Archive for the ‘Customer Care’ Category

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Go on – Personalise

August 5, 2013

I Love GregHi there!

Wouldn’t it be a lot better if “Hi Greg” had appeared on the email instead of the words “Hi there”?

Dear Customer,

Wouldn’t it be a lot better if “Dear Greg” appeared on the invitation to attend the launch event instead of “Dear Customer”?

The Manager

Wouldn’t it be a lot better if “Greg Canty” had appeared on the envelope and letter that accompanied the brochure instead of “The Manager”?

Price List

Wouldn’t it be a lot better if  “Fuzion price list” had appeared on the quote instead of a generic price list?

Reserved

Wouldn’t it be a lot better to see “Reserved for Fuzion” on the restaurant table instead of a plain “reserved” sign.

It does take time to customise and personalise, it does take a little extra effort but your communication will resonate so much more when you can avoid being generic. (Personalising has never been so easy with the tools that are now available).

Often being generic can even have a negative effect and can have your customer feeling very “not so special“.

  1. If you can’t personalise think twice about communicating
  2. If you can personalise get it right – double check the spelling of people and company names
  3. Where personalising isn’t expected …personalise!

I received a CD in the post from an Amazon affiliate supplier and the docket had “thanks Greg” marked across it in marker – Wow!

Sometimes it’s really easy to stand out by doing just a little thing.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Firm in Ireland with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Brand Loyalty, Customer Care, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Retailing, Staff training | 7 Comments »

Is your credit controller losing you business?

July 29, 2013

Dirty Harry

Collecting money from customers must be one of the toughest and most awful jobs that you have to do in business.

I remember when I was in the drinks industry years ago we had a full time credit controller and I really believe that the nature of her role made her age really quickly. She was the one who had to stop deliveries to slow paying accounts (often this meant a battle with the sales reps and the sales manager) and she had to deal with irate customers.

The poor woman was sick quite a lot and I really put this down to the stressful role she had.

In particular in a small business it can be even more difficult when often the person who does the selling is the same person that does the collecting.

We received an email last week from a supplier who was looking for payment. Payment ran a few days over the standard terms because I was on leave and hadn’t left enough signed cheques. This was no bother and we sorted a cheque out immediately, a few days later than usual.

What really bothered me was the nature of the email, the tone, the lack of manners and a total lack of respect for us – after all we are a customer and to be honest a good one who gives them plenty of business and we do adhere to the payment terms.

My gut reaction was to change suppliers, which I did not do. However, a phone call from a similar supplier pitching their wares at the right moment and I would be listening actively.

I Love Credit ControlThis email was a real pity because the supplier is generally great to deal with. My crew are forever praising them and I know would kill me if I dropped them to use someone else.

I sent the credit controller an email and politely took issue with her manner and explained how it does jeopardise the business that they are doing with us and probably other customers of theirs.

I was speaking to another business owner who explained to me that they have an automated “email writing” system to deal with their credit control. He says often people get irate about the emails they receive because the language used is very blunt and to the point.

I received an automated letter from my bank recently more or less telling me to get my accounts in order as a dormant current account had run €2.50 overdrawn as a result of bank charges ..lovely!

How you collect money is an essential  part of your business reputation and while you have to get paid for the work you do it is important that you do this with courtesy and manners, never undermining your good reputation and all of your hard work.

You don’t need to give any customer an excuse to consider moving to a competitor.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Design firm in Ireland with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Credit Control, Customer Care, PR | 16 Comments »

Looking after your own house ..

July 24, 2013

Dream House

Are you like us with the best of intentions not getting to things you had promised you would do?

One of the things I promised we would do this year was to make sure that we did not neglect our “own house“.

It’s obviously really important that all of our client work comes first but it’s also vital that we don’t neglect Fuzion. Every day we work with our clients following carefully written plans so that they can promote their business through PR, Social Media, Advertising, E-newsletters, through their website, by blogging and with their printed materials.

We stress the importance of “looking the part” ensuring that their branding is consistent, properly reflecting the quality of their business across printed and on-line platforms.

We’ve all heard the expression “the mechanics car” and I’m afraid that we are guilty of this. We are not the worst but there are things that we have been meaning to do for “our house” for quite a while but we always seem to struggle to get to them.

The guys in the design team are doing fabulous work for clients and I’ve been at them to showcase this properly on our website, through communications like this one and even within our own office. We have done some great work that we have been meaning to display on the walls of the office for the last six months. I’m waiting!

I’ve been at the PR team to start blogging more and demonstrate the expertise that we possess in-house. I’ve been at the guys to be more proactive on social media. We’ve had some huge client successes this year that we probably should have publicised. I’ve had the job of making sure we issue our e-newsletter (this one!) regularly – it’s not happening!

When you are busy it’s always the same – it’s easy to push your own work down to the bottom of the queue because there is always something to do for a client, which after all does pay the bills.

If Fuzion were our client, I’d have a strong word with them ..

Are you looking after your own house?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Design firm in Ireland with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Blogging, Business Planning, Customer Care, Marketing, Motivation | 6 Comments »

Does your customer have their teeth stuck in a bad habit?

May 29, 2013

Dentist

I’m sitting in the office on a gorgeous May summers day and the sun is streaming in the window.

Unfortunately I can’t enjoy it because my mouth is throbbing after getting a tooth removed after an emergency visit to the dentist.

After every round of dentist visits I promise myself that I will get into better habits and maintain regular check ups (I know this is really important) but every time I manage to find good reasons not to make those appointments – the thought of voluntarily going for a check up and cleaning is always one that I manage to avoid.

My hate and fear of the dentist visit (my guy is an old neighbour and really good) stems back to a brutal public dental school system when I was growing up in Cork – those memories still haunt me to this day!

The result …I end up having an unpleasant “emergency” visit every few years where some drastic action is needed and on this occasion I lose a tooth, which should never have happened.

Bad habits, in fact any habits are hard to break and in any business we find ourselves not making a sale but often trying to change a habit that someone has their teeth stuck into!

I must change my bad habit …I wonder what my dentist could do to help me?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Cork and Dublin, Ireland

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Personal development | 3 Comments »

Creating a Wow

May 26, 2013
Love Actually

Will I wrap that sir?

We better bring some wine with us…

I stood in the Wine Buff off licence, browsed through the sections and  eventually selected a nice bottle of prosecco.

The really nice guy in the store commended me on my choice as he wrapped the bottle with care in a sheet of purple crepe paper and then placed it in a brown paper bag.

We arrived at our friends house and we handed over the bottle …hmm, this bottle was something extra special just because of the little sheet of purple paper that it was wrapped in.  I could see it in his face.

He seemed to place it away from all the other bottles that had been brought…maybe this was a bottle to be enjoyed in private and not opened at a party?

In truth the bottle was probably no better than all of the others lined up but it had a piece of purple crepe paper wrapped around it that made it stand out, that made it special, that gave it a special “wow”.

I hope they enjoyed it ..

Can you do something simple in your business to create a wow?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Check out a previous post – Are you throwing away the wow?

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Cork and Dublin in Ireland

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Packaging, Retailing | 3 Comments »

Murphy’s “When it Rains it Pours” and other Freebie Guilt

May 26, 2013

Murphys, When it rains it pours

Both myself and Jonathan received our reminder at the same time on our phones while working in the office..

“You have one day to redeem your free pint of Murphy’s“

This is part of the very clever “When it rains it pours” campaign being run by Murphy’s. It works in a really simple way – you register for the APP and when it rains the kind brewery give away a thousand free pints!

When you log onto the APP you claim your pint and you are then given four days to redeem your free pint.

The free pints are available from participating pubs and the APP gives a listing of pubs as well as a convenient “pubs near you” guide. You reclaim the free pint by showing the barman your phone and they give you a unique code that you enter on your APP.

We are both Murphy’s drinkers, it was late on a Friday afternoon after another busy week so why not!

On the way over we had a chat about “free” stuff and how it makes you feel..I always feel like a skinflint when I’m not paying for something.

I feel mean and I feel like an inferior customer when I’m not handing over money. I feel strange when I hand over a discount card and I even feel slightly awkward when producing a voucher to pay for something in a restaurant. Whenever I claim “free” stuff or I end up using a voucher I always feel I should buy something extra so that I don’t feel as bad!

The last time I tried to use the APP in a bar that was listed in the scheme they told me they knew nothing about it. Embarrassing!

As we were ordering our pints we had our phones armed and ready and we tentatively asked the barman if they were doing the Murphy’s scheme …”sorry we don’t do that here“. Ground…open up and swallow me now!

Already feeling like a skinflint and a little red faced, I just paid for our pints and decided I wasn’t going to use the APP anymore – its just too embarrassing.

The initiative is a really clever one that should be great at building customer loyalty and one that also helps to recruit new customers. Due to poor execution (Sorry Heineken – get a sticker or POS for participating pubs and make sure the staff know about it it – make sure the pubs listed on the APP are actually participating) it instead just becomes a phone gimmick that runs the risk of making customers feel bad.

I’m sure this was a million miles away from the great original intention when the scheme was devised.

With any voucher, scheme or discount initiative you are using in your business it’s important that the execution is simple and efficient, your team are fully informed and there is no risk that a customer is left feeling guilty, inferior or with a big red face!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing and PR firm with offices in Cork and Dublin.

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Training | 8 Comments »

Rewarding Loyalty

April 28, 2013

Table Service

We love going there, the team know us, the manager knows us, there is always a great atmosphere and it is a real treat that we always look forward to.

The little touches are so important, finding you a good place to sit, recommending a special wine, suggesting a new beer, letting you have a sample on the house, asking your opinion about things they are doing…all in all a great place to eat, drink and relax.

The manager was telling us that they were thinking of introducing a “loyalty card” system to reward the regular customers – For every X number of meals you would get one free as well as some other benefits.

The truth is they don’t need a loyalty card system because they always reward our loyalty with their great service.

Instead of giving me one free meal for every ten we order and processing this through a card system, I’m pretty sure that I prefer being looked after in an informal, discretionary way…not because I have “earned” or qualified for my bonus meal.

Give me a drink on the house, a free dessert, a great seat, a warm welcome …it’s better than any card!

Places that don’t know you, might need a system to encourage repeat business and reward loyalty in an official way ….the great places never need a system!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing and PR firm with offices in Dublin and Cork

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Posted in Brand Loyalty, Customer Care, Marketing | 18 Comments »

Trust, the Restaurant and the customers who forgot to pay

March 20, 2013

Caravan Park

The couple arrived back at the Irish camp site and realised that they had left the restaurant without paying their bill.

They told the camp site manager who rang the restaurant and spoke to the manager of the restaurant – “no problem, thanks for ringing” …the couple could pop in the next day and settle up.

Twenty minutes later the restaurant owner (no stranger to dodging bills himself) arrived at the camp site accompanied by three Gardai looking for his money from the couple.

The whole incident was highly embarrassing for everyone … the couple handed over the money (I’m guessing they didn’t tip!).

The camp site manager never recommended that restaurant to his customers again, he still operates a good business and lives to tell this incredible little story and the restaurant has long shut down..mostly PR and your reputation is about what you do yourself.

Must be a lesson in all of that somewhere!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Customer Care, Holidays, PR | 1 Comment »

Are you throwing away the Wow?

February 18, 2013

Fitting Carpets

We were excited as we pulled into the drive after a long day – after work we had to attend an event and eventually we were on the way home ..after midnight!

That day we knew the new carpets that we had ordered were laid and we were nervously looking forward to seeing our home transformed – the old carpets had been there for over 12 years and it was time for a change ..

After picking the carpets in the showroom you can never be quite sure if what you picked out actually does in fact work with the colours in the house – we were nervous but we were hoping that the little investment would be worth it and our home would be transformed for the better.

We opened the front door and switched on the hall lights ….

A wall of upset hit both of us as we saw the mess everywhere – the carpets were installed but the fitters had left the place like a bomb hit it. There were carpet cuttings everywhere, loose pieces of carpet, nails, broken grips. The fitters had stormed through the house moving furniture from one room to the other and returning them randomly, there was a pile of rubbish in the corner of the bedroom and the bedside lockers were stacked in the bathroom.

We couldn’t close the bedroom door because the carpet was a deeper pile – who would leave it without being able to close the door? We felt like the place had been violated, people had been in our home who didn’t give a damn how they left the place – nearly as if robbers had been through the place.

We were raging and really very upset. I wanted to just return all of the carpets  – Dee just wanted to go to bed but I knew I couldn’t face the mess in the morning and carry this horrible feeling into another day.

I started tidying, gathering up the nails, the loose pieces of carpet and I hoovered the whole place with Dee’s help. Miraculously after about 40 minutes the place transformed and we were able to see that the carpet was in fact gorgeous and despite our initial feelings it looked like the carpets were fitted really well!

We didn’t want this crew back in our home so we agreed to ask a friend in the morning to sort the door problem.

With just a little bit of extra care and attention and a quick tidy up, the carpet fitters could have easily delivered us a huge “Wow” but instead they carelessly threw this away and destroyed a great customer experience.

Sometimes when we are operating to tight budgets do we end up throwing away the valuable “wow” that ends up costing us a lot more in real terms?

The “wow” is the most important part of the whole transaction – don’t throw it away? 

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing & PR firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Retailing, Sales | 24 Comments »

USP – Real People!

February 11, 2013

Businessman on the phone

I was listening to a radio interview this morning on one of those early morning business shows.

When the Managing Director was asked what made his business special one of the things he said was “When our clients ring up they get to speak to a real person who knows what they are talking about..someone who can really help them”

Strangely, it probably is a USP

Hmm…we’ve come a long way!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing | 9 Comments »

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