Off the Shelf

Delegating Customer Service

Flying this week reminded my how frequently companies delegate customer service activities back to the customer. It's like delegating backwards. Just in the airline industry alone, customers now handle their own baggage (carry on), print our own boarding passes, directly make our own reservations, and bring our own food (which was really never a bad idea). Many retailers have scan machines so customers can check their own prices, many financial institutions have automated services and websites where customers never interact with a human being.

While many of these innovations are good and make things easy, don't you think that many times they also get in the way of helping the company brands succeed? Zappos, for example, has a unique way of giving me a lot to do, but also a way of extending themselves so I don't feel neglected or not able to contact them directly. I think AMEX also strikes a nice balance between "delegating" services but also giving me easy access to someone to whom I can talk when I have a problem or have a question. Apple is also a company to imitate for unbelievably good support and service. For example, I love the chat feature in the store because if I don't need help, I can go about my business, but if I have a question, someone is there, ready for me.

Companies who delegate too much or don't give customers balance between delegation and a real human being lose. 

• They lose the opportunity to talk to customers. This is huge. How do they know what's going on with their product of service if they don't listen and interact with live customers?

• They lose branding opportunities. They are setting their brand up to be defined by the customer as unfriendly, uncaring and rigid.

• They trade efficiency and short-term cost savings for longer term damage. They are measuring results incorrectly and ignoring the long-term opportunity that customer loyalty and trust can bring to any organization.

What do you think? Do you like having these responsibilities delegated back to you? What about your organization, how have you kept in contact with your customers, but also maintained cost efficiency?

Handlebars, Program Code and Motivated Employees

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting Logos Bible Software. We are fortunate to have them as partners with us as they are the backbone of the software portion of our Bible and Reference business. We have over 650 resources in Logos format and their program is simply the best. Bob Pritchett and his team do a phenomenal job for us and hundreds of thousands of happy users.

Several things struck me while we were there. First, they have a tremendous passion for the customer. It became obvious that they want to talk to users, solve any learning concerns and truly serve them.

What also struck me was their commitment to their employees. Being a software company obviously programmers and software development people are the heart beat of the organization. Keeping them motivated and happy is a good thing because it translates to quality software, employee retention and ultimately satisfied customers.

About a year ago, Logos’ IT Manager, Jim Straatman submitted a novel idea. Since Bob is always asking his employees for ways to make Logos a better place to work, Jim suggested a putting a Bike Repair shop in the back of the main developer room. Since so many employees ride their bikes to work (the offices are in Bellingham, WA) Bob agreed.

Logos has about 170 employees and the Bike Shop is open to all of them. They have everything you’d find in a professional bike shop and all you’d ever need to fix a bike. According to Ryan Burns, “If I were to ballpark it, I’d say 40-50 people have used the shop.”

The shop is open all the time, according to Ryan, and employees can stop by whenever they want. He goes on to say, “Obviously working on your bike isn’t ‘work’ so people are encouraged to  use it during breaks and before or after work,”

Logos even has specially designed bike shirts.

Logos employees are very encouraged by their Bike Shop. It seems that even those who are not bikers appreciate it. Ryan adds, “It shows Logos is a company that cares about and listens to employees. Like I said, I don’t bike, but I tell people how cool it is to work for Logos, I inevitably mention that we have a Bike Shop in our office.”

And for those winter months? The Bike Shop becomes a Ski and Snowboard repair shop completely outfitted with a turning stand,  hot wax, P-tex and everything else a person would need to have their equipment in shape before they hit the slopes.

Bob and his team have set a great example that I need to follow.

Sprintz Furniture – Lessons from Poor Customer Service

Over the last several days my wife and I have been underserved by a local furniture store. For context, we bought new furniture for our living/gathering room in June. Our daughter bought a new house and so we shipped all the furniture from that room to her. So since June this room has been empty or we sit on dining room chairs. In early July the furniture store informed us that our material was on back order and it would be a bit longer. No problem, because of my work I understand backorders from overseas textile plants.

Then the trouble began. We called the store and were informed that the fabric was in the US and the company that manufactured our new furniture (a U.S. company) had about a three to four week turnaround time. After that call came silence.  We had to continually be proactive and call the store. Our sales rep seemed to not have any details, the problem escalated to an Assistant Manager and finally after a lot of grief, multiple calls, angst and loss of patience, we’re getting half of our order today.

What can retailers and other organizations learn from this circumstance?

Communicate. When there is a problem with a customer it’s a good thing to keep them in the loop. Just a few proactive calls from our rep would not have solved the problems, but would have assured us that we had a partner in this. It’s not the customer’s job to seek updates and information.

Take responsibility. Customers look to the retailer to solve problems and be their trusted agent in the transaction. It doesn’t smooth any ruffled feathers for people to blame something or somebody that’s outside the loop and whom we, as customers, can’t contact directly. To play the blame game only makes the customer angrier.

Empower employees. Employees need to be empowered to make decisions that best serve the customer.  I have a friend who owns a software business. He has one customer service principle for his support team – “Take care of our customers.” That’s it. Each phone rep has the authority to do what it takes. Unfortunately in our circumstance we had to wait for the owner of the store to make some simple decisions. That wait was two days. When you empower your employees to serve, customers get quick answers that make them feel like you are part of the solution.

Make your initial offer a good offer. If you decide to do something to offset the customer’s bill or payment, make it something of value to the customer, not just something that is easy for you to deliver or perform. Look at the situation through the customer’s eyes and ask what is the right thing to do from their perspective. Don’t make it a negotiation. Do the right thing first.

Remember the customer. Retailers and others need to remember above all else that their logic is not necessarily the same as the customer’s logic. Customers have a special frame of reference that is unique to their specific needs or circumstances. They see service as a total experience, not an isolated activity. Good service is not about employees accomplishing tasks; it’s about the value provided to the customer.

Stores and organizations that truly serve their customers, like my friend’s software company, will find a way to be successful during both good and bad times. With all the competition out there the customer is king and companies with service policies and principles that don’t recognize that will unfortunately come in second.

An Important Aspect of WOW

I really enjoy American Idol. There's all that talent, there's the advice from the judges, there's competition and there's a winner who is picked by the public. No doubt it's my favorite show on TV. What always hits me between the eyes is the importance of song choice. These singers, once we get to this place in the season, have the talent and chops to have a singing career. However, many of them, especially this week, are tripped up by song choice. And, many times when the judges tell them that, the singers respond with, "Well, I really like this song". What they may not understand is that WOW is not about YOU. It's about the customer.

Contrast this to a conference call I had this week with two authors. They have the talent, skill and experience to create good products, but they also can create some WOW products because these two people weren't thinking about themselves, they spent the whole conversation talking about how the products would be not only for the customer but also transform the customer. They weren't focused on what they personally liked or disliked they were totally focused on the customer and what they needed in order to live a transformed life.

The lesson from this comparison is this - 9 people went home last night from American Idol and the majority of them went home not because they didn't have the talent. No, they went home because they chose to sing a song they liked and frankly they didn't deliver what the customer (listener) wanted. Conversely, I see tremendous opportunity from the product conference call because the authors involved zeroed in on the customer, the customer's needs and not themselves.

Sometimes New Products Need Adversity

Over a year ago I wrote a Blog article on making great products. I realize, with the release our new Chronological Study Bible that I was missing a key ingredient in developing best-selling product - adversity.

When we first presented the idea of this product, our Sales team really pushed back hard. They did not like our original ideas or design concepts. Now, you have to understand that when someone spends time creating something new the concept becomes very personal. So, while you want feedback, you also want some kind of recognition for the idea. In this case, we got plenty of the former and just a bit of the latter.

But, I have to hand it to my team. They quickly dropped the emotional connection to the original idea and 30 days later, they presented a WOW idea. Now, after nearly two years of development, we have what appears to be a best-seller on our hands.

The learning in all this is that we need to welcome adversity and celebrate persistence. Too often we're looking for comfort and ease and it's in the adversity that good things tend to happen. The "iron sharpening iron" way of creating something better than before. Or, we're not humble enough to have an open heart and mind toward input that can take our original ideas to another, higher level.

Persistence needs celebrating. It's only through staying with it that something as marvelous as the Chronological Study Bible is developed. It's genuine staying power that in the end will create something unique and different. Too often we either panic or we lose heart if we don't get the idea in two minutes  We hope to microwave solutions or ideas instead of realizing how good it is to slow cook.

We are very happy with our results and very thankful to our Sales team for being open and honest and to our people for staying with it As a result, we have a hit.

Creating Sales and Service in Spite of the Economy

Two friends of mine wrote outstanding Blog articles that, if you haven't read, you really need to.

First, Maurilio Amorim Blogs about a retailer who knows how to give extraordinary customer service. He tells the story of a retailer in Orlando who doesn't know the word recession and is working hard to not only satisfy customers, but also to sell her goods.

Second, Michele Miller Blogs about how to make an impact on your customers without spending any additional marketing money. Like Maurilio's article, Michele give us a tremendous look at one man's business and how he succeeds despite what's going on out there.

Both these Blogs are encouraging and motivating. If you are wondering how you can reach, serve, delight, sell to and create customers for life, you need to read both these postings (and apply them to your business).

Will Somebody Answer the Phone?

Unfortunately my Father is having some medical problems. I was talking to my Mother yesterday and she was upset. "Why can't anybody answer the phone?" She was reacting to a Doctor's office that had an automatic phone system and venting her frustration that she could never get a live person. Here she is waiting for critical data and the only Doctor she can get is Dr. Sbaitso.

I think she's right. Why would an office that deals daily with either nervous patients or anxious loved ones trust their communication system to a emotionless machine?

Some of you may remember "Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives" (John Naisbitt). Written in the 1980's Naisbitt predicted certain future trends, one of which was "high tech/high touch" where he explained that the more technology is added the more we also need an accompanying amount of "touch".

Many retailers, especially specialty retailers, have forgotten the high touch. While one store shouts from 25 feet away, "Welcome to ______ ", another pays no attention to customers at all. It's too bad. Most shoppers don't expect discount store or discount club levels of personal service (touch) when shopping in a specialty store.

So, how does your business, church or ministry treat its customers when making initial contact? Do you relegate important information to the answering machine? Or do you have a way for people, like my Mother, to interact with someone who'll care for their needs? Do you shout your welcome, or genuinely enjoy inviting "guests" into your store or business?

Technorati Tags: Customer Service, Leadership, Management, Retail

Traveling on Southwest Airlines to the East Coast Worship Summit

This week I have the extraordinary pleasure of speaking at the East Coast Worship Summit in Pennsylvania. I'll write more on that as the week goes on.

I flew Southwest Airlines today from Nashville to Philadelphia and I must say, compared to other airlines, Southwest is a real winner. It's no wonder that companies like Apple and Southwest continue to grow profitable businesses in not only highly competitive markets, but also bleak ones (imagine starting an airline or computer/technology hardware company in today's environment). Their formula is simple - they love their customers and they both continue to deliver their promises on a consistent basis.

Let's face it, Southwest is no frills. It's the same plane, the same seats and they are packed. However, our flight crew was so good, so friendly, so helpful and so excited to be there it was infectious. I sat next to an employee of a local hotel and he and I marveled at the flight attendant's attitude. Contrast these comments with other airline experiences you've had. There's a difference.

I can only hope that I can learn from these companies and run my business with the same love of customers and devotion to delivering on our promises. I'd really enjoy hearing how you do this in your business.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service, Experience, Leadership, Management, Marketing

Myth of Soccer Mom a Real Hit!

Below is a portion of a review I wrote for the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association's E-newsletter on "The Soccer Mom Myth" (Michele Miller, Holly Buchanan). Bottom line, the book is extraordinary and I highly recommend it.

It’s incredible to think that for all the investment we make in marketing seventy percent of all women say marketing doesn’t speak to them. We spend a lot of money trying to communicate to our customers but unfortunately it’s falling on deaf ears.

According to Michele Miller and Holly Buchanan in their new book, The Soccer Mom Myth, we’ve not understood how to communicate with women and we’ve wasted “billions of dollars of advertising” aimed at them.

In the book, which I highly recommend for anyone in marketing and publishing, Miller and Buchanan help us break down typical stereotypes and help us understand “personas” and the different segments of the female audience. They help us understand that women are not a niche but a powerful customer base that are the majority of purchasers, even in male dominated categories. For example, did you know that “women are responsible for more than 50% of all do-it-yourself purchases, 51% of consumer electronics, 89% of bank accounts and 80% of healthcare decisions?” Not to mention our own Thomas Nelson research that shows that 75% of all Bible purchasers are women. Bottom line, 51% of the population controls 80% of all purchasing decisions.

What the book helps us all to do is go beyond the stereotypes we created for the woman customer and finding ways to truly understand who they are and what they want. Through insightful examples and excellent research, the authors help us to break through the old molds and understand the power of marketing to women as individuals.

Enjoy reading this book. It will most likely change the way you market to probably your most important customer.

Technorati Tags: Customer Service, Product Development, Marketing, Retail

Creating or Shifting Wealth

The media labeled "Economic Stimulus Plan" certainly makes me wonder. At the very root of such a plan is a terrible flaw that also affects many businesses. Sure, some people will get something like a rebate and they'll spend it, or save it, or pay off debt. And I guess that's fine. However, at the very root of the plan lies a critical deception - the plan creates nothing. It only shifts money from someone's pocket to another person's pocket. While the economy struggles to find its way, is the best we can do to "stimulate" it simply a shift of wealth instead of some new ways to actually create wealth?

Unfortunately it's not just the government that uses this shifting tactic. All we need to do is look at how many times we measure market share and gloat that the needle has shifted our way. When we do that are we, like our government, just working hard to shift wealth instead of actually creating wealth (in this case measured as Sales or Revenue)?

I don't know about you, but I'm most energized when I can think of ways to grow and create, not just shift. Apple does it all the time, most recently with the iPhone. Starbucks created something unique and grew the market as well. Cirque Du Soleil changed the circus business and created new audiences around the world.

My team at Thomas Nelson is working on a new Bible Translation called The Voice. It's my heart's desire that we're not going to just shift people from one translation to the Voice, but that a whole new group of customers will discover the Bible like never before when they experience the Voice. I want to expand our group of customers, not just move a needle on some share graph and play the shift game.

What are you working on today? Is it something designed to simply shift or are you out there doing something that creates wealth? Let me know.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Customer Service, iPhone, Leadership, Management, Marketing, The Voice