Blog - Business Coaching Calgary

Creating Above and Beyond Customer Experiences

Posted on September 1, 2016
Updated: April 26, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Customer Service is a sector that should be a priority for improvement and investment. Adequate is not enough anymore and to create a memorable experience a business needs to go “above and beyond” in their method of service. The 2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report states that 60% of customers have higher expectations for customer service than the year before. Exceeding expectations for your customers can start by practicing the following:

Have a Conversation

A conversational approach creates a much more memorable experience than a transactional approach. Starting a conversation can build a relationship and make waiting times go by faster. Reaching out to your customers and ask them about their day, recent family adventures or even their pets. Learning as much about a person can help you help them in the future.

Watch Your Competition

Keeping tabs on your competition, their strategies and their processes is a great way to provide a custom service experience on your side. What can you do to make their visit different from other businesses? By going above and beyond with your service it can show just how “average” the competition is. Continue reading “Creating Above and Beyond Customer Experiences”

Why Customer Complaints Are Great for Business

Posted on August 22, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Customer complaints can create a sense of doubt about how we run our business, however, what if we approached them as opportunities? The reality is complaints are ok, if you respond and do something about them. If no words were spoken by our customers about how we do business the same mistakes would go unnoticed. Only a small amount of people will speak up while the majority of others will quietly ignore and move on. In fact, only 4% of customers who are unsatisfied take the time to speak out. You would never know that you are losing potential business if some complaints did not arise and you weren’t proactive in making needed changes.

Employees

Customers may make complaints about a specific employee. This may be an innocent mistake or a continual recurring problem that again is affecting all the customers they come in contact with. By channeling the problem to a specific individual you can deal with that individual one on one and ensure that the issue does not affect the company as a whole. We are not involved in every interaction that our individual employees do and therefore when customers speak out it’s a great opportunity to really learn how that individual is handling their job. Continue reading “Why Customer Complaints Are Great for Business”

Happy Employees Leads to Higher Profits

Posted on August 19, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Are your employees just as happy as your customers? When we think of profits we usually associate them with our customers and while they are the mainstream of revenue employees are a major factor when it comes to increasing profits. Focus and invest time into ensuring your customer service team are truly happy with their job and their workplace. Fostering an environment that allows the customer service team to enjoy what they do and excel will translate into a stronger and happier team who want to fulfil customer needs. The quality of life that is provided to employees is one of the greatest factors in how they decide to interact with customers. Continue reading “Happy Employees Leads to Higher Profits”

7 Tactics to Beat the Competition

Posted on August 16, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

It’s often far easier to rest where you are than to push yourself to the next level. Complacency, however, leads to mediocrity; which almost always leads to disaster. So, if this is true, how can you keep yourself responsive, resourceful, and recharged to keep up with the competitive business environment you are part of? Here are seven tactics to help you move ahead, even while others fall behind:
1. Practice self-discipline versus self-indulgence. Self-indulgence is thinking about how you feel at a given moment, then deciding what action, if any to take and worrying about the consequences later. Self-discipline is thinking first about the consequences; then taking appropriate action, and feeling great about your decision. Think about it this way:
Continue reading “7 Tactics to Beat the Competition”

You Are What You Feed Your Mind

Posted on August 8, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

“You are what you feed your mind.”

-Dr. Frederick Eikerenkoetter

It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. St. Matthew 4:4 A SCIENCE OF LIVING PRINCIPLE. You will never get any further in life than the ideas in your mind. It is important to feed your mind only right ideas. Continue reading “You Are What You Feed Your Mind”

The Four Steps to a Super Attitude

Posted on August 5, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

As an entrepreneur you are going to have many up and downs and it is important to remember one thing – it is not what happens to you that counts. It is how you react to the situation, especially when you have unexpected problems of any kind.

What can you can do to assure that your attitude is the very best it can be under all circumstances? Continue reading “The Four Steps to a Super Attitude”

What Does It Mean to Be Customer Centered?

Posted on August 1, 2016
Updated: April 25, 2019
by Kent Boehm

What Does It Mean to Be Customer Centered?

Did you know that some of the most successful companies in the world run a customer centred approach? A recent article was published highlighting the top ten companies rated by J.D. Power. They range from automotive, to finance to insurance; but they all have one main similarity, and that is that they are customer centered. A customer focus is one of the main factors in business success. So what does it actually mean to be customer centered, and how do you know businesses are following through in the process?

A Customer-Centered Business:

Listens to Their Customers

They get to know their customers, understand their needs and then act on it. TD Bank is a great example of this. One of the reasons they have landed the first in overall customer satisfaction on J.D. Power’s annual Canadian Retail Banking Satisfaction study for the last 10 years is that they listen to their customers. They have launched marketing campaigns such as #TDThanksYou which gave away big ticket items to customers, to simply ensure that systems like their online banking system, are in tune with what customers are asking for. They listened and they delivered. Continue reading “What Does It Mean to Be Customer Centered?”

Customer Service on Twitter

Posted on July 28, 2016
Updated: April 26, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Did you know that you can use Twitter to connect with your customers and provide customer service? With over 99% of brands on Twitter having a reason to stand out is key. A customer service strategy that uses Twitter as a customer service portal is a great way of connecting with your customers and catching inquiries on the spot.

Some brands even have a customer support system already in place on Twitter. Companies such as Nike have a support handle which is a separate account, just for customer inquiries. Any tweet to this account is handled by the customer support team and responses are seen quickly. Not only does this make things easier for Nike, but the account also has over 465K tweets. Continue reading “Customer Service on Twitter”

Serving The Millennial

Posted on July 25, 2016
Updated: April 26, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Millennials are a powerful generation who are well informed and have strong decision making skills. When we think of millennials we think of the younger generation, but how young are we talking? A millennial, also known as “generation Y” is someone born between 1980 and 2000 and they account for almost one-third of the country’s population. According to the 2011 Canadian census, the largest age group in Calgary was a millennial age group of 24-29. Once the 2016 numbers are released the millennial group is likely to remain a large portion of the Calgary population and one of the reasons why businesses need to keep up to this smart and tech savvy generation. Continue reading “Serving The Millennial”

Hiring an Excellent Customer Service Team

Posted on July 11, 2016
Updated: April 26, 2019
by Kent Boehm

Great customer service in Calgary is essential for a business’s reputation and company image. One poor customer service experience can turn people away indefinitely from your business, whereas excellent customer service is often remembered above and beyond any other aspect of the company.

It’s all about people and that starts with hiring the right ones! If you have a great customer service team you can run your day to day business knowing that your customers will be taken care of properly without affecting your bottom line. It is not always an easy job and can put employees in difficult situations. Some of the skills and characteristics to look for when interviewing a customer service candidate would be: Continue reading “Hiring an Excellent Customer Service Team”