I recently purchased a dress. The dress was a lovely vibrant red, my favourite colour. I wore it on Christmas Day and felt festive and fabulous in my new red dress. At the end of a wonderful day with family I took off the dress to and was horrified to see that my underwear and skin were stained with toxic red dye. Turns out the dress contained residual dye, which is a common trick of manufacturers to make a garment look more vibrant in colour.

As soon as the Christmas break was over, I rang the company from whom I purchased the dress to state my complaint and request that they replace my underwear. The initial response I received was “We have sold hundreds of that dress and no-one else has complained about that!” Were they calling me a liar? Did I not have that experience? Perhaps it didn’t really happen and I dreamt it? They then asked me to call another number to speak with someone else. Hmmm, the first hoop to jump through. I am becoming a little frustrated with this company.

I dutifully rang the number they gave me and repeated my story to the next person, to the response “Email me the receipts for the dress and photos and receipts for the underwear and I’ll see what we can do!” Seems I have another hoop to jump through. I am a customer, not a circus performer. I have just had a horrific experience with toxic dye penetrating my skin and staining my underwear and I have to now go out of my way to prove my innocence. I am a frequent customer of this clothing company and they are treating me with suspicion, as if I am trying to rip them off. As you can imagine I am becoming more irate and fast losing trust in this company that I have trustingly invested in as a customer

So how can you avoid any of your customers having the same experience and losing trust in your company?

1.      Always give customers the benefit of the doubt. It’s not worth losing a good customer by treating them with suspicion. Sure, there is always the 1% who’s only motive will be to try to get something out of you for free, but your loss will be minimal compared to what you will lose by treating a loyal customer as a liar.

2.      Look at the big picture. Don’t waste time and energy trying to make a good customer prove their point in a minor situation. You will gain much more by immediately apologising and asking them what you can do to rectify the situation.  When you have looked after them in the tough times, they will become a much more loyal customer and tell their friends.

Growing a successful business is tough and by being smart with the way you treat you customers, you will have them returning and telling their friends – a very simple and effective marketing strategy. I wish you and your business a very successful and prosperous 2011.

Edge has been on the road over the past 6 months filling a gap for expert trainers desperately needed in Darwin, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.  As part of the role out of large national VOIP telephone systems,  Ava Lucanus has been delivering training to Australian Taxation Office and Orica/Dulux in the functionality of their new VOIP telephones.

Media Release
24 May 2011

Is your business making costly mistakes on the phone?

Despite Facebook, emails, texting and a whole range of other technologies, the telephone is an important contact point for your customers and it is still, for the majority of people, the preferred method of contact.

Keeping your customers happy is a key concern for most businesses.  It only takes three seconds for a caller to gain an impression and one dissatisfied customer can tell up to 15 others about their experience, so it’s important to get it right.

Ava Lucanus, Owner of Edge Communication says, “What you say to your customers in those first three seconds determines whether or not they will choose to do business with you, or not.”

“If you want to keep your customers happy, here are some simple tips on what you can do every time you answer the phone.”

1. Be completely prepared. –

When the phone rings, answer on the third ring. That will give you a chance to stop what you’re doing and avoid sounding distracted, find a pen and paper, take a deep breath, exhale and smile. The caller will hear the smile in your voice.

2. Identify yourself properly –

Identify your organisation, department (if appropriate) and your name. “Welcome to xyz company, this is John”. This helps build trust and rapport and you are more likely to get the caller’s name, which you can then use to help control the conversation towards the desired outcome.

3. Use the caller’s name –

It’s a good idea to use the caller’s name sometime during the conversation and at the close of the call, to help build rapport and trust. We all know how valued it makes us feel when someone calls us by name and this courteous act will confirm in our customers mind that they are dealing with a friendly and professional business.

4. Don’t do two things at once -

We can often do two things at once, though not well. The caller can always tell when you are doing something else as your voice tone will sound distracted. This could be the only chance you will have to create the first impression of a caring and professional business. The message the caller will receive is that you are too busy to listen to them.  Always show genuine interest by your voice tone. Remember, the caller cannot see you nodding so you must give verbal nods – e.g. “Aha, I see, Okay, Yes”.

5. Take ownership of the call –

When transferring a call, always let the caller know who they will be transferred to, then inform the transferee of the caller’s name and the reason for the call. Transfer the call only when you are sure it is the right person for the caller. We all know the frustration of giving our story over the phone, to be told, “I’ll just put you through”, then having to repeat our story possible once, twice or three times.

6. Don’t keep the caller in limbo –

Whenever you place a call on hold, make sure you ask permission first and inform the caller of why you are placing them on hold. There’s nothing more frustrating to a caller than after explaining what they called for, to be told “just putting you on hold” without an explanation or an indication of how long.

7. Never hang up first –

Always let the caller hang up first in case they had something else to ask. They may be about to say something else and then hear a crash in their ear as you hang up. It is very important to leave a long lasting positive impression in the caller’s mind that you have done everything you can to assist them.

8. Follow up when you promise in a timely manner –

Take action and give progress reports when unable to respond by the promised time. The caller is not a mind reader and doesn’t know that you haven’t received the information yet. They just think you have forgotten about them.

“Follow these eight tips and your customers will perceive you as a friendly, professional and trustworthy business that they feel comfortable dealing with,” said Ava.

“They will be more likely to give you repeat business and tell others about you, creating word of mouth referrals. Pamper your customers because they are the best and lowest cost marketing tool you have.”

Media Enquiries;

For further information contact Selina Gates, Four1One Marketing 0438 197 033 or selina@four1onemarketing.com.au

Background

Edge Communication

Ava Lucanus has over 30 years experience working in customer service roles for a wide range of businesses. She is the owner of Edge Communication, which is dedicated to developing and improving every employee’s overall communication skills, especially for those dealing with customers.

Edge Communication is an all-encompassing customer service training business offering one-on-one or group training sessions to give employees the skills and tools to keep customers happy.

Visit the website at www.edgecommunication.com.au to find out more about how Edge Communication can help you reach your customer service goals.

What is the best marketing tool for your business? Your receptionist of course!

Do you want to keep your customers happy?  Do you want to find more ways of getting customers to choose your business over your competitors?  Then you need to utilise the best marketing tool you have – your receptionist!

Your receptionist is the first person all potential clients will speak with and they set the tone for the business.  If their manner is courteous, helpful and friendly, the caller will become more receptive and willing to engage your business.

It only takes customers about three seconds to form an impression of your business and how your receptionist deals with the call and what they say is crucial to whether they decide to do business with you or not.

Even during tough times, like those some businesses are experiencing now, customers will still pay a premium for good customer service.

Edge Communication recommends either the Fast Track Your Phone Skills two hour mini-workshop or the half day Receptionist coaching.  And for Receptionists who work in Specialist Medical Practices, there is the new Convert Phone Enquiries into Profits Workshop.

These workshops are specifically designed to assist your Receptionist with attracting more business and keeping your customers happy, which is ultimately going to save you a lot of time and money.

And for the Receptionist who is inundated with calls, it is just as important to develop ways to make your customer feel comfortable and ready to engage and most importantly wait.

Ava Lucanus, Owner of Edge Communication says, “A Receptionist working in a busy business will need special skills to deal with the customers who don’t want to wait.”

“You don’t want them going to your competitors,” she said.  “There are several strategies you can easily adopt to keep all your customers happy – whether you are after more appointments or sales, or struggling to manage the ones you’ve got.”

“Give good customer service and they will be more likely to give you repeat business and tell others about you, creating word of mouth referrals. Pamper your customers because they are the best and lowest cost marketing tool you have,” said Ava.

Edge Communication can help your business with all its customer communication needs. Call us today and let us show you how to make the most of your greatest marketing tool.

As a business owner you know how much it costs in money, time and resources to entice new customers to call you.

It could be a whole new website, endless search engine optimisation, professional networking fees which can easily add up to thousands of dollars per year, newspaper or magazine advertising… and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes we can feel like we are filling a bottomless pit with our marketing dollars and getting nowhere.

But if you know how to turn those valuable enquirers into customers when they DO finally call, you will reap the return on your investment.
Have you ever considered what your customers experience when they contact YOUR business?

Is your “Director of First Impressions” making enough of an impression to help steer the conversation and convert your hard earned enquiry calls?

Research suggests that the customer perception of your business is based on the impression formed within the first 3 seconds. For your customer, this becomes their reality and will determine whether or not they choose to do business with you, or phone your competitor instead. One thing’s for sure, if you don’t look after your customers they will find someone who DOES.

Do you know what your customer reality is?

It can be immensely beneficial to see your businesses through the eyes of your customers by making a few phone calls in, or having a mystery shopper do this for you.

So, how can we easily build rapport and instil trust in your potential customers to make YOUR business the obvious choice for them?

Firstly, before you answer the phone, STOP what you’re doing and SMILE J. Sound genuinely pleased to hear from the caller. Imagine you are opening your front door to a friend and inviting them in for coffee.

Secondly, LISTEN to their needs and ask the appropriate QUESTIONS to steer the conversation to where you want it to go. Offer to send them some information or a free sample, so you can get their details to follow up with them. Or offer them an appointment or a free consultation to get them in the door.

Many enquirers do want to take the relationship further during that initial phone call, they are just waiting for your invitation. People have said to me, Ava we don’t like to appear to be pushy. Well it’s all in the delivery – if you have a smile on your face and a helpful tone in your voice, it will be come across as genuinely wanting to help. And that is the most attract-ive thing a customer can experience.

They could be doing the ring around to get a feel for who they want to do business with – which business cares most about their needs.

Statistics show that only 9% of customers are interested in price only, whereas a massive 67% are more interested in being cared about.

So show them that you CARE and you will soon be on the receiving end of much more business than ever before. And remember, if the product or service you are selling is not for them, they will certainly tell their friends about their great experience with you, and that’s the most cost effective form of marketing you’ll ever do.

The businesses that take action now to ensure their customer’s first impression is always positive will invariably end up being the ones that attract and retain enough customers to survive these tough times.

Ava is so passionate about being at the cutting edge of communication skills, that she continually updates her own communication skills as a trainer. She recently attended a three day communication course in Sydney as well as a half day course in Perth where she learnt some new ways to design and deliver training presentations, to encourage deeper, richer learning.

Edge Telephone is proud to announce the launch of its new website

Ava Lucanus, Director of Edge Communication continually updates her business and presentation skills, to ensure she stays at the cutting edge of industry practices. Here she is being awarded a certificate for successfully completing a series of business management courses.

Edge Communication has been nominated for the prestigious Belmont Small Business Awards 2009 in the Quality Customer Service category. We are very excited and are eagerly awaiting the results.

www.twitter.com/AvaLucanus

Edge Telephone Training proudly took out the top award for Quality Customer Service in the 2009 Belmont Small Business Awards recently. Ava sincerely thanks her loyal clients for their wonderful support in helping her achieve this coveted award

Ava Lucanus receives Customer Service award

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