Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Charlie Isaacs, customer service, Customer service management
By Charlie Isaacs
The economy is tough. But now is NOT the time to scrimp and pinch pennies when it comes to your existing customer base. The companies that focus on and solve problems faced by their existing customers will thrive and succeed when the economy picks up again.
Frequently, I hear horror stories about companies putting the “squeeze” on their customers. They are trying to gouge existing services and products or charge customers more for the same offering as a way to offset shrinking revenue. These customers rightfully dumped their vendors because of this bad behavior and found a new provider to fill the void.
To help you avoid this getting into unhappy situation with your customers, I’ve outlined some do’s and don’ts for dealing with your customers in tough economic times.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: customer service, Customer service management, key performance indicator, knowledge management, KPI, Michael Fields, SEM, Service experience management
By Michael Fields
In some way or another, we’ve all become slightly anxious, even superstitious, market onlookers. We note with a sigh as economic pundits are unwilling to make predictions, as industry giants fall one after another.
There’s no doubt in our minds that the volatile economy will likely affect many aspects of our businesses. But we must meet the challenge head on and arm ourselves with the knowledge to navigate our companies through the storm. Where do we start?
Effective, real-time measurement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Such metrics have taken on a whole other level of importance in these uncertain times. Aside from getting on the phone and talking to them personally—which is also a good idea in many situations—KPIs are the best way to truly get to know our customers.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: customer service, Customer service management, knowledge management, Mark Angel, SEM, Service experience management
By Mark Angel
The lines between sales and service are blurring these days – especially for those of you servicing online customers. This phenomenon is especially apparent with the increasingly key “edge” processes that span these colliding worlds.
Initiatives like guided selling, loyalty programs and product returns are being run inefficiently or, worse, ineffectively. The kicker is these same processes — the ones that aren’t producing value — are also disproportionately and negatively influencing your customers’ experience and, consequently, your businesses’ opportunity to gain greater share of the wallet.
Traditional CRM or e-commerce approaches handle some core problems related to selling or servicing, but there is a growing gap in managing quality and consistency of services. As those of you who have worked with traditional CRM solutions like Siebel know, such solutions are just too hardwired to give businesses the granular degree of control over the service experience they need. And they certainly don’t allow businesses to quickly adjust processes to meet changing internal needs or market trends. (more…)
