Silentman's Blog

Have You Hugged Your Customers Today???

Know everything about your customers...you need to

Jack Mitchell, HugYourCustomers.com

I recently had a great couple of experiences with customer experience. I felt a great feeling about the exchange. On one part, I was given great customer service, more than I had expected. The other part, I had given cucstomer service to a customer and the customer was greatly satisfied. I had not gone too far out of my way to give special attention, but the cutomer was pleased and was very appreciative. At both of these instances, I had felt that a hug would not be inappropriate and even welcome. This is a big deal knowing that I am not a known hugger. I did refrain, but it was welcome to be appreciated for giving good customer service and doubly so to be appreciated as a customer.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a small business advocacy group. Part of their website is a business toolbox. A 2003 article in the toolbox, Hug Your Customers, highlights the need to personalize customer service and keep the customer "number one" in your mindset. The article presents a study guide for the Jack Mitchell's book, Hug Your Customers : The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results.

Jack Mitchell is the CEO of a couple of high-end clothing retailers in Connecticut. "The only way to stay in business is with customers, and Jack Mitchell knows how to attract them, and how to keep them. He has a deceptively simple but winning approach to customer service that a relationship is at the heart of every transaction. Jack's business philosophy is based on 'hugs.' Personal touches that impress and satisfy the customer. Below is a 'study guide' for this philosophy from his book, Hug Your Customers"

Excerpted from his book:

Huggers sell with passion so they develop long-term personal and loyal relationships with customers. This means seeing, listening, and caring about the customer, and treating the customer as your friend.

You have to develop extremely satisfied customers. In the new business landscape, it's no longer enough to have satisfied customers.

Customer-centric organizations are the best huggers. That's because they're always thinking about hugs; everyone, from top to bottom, focuses first on the customer, the center of the universe. Everyone hugs and everyone sells.

A hug is anything that exceeds a customer's expectations. It's a mindset. There is no one way to hug; it can be a smile, a high five, expedited service, or sending out 3-cent stamps.

Everyone on the floor. This is a Golden Principle, because it puts everyone where they can see, touch, and feel real live customers.

For more information about Jack Mitchell, be sure to visit hugyourcustomers.com.

posted by Silentman, Henry C. @ 09:54 hours MT(GMT-7)

Businesses Urged to Adopt "Professional" Email Addresses

The UK small business resource website, Startups.co.uk, shared results of a consumer survey of English subjects by the web hosting firm, Easily.co.uk. The survey asked consumers of their prospects of procuring services from businesses with and without exclusive email addresses. While the survey was done half a world away, the results may still be relevent to US businesses.

"Small firms are being advised to adopt 'professional sounding' e-mail addresses if they want to benefit from hidden profitability, in a new report. The survey, by web hosting firm Easily.co.uk, asked over 1,500 consumers, if they preferred fictional email address sales@londonplumbing.com or londonplumbing@hotmail.com."

"The results show that a massive 88 per cent favoured the first option, as they felt that it suggested a more professional and trustworthy organisation. Younger consumers were more likely to have this attitude, with 95 per cent of 16-24 year olds more likely to trust a domain specific address. Jonathan Robinson, director of business development at Easily, said: 'Email is an extension of a company's online presence, so it is unsurprising to find that consumers expect a professional business website to be complemented by domain name specific email addresses.'"

While the exclusive email addresses do come at a cost, the benefits for your business may prove a profitable investment to get the edge over the competition. It might be best to use your new "gmail" account to impress your friends but not your customers.

posted by Silentman, Henry C. @ 15:18 hours MT(GMT-7)

"Success in business requires training and discipline
and hard work. But if you're not
frightened by these things, the opportunities are
just as great today as they ever were."

posted by Silentman, Henry C. @ 09:46 hours MT(GMT-7)