Archive for the ‘Customer Satisfaction Programs’ Category

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Eyes on the prize

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Perhaps the main reason exemplary customer service is good for the bottom line is that it builds loyalty.

In the new George Clooney film, Up in the Air, Clooney’s character flies on one airline exclusively, with the goal of reaching the most elite frequent flier status. Very few people get there, and there are fabulous rewards to be had.  The movie shows the process of building this type of intense customer loyalty. The airline rewards the frequent flier with perks, trips, special check-ins,  being greeted by name, and in turn, the flier chooses to fly that airline exclusively. It’s a win-win situation.

Strong, attentive customer service begets customer loyalty. It is that simple. Loyalty is the ultimate prize companies are seeking.

In 2010, ARMA will continue to keep our eyes on the prize: your loyalty, and the loyalty of our customers. We know it doesn’t come easy. We work hard to get it and to keep it.

ARMA wishes our readers a very Happy New Year 2010!

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Are you available 24-7?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Some customers are demanding. They want to be able to contact you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Is that possible? Is that feasible? It depends on your business but according to Kelley McGuire writing for the TMC website, it can increase customer satisfaction. (Here’s a link to the article.)

McGuire argues that customers should be able to reach someone through an answering service, 24 hours a day:

That’s why I believe that all companies that strive to have the best customer service and customer relationships should implement a 24 hour answering service, like the one offered by ReceptionHQ, an answering services provider, with a live agent to personalize every call, no matter what time or day it’s at.

According to McGuire, the ability to talk to someone gives customers some peace of mind.

Certainly, for some businesses this would be a helpful feature.  Unfortunately, we can see where this could also backfire. If the answering service can only take messages, it may add to a customer’s frustration. When people want answers they are not satisfied with “someone will call you back.”

What do you think?

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What is the customer's experience?

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Companies that seek to differentiate themselves from their competition may well ask their customers what kind of experience they have had in dealing with the company. In fact, this area is a key area of differentiation, and a place where companies can retain and gain customers. Good customer experiences lead to happy customers who will want to do business with the company again.

According to a survey commissioned by Vovici, called the CE IQ Study, customer experience is a key differentiator:

…more than half, or 55%, of respondents say that customer experience is a core differentiator that distinguishes their business from others in their market.  Customer experience has arrived, and is now as important as traditional differentiators such as quality, service and staff capabilities. Despite the global economic contraction, price was not frequently cited as a core differentiator (18%).

Read the article and analysis here.

The bottom line is simple: improve your dealings with customers and see your bottom line grow.  On that note, here is the list of top 10 retailers for customer service. On the list are Amazon.com, Zappos.com,  LL Bean and others. Have you shopped at any of these retailers? What has your experience been?

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Some companies are getting it

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

You may have heard this week that General Motors (GM) is offering a customer satisfaction guarantee to people who buy its cars. Basically, a GM customer has up to 60 days to return a car is he/she is not satisfied, and get a full refund.  GM is trying to improve its customer satisfaction by giving customers peace of mind about a large purchase. It is also getting some great publicity mileage out of it. You can read more about GM’s program here.

Verizon has been plagued by a bad customer service reputation. Verizon Southeast (not country wide) is trying to remedy the situation by introducing the “Verizon Service Commitment,”  as reported here by the St. Petersburg Times. The company is publicizing the new policy in a a series of advertisements running in Florida.

The bottom line is that these large companies are coming to realize that customer satisfaction is an important business goal. They both are pledging/guaranteeing that customers will be satisfied with the product/service. An added bonus, which we are sure is intended, is the positive publicity this type of program elicits.

Your thoughts?

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