Tag: Customer Experience

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Business Development Marketing Management Strategy

6 More Techniques to Repurpose Customer Success Stories

'Customers are the key to everything' photo (c) 2011, Dave Gray - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/ Prospective clients want to conduct business with successful companies. How do you prove your worth? CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES.

My prior post on this subject 6 Techniques to Repurpose Customer Success Stories generated requests for more techniques. Here are another half-dozen for you.

  1. Direct Marketing: Highlight a customer’s success in a mailer to prospects and customers.
  2. Webinars: Feature a successful customer on a webinar for prospects or customers.
  3. Live events: Invite customers to tell their stories at industry conferences or other events.
  4. Training sales reps: Integrate customer successes into sales training to educate reps. That way you are demonstrating the value that your company’s products and services deliver for customers.
  5. Sales conversations: Engage prospects with a relevant example of a successful customer.
  6. New-employee orientation:  Educate new employees about the organization’s value to its customers.

Bonus Techniques

I have written 4 other posts on Customer Success Stories. Click below to read them.

The Takeaway

Your best advocates are satisfied customers. Utilize their excellent results to obtain new clients.

Over to you.  What are your thoughts? Please comment below

  1. Have you successfully utilized any of these techniques?
  2. What other techniques would you add to the list?
  3. Are your customers interested in success stories as part of your sales process?

If you would like to contact me, you may do so by visiting my LinkedIn page, following me on Twitter,  or e-mailing me at rcberman2 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Categories
Branding Marketing Management Strategy

Failing Customer Expectations

'Spoon Me - Green Tea Frozen Yogurt with Coconut and Chocolate chips' photo (c) 2011, Calgary Reviews - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Folks in business like to talk about exceeding customer expectations.  Enter the search  term, “exceeding customer expectations”  into Bing or Google and you will receive thousands of hits.

So why would businesses want to set customer expectations  and then fail them?  Let’s look at an example.

Kiwiburst Frozen Yogurt

I stopped into this Yogurt Shop before a client meeting.  I never had heard of them before.  The particular location was only open a couple of weeks.  The name sounded enticing to me.  Coincidentally, I had just finished listening to a book that featured a kiwi character –a New Zealander.  So, I went in.

What did I expect to find?

  • Signs with “G’Day mate” on them.
  • New Zealand flags or at least the colors of the flag.
  • A cute story about the origins of the name.

What did I actually find?

  • No New Zealand anything
  • No “Kiwi” flavor yogurt
  • A rather sad looking bin of cut up kiwi fruit in a back corner of the toppings section.

Vive La Difference!

The yogurt was no different than anywhere else.  I was disappointed in the interior.  With so many yogurt and ice cream stores around, why would I patronize the chain or this location in particular?

The Takeaway

If your company is setting customer expectations, then you must meet and hopefully, exceed them.

Over to you.  What do you think?  Please comment below.

  1. How often do you exceed customer expectations?
  2. How do you measure customer satisfaction?
  3. Does your company mission statement address meeting or exceeding customer expectations?

If you would like to contact me, you may do so by visiting my LinkedIn page, following me on Twitter,  or e-mailing me at rcberman2 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Categories
Customer Service Management

Is Your Business Shooting Itself in the Foot?

'Seattle: animated TILT sign' photo (c) 2007, Eli Duke - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ How often do business owners and managers think about the impression they make on customers and potential customers?

Business Owner Examples

I regularly travel and frequent small restaurants and stores.  Here are a few of the interesting (scary) signs I have seen along the way.

1.    “We specialize in all kinds of alterations, mens/women’s/childrens, suits, pants, suits, coats, dresses, jeans, leather, suede.”

Specialization, to me, means something specific.  Here they specialize in “all kinds” of alterations.  A bit unclear, to say the least.

2.    “Hiring one salesperson speak Spanish and little English.”

If the owner is looking for a Spanish speaker, then why not write the sign in Spanish?  “A “little English” speaker may never understand the sign.

3.    “We keep our bathroom clean because we respect our customers.  Thx’s so much.”

I appreciate a clean bathroom since I see so many dirty ones in my travels.  However, I also EXPECT a clean bathroom.  What does it say about other restaurants in the area if this business posts this sign to point out the clean bathroom?

NYC Subway Examples

The unique talent for poor impressions is not limited to businesses.  I rode the subway in New York City with my daughter.  A woman across from us did the following before exiting the train car.

  1. Opened compact and fixed her hair (good).
  2. Applied lip gloss (good).
  3. Checked her teeth for food articles and then chewed what she found (not so good).
  4. Checked her nose hair, put her finger up her nose and pulled hairs (really not good).

The Takeaway

Just like the old saying, “measure twice and cut once”, think about what your actions and signs say to your customers or potential customers.

Those are my observations.  Over to you. Please comment below.

  1. What other signs like these have you seen?
  2. Can you think of someone who has a sign you will now tell them about?
  3. How important do you think image is for business owners and managers?

If you would like to contact me, you may do so by visiting my LinkedIn page, following me on Twitter,  or e-mailing me at rcberman2 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Categories
Branding Customer Service

6 Techniques to Re-Purpose Customer Success Stories

'80% of success is just showing up' photo (c) 2011, Sean MacEntee - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Customer success stories should be proof of success. The fact that you have satisfied needs and exceeded expectations makes you feel good. These stories were great in the Sales Process , Communications Vehicles and when Working with the Media . Here are a few other places to utilize them as well.

Industry Awards Entries

When you apply for awards you need to demonstrate your success. What better way than to detail a customer challenge and how your firm met it.

Non-Profit Fundraising

Non-profits require funding to provide their valuable services. That funding is only derived in a few ways. Foundation or government grants are really spiced up when they are personalized to how the funders dollars have been effectively put to work. The same approach works well with fundraising campaigns.

Annual Reports

We traditionally think that only larger, public corporations issue annual reports. Not true! Non-profits often create them to give to funders. Smaller firms can create them to use as marketing collateral to share with current or prospective clients. It is your document and your chance to show what makes you different.

For-Profit Fundraising

Share your successes when you pitch a Venture Capital Fund, Economic Development Fund or your bank. Your reason for funding is to continue to create more successes. Funders want to go and grow with a winner. Show you are a winner.

Voicemail

Usually, you are trying to reach someone when you call. But what if that was not your strategy? Call after hours solely to leave a message. What does your message say? Start with the basics, who you are and what your company does. Then, share a quick success story and indicate how you can do the same for them. The person getting the voicemail will either call you back or be more inclined to take your next call during business hours.

On-hold Messaging

Similar to the voicemail approach above, tell customers or prospective customers how successful you can make them. You compose a message that will appeal to most callers. Invite them to a special offer or to speak to a specific person about your success story.

Bonus Techniques

I have written 4 other posts on Customer Success Stories. Click below to read them.

The Takeaway

Customer success stories are little treasures. Don’t bury them. Rather, share them with anyone and everyone who can help your organization.

Those are the ideas. Over to you. Please comment below:

  1. How else do you use customer success stories?
  2. Have you successfully used any of the above techniques?
  3. Will you value your success more in the future?

If you would like to contact me, you may do so by visiting my LinkedIn page, following me on Twitter,  or e-mailing me at rcberman2 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Categories
Customer Service Marketing Management

Using Customer Success Stories With The Media

Successphoto © 2007 Alosh Bennett | more info (via: Wylio)
Customer Success Stories are a great tool to use in Communications Vehicles, the Sales Process and with the Media.

Four ways that the success stories can be utilized in the Media are:

Continue reading “Using Customer Success Stories With The Media”