Customer Service
Discussions around service excellence or the lack thereof remains a constant point of discussion in business today not only on a B2B level but also more vocally on the B2C level. Being a service provider myself it stands to reason that this is a high priority for my business so I tend to focus on this point when it comes to being the recipient of services either for my business or as a consumer. Recent personal experiences as a consumer led me to consider whether businesses providing services truly understand the concept as it never fails to amaze me how often this aspect goes wrong. Either the complete experience did not offer the service excellence expected or it failed right from the get go!
Let me elaborate on these two points, if there are a number of interactions by a customer with your company it remains crucial that everybody in the company understands the importance of the customer service experience and more importantly is adequately equipped and trained to provide prompt, friendly and helpful service. Its of little or no value, if your receptionist or call centre operator superbly executes their task and then the next person who handles the nitty gritty aspect of the customers interaction does so with little regard for the service experience. All that effort put in by their colleagues is lost. (more…)
Social Media Marketing
And what is the purpose of your social media marketing in your business?
When I pose these questions to people managing these channels the answers are somewhat general:
These are valid starting points but not defined strategies that can assist you in achieving tangible marketing objectives. The more concerning response is,
These responses highlight that the full potential of social media platforms are not being utilised, and more specifically that clear strategies have not been defined in the context of a marketing plan.
Social media channels are marketing platforms that should contribute to the goals of your overall marketing strategy. They are not there merely to get more fans / likes / followers/ connections. Most people successfully use Facebook as an interactive social platform to converse with their fans – posting events, sharing news, commenting on posts and generally staying in touch with their fans. However, an assessment of the growth rate on brand pages indicates that not many brands / companies are seeing any significant increase in their fan base which tells me they are not generating continuous momentum to drive their fan base beyond a certain point. I’m not advocating here that this should be the only key objective – as this is focused on the brand or product and not on your client or consumer. Further enquiry into the depth of what they know about their fan base highlights that little or no analysis is being done to understand the interests or social patterns about their audiences. (more…)
Training
The value of training to a business should never be disregarded, not only does it have a lasting effect on your company and brand for that matter, but more specifically it can impact positively on your bottom line.
When it comes to service staff, particularly in the tourism and wine industry, a significant amount of focus is placed on product knowledge, service standards and customer relations. These are all highly important and do indeed form the cornerstone of a service experience especially when it comes to dealing with tourists, local travellers or restaurant patrons. The interaction with your staff leaves a lasting impression about their experience and thus translates to the value and memory they associate with your brand. (more…)
