Customer Service – Page 5 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

A Simple Formula for Business Success

February 15, 2012/5 Comments/in Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by John Spence – author of Awesomely Simple – Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas into Action. He’s going to take hundreds of thousands of pages of information and boil it down into a simple formula for business success. Seriously. Here’s John…

As global markets become increasingly more competitive and financial turmoil worldwide continues to put pressure on nearly every type of business, I have had more and more organizations approach me to assist them in finding ways to be more competitive and successful in today’s economy. Although there is absolutely no “one size fits all” solution, to me the absolute most powerful strategy is to make sure that the core elements of your business are running so incredibly well that your customers absolutely love doing business with you and are eager to tell their friends, family and colleagues about your products and services. All the marketing tricks, ads and social media efforts in the world simply cannot overcome poor quality or lackluster customer service.

That is why for the past 19 years my career has focused exclusively on studying the fundamental elements of business success. Traveling worldwide at upwards of 200 days a year, I have worked shoulder to shoulder with some of the best (and worst) business leaders of our generation. I’ve also maintained a strict regimen of reading a minimum of 100 business books a year since 1989.

In preparation for writing my book Awesomely Simple, I compiled all of my research and reading down to a single page that I called my “Strategy Map.” This single piece of paper represented more than 175,000 pages of reading on business excellence and an additional 5,000 pages of interview notes and survey results from my work as a consultant and trainer. I then took all of that information and tried to uncover the pattern… the formula for business success. Well, here is what I came up with:

(T+C+ECF) x DE = Business Success

Let me take you step-by-step through the elements of this equation.

Best of thoughtLEADERS 2011: The Awesomest Posts Ever

December 12, 2011/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership, Project Management, Sales, Social Media, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

This year is almost over so it’s time for the year in review list of the BEST posts we’ve published in 2011. It’s time for the 2011 edition of The Figgies (here are the 2010 and 2009 editions).

This is an annual event here at the thoughtLEADERS Blog. Here’s how it goes: this list is comprised of our most viewed, most forwarded, quirkiest, most provocative work as judged by you the readers. There’s also a kicker bonus post on the list just for good measure (it’s a “wayback” – and speaking of wayback, check out the photo on the trophy… yes… that’s me ’80’s style baby!).

Enjoy. Share. We’ve loved writing them. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. I don’t ask a lot of you folks so I have two small requests as your holiday gift to me (you are getting me something, right?):

1. Invite all your coworkers, friends, and family to come check out the blog and become readers. The only way we get better is by raising everyone’s game. I’m not asking a lot here. If you found this blog helpful at all this year, here’s your chance to return the favor for all our hard work. Just email folks and tell ’em to come take a look.

2. Pick up a copy of One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful Personal Leadership. Yes – I know I talk a lot about the book but it’s not for the money (I would have made more money if I worked in a sweat shop in Asia making sneakers). I talk a lot about it because I’m evangelical about the topic. Buy it. Read it. In the words of Roland Smith (CEO of Wendy’s) “It could change your life.”

Thanks for your incredible support in ’11 and best wishes for ’12! We hope to be a part of your future success!

Enough preamble. Here’s the best stuff we’ve written all year:

BBQ, Planes, and Coffee – Keys to Customer Loyalty

February 28, 2011/1 Comment/in Customer Service, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m fortunate enough to travel to some great places to serve my clients. During those travels I can’t help but have many customer service interactions from which to draw lessons. Today I’ll share how BBQ, airplanes, and coffee can teach you a few things to do (or not do) to create a better experience for your customers.

Coffee

Last week I was in Chicago and Memphis. In Chicago, I showed up early for a breakfast meeting. I got there 15 minutes before the client team arrived. The restaurant was still setting up the private room for breakfast. The wait staff was running around doing last minute preparations. I decided to stay out of their way and await the arrival of the client.

The hostess was helping set up the room (apparently the team was a little short-staffed that morning). When I arrived, she stopped what she was doing and asked if I would like some coffee. When I eagerly said “Yes!” she set down what she was working on, went and got me a cup of coffee, went back into the kitchen and made a second trip to my table to bring some cream and sugar. Her actions sent a clear message – even though she was busy, her customer was more important than what she was working on in that moment.

How often do your team members stop what they’re working on to help a customer? Do they treat the customer’s arrival as something special and important? Have you created a culture where your team is encouraged to behave that way? Consider doing so. It makes a difference.

3 Lessons on Using Social Media for Your Business, Courtesy of Your Local Mechanic

February 2, 2011/7 Comments/in Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Social Media /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Tanveer Naseer. You can read about him at the bottom of this post. If you haven’t read his blog yet, you should go read it and subscribe to it by clicking here. Enjoy!

The start of a new year often fosters discussions over what will be the key events to occur over the next 12 months. So far, many pundits are pointing out how 2011 will be the year of mass adoption by businesses of social media platforms as part of their marketing, management, and employee retention efforts. Given the fact that Facebook has surpassed Google as the most visited site on the internet in 2010, as well as the deepening integration of social media platforms into people’s everyday lives, there’s no question that businesses will have to adapt and incorporate social media into their various processes.

Granted, there are many businesses which are already fairly active on the various social media sites. Of course, while some of them have been shining examples of how businesses should use social media, most are still struggling in large part because they haven’t quite understood how they should be using social media to benefit their organization.

So why are some companies able to join in the social media scene and within a short period, reap the benefits while others were better off before they made the jump into these online social spheres? To help answer this question, I’d like to first start off by sharing this example of an interaction between a small business owner and a customer from the ‘real world.’

My Top 5 Tips for Entrepreneurs

December 20, 2010/4 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Customer Service, Entrepreneur /by Mike Figliuolo

Entrepreneurs have it hard enough as it is. Why make it even harder on yourself with self-defeating behaviors? I know you are saying you would hate to do that but I see these kinds of behaviors all the time. You should know if you are demonstrating them.

If you’re an entrepreneur you pour your heart and soul into your business. You need every edge you can get. The first edge available to you is not doing stupid stuff. In the past month I have spent a lot of time with other entrepreneurs and I have seen a bunch of good things and a bunch of bad things. Today I’ll share some of those observations with the hope you find it helpful and use these perspectives to strengthen your business.

In the past I have covered some other challenges entrepreneurs face and I hereby declare them required reading. So here they are:
– Two traps that destroy entrepreneurs – CLICK HERE TO READ
– Two more traps that destroy entrepreneurs – CLICK HERE TO READ
– Entrepreneurs need to bootstrap to WIN – CLICK HERE TO READ

After you’re done reading them, continue with this post. And I’ll know if you didn’t read them because I can see your clickstream. Not really. But maybe…

The following tips are in no particular order nor are there broad categories they belong to. It’s simply a list of things I have seen go wrong recently and some thoughts on how to avoid those behaviors. Here goes:

4 Surefire Ways to Destroy Your Brand

October 4, 2010/7 Comments/in Communications, Customer Service, Sales, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Brands. Some are worth billions of dollars. We revere them. Coca-Cola. Nike. Apple. thoughtLEADERS (hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?). They seem monolithic and untouchable. The dirty little secret is they’re as fragile as a porcelain doll.

A brand is nothing more than a promise. It sets an expectation with a consumer or customer. They know what to expect when they interact with your brand. And I don’t care how big or small your brand is, it promises something to your customers. The operative key to all of this brand building is that point of interaction. That is where your brand is at its most vulnerable.

For example, if you get a can of Coke that’s filthy and the soda in it is flat, the brand is diminished. You tell 10 friends about it and it’s diminished more. You get an iPad that doesn’t work. Same thing. You run into a rude associate at Best Buy and the brand is tarnished. A brand becomes the summation of all those small touch points with your customers. The risk is you’re likely doing some things every day that are putting your own brand at risk.

From where I sit, I’ve seen four major points of failure that destroy brands:

Valet Park, Self Park or South Park – What’s Your Brand?

September 9, 2010/1 Comment/in Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m again happy to bring you AmyK Hutchens as today’s guest blogger (last time she was here she talked about reducing stress). No, that’s not her to the left. That’s Kenny from South Park. Here she is:

Stephen J. Cloobeck, Chairman and CEO of Diamond Resorts International, a company with 150+ branded and affiliated resorts in 26 countries, shared that if you want “to bring value to a busted brand, you start with the details.” For Cloobeck, this means a direct access email address available to every customer and a winning smile with the word “yes” at the tip of his tongue. With these details, and a few others, Cloobeck has built one of the largest vacation ownership companies in the world in an era when the words “time share” can leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

Brand Overhaul

How did Cloobeck sustain success despite turbulent times? He started with a brand overhaul, beginning with the classic time share sales pitch. “It was too aggressive,” stated Cloobeck. “We needed to soften the customer experience. We had to bring the value back to a busted brand.” So they shifted the pitch to a connect, and Cloobeck went straight to the consumer’s children to start. When he heard they had a menu kids refused, they added mac n cheese and other child-friendly foods. When he heard the kids were bored, he changed “baby-sitting” hours to outdoor adventure sessions and opportunities for physical and mental activities, and… he added an adult beverage to the “meet & greet” for parents, so they too could have a little more fun. Diamond’s new mantra? We’re listening!

You too can stimulate and reinvent your brand. How do you know if your brand is successful? It creates and retains customers. Successful branding is actually that simple. Ask yourself two questions: What are you promising? How can you best deliver that promise?

Two More Traps that Destroy Entrepreneurs (Part 2)

March 22, 2010/2 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Sales, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

In my last post I talked about the traps entrepreneurs face with respect to cash (not planning it well enough or managing it rigorously enough) and being your own boss (which means you might not have coworkers to help you make decisions). If you missed the post, go read it here.

Today I’ll cover two more traps that can ruin your business faster than Takeru Kobayashi can destroy a Nathan’s hot dog.

If you’re an entrepreneur you likely have a cool idea for a product or a service. That knowledge and innovation is the core of what you’re about. You somehow intuitively understand a market need and that’s the source of your success. Or failure depending on how you play it. That’s the third trap.

The fourth trap is that as the Big Cheese, you don’t need to sweat the small stuff. You’re the king of rock. There is none higher. Sucka MC’s better call you sire. Well guess what your majesty? You DO have to sweat the small stuff. All of it.

Let’s explore these two traps, shall we?

Surprise! You’re Getting Fired!

February 1, 2010/3 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Customer Service /by Mike Figliuolo

Have you ever met someone who was fired from their job? Betcha fifty bucks they said “Yeah, I never saw it coming.” For some reason getting canned always comes as a shock to people. They’re clueless as to how bad they’re doing and how close to the door they are.

Makes you wonder… are YOU close to the door and you don’t even realize it? Put your hand in the air if that question made you uncomfortable.

There are many reasons people get fired. The company is failing and has mass layoffs. Your boss does a lousy job setting expectations and providing feedback. You’re caught stealing money from petty cash. Those are clear reasons for a canning and there’s not much you can do about them (except get your fingers out of the petty cash envelope).

Instead, let’s focus on the “clueless” firing. The one where you think all is well then an anvil falls on your head. Let’s explore how we get ourselves in those situations in the first place then discuss how you can recover from them before you get pink slipped.

I Sucked at What I Did

First a story to illustrate. At one point early in my career, I sucked at what I did. I had been doing very well on performance reviews for a long time. Then I ended up on “the project” – you know the one… the one that’s not challenging, the work is tedious, and the project manager is less than motivating…. THAT project.

Without realizing it, I allowed apathy to creep into my performance. I got lazy and did the minimum amount I had to to get by. My deliverables were less than insightful and not very inspiring. Work became a 7 to 11 (which is AM and PM – the consulting equivalent to a 9 to 5). I was mailing it in.

The weird thing was, I had no clue how bad I sucked. To the client, the work was getting done and my output seemed to be meeting their needs. My manager was clear on a few occasions that I needed to do more insightful work rather than being satisfied with the minimum. His words simply didn’t register for me.

The Best of thoughtLEADERS 09: Why Your Team Hates You and Other Gems

December 29, 2009/1 Comment/in Career, Communications, Customer Service, Leadership, Social Media, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

I’m an idiot (no comments). I almost forgot to give you this year in review list of the BEST posts we’ve published this year. This list is comprised of our most viewed, most forwarded, quirkiest, most provocative work as judged by you the readers (with a little of our discretion thrown in). We’ve also included a few hidden gems we think deserve another shot in the spotlight. There’s also a kicker bonus post on the list just for good measure (it’s a “wayback” – and speaking of wayback, check out the photo on the trophy… yes… that’s me ’80’s style baby!).

Enjoy. Share. We’ve loved writing them. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. Thanks for your incredible support in ’09 and best wishes for ’10! We hope to be a part of your future success!

Enough sentimentality. Here’s the best stuff we’ve written all year:

Most Viewed and Forwarded Post: 10 Reasons Your Team Hates You (They Just Won’t Say It To Your Face). This post was viewed over 20,000 times. In 2 days. Wow. I’m pretty sure I pushed every button I could when I wrote this (insecurity, paranoia, a 10 point list, etc.). Learn the 10 most destructive behaviors you can exhibit as a leader (and learn how to fix them).

Did You Blink? 4 Leadership Trends You Can’t Afford to Miss

November 23, 2009/1 Comment/in Communications, Customer Service, Innovation, Leadership, Sales, Social Media, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

It’s been a crazy year. Bank implosions, wars, Adam Lambert not winning American Idol… craziness I tell you! It has also been a crazy year for leaders. Leading organizations through a turbulent economy has been a Herculean effort.

Fortunately for me, I sit in a position where I can watch leadership trends unfold across the many industries and companies we work with here at thoughtLEADERS. We’re blessed to have the opportunity to train some of the brightest client organizations out there.

This year, we’ve seen four major trends take center stage. If you’ve missed them, you’re missing huge opportunities to improve your organization. As a leader, you need every edge you can get so I encourage you to explore these trends and figure out how you can take advantage of them. So in no particular order, here are trends you can’t miss as a leader:

Are You Telling Customers You Don’t Care if They Die?

November 2, 2009/5 Comments/in Communications, Customer Service, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

If you have kids, you know the nauseating feeling of one of your kids going down for the count and having to rush to the emergency room. I had that wonderful experience very recently. What I learned from that visit to the ER is businesses can make very strong statements about how little they care about their customers simply through the processes they use to run the organization.

I’m betting you have a few standard business processes that leave your customers and prospects feeling like you don’t care if they die. First let’s understand the ER story then evaluate how it might apply to your organization. Yes, I’m back on the kick of talking about how stupid policies can destroy customer relationships.

My daughter was curled up in a ball on our couch. She was grabbing her stomach and howling in pain. After a quick set of questions, I made the decision to take her to the ER. I’ve done some consulting work in health care so I understand and appreciate that the ER is also a business.

Once we arrived, she laid down on a couch howling in pain while I was subjected to a barrage of questions to get her registered. Net time: 5 minutes. We then headed to triage. That’s when it started getting stupid and infuriating.