| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
Make Your Customer Your Friend
The simplest way to describe a 'durian' (pronounced doo-ree-ann) is to say it's a yellowish-green fruit about the size of an mid-sized watermelon. It has a thick skin of spikes, and a rich bitterish-sweet fruit. Known as the King of Fruits, it emits an overpoweringly pungent smell that lingers on for days, hence it's an item that's banned in hotels and airplanes. To those unaccustomed to its strong smell, it's something they wouldn't touch with a six-foot pole. But in Asia, this is an all-time local favorite. As much as I enjoy the fruit, you'd never find me volunteering to go out and buy it from the many roadside shacks that spring up each 'durian' season. The reason is simple - carrying a trunkload of 'durians' home would mean that my car would end up stinking for days afterwards. And a leftover pungent smell trapped in an air-conditioned car can be the worst thing ever, let me tell you!! So last year, when I found out that there's a guy who would actually deliver 'durians' fresh from his orchard to my doorstep, I was delighted. Now the 'Durian Man' has figured out there are lots of others like me out there who'd rather go into 'durian withdrawal' than drive around in a stinky car, and he's found his niche doing home deliveries. So what is the 'Durian Man' doing for me, his customer? He's providing me the convenience of not having to go out there in the heat and the traffic to buy 'durians' and stink up my car for something that I'm not even 100% sure will taste good. Other 'durian' sellers have found their niche in selling the fruit without its spiky skin. If you've ever tried to pry open a 'durian' yourself, you'll know it's best to leave this thorny task to the professionals. Some sellers offer to open the fruits as a free service to their customers, others sell the fruit pre-packaged in plastic boxes. Although plastic boxes cannot technically hold in the smell and prevent it from stinking up your car, they're a much better option to punctured palms and bleeding fingers. Lesson #1: Listen to your customers' problems. If there's anything you can do to make their lives easier, to save them time and effort, you may well have found your niche. Build your business around it, and you have a surefire winner. But the 'Durian Man' doesn't stop there. He handpicks the 'durians' for me (since I'm completely clueless at distinguishing a good fruit from an inferior one) and delivers only the best fruits. Not only that, he backs each fruit with his personal guarantee that it will be of the best quality - succulent and tasty. If any of his fruits turns out to be substandard, all I have to do is to call him, and he'll replace those fruits on my next order, plus throw in a couple more fruit as a goodwill gesture. Lesson #2: By backing his products with a personal guarantee, he is building the customer's trust in him, his products and indeed his business. Trust is the biggest factor in ensuring repeat business. It puts the customer completely at ease doing business with someone they know will deliver quality. And frankly, I'd rather do business with someone I know and trust than with a total stranger, wouldn't you? Fast forward to this week. He calls me to say, "Hey, listen, I'm driving into the city from my orchard, and I've got a batch of the freshest 'durians' this season. Really, these are the best so far. Want me to stop by your house with some?" Would you pass up an offer like that? It's been over six months since I last ordered from him, and frankly with the kind of schedule I'm running, 'durians' have to absolutely be the last thing on my mind. But hearing that 'durians' are in season again and knowing I don't have to lift a finger to go buy them was tempting. Without hesitation, I ordered a batch to be delivered the same afternoon! Lesson #3: Find a reason to contact your customers, keep them in the know, remind them that you're still around offering the same great customer service, and there's your repeat customer right there ;o). The 'Durian Man''s business tactics are not new but they work like a charm. Think about how you can adapt his tactics into your own business. Copyright 2004 Kit Lum. All rights in all media reserved. About The Author Kit Lum publishes Go Get Global Ezine which features advertising and web design services, and business and cultural resources to help small and home-based businesses profit from growing globally. Get more FREE tips like these at http://www.Go-GetGlobal.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Customer-Service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
E-Business's Best Friend: eCRM From Ebay to the smallest home-operated start-up, e-businesses of all sizes struggle to accurately answer a common question: who are my customers? If you can't answer that question, chances are you're also in the dark about the following questions. What customer demand trends can I expect in the future? How can I improve customer retention? What can I do to build long-term relationships of trust with customers? Knowing the answer to these questions can mean the difference between long-term growth and profitability and crashing and burning. Five Tips to Calm Cranky Customers 1. Tis the SeasonRecognize that everyone is frazzled during the holidays- you and your customers. Mexico: Online Ordering-Dont! I got it into my head sometime in December 2004 that I wanted order a laptop computer. I thought I would get one from the hugely popular computer company that allows you to call their 800 number and custom order what you want. Why Communication Skills Dont Work In Customer Service Every time my firm conducts communication skills training, we know someone is going to object."That doesn't work. Profit from a Customer Service Recovery Program A client recently said to me: "Most days things seem to run smoothly; but whenever we have a customer complaint, we seem to collapse. Where are we going wrong?"How you handle and solve customer concerns and complaints is a measure of your standing in the "excellent", "bad", or "mediocre" category of customer service. The 7 Principles of Business Integrity If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. To Complain and Win! - My Personal Recipe Prime directive: Make sure your claim is reasonable! Otherwise, forget it.First thing: If you have a legitimate claim denied or a beef with a company (my method can be applied to insurance companies, dealerships, bad fish, or whatever), prepare yourself for the likelihood of frustrating conversations with people who either can't think for themselves or have been told by their boss not to. My Child Has Opie Eye! 7:00 a.m. Why Cant Microsoft Make Soft Packaging? Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its product but does not want you to open the plastic case that is welded around the cardboard box? I believe that such packaging along with cockroaches will survive atomic disasters!Good luck finding any clue as to an easy way to open this fused bit of skin-tearing packaging. I split my scissors trying to pry open the ends. Call Center Software - Your Tool of Choice in Customer Relations The call center represents your first line of communication with customers and potential customers. Whether you choose to outsource this service or to establish an in-company call center, this is one area in which quality is paramount and cannot be compromised. Customers - Hold Onto the Ones Youve Got You probably spend a great deal of your time looking for new customers or clients. However, are you sure your doing enough to hold onto the ones you've got. What's in a Name? Different people call their Customers by different names. If they don't have Customers, they have Clients, purchasers, licensees, users, patients, members, franchisees, or buyers. Dont Eliminate The Middle Man - Add One Today, there are situations when we actually add a "middle person" instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it's cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. Dealing with People - Words to Avoid You probably realise how the wrong tone of voice and negative body language can cause problems when dealing with other people, particularly customers and staff. However, using the wrong words can also cause problems. Customer Service - How Good Are YOU? At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers. Handling Angry Clients What do you do when your client gets mad at you? How do you handle this? An angry client can be one of the biggest time and energy drains on a sales person. What you should specifically do will obviously depend on what the client is angry about. Become a Customer Enthusiasm-Guru! One thing all successful small business owners have in common is the knowledge that their business is based on enthusiastic customers. Despite their multi-tasking titles of bookkeeper, service provider and sales-manager, their most important title is Customer-Enthusiasm Guru. What To Do When Youve Blown It It's bound to happen sooner or later - yes, even to you and your business. Sometime or other, you will make a blunder that upsets a customer. RETAIL GREETERS: Sales Builders or Customer Turnoff? Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That is the perplexing question many retail organizations are struggling with today. Often touted in the press as the perennial example of the benefits to employing greeters,Walmart has hung on to its practice faithfully. How To Boost Your Bottom Line With Two Little Words I hate to sound like one of those cheesy get-rich-quick commercials, but this week I am going to let you in on a little secret that is so powerful that it will immediately change the way you do business.In fact, this little secret is so powerful that you will be amazed at its immediate effect on you, your employees, and your bottom line.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
