Customer Service Assessment

A business needs an occasional check-up much like a human needs one. Assessments of various elements of the business help to identify problems and create opportunities for improvement. Nowhere is an assessment more important than in the area of customer service. How well customers are being served is of utmost importance to any business. It is important to look internally at processes and procedures that directly impact customers and the people serving the customers. And it is vital that customer feedback be obtained in order to identify problem areas that might not be uncovered by an internal review. We believe that an ongoing customer feedback process such as post-sale/service follow up is best, but even a regularly scheduled survey of customers is generally adequate. The point is that assessments of how well your customers are being served are critical to the long-term success of your business. To what extent are they currently being done?

Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ

Is Your Market Strategy Still Effective?

Things change. That's a well known fact and many businesses do an effective job of shifting their market strategies when they do. Others fail to recognize and/or react to market changes and continue to do things as they always have. In many cases, this is nothing more than a reluctance to change. In others, it is a matter of not being strategically astute. It is not uncommon for market conditions such as competition, the economy, customer preferences, alternative methods of distribution, pricing and the like to shift significantly. This generally calls for some sort of adjustment in the way a business goes to market. Failing to recognize these shifts can sometimes be devastating to a business. Timing is important since it can take time to affect change within the organization. If a business waits too long to recognize the shifts, it could be too late. We stress the importance of keeping track of competition, alternative product and service offerings, price shifts, economic changes, customer perceptions and preferences and other market related factors. By doing so, a business can identify the need to make changes early.

Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ

Call a Customer Today

It is critical to know how customers feel about your business and the service being delivered. Most businesses do a horrible job of following up with customers on a regular basis to find out how they perceive the way they are being served. We recommend a process that, very simply, involves picking up the telephone and calling various customers at regular intervals to ask about their level of satisfaction with the way they are being served. Speaking directly with a customer can often reveal things they probably wouldn't share otherwise. Dissatisfaction can sometimes be uncovered allowing for the problem(s) to be addressed. Does your business take the time to contact customers to better understand how they perceive your company?

Good Luck & Good Selling!
Russ