Challenge Five: Open Ended Questions and More... | The New Conversations Initiative. Summary (repeated from Introduction) In order to coordinate our life and work with the lives and work of other people, we all need to know more of what other people are feeling and thinking, wanting and planning. But our usual “yes/no” questions actually tend to shut people up rather than opening them up. You can encourage your conversation partners to share more of their thoughts and feelings by asking “open-ended” rather than “yes/no” questions. Open-ended questions allow for a wide range of responses. For example, asking “How did you like that food/movie/speech/doctor, etc.?”
Will evoke a more detailed response than “Did you like it?” Consider the difference between two versions of the same question, as each might occur in a conversation between two people in a close relationship: ”Well, honey, do you want to go ahead and rent that apartment we saw yesterday?” ”Well, honey, how do you feel about us renting that apartment we saw yesterday?” “How comfortable are you with Plan B?” Or… The History of Information – Know Your History Know Your Market.
We live in the information age. I once heard a well known marketer say that in any market (any niche) your in– knowing the history of that market or the niche is key to having success. I agree with that, for example think about fashion. It runs in cycles. I think all markets tend to do that. So if you know the history of something it gives you a perspective that others in your market might not have.
That’s why I think this article about the history of information is a good read. On a side note, I also thoroughly enjoy history and this article and book that is mentioned takes you on a historical ride that few people really think about. Well worth the read or adding it to a read later type of application as it comes out to 3 pages. The history of information has developed especially in the last 10 years. See full story on thebrowser.com kairos.exposures on Flickr.
When Predictable Customer Service Is Not Good. The other day I had a horrible customer service interaction with US Bank. Unfortunately, you could use any bank name and the statement is likely to fit. Steeped in rigid, traditional thinking bank customer service is too often synonymous with predictability: you can bet that they will not surprise you by stepping up to WOW you.
Hell, I’d settle for ending the conversation with a smile. The not-so-customer service supervisor’s explanation for not reversing the $20 fee was because the reversal affects the branch of account’s fee revenue. The very fact policy is set up that way is a huge leadership misstep by the bank. In short – predictable. The company (or the bank, for that matter) who equips and encourages its people to create customer interactions that delight and educate would certainly stand out. In today’s uber-connected world where United Breaks Guitars can create policy change, we need to see more leaders stepping up to look where they tie their employees’ hands. Improve the Customer Experience In 60 Minutes or Less. “It’s just so much!” It’s a refrain I hear and live every day. Executives tell me: There is usually so much we COULD do with customer experience. We want to provide more, better, faster…but in order to do that for our customers we have to change entire legacy systems, hire totally new teams, and shift budget dollars from one place to another.
This leads to paralysis. If you can find an hour, you can make these quick customer experience improvements: 1. I once made it a point to listen to just 10 incoming service calls for a client. It was a simple fix – move things around so the customers could find things easier. 2. Ask pointed questions about specific incidents. When was the last time a customer left still upset about something? 3. Many of my clients are proficient at data-ese. Look at the data with a critical eye and decide: what can we do this week to improve this? A recent example: A client was diligently tracking customer discussions via social media. Jeannie Walters Follow Me: 12 Most Impactful Ways You Can Give Little Extras To Enhance Customer Experience.
A dozen ways to go the ‘extra mile’ Roger Staubach once said, “There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.”. Are you doing the little things for your customers? Giving Little Unexpected Extras or GLUE shows you care. Today we’ll focus on the ‘12 Most’ impactful ways you can provide ‘little extras’. There are a dozen different types of lagniappe. Half are based on ‘value’ and half are based on ‘maintenance’ according to the value / maintenance matrix: Here are main elements of both: Value (the what and when of marketing lagniappe) What are tangible and intangible benefits that your service or product provides?
Maintenance (the who and how of marketing lagniappe) What is the buying experience like for your customer? Categories: 1. Little extras that are included with your product or service. Southwest Airlines – ‘Bags Fly Free’ and no change fees on Southwest. 2. Little unexpected things that are added as a surprise. 3. 4. You have two chances to make an impression. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Mobile Customer Experience Shifts Enterprise Priorities. According to a recent survey, mobile customer experience is shifting the priorities of e-Business and customer service professionals.
Making Mobile CXM a Priority Though hardly representative of the entire industry, OpinionLab and Tealeaf surveyed more than 120 attendees of Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum and found 84% feel that putting a mobile customer experience strategy in place is just as or more important than customer experience for fixed websites.87% of participants believe that online customer experience management is more important now than ever before.50% view their online customer experience management strategy as a top priority. Understanding vs. Solving the Problem There’s no denying that the adoption of mobile devices into consumer culture has exploded.
Useful article? Tags:customer engagement, customer experience management, cxm, mobile, mobile customer experience, mobile cxm, mobile devices, mobile enterprise, opinionlab, tealeaf. The Future of Social Customer Relationship Management. Killian Schaffer is VP/Strategy Director, CRM for Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago. You can follow him on Twitter @kschaffs. Currently there’s a lot of buzz around social customer relationship management (CRM). Social media platforms and technologies like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are transforming how companies market their products and engage audiences. But when you’re also concerned about delivering results to your clients, you’ll do well to study the evolution from traditional CRM to sCRM. Like different forms of intelligence – abstract, practical, emotional – customer data reveals different value traits that help to assess each individual. Then we can develop programs to extract revenue from that data. While “transactional” value has been a mainstay for decades, the web and its social media platforms have introduced new “relationship” and “influence” measures.
Transactional: Determines a consumer’s monetary value based on purchase recency, frequency and dollar amount. 12 Most Effective Questions for Customers. It’s a tough thing to go looking for feedback. You have to dig in, ask your ego to go out to lunch, and be prepared to find out hard truths about your business and (Gasp!) Yourself. Questions are great, but it’s easy to ask questions that lead the witness. “Are you satisfied” is a lame customer question.
What does it tell you if they are? What if they aren’t? So I’ve come up with my 12 Most Effective Questions for Customers and Clients (that lead to action): 1. I was once blown away by the answer of “I love the way you communicate about the big picture.” 2. Many times, we humans don’t know what we want. 3. Do not ask “What can we do to keep you?” 4. Your goal here is not about THIS sale. 5. In the beginning, when the relationship still has that new relationship smell, is the BEST time to ask for referrals. 6. The best customers are often the ones who are easy to ignore. 7. Honestly, it’s still not perfect. 8. 9. 10. Specific questions help us think in a focused way. 11. 12. Gamify or loyalty. Loyalty Programs. Loyalty Program. Loyalty. It’s In The Details – 10 Tips To Make Your Clients Feel Adored and Coming Back For More - Miki Strong – Moxie, Marketing & Money. “People may not remember what you do, but they will ALWAYS remember how you make them feel.”
First impressions matter, and so do second, third and fourth impressions. Building a community of loyal clients and raving fans is about building relationships where they feel special. It’s doing the little things that make a big difference. It’s showing up where, how and when you say you will, and delivering beyond expectations. When a client says yes to hiring you or buying one of your products or programs, they’re saying yes to investing in themselves … through you. They are placing their trust in you and want to know that they made the right decision. The best way I know how to do this is to make them feel special and show you care about them, in your own special way. Some of my favorite ways are to … #1- Send a personal thank you card – meaning, in your own handwriting. . #3 - Know your clients. . #5 - Listen to what they say and act on their feedback. . ~ Miki xo.