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Casual Articles - To Be - (Customer-Focused) or Not to Be - What a Question
Are you running classified ads regularly? You should. They're a powerful way to promote your business inexpensively.Online, you can place ads in ezines and on Web sites, and offline, run them in your local paper and in trade magazines.If you've tried a classified or two to promote your business and were disappointed with the results, remember that a one-shot deal won't work.You need to run your ads repeatedly. For months, not weeks. Run one classified a week in a newspaper, or one a month in magazine read by your target audience ---for at least four months.The humble classified ad is the magic bullet of advertising. And like a bullet, it needs to be precisely aimed.=> Step One: Pick your baitSomehow you've got to pack the copywriter's AIDA formula of an successful ad: Attract, Interest, Desire, and Action, into 30 words.You attract interest, arouse desire and get the reader to take action, with an appealing bait.Start by listing everything you can think of to say about your product or service. Don't limit yourself. Don't just cover all the features you usually cover. Write down *everything* you can think of. You should have a long list.Let's say you're selling a German Shepherd puppy. You can include
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
Better Business BirthdaysNEWSFLASH Corporate birthday ideas hit rock-bottom.Shocking but TRUE!Although Raphael was not there on his birthday his co-workers got him a cake, blew out the candles...and ate it too!And when he returned...they had another cake.Couldn't miss his "birthday" now, could they?!Yes, Raphael's celebration is like out of the pages of the National Enquirer.The office cake carousel usually gets a full work out during the year. It seems to be as far as corporate birthday ideas go in some places.Depending on who is in the mix and what initiative they show or are allowed to show, this can either make for an exciting diversion or a valid reason for, as they say in Australia, to take "a sickie"[NB: sickie = day off work for apparent illness]The whole birthday thing at work is a very gray area. The clash of expectations and the need to show no favoritism given the diversity of the staff is a real hot zone of emotion and, sadly, stupidity.Relax though. Here is the an answer to all who have asked:"Aren't there any decent corporate birthday ideas anymore?"Yes, there is.Firstly, some timely thoughts about...What we want to
Most of you will probably recognize this soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet
To be, or not to be: that is the question:A popular interpretation of the speech suggests that it is a debate on suicide. Hamlet considers the attractions of death (not to be), which he refers “to a sleep”, over life (to be), where pain seems unavoidable. But in the end he decides that; his fear of possible suffering in the afterlife as opposed to the known evil that is life stops him from actively ending his existence.Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd.
To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
What has this got to do with Customer Focus?
Based on the unacceptably high levels of poor or mediocre customer service, prevalent across North America and other parts of the globe, it appears that many companies seem to favor “not to be”. The evidence we have to support this view surrounds us. Everyone of you, that has taken the time to read this article, for which we thank you, has undoubtedly experienced poor or mediocre service personally if not today, than very recently.
If you will allow me a little poetic license, with the first few lines of Hamlet’s immortal speech;
To be Customer-Focused, or not to be Customer Focused that is the question:Customer Focus Is Not an Option!Whether it ‘tis better to do what is necessary to reap the benefits of being truly customer-focused
Or maintain the status quo and do nothing but continue to handle customer complaints, put up with customer churn and operational inefficiencies
And by doing nothing?
Commit long-term corporate suicide...
Everywhere you turn, Corporate Head Offices extol the virtues of service but when it come down to it, most of the time they are really paying accelerated lip service to this the importance of service.
This is very curious, particularly when you consider the number-one reason why that small number of service leaders, you know, those few companies where the service is almost always really great, consider customer service a.k.a. customer focus to be a critical business strategy.
What is the Number 1 reason you ask?
Customer Focus is a Profit Strategy!
This happens in a couple of ways. Truly customer-focused companies have loyal customers. Loyal Customers:
- buy more,
- cost less to serve because they know your processes,
- tell you when things go wrong so you can fix the problems and
- tell their friends, family and associates about how great you are and as a result you get more customers.
Also, customer-focused companies are more productive. Employees are motivated, and perform their jobs more effectively.
Re-work, duplication of effort and mistakes are significantly reduced. These all cost you money in terms of time spent, money spent, loss of productivity and loss of business.
Your turnover also reduces so you keep your staff longer and don’t experience down-time, productivity losses and employee morale related issues.
If you are still not convinced, consider the following:.
- It’s 5 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
- About 75% will do business again if the problem is resolved to their satisfaction.
- 90 to 95% will do business again if the problem is resolved on the spot.
- Customers are willing to pay for quality service.
- An increase in customer loyalty will have a direct positive impact on your bottom line.
- The cost of poor service has a direct, negative impact on your bottom line.
Let’s examine these points in more detail.
It is safe to say that it is far more profitable and far less costly to keep the customers you have by building their loyalty, than it is to keep replacing them with new customers.Determining what it costs to acquire customers is a bit intangible for most people. As you can imagine, at lot goes into getting customers to walk into your place of business or call you. Advertising, merchandising, promotions, premises expense, phone systems, salaries and so on are costs associated in part with getting customers.
Someone has to pay for this. Normally payment comes through the proceeds of revenue you get from the sales of your products and services. Sometimes we tend to take this for granted.
Say for example, the cost to your company to acquire a customer was $500.00. If you lose that customer your investment of $500.00 is gone. What is of greater concern is that the cost to replace that one customer is now $2,500.00 (5 X $500.00). What is you lose 100 customers? That’s got to hurt your business!
Research has proven that once you have a customer, your cost of keeping him/her drops dramatically over time. When you lose a customer you will inevitably incur a higher cost to replace the one you lost.
Assuming your cost to acquire a customer is $250 and based on the fact that it is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new one, your new customer acquisition cost would be $1,250 for each new customer required to replace one that defected. Let’s be ultra conservation and say that you lose 20% of your customer base due to service defection, (if you are not truly customer-focused, it could be even higher), then based on the example above the annual cost to replace 20% of your customer base would be $62,500. Over five years this cost would be $312,500 and you would have turned over all your customers in that period. Can you think of any better uses for the $312,500?
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
The votes have been counted and the results are in. Ballot boxes are a priceless tool in the management of your retail store. Store promotions, contests, giveaways, and customer research are just a few examples of the ways a ballot box can come in handy in promoting your store and improving customer service. The ballot box is one of the most useful (and overlooked) tools for retail stores to build a connection with their customer base.A ballot box is such a versatile tool because it can be used in a wide variety of contexts within your store. It is the type of product that you typically don’t think of until the first time you need it. Then you begin to see all of the practical applications.I recommend retailers use creativity in determining how their business could benefit from a ballot box, but here are some suggestions to get you thinking:Promotional Contests: Everyone loves a contest. Your customers love it because they stand to win something. You love it because it draws customers into your store. Consider this as well: use promotional contests to gather contact information for future marketing endeavors. This will allow you to develop a list of active customers to whom you can market. For a contest, any acrylic ballot box w
If you will allow me a little poetic license, with the first few lines of Hamlet’s immortal speech;
To be Customer-Focused, or not to be Customer Focused that is the question:Customer Focus Is Not an Option!Whether it ‘tis better to do what is necessary to reap the benefits of being truly customer-focused
Or maintain the status quo and do nothing but continue to handle customer complaints, put up with customer churn and operational inefficiencies
And by doing nothing?
Commit long-term corporate suicide...
Everywhere you turn, Corporate Head Offices extol the virtues of service but when it come down to it, most of the time they are really paying accelerated lip service to this the importance of service.
This is very curious, particularly when you consider the number-one reason why that small number of service leaders, you know, those few companies where the service is almost always really great, consider customer service a.k.a. customer focus to be a critical business strategy.
What is the Number 1 reason you ask?
Customer Focus is a Profit Strategy!
This happens in a couple of ways. Truly customer-focused companies have loyal customers. Loyal Customers:
- buy more,
- cost less to serve because they know your processes,
- tell you when things go wrong so you can fix the problems and
- tell their friends, family and associates about how great you are and as a result you get more customers.
Also, customer-focused companies are more productive. Employees are motivated, and perform their jobs more effectively.
Re-work, duplication of effort and mistakes are significantly reduced. These all cost you money in terms of time spent, money spent, loss of productivity and loss of business.
Your turnover also reduces so you keep your staff longer and don’t experience down-time, productivity losses and employee morale related issues.
If you are still not convinced, consider the following:.
- It’s 5 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
- About 75% will do business again if the problem is resolved to their satisfaction.
- 90 to 95% will do business again if the problem is resolved on the spot.
- Customers are willing to pay for quality service.
- An increase in customer loyalty will have a direct positive impact on your bottom line.
- The cost of poor service has a direct, negative impact on your bottom line.
Let’s examine these points in more detail.
It is safe to say that it is far more profitable and far less costly to keep the customers you have by building their loyalty, than it is to keep replacing them with new customers.Determining what it costs to acquire customers is a bit intangible for most people. As you can imagine, at lot goes into getting customers to walk into your place of business or call you. Advertising, merchandising, promotions, premises expense, phone systems, salaries and so on are costs associated in part with getting customers.
Someone has to pay for this. Normally payment comes through the proceeds of revenue you get from the sales of your products and services. Sometimes we tend to take this for granted.
Say for example, the cost to your company to acquire a customer was $500.00. If you lose that customer your investment of $500.00 is gone. What is of greater concern is that the cost to replace that one customer is now $2,500.00 (5 X $500.00). What is you lose 100 customers? That’s got to hurt your business!
Research has proven that once you have a customer, your cost of keeping him/her drops dramatically over time. When you lose a customer you will inevitably incur a higher cost to replace the one you lost.
Assuming your cost to acquire a customer is $250 and based on the fact that it is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new one, your new customer acquisition cost would be $1,250 for each new customer required to replace one that defected. Let’s be ultra conservation and say that you lose 20% of your customer base due to service defection, (if you are not truly customer-focused, it could be even higher), then based on the example above the annual cost to replace 20% of your customer base would be $62,500. Over five years this cost would be $312,500 and you would have turned over all your customers in that period. Can you think of any better uses for the $312,500?
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
Many sandwich degree students can secure a placement through their universities dedicated placement office. However even with the universities support there is much onus on the student to actively secure a good quality placement and to stand out from crowd.The value of the Placements yearThe placement year is a very valuable experience, particularly if the student hasn’t had much experience of work before. At university even having a part time job can help students understand their studies better. Secondly it gives the student an indication about what they may like to do after graduation. However, importantly it helps the student secure a better job after graduation. Obviously the value of the placement depends very much on the quality of the placement. Whilst many students find their placement year a positive experience, their may be a small minority who feel they had an unconstructive placement.Job Fair’sAlthough a universities placement office can provide invaluable advice, support and a number of contacts, students have a better chance of securing a good quality placement if they were to be proactive in independently seeking a placement. One way they can do this is to attend recruitment or Job fairs.When attending Job fairs
Also, customer-focused companies are more productive. Employees are motivated, and perform their jobs more effectively.
Re-work, duplication of effort and mistakes are significantly reduced. These all cost you money in terms of time spent, money spent, loss of productivity and loss of business.
Your turnover also reduces so you keep your staff longer and don’t experience down-time, productivity losses and employee morale related issues.
If you are still not convinced, consider the following:.
- It’s 5 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
- About 75% will do business again if the problem is resolved to their satisfaction.
- 90 to 95% will do business again if the problem is resolved on the spot.
- Customers are willing to pay for quality service.
- An increase in customer loyalty will have a direct positive impact on your bottom line.
- The cost of poor service has a direct, negative impact on your bottom line.
Let’s examine these points in more detail.
It is safe to say that it is far more profitable and far less costly to keep the customers you have by building their loyalty, than it is to keep replacing them with new customers.Determining what it costs to acquire customers is a bit intangible for most people. As you can imagine, at lot goes into getting customers to walk into your place of business or call you. Advertising, merchandising, promotions, premises expense, phone systems, salaries and so on are costs associated in part with getting customers.
Someone has to pay for this. Normally payment comes through the proceeds of revenue you get from the sales of your products and services. Sometimes we tend to take this for granted.
Say for example, the cost to your company to acquire a customer was $500.00. If you lose that customer your investment of $500.00 is gone. What is of greater concern is that the cost to replace that one customer is now $2,500.00 (5 X $500.00). What is you lose 100 customers? That’s got to hurt your business!
Research has proven that once you have a customer, your cost of keeping him/her drops dramatically over time. When you lose a customer you will inevitably incur a higher cost to replace the one you lost.
Assuming your cost to acquire a customer is $250 and based on the fact that it is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new one, your new customer acquisition cost would be $1,250 for each new customer required to replace one that defected. Let’s be ultra conservation and say that you lose 20% of your customer base due to service defection, (if you are not truly customer-focused, it could be even higher), then based on the example above the annual cost to replace 20% of your customer base would be $62,500. Over five years this cost would be $312,500 and you would have turned over all your customers in that period. Can you think of any better uses for the $312,500?
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
There are many distributors of ophthalmic equipment who offer both new and remanufactured or refurbished machines. Some of the more common types of remanufactured equipment are slit lamps, phoropters, chairs and stands. It is typically higher-end equipment, which are remanufactured or refurbished and offered for resale. The reason being, that they can be offered at a substantially reduced price compared to new ophthalmic equipment, and the distributor still makes a reasonable profit. However, it is generally unwise to consider purchasing used surgical equipment, as many procedures require critical, flawless performance, which used equipment generally does not offer. New practitioners that want to keep costs down are typically the buyers of remanufactured or refurbished equipment. It is not unusual for these practitioners to purchase more than one piece of equipment, in an effort to set up a fully equipped examination lane. It is quite easy to see the cost savings at this level, and with huge debt to begin with, this is the ideal way of starting out. It is important to distinguish between used, refurbished, and remanufactured equipment. The bottom line is that whether it is refurbished or remanufactured it’s still used equipment and just li
Determining what it costs to acquire customers is a bit intangible for most people. As you can imagine, at lot goes into getting customers to walk into your place of business or call you. Advertising, merchandising, promotions, premises expense, phone systems, salaries and so on are costs associated in part with getting customers.
Someone has to pay for this. Normally payment comes through the proceeds of revenue you get from the sales of your products and services. Sometimes we tend to take this for granted.
Say for example, the cost to your company to acquire a customer was $500.00. If you lose that customer your investment of $500.00 is gone. What is of greater concern is that the cost to replace that one customer is now $2,500.00 (5 X $500.00). What is you lose 100 customers? That’s got to hurt your business!
Research has proven that once you have a customer, your cost of keeping him/her drops dramatically over time. When you lose a customer you will inevitably incur a higher cost to replace the one you lost.
Assuming your cost to acquire a customer is $250 and based on the fact that it is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new one, your new customer acquisition cost would be $1,250 for each new customer required to replace one that defected. Let’s be ultra conservation and say that you lose 20% of your customer base due to service defection, (if you are not truly customer-focused, it could be even higher), then based on the example above the annual cost to replace 20% of your customer base would be $62,500. Over five years this cost would be $312,500 and you would have turned over all your customers in that period. Can you think of any better uses for the $312,500?
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
Laser-aided cutting has brought about a revolution in the manufacturing industries. These high-powered optical beams are used to cut through a variety of materials such as metal, wood, glass and plastic. The laser is directed at the required surface and moved around to cut the material in the desired shape. Laser cutting gives a finer finish to the end product as compared to conventional cutting methods.A typical laser beam is about 1/5th of a millimeter in width and has an intensity of 1000 to 2000 watts. Most laser cutting machines are integrated into a CAD/CAM system that helps the user design the end product on a computer before implementing it on the work piece.Laser cutting devices are proving beneficial in a wide array of industries. The plastic industry is no exception. These optic powered devices are used to cut precise shapes into plastic or acrylic sheets. The lasers can be used to cut plastics of varying thickness by simply altering the intensity of the beam. Lasers are not only used to cut through plastics but also help engrave on various surfaces.Laser plastic cutting machines bring precision and accuracy to the entire process. Since most machines are fully automated, they can perform complex cutting operations at high-speeds.
Since mistakes are guaranteed to happen, how you recover from these mistakes will significantly impact on whether the customer will do business with you again. It is important to note that research suggests that if you recover well, your customers will stay with you. The faster you recover, if you can resolve the issue “on the spot”, your customers will be impressed and in all likely-hood reward you with their continued business.
In a series of polls we conducted last year with about 1000 course participants, we asked where would they would prefer to spend their money.Here’s what they said;
Where would you prefer to spend your money?
High Quality, Excellent Service, High Price 34%
High Quality, Excellent Service, Low Price 36%
Average Quality, Average Service, Average Price 2%
Low Quality, Poor Service, Low Price 15%
Non-committed 13%
These results compare very favorably with research we have reviewed that suggests that the vast majority -70%, of customers are willing to pay for high quality service. Obviously price is a variable, but service is a constant.
Harvard Business Review conducted research which reveals that a 5% increase in customer loyalty can result in a return of 25% to 125% directly to the bottom line depending on your industry. It is safe to assume that investing time and resources to retain even a small number of your clients would pay for itself. You can do the math. Be conservative and take your gross profit and increase it by 25%.
Consider the time and expense associated with fixing problems, dealing with customer concerns, replacing product, re-working reports, and so on. Research from TARP (Technical Assistance Research Programs) indicates that, based on your industry, the cost can be significant.The Cost of Poor Quality Service
Manufacturing Industry 20% - 25% of sales revenue
Service Industry 30% - 35% of overhead costs
Pick one of these two and do the calculation.
Wouldn’t you like to have this as profit, rather than as an expense?
To quote our friend Hamlet once again
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
In today’s highly competitive market place we really cannot afford to take the easy way out. Creating customer focus takes commitment, at all levels of your organization, a comprehensive strategy which targets leveraged actions which will positively impact customer perception, and the will, fortitude and financial support to make the changes necessary to be truly Customer-Focused.
Your customers will reward you if you choose to become a truly customer-focused organization.
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