Web Seminar: "Is LEADER spelled with an I?" Searching for Innovation in the World of Talent Development

Here's a web seminar that is being put on by one of our sister events Innovation Immersion, that I thought our readers might be interested in.

About the webinar:
The success of leadership development, leadership transitions and leadership integration vary widely across industries, organizations and individuals. Why? In a recent research review, most executives expressed doubt that new leaders can step into new roles and deliver positive results. With all of the investments being made in talent management today, there are expectations that greater outcomes will be achieved. Please join Dr. David Yudis and explore some paths of possibility.

Featured Speaker
Dr. David Yudis, Director, Global Learning and Development, Disney

Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Find out more and register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/501492696
Use Priority Code: G1M118W1BLOG

Win Over Customers by Responding to Online Reviews

Today, we have a guest post from Customers 1st LinkedIn Group member Marilyn Suttle. Marilyn Suttle is the coauthor of Who’s Your Gladys?: How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan. She is a work/life success coach working with Fortune 500 companies, associations, and educational institutions across the country to improve relationships with customers, colleagues and even your children! Visit her at www.WhosYourGladys.com or purchase her book on any online bookseller site.

Today’s customers research their buying decisions on the internet, comparing prices and educating themselves about the products and services they use. They don’t see things from the antiquated “you’re the expert,” and “I am the grateful client” point-of-view. Instead, they are more likely to say, “Here’s how I want my service performed.” The internet has also brought online review websites like Yelp.com, who give computer-savvy customers a way to spread the word about their experiences at your business.

Preston Wynne Spa is one of ten companies featured in my upcoming book, “Who’s Your Gladys, How to Turn Even Your Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan,” which is slated for release in September 2009. Spa owner Peggy Wynne Borgman knows that with a quick internet search, anyone looking for a spa in a particular city can click onto a review site and see comments and a rating system. Reviewers use pseudonyms to protect their identities, so they feel free to reveal their strongest opinions.

Preston Wynne receives many glowing customer reviews, but they have had their share of unfavorable comments. The downside of the internet review sites is that some unhappy customers are quick to complain with an online review, while leaving the business owner in the dark. Some people even do it recreationally. Peggy believes that, in general, younger consumers know their power. They know that the companies want their business and they wield their power through online reviews – almost like consumer vigilantism.

Peggy appreciates all her reviewers, even the ones who complain. “If someone has taken the time to write a review, even if it isn’t good, they are more emotionally engaged with your company than someone who just walks away and never comes back,” she explained. “There is an emotional investment that the complainer has, so I always respond where I can.”

Yelp.com gives business owners a way to respond to reviewers while allowing them to remain anonymous. Peggy sends an online thank you to all her positive reviewers, though she gets in touch with the complainers, too. Peggy has never asked a “Yelper” to change a review, no matter how nasty. “I simply contact them and say, ‘I wish I’d known about this and now that I do, I would like to make it right for you. Come back in and have the experience you deserved to have in the first place.’” The vast majority of the online complainers appreciate her gesture and give the spa another chance. In every instance where she connected with the Yelper and got them to return to the spa, the reviewer modified or amended their online review on their own accord, expressing appreciation for management’s commitment to customer service.

Peggy sometimes asks her online critics if they would be willing to complete a detailed secret-shopper evaluation form. The people who review on Yelp tend to see themselves as opinion leaders so when they’re asked to evaluate the spa, they are usually thrilled. They also love getting a complimentary spa treatment for doing the evaluation.

“It helps us develop a really good relationship,” Peggy explained. “Another really good side effect is when you put an evaluation in someone’s hands, they see everything that you’ve done right.”

What do you think?
Do your customers write reviews about your business using sites like Yelp.com? How could you improve your customer relationships by responding skillfully to both the positive and negative reviews?

Customers 1st 2009 Podcasts: A Conversation with Kathleen Peterson: Part 2

As we get gear up for the 2009 NACCM: Customers 1st Event this year, we're going to be interviewing and getting to know the speakers and sponsors who will bring their perspectives on customer service to you. We recently sat down with chair Kathleen Peterson to talk about the event, both today and what has changed since she first chaired it back in 2003. This podcast will have six part, so check in next week for part three.


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Tell us why you feel this is THE year companies must focus on both their customer AND their people?
Kathleen: Well I think when you look at what’s going on from a strategic perspective, strategies at the senior level have become very customer centric. The strategic perspectives include both top and bottom line growth. The customer is obviously a central part to top line growth: increasing the number of customer we serve, increasing retention and increasing the share of wallet and they are all consideration in growing the top line. But the bottom line is in gaining efficiencies. So how do we contribute to revenue generating opportunities and the only way that has been proven is that we know people have execute strategies. We know in a lot of organizations, there are fewer people than there once were. So when we look at why it is important to both, you can’t focus on one and not the other. Because if you focus on efforts toward attracting and retaining your customers and you don’t allow for the requirements that your people have to execute that you know your efforts are for not. In some ways we were in sort of a “pretty” period, everyone was dancing in the woods and everything was wonderful. But now the excess is gone. And people come to work with brains. Everyone is really capable, I believe, of doing a good job and making a contribution. Our leaders in this business have to become really experts not only on the customer side but what do I need to do to inspire and motivate every single member of the team from top to bottom from cross functionally, cross departments, cross sites and enterprise how ever it’s going to work. From suppliers to customers to billing, everyone has to be on board and everyone has to understand it. Not that we can’t tolerate excesses but we can’t afford them anymore. We are going to look at the people processes in terms of how that supports the customer experiences that we’re committed to strategically.

The Seven Types of Employees You Meet at Best Buy: Best Buy's Response

Gizmodo thought they'd have a bit of fun with satire by teaming up with illustrator Dan Meth in creating The Seven Types of Employees You Meet at Best Buy. For any customer service team, this may seem like a nightmare. If this is the actual depcition of the individuals that customers come in contact with at our store, what can this mean for sales and for overall customer satisfaction?

CMO of Best Buy, Barry Judge decided to respond to the allegations by the team at Gizmodo by playing along. Judge posted an illustration of the Gizmodo blogger on his corporate blog in the same fashion. We encourage you to check out the exchange, to see another way that a big company is choosing to react to an intended smear on their image.

What do you think of Barry Judge's reaction to the Gizmodo piece? What would you have done differently?

Customers 1st LinkedIn July Newsletter

The latest edition of the LinkedIn Customers 1st newsletter came out today. If you didn't have a chance to read it, check it out here:

http://www.iirusa.com/upload/wysiwyg/New%20Media/NACCMJulyhtml.htm

If you'd like to network with over 1,000 other customer service professionals and receive these email newsletters monthly, please join our Customers 1st LinkedIn Group!

Update from Shopper Insights in Action!

Hi Everyone:

Hard to believe that July is already here and the 9th annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference is taking place next week, July 14-17, 2009 at the Hilton Chicago. We’re excited to announce that the show is going to be a hit, with hundreds of best-in-class brands, retailers and industry thought-leaders attending.

The event producers are busy adding new speakers and sessions as well as developing new onsite elements that add value to your experience. It is our goal to ensure everyone who attends leaves with a plethora of contacts, insights and ideas.

We’re excited to announce 12 new speakers and 7 new sessions have been added to the program totaling over 50 educational sessions with 75+ speakers.

NEW SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
• Candace Adams, former Senior Director, In-Store Experience, WalMart joined the retail panel on Thursday afternoon. She will join fellow panelists Chris Borek, Manager, In-Store Digital Marketing for Target, Mark Heckman, Vice President of Marketing for Marsh Supermarkets and Ryan Mathews, Consultant for FedEx Kinko’s. As seasoned retailers, they will discuss their perspectives on how the in-store shopping environment will evolve in the next 5, 10 and 20 years to meet shopper needs. Candace recently left WalMart and has joined shopper-centric research consultancy, SmartRevenue.

• Candace Adams will also participate in a breakout session on Thursday afternoon featuring brand executives from Unilever, Sara Lee and Kimberly Clark. This session will feature how WalMart worked with their brand partners using virtual reality technology to improve the shopping experience of their SuperCenter stores.

• Stephen Day, Global Consumer Insights for Electronic Arts along with Brand Cruz, VP of Retail and eCommerce Practice Leader for Chadwick Martin Bailey will discuss “The Evolution of the “Gamer” Market and How Segmentation Helped EA Develop a Groundbreaking Strategy”

For a complete list of new speakers and updates, click here http://www.iirusa.com/upload/wysiwyg/2009-M-Div/M2115/PDFs/New_Sessions_Added_to_the_Program_6-29-09.pdf

To download the full event agenda, visit http://www.iirusa.com/insights/at-a-glance.xml .

Plus, Shopper Insights producers have added 3 NEW RESOURCES AVAILABLE to Attendees Only
• Everyone who attends will have access to the POST-CONFERENCE REPORT, written by Socratic Technologies. This report will synthesize key findings from the event.

• Attendees will also get access to a USER-GENERATED POST-CONFERENCE REPORT, a collection of key takeaways by various participants at the event. This report will be made available to all attendees 2 weeks following the event.

• Everyone who walks in will be given an ROA, Return on Attendance Toolkit to ensure they get the valuable information needed to prove their return on attendance.

If you haven’t already registered, don’t worry, it’s not too late! And because of how important you are to us, our LinkedIn group members receive a 20% discount to attend. Use my personal code AMANDASHOP09 when you register. To register visit www.shopperinsightsevent.com.

I hope to see you there!

All the best,
Amanda

Amanda Powers
Shopper Insights in Action Conference Director

Impressions from Customer UNinterrupted

Here are what some of the speakers of this year's Customer UNinterrupted Event have been saying about this customer-inspiring event. By the way if you’re planning on attending the conference mention XM2199BLOG for a 20% discount of the standard rate.



"Customer UNinterrupted is a cost effective way to get new ideas, access to other company's best practices (and some of their research) as well as their results and proven business cases of what works for project implementation."

- Lynn Holmgren, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Care, Whirlpool Corporation

"You're fired! That's what your customers are going to tell you if you ignore them in this economy. When the consumer dollar has to go further, the last thing consumers want to hear is 'sorry we can't help you with that'. Learning what others are doing right, and applying new ideas to improve your own business never ends for service professionals. Get busy sharing. Get busy learning. And get busy succeeding at Customer UNinterrupted!"

- Boyd Beasley, Senior Director, Customer Support, Electronic Arts

"With companies cutting costs it has an impact on the customer support and service you provide. How can you differentiate yourself in the market place unless you provide superior service? Join us at Customer UNinterrupted to learn how to improve Customer Service and Customer Treatment while controlling your costs."

- Dave Spedden, Director, CRM Services & Technology, United Parcel Service

"Times are tough and now more than ever you need to attend this conference. There will be practical tips of how you can improve customer service and your bottom line. Look forward to seeing you there."

- Tim Cook, Vice President of North American Operations, Hilton Reservations and Customer Care

"As economic factors weigh more heavily in consideration and managers are firmly scrutinizing budgets, engaging in customer centric discussions at a time customers are being more selective about where they spend their money is a clear choice. Customer experience and best practices in delivering service is time well spent that has an inherent ROI not just by driving satisfaction and loyalty, but by expanding potential on the efficiency front."

- Percy Hoffman, Director, Call Center Operations, Cricket Communications

"Your customers are having conversations across the social web right now deciding if brand loyalty matters, if your company isn't participating, you're not growing."

- Scott McIntyre, Director, Multi-Channel Development, Best Buy

"Unless you are USAA or Amazon, you still have a lot to learn. Why do some key names always appear on the top of independent evaluations of service experience? If you don't know, as Zappos who is giving these big boys a run for their money. Why does EA have an award winning CS team? Because we beg, borrow and steal ideas from those that are doing it right - then we iterate, innovate and make them our own! We dare you to keep up!"

- Boyd Beasley, Senior Director, Customer Support, Electronic Arts

Wal-Mart's Asda To Let Customers Help Choose What Stores Sell

In a program is believed to be one of the first of its type in the world for a retailer; Wal-Mart's Asda unit in the U.K. will start e-mailing customers images and details of products from the store's buyers in the Far East, asking whether they want to see them in stores.

The Wall Street Journal reports, "We're very keen on using the digital channel to enhance what we do and allow our customers into the business," said Asda corporate communications chief Dominic Burch. "This will give us more insight into what their current thinking is about what they want to see."

There are no current plans to launch the program in the U.S., but Wal-Mart is known for taking successful initiatives and greatly expanding them throughout its organization.

Asda will e-mail the pictures to its U.K. "Pulse of the Nation" group of roughly 18,000 customers, which it regularly queries on a variety of matters. Respondents will have the option of giving thumbs up or down, and Asda's decisions on whether to stock the items will be significantly influenced by what the shoppers are saying, Burch said. "

By having customer and community involvement with store items, will this present both the shopper and the retailer with a mutually beneficial retail environment?

Wal-Mart's Asda To Let Customers Help Choose What Stores Sell

Customers 1st 2009 Podcasts: A Conversation with Kathleen Peterson

As we get gear up for the 2009 NACCM: Customers 1st Event this year, we're going to be interviewing and getting to know the speakers and sponsors who will bring their perspectives on customer service to you. We recently sat down with chair Kathleen Peterson to talk about the event, both today and what has changed since she first chaired it back in 2003. This podcast will have six part, so check in next week for part two.


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When you chaired NACCM last, NACCM has really grown up and evolved with the industry. Now it’s all about the attendee, creating a customizable, interactive experience. Tell us why you’re excited to return as chair this year and why you think this event is a MUST attend for all customer-centric leaders, particularly this year.

Kathleen Peterson:
I’ve always felt that this conference was the most focused experience for customer management leaders. It’s always been about the customer experience across the board and I think that when we look at what this current state that we’re in, it’s become more important than ever for professionals to come together to experience not only the experts but the networking and the one another and the bouncing ideas off of each other. This is really the opportunity for leaders to develop themselves more. A lot of the training and the leadership that these folks provide is often not returned within the enterprise which forces them to seek that kind of learning and overall learning experience externally. And of any conference that anyone could ever go to if the mission is to learn not only what theories are out there, but what realities and what practices have yielded good solid results, this is the only conference to do it at in my experience, and I have seen plenty of them.

For better customer service, be a better customer

In a recent article at Wise Bread, they look at how being a good customer can lead to better customer service. They point out that there are so many customer service articles today about being great at customer service, but it is a two way street. They give advice to you as the customer to get the best possible customer service. They advise the customers to document everything, learn to file effective bug reports, and when you're treated right, be vocally appreciative.

At the end of the article, they look at what a supercustomer is and how to become one:
I use "supercustomer" to describe those — the best! — who go beyond the call of customer duty (intriguing way of looking at it, hmm?) and don't just routinely consume, they actively participate in improving the people & products of the businesses they enjoy.

FreshDirect Focuses on Customer Service

BusinessWeek reports that, "During the current downturn, FreshDirect, the online grocer, based in Long Island City, N.Y., is defying the odds. CEO Richard Braddock (formerly the CEO of Priceline) says that while previous Web grocers used capital to expand, he is focusing on the customer experience. "We are going to make mistakes," he says, "but we will make you feel special, and our job is to offset the inevitable mistakes with some great solutions and great service."

Check out the BusinessWeek's video with CEO Richard Braddock

What other companies are defying the odds in this economic climate by succeeding because of great customer service?

Communication is important in customer service

Aileen Bennett recently wrote a blog post at theadvertiser.com looking how communication changed her experience with a certain local store. She was very impressed with the in-store customer service, but was not impressed with the lack of communication that ensued after she left. There was a void in communication, leaving the customer in the dark when it came to finding out information that was not in the store.

What do you think? Communication is important, and customer service occurs more places than just in person at the store. How can companies ensure that they're effectivly communicating with their customers both in and out of stores?

Delta Arms Customer Service Reps with Red Coats (Again)

Facing a high rate of customer service complaints, Delta Airlines will reequip its customer service representatives with red coats. This move will hopefully enable flyers to easily locate customer service representatives to assist them with their travel.

Charisse Jones of USATODAY reports that, "the agents returned to New York's JFK airport last summer and made their debut this month at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson. By summer's end, 600 agents will be walking the concourses and gate areas of 14 airports, including LAX, Orlando and Washington's Reagan National. The return of the elite agents is perhaps the most visible sign of an airline ramping up personal customer service rather than reducing it at a time when self check-in is the norm and passengers often have to pay extra to have an actual person book their flights."

What other efforts, fashion aside, could Delta do to enhance its customer service teams to better serve its flyers?

What does your business use Twitter for?

This post on USA Today discusses how many companies are taking advantage of real-time capabilities of Twitter to foster customer service. Comcast, PepsiCo, JetBlue Airways, and Whole Foods Market are some of the companies which have begun to take advantage of twitter and opening up direct communication with customers.

Elissa Fink, vice president of marketing at Tableau Software mentions, "The more ways you provide customers to contact you, you're more likely to satisfy them."

Consumers have become increasingly frustrated with wait times in call-centers, maybe it's time we took another look at the traditional call-center and incorporate social media strategy in some of these older-styled companies.

Customer service expectations changing with generations

Recently at the Kansas City Star, Steve Rosen recently wrote about the expectations that different generations have when it comes to customer service. His generation is used to kind customer service where employees are ready to help upon entrance to a store. But today's youth looks to sales team as people who are there to check them out. He pointed to a survey done in 2007 that found that some companies actually discourage customer service due to the fact that customers will spend more with their company if they aren't available through medians such as telephones.

What do you think companies can do today to change the attitude of the younger generation's view of customer service? Will this generation be able to change their views of customer service as a hassle in the future?

Free Web Seminar: Defending the Loyalty Function: Lessons from Chief Customer Officers

Defending the Loyalty Function: Lessons from Chief Customer Officers

Loyalty is elusive, and justifying ROI for loyalty initiatives is even more difficult. Yet, many companies have placed such a premium on customer loyalty that they’ve created a new C-Suite role called the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) to serve as the definitive and authoritative view of customers across the company and to drive customer and corporate strategy at the highest levels of the company.

During this session, you'll learn how to:
1. Quantify the impact disloyal customers can have on your business
2. Measure the success of loyalty initiatives
3. Communicate the value of loyalty in terms understood by the CEO, the CFO, and especially the CCO
4. Enlist the help of the CFO in championing loyalty

Reserve your Webinar seat, mention priority code G1M2200W1BlogLI
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/263968281

Customer service beneftis a company

At The Mercury, Chris O'Brien looks at why customer service can benefit a company as well as its customers. Providing great customer service can provide powerful moments to learn, interact and gratify customers. It's a powerful way to interact with your customers and learn what they want. O'Brien goes on to tell of his powerful interactions with Apple customer service, where he did not have to sit on hold nor argue with service agents to solve his problems with his products.

Is good customer service a reason you'll go back to a company over and over again? Are you providing the type of customer service that will bring customers back to your company over and over again?

Is Attire Important in Customer Service?

Greg Kratz of Deseret News shares a few insights that he's received over appropriate dress and conduct for customer service representatives. Kratz, after receving a few emails, notes that, I believe it's true that a crisply dressed employee gives a first impression of respectability and competence. However, if that isn't followed up with helpful, friendly service, I may storm angrily out of the store and forget all about how nice someone looked.

How about you? Does attire really matter with customer service? We'd like to hear your thoughts.

Keeping customers in difficult economic times

An article at RetailWire suggests that as economic woes continue, it's going to be harder to keep customers coming through the door. Building loyalty will be difficult, but pricing and rewards are a way for retailers to keep loyalty today. Also important is to give you customers a dynamic brand that presents a character they will remember. Read the full article here.

Social customer service

Although many companies are diving into the world of social networking customer service, it still remains to be seen whether or not companies need to set up formal contact centers with these mediums. The survey done by Datamoniter found that using these tools for customer service really depends on the company. The company should have social networking tools already at work in their company, and foudn that it's often more useful for small companies. Find out more here.

Meetings Drive Business

This is why companies need to continue to invest in business meetings. Not only will those who attend gain new and fresh perspectives from other attendees, but they'll hear from top companies who have lived by the same philosophy. Investment in yourself and innovation are the key to your business. What have you done recently to invest in your business?

Are you thinking of attending NACCM: Customers 1st this year? What would you expect to gain from the experience?

Meetings Drive Business

Dairy Queen launching new program to measure customer loyalty

In the RFID Update yesterday, they report that Dairy Queen testing a customer loyalty program that uses text-based messaging coupon system. Customers can sign up in their area and provide their name and phone number, and receive code via text message and redeem it via an RFD labels attached to their phones.

The discount code can be used in any time frame, and therefore can track redemption rates and overall program performance. The coupons are also given out on an individual basis, tracking past purchases and giving out coupons according to those sales. Read the full report here.

Frontier Airlines Nixes Social Media for Customer Service

Frontier Airlines won't be the ones "tweeting" you back @frontierair if you tweet a compliant when stuck in an airport. That Twitter user name is run by former Frontier Airlines enthusiast, Andrew Hyde, who when stuck in an airport for 6 hours on standby decided to take matters into his own hands by creating a clearinghouse of grievances against the air carrier.

Frontier, however, isn't taking the bait for social media and will not use the vehicles to connect with its customers.

In a statement, Frontier Air said, "We know many companies, including major airlines, have moved on to direct engagement with their customers via blogs, Twitter and other social media. Those companies have also raised the expectations of Twitter users to a level that can sometimes become unmanageable, even with the best of resources. We don’t want to disappoint our customers by introducing a communications tool we can’t properly support. We also have a lot committed to our more traditional customer service tools. Any introduction of new programs now would end up taking resources away from existing channels."

Will Frontier's decision to stay out of the social media sphere completely, deflate customer service worries for the air carrier?

This article referenced "Frontier Airline's customer service fail" by Meghan Keane

Don't wait on hold, they'll call back

Southwest, a company already well respected for the way it treats its customers, now has a new option for those calling in to their service center. The company has begun using Virtual Hold, a service that allows customers to call the service centers, and if the wait is too long, will call the customer back when the next customer service representative is available. Sitting on hold is a pet peeve of many customers, and Southwest has already been praised for this new initiative.

The new offering has reportedly earned the airline high marks from customers – some of whom twittered about it.

“Companies: In an age of cell phones, don't make me sit on hold. Call me back when it's my turn, like Southwest just did,” one customer “tweeted” on the popular social networking site, according to the release.

Read the full article here.

Medical Tourism and Customer Service

Tonya Walton, is the founder of Blue Morpho Medical Travel, she represents Gooch and Associates as Manager of Latin American Business Development. In a recent article posted on Medical Tourism Magazine, Walton discusses the need for understanding what your customers think. Though Walton is an expert in medical tourism, we found her customer service insights to be particularly relevant for our Customer 1st audience.

Walton offers five tips and techniques for successful customer service and customer experience:

• Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions
• Is a Satisfied Patient (Customer) Good Enough?
• Processes, People, Trust and Loyalty
• How Do I Get Feedback?
• Communicate the Results

We encourage you to check out Tonya Walton's thoughts. What else is imperative for successful customer service and customer relationships?