Posted on July 15, 2008 by cpmccrory
Here’s a quick question for you. When you sell to your customers, what are you doing to ensure their success? This most likely is targeted to you B2B folks, but it could go to just about anyone selling anything.
Because to the best companies, selling isn’t just about the sale. Or even the [...]
Filed under: Customer Service, Sales, brand strategy | Tagged: B2B, Customer Service, Sales | No Comments »
Posted on July 11, 2008 by cpmccrory
Quality service is the key to business success. That means meeting or exceeding the needs external as well as internal customers. And to do that, you have to close the loop.
Closing the loop is how you follow up. It’s how you answer the question or resolve the complaint or respond to a [...]
Filed under: Customer Service | Tagged: complaints, Customer Service, external customers, follow up, internal customers, requests, resolutions, response | No Comments »
Posted on July 7, 2008 by cpmccrory
Since moving into my new house, I have had the occasion to work with a couple of companies using service contractors and one using its own staff. In each instance, the experience has been fine. Using contractors for your in-home service work makes sense in the right situations:
The contractors’ vision and mission aligns [...]
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Customer Service, Marketing Integration | Tagged: contractors, contracts, management, service | No Comments »
Posted on July 4, 2008 by cpmccrory
This past weekend, I heard a co-worker talking to a customer, and she said she didn’t want the customer to sell the product back to her. I hadn’t heard that phrase in several years. But it’s one of those that makes perfect sense.
We sell all sorts of things to all sorts of people. [...]
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Customer Service, Sales | Tagged: customer satisfaction, purchase, Sales | No Comments »
Posted on June 30, 2008 by cpmccrory
Segmentation is a difficult thing to wrangle sometimes. When internet-based sales starting picking up steam ten years ago, people weren’t sure how to respond, though the thought process really shouldn’t have been much different than for catalog sales. The main difference is that the catalog was now online and accessible to anyone who [...]
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Customer Service, Marketing Integration, Pricing, Sales, brand strategy | Tagged: branding, catalog, internet sales, online, pricing strategy, sales channel | No Comments »
Posted on June 26, 2008 by cpmccrory
Sorry about this, but I have yet another issue concerning moves. Following on yesterday’s complaints about our electric company, today I take issue with the real estate industry.
We sat there in the room with a stack of papers two inches thick in front of us to sign. The closing agent explained briefly what [...]
Filed under: Communication, Consumer Experience, Customer Service | Tagged: lawyers, legalese, paperwork, real estate, title agent | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 25, 2008 by cpmccrory
OK. So we buy a house in Phoenix, having relocated from New Orleans. In preparation, my wife starts contacting the various services—electric, gas, telephone, cable. For almost all of them, it goes as you would expect. They confirm the address, check the cancel order from the previous owner, and agree to [...]
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Customer Service, message | Tagged: checklist, picture ID, proof of identity | No Comments »
Posted on June 24, 2008 by cpmccrory
I was out shopping (browsing, really) at some shops this weekend. In one of the stores, I was particularly interested in a couple of shirts. As I am checking out one of the shirts, deciding whether to buy, one of the salespeople walks up to me and points me to a table of [...]
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Customer Service, Sales | Tagged: consumer, Customer Service, experience, prices, Sales, shopping | No Comments »
Posted on June 17, 2008 by cpmccrory
Well, we knew the time was coming when airlines would start charging us for darn near everything. Now they’re going to charge us for the first bag we check. Forget the fact that most travelers will attempt to cram everything into a carry-on bag too big to fit in any overhead compartment. [...]
Filed under: Customer Service, Pricing, Promotion Strategy, brand strategy | Tagged: airlines, baggage, gas, hedging, luggage, options, Pricing | No Comments »
Posted on June 16, 2008 by cpmccrory
I’ve never really gotten into, nor understood for that matter, the ongoing fight between PC and Mac users. Each has its own features, benefits and drawbacks and caters to two distinct audiences. Neither one is truly better than the other. As things progress, each one is nudging closer to the other, blurring [...]
Filed under: Brand Value, Consumer Experience, Customer Service, Promotion Strategy, brand strategy, marketing | Tagged: Apple, loyalty, Mac, PC, switching costs | 7 Comments »