Help! I Need Somebody! - John Lennon

When you need help ask for it.
Recently my back went out. And when I say my back went out I mean I couldn't walk or function. It was the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. We had been planning on camping for a few weeks and my husband had been furiously working to get the camper ready for our first camping trip.
I had played softball on Monday evening and even though my back was sore I thought I was still okay and just needed to rest. On Tuesday morning I bent over to pick up my shoes and my back went out. Basically, my world stopped. I was in excruciating pain and I knew I would not be able to fulfill my business responsibilities for the remainder of the week.

But instead of this week being a total loss, I called in the troops. My new employee, Amanda, is a very competent young woman. I called her to tell her not to come to the office but to work from her house all day Wednesday. We spoke on the phone in the morning and I gave her instructions on what I would like her to do. We touched base again after lunch and I gave her additional assignments for the day. I also contacted my group of business associates that I network with and asked them to help me find a sub for my BNI meeting that Friday morning. People jumped right in and helped me find someone quickly.
I also knew that if I really needed it I could ask my church to help provide meals for me for a couple days so that I could rest. I did not call them but knowing that I could make me feel a lot better.
The story has a happy ending. I got most of the work done that I had planned on that week and on Friday morning my back was able to be adjusted and I started feeling almost normal by lunchtime. I was able to go camping with my family and relax for three days knowing that my workload had not built up over the week and I would be able to return to work on Tuesday morning on schedule.
As entrepreneurs we are used to doing everything by ourselves. I must tell you however that that is not a good idea when you have an unexpected event happen to you. Don't be afraid to ask for help. People love to help other people because they know that their time will come when they need help as well. It can also be an opportunity for some people to pay it forward for something someone had done for them in the past.
Ask for help. Get the help. Stay on track. You will not regret it and you will really appreciate those people who stepped forward to help.

Get by with a little help from your friends.

Joanne Randall

724-603-LEAP

joanne@leapyearmarketing.com

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Marketing Mojo Radio

Do You Know What Good Customer Service Feels Like?

Why do we bother to create a positive customer service experience?

All buying habits are psychological in nature. Sure, people need or want to buy something because of the product, but where they buy and if they return are based on their customer service experience during and after the transaction. We want to be able to control the loyalty of our customers. So how does that happen?

Excellent customer service LEADS TO Customer Satisfaction, which ultimately drives loyalty, sales, and the bottom line.

You probably remember a time when you experienced good customer service. That is because every customer service experience is just that - an experience. I could give you a textbook definition of customer service, but you would likely forget it and just remember an experience you had and how it made you feel.  The good news is that you can control the experiences your customers have and therefore create a positive one that will likely bring them back. Remember ALL customer experiences are experiences. Even the good, the bad, the ugly, and the neutral. Let's explore a little.

Bad-Bad experiences are really just experiences that are below the expectations the customer had when they walked in, but still may be somewhat acceptable. This happens when only a small portion of the experience goes awry. You may not  lose the customer for good, but for them to return there will need to be another factor to draw them in, possibly location, or more likely price. Really bad experiences will cost you that customer and will damage your reputation. In the world of Social Media, this is disastrous. People have on average 230 friends on Facebook alone and if they post something about you, you're done. 

Ugly- The difference between BAD and UGLY is that in BAD, there is no real attempt by the company to rectify the situation. In an UGLY experience, you will not see this person again unless you are able to rectify the situation and make it right. This however, does not guarantee the return of the customer, it might save your reputation in the sphere of the customer and they may refrain from telling all their friends about their poor experience. An ugly experience, if handled properly, may end up turning into a great experience if the customer is open. You won't know until it is all over. 

Neutral-This is a very dangerous experience because the business will never know if the customer had a good enough experience to make them come back. A neutral experience is what the customer expected or it was satisfactory. This will not win you loyal customers. If you do not create a compelling reason for them to return, there is a good chance that next time they will go somewhere based on another factor, maybe location or price. Neutral experiences are damaging because there is no added value to their experience that will make you stand out over your competition. 

Good-people may or may not share their experiences, but you have created an experience that their subconscious will remember the next time they need or want to buy something you offer. There will need to be a compelling reason for them to not return. Good, positive experiences even allow for small future mistakes.

What memorable customer experiences have you had? How did they affect your future buying decisions.

As mentioned in my podcast, communication is the real driving factor behind customer service and satisfaction. Tune in to hear the rest of the discussion and visit Leap Year Marketing or Marketing Mojo Radio Facebook pages to tell us about your own experiences.

Joanne Randall

joanne@leapyearmarketing.com

www.leapyearmarketing.com

724-603-LEAP

Marketing Mojo Radio Podcast