ran a clothing store, and he always said, if you make the customer happy today, he’ll come back happier tomorrow.”

True, no matter what you’re selling—even, or especially, when it’s a surprise order of instant gratification.

Have you ever done anything really special for a customer? We’d love to hear about it!

A business acquaintance recently told me she dreaded having to fire an employee.  “She’s the best assistant I’ve ever had,” Leah said. ”Except that she has no business sense. She argues with the suppliers, and tells them they’re overcharging us.  She tells customers to write a letter, or to call back next month.  And two years after I asked her to file our monthly reports in a new format, she’s still using the old one, so I have to go back and correct them all. She wanted more responsibility, so I let her handle two new accounts,” Leah continued. “But she ended up losing both of them. That was right after I gave her a bigger raise than all the other assistants got.”

Wait—this is the best assistant ever? Imagine the worst one! Why did Leah call her “the best”? “Well, she is a very nice person, eager and pleasant to be around” was the answer.  Suppliers and customers might have a different description. “Really, she tries very hard, and I think eventually she’ll learn more about dealing with people,” Leah said. “The other assistants have been there longer and don’t show as much promise.”

I wanted to double over in pain. Leah’s view of her “best assistant” said as much about her as it did the person she needed to terminate.  This was not an unpaid summer intern absorbing life lessons about the workplace, but an employee drawing a regular paycheck—with a recent raise.  Imagine how many suppliers have soured on Leah’s company, or what her former customers say, thanks to her “best assistant.” What about the other assistants—the “internal customers”— who see someone fumbling the job and being rewarded.  Think they’ll embrace a serious work ethic, or start dissing the vendors?

If the customer is always, or often, right, how about those customers closest to home, the employees? They’re the most obvious selling point for any business.  Keeping them in the loop, showing how pleased you are by their effort, reinforces pride and ensures they’ll do it right.  And their positive attitude will attract and bring home those paying customers.

What kinds of behavior are rewarded in your organization?

A bright magazine ad caught my eye, drawn in by a familiar name.  I’d first come across this company long ago when it offered mail-order craft patterns.  Colorful but slim mailers appeared sporadically and I idly wondered how the place survived.  Cute items, but minimal selection that catered to a specific, if limited customer base.  I’d have described the company as a small business with a definite niche.

So how’d they end up with a full-color, prominently placed two-page ad,  dotted with descriptions such as “exclusive”  and “exciting”,  in a national, mass-appeal magazine ? The ad was not for the old reliable craft products, but a new, “captivating series” of original mystery novels—published by the company I recalled as the small craft business.
The books, shown with handsome covers and intriguing titles, employ a crafting theme, and invite readers for a free preview of these “exclusive” stories.  The combination of crafters— always on the lookout for something new—and mystery readers—who readily embrace “series” characters and adventures—added up to a fresh product for the company.  Steady customers will be ready to pre-order, and the allure for new customers is enhanced by a “special introductory half-price” offer.
Whether the books are page-turners or merely pleasant diversions, they’re already “must-haves” for curious customers.  They’re lured by the promise of continuing diversion in a pattern of “what happens next?” That could almost be a theme of the company’s move. Instead of just a new line of patterns, or affordably priced supplies, it went for an unexpected challenge, publishing original books. No matter that even big publishers and booksellers are in a quandary these digital days, the crafting mysteries, catering to a select and eager audience, are now reality.
Can you offer your customers something unexpected yet welcome, whether a product or a surprising service? Look to their interests, and yours, to plot that offbeat chapter.  It could become your new best-seller.

Tell us about something you did for your customers that was unexpected yet welcomed!

Believe it or not, spring cleaning and customer service have something in common. The urge to purge, to spruce up and air out winter’s doldrums hits all of us this time of year, from critters thinking of nests to homeowners pondering paint.  Even the phrase “spring cleaning” evokes images of fresh breezes and crisp organization, as blessed by Martha Stewart.  Why limit that sweep to the basement storage bin or linen closet?  Sometimes business benefits from a little springtime shakeup too.

For several years I’ve been on the mailing list for a monthly e-newsletter. Except it’s no longer monthly, more like bimonthly, or quarterly. Or whenever it pops up.  The publisher always slips in a slightly apologetic note explaining its late arrival, or lack of a promised article. She thanks readers for their patience and promises that the next one will arrive right on time. But it never does. The latest, for January, came more than a month late. It includes a discount coupon good though Feb. 1. And in her haste to get this first newsletter of 2010 out, the publisher neglected to change the template, which is still dated 2009.

When it launched, the e-newsletter held promise, with easy updates and timely tidbits. Because it came via email, it never cluttered a mailbox or wastebasket, thus saving trees and postage. But its publication became just one more chore for the harried editor putting it together.  She allowed it to grow stale instead of updating its look and promoting it via more current avenues.  Instead of a business tool, it stagnated into an antique, largely ignored. The editor admits to rarely receiving feedback.  And her monthly discount coupons? Unused.  In this economy, a customer skipping the chance to save money, because he didn’t see it? Definitely, time to spring clean that e-newsletter out of there.

Maybe you’ve got an outdated “newsletter” of your own that worked just “then”.  But a fresh approach will give you a better handle on “now.”

Give Market Viewpoint a call and we’ll be happy to take a look at your newsletter and offer suggestions for how you can spring clean and spruce up the most important vehicle for staying in touch with the most important people in your business- the customers!