The holiday season is upon us and there is no more important time to prepare your employees to handle any situation that may arise. Customers are a bit more stressed this time of year and can be especially reactive to a bad customer service experience. You cannot do enough to plan ahead and prepare your employees to prevent a situation before it starts.

There is an enormous pool of information to pull from out there but one has stuck with me from my years in college is a book by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, titled “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. The book has several chapters and leads you through each of the 7 habits.  However the resounding theme of the book is we need to strive to be proactive and not reactive. This is true in almost all situations of life and especially with an upset customer.  When I was in the industry as a service advisor at a Ford dealership, I found that my customers were not always happy about bringing their vehicles in to get service. ...[more]

The holiday season is upon us and there is no more important time to prepare your employees to handle any situation that may arise. Customers are a bit more stressed this time of year and can be especially reactive to a bad customer service experience. You cannot do enough to plan ahead and prepare your employees to prevent a situation before it starts.

There is an enormous pool of information to pull from out there but one has stuck with me from my years in college is a book by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, titled “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. The book has several chapters and leads you through each of the 7 habits.  However the resounding theme of the book is we need to strive to be proactive and not reactive. This is true in almost all situations of life and especially with an upset customer.  When I was in the industry as a service advisor at a Ford dealership, I found that my customers were not always happy about bringing their vehicles in to get service. ...[more]

The internet is continuously making it easier to both access, and promulgate information.  The costs of communicating and sharing one’s ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and experiences have never been lower; all that’s required is desire, a computer, and an internet connection.  And with further advances in communication technology, this trend is only likely to continue. 

The good news is that it’s easier for your customers to share their opinions about your business, products, and services with others than ever before.  A happy customer is not only likely to be a repeat customer, but if happy enough, they’ll probably tell others, and generate new business for you in the process. 

The bad news is an unhappy customer will likely not return, but they can (and if unhappy enough, WILL) share their experience with others, and in doing so, either persuade current customers to stop giving you their business, or convince people that have never ...[more]

The internet is continuously making it easier to both access, and promulgate information.  The costs of communicating and sharing one’s ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and experiences have never been lower; all that’s required is desire, a computer, and an internet connection.  And with further advances in communication technology, this trend is only likely to continue. 

The good news is that it’s easier for your customers to share their opinions about your business, products, and services with others than ever before.  A happy customer is not only likely to be a repeat customer, but if happy enough, they’ll probably tell others, and generate new business for you in the process. 

The bad news is an unhappy customer will likely not return, but they can (and if unhappy enough, WILL) share their experience with others, and in doing so, either persuade current customers to stop giving you their business, or convince people that have never ...[more]

To succeed, you must know the market you are a part of. Part of that market is your competition. Do you truly know how you stack up against them? Knowing your competition should be a key ingredient of your market strategy. Most think of “knowing” their competition simply as “I sell x tire for this price and they sell the same tire for that price.” While price shopping is necessary, it should only be a portion of your overall strategy. Below are some questions to ask yourself before you feel comfortable that you “know” your competition.

• What services are offered by your competitors that you don’t offer? Are you and your employees as well qualified to serve as specialists or customer problem-solvers as your competitor?
• ...[more]

To succeed, you must know the market you are a part of. Part of that market is your competition. Do you truly know how you stack up against them? Knowing your competition should be a key ingredient of your market strategy. Most think of “knowing” their competition simply as “I sell x tire for this price and they sell the same tire for that price.” While price shopping is necessary, it should only be a portion of your overall strategy. Below are some questions to ask yourself before you feel comfortable that you “know” your competition.

• What services are offered by your competitors that you don’t offer? Are you and your employees as well qualified to serve as specialists or customer problem-solvers as your competitor?
• ...[more]

I just spent a great business building week at SEMA.  We had more interest than ever before in our suite of solutions and in just the few days since we have been back, have already brought on many new customers due to the great efforts of our staff.

I was reminded at SEMA how having the right people on board is the surest way of growing into a GREAT company.  As I saw how much potential business is closer to becoming a customer of ours through the great efforts of everyone with TCS, I also witnessed something different happening in many other booths.  Employees sitting at the back of their booth, not actively talking to potential customers as they lingered or stopped, preferring to let displays, posters, and “rented” booth personnel handle the important relationship building aspect SEMA week provides.

In a day and age where there is more competition than ever before, it is your employees that will determine success or failure.  Spending the time to get the righ ...[more]

I just spent a great business building week at SEMA.  We had more interest than ever before in our suite of solutions and in just the few days since we have been back, have already brought on many new customers due to the great efforts of our staff.

I was reminded at SEMA how having the right people on board is the surest way of growing into a GREAT company.  As I saw how much potential business is closer to becoming a customer of ours through the great efforts of everyone with TCS, I also witnessed something different happening in many other booths.  Employees sitting at the back of their booth, not actively talking to potential customers as they lingered or stopped, preferring to let displays, posters, and “rented” booth personnel handle the important relationship building aspect SEMA week provides.

In a day and age where there is more competition than ever before, it is your employees that will determine success or failure.  Spending the time to get the righ ...[more]

We all know it is easier and cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire new ones. Customer loyalty is a direct result of your company’s customer service and overall marketing efforts.

The key to retention is “Customer Satisfaction”

A dis-satisfied customer becomes a liability. Not only are they not going to purchase from you again, they may go out and say negative things about your company.

If you have a problem, deal with it right away. You will gain more respect from your customers than a company that is slow to react. Building a life-long customer increases the reputation of your company and attracts new customers through word-of-mouth.

 Remember, if you do not look after your customers someone else will.

...[more]

We all know it is easier and cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire new ones. Customer loyalty is a direct result of your company’s customer service and overall marketing efforts.

The key to retention is “Customer Satisfaction”

A dis-satisfied customer becomes a liability. Not only are they not going to purchase from you again, they may go out and say negative things about your company.

If you have a problem, deal with it right away. You will gain more respect from your customers than a company that is slow to react. Building a life-long customer increases the reputation of your company and attracts new customers through word-of-mouth.

 Remember, if you do not look after your customers someone else will.

...[more]