The Impact of Change

Change occurs in every aspect of life, especially in businesses. I recently went to a Barns and Noble store and noticed there was a significant change: all the big chairs were gone. I began thinking of reasons why they would remove the chairs:

1. Maybe they feel that too many people just go to Barns and Noble to read and not make a purchase.

2. They think that the stores are turning into a dreaded “library”.

3. They plan to fluster the customers and hope they just panic and buy the book they planned on reading in the store, OR

4. They just don’t care too much for customers, heck they are the last big book store chain.

Whatever the real reason for the change, it seems this particular change had a negative effect on customers. It makes it seem like the customers did something wrong and that’s why they are not allowed to have the chairs. Like maybe they showed up late to work and their boss called Barns and Noble to let them know they lost their chair privileges.

When thinking of making a change in a business setting it is important to try to understand the impact of the potential change. Some questions to ask are things such as:

What does the cost/benefit analysis look like?

How will this affect sales?

How will this affect customer loyalty?

How will this change affect our image?

Most importantly, How will this affect our customers?

Just ask the customers. Every thing that managers deem as “little”, customers view as huge. Look at the GAP logo change for example. About a year ago GAP changed its logo and received bad reviews all over Facebook and Twitter. I’m sure the higher-ups had their reasons to change it, but why didn’t anyone ask the customers? GAP immediately switched back to the old logo amid the protests. GAP then asked its customers for ideas for a new logo. This idea was scrapped after no one wanted a change in the first place.

What GAP did right: Finally involve customers in the process. What GAP did wrong: Not ask them in the first place.

GAP could have saved a lot of money and a rather large headache if they would have asked for customer imput in the first place.

When looking to make any change think of this: Who does the change affect most? Most likely the answer will be the customer.

Just ask the customers.

The Role of Customer Service in Small Businesses

Customer service is very important for large companies. It is twice as important for small businesses. Small businesses rely on the customer service they provide to do the talking. Small businesses remain an important part to economic growth. Roughly 60 percent of new jobs are generated by small business. In order to stay afloat, small businesses need to provide great customer service to retain customers. Here are some reasons why customer service is more important for small business and some tips to provide great customer service:

Customer Turnover: Large companies experience a greater number of customers than smaller businesses. If a customer doesn’t have a good experience with a large company it may go unnoticed. Many other customers will still do business with the company. If a small business looses a customer, they could also lose a significant percentage of their revenue. Small businesses should rely more on customer retention programs in order to create return customers. create a good personal relationship with customers and they will come back. The one advantage small businesses have here is that they can focus more on the customer experience.

Costs: Because small businesses have higher costs and a harder time generating revenue it is important to try to have a consistent inflow of revenue. Consistent customers can provide this. Again, provide service that will keep customers coming back.

Employee Turnover: Large companies generally go through a lot of employees in a given period. For small businesses it is important to hold on to employees for a long period to lower costs and keep employee knowledge high. New employees require training and may not provide the same level of customer service as tenured employees. Be sure to have a good employee recognition program to keep employees happy. Appreciated employees are likely to provide better customer service.

Advertising: Big companies are able to spend a lot of money on advertising, where as small business do have the money or resources to have a large advertising campaign. It is important for small business to do two things here. They should incorporate a solid social media plan to help retain old customers and generate new customers. A lot of times small businesses have a hard time addressing concerns quickly, this will allow them to do so. Also, providing great customer service is essential in creating solid word of mouth. Because of the lack of advertising, this will help.

Remember, as important as customer service is for big established companies, it is twice as important for small businesses.

Employee Recognition Programs

An important aspect of keeping employees happy is a good employee recognition program. Just as we recognize customers through customer retention and recognition programs we need to recognize the company’s employees. A company’s employees are essentially customers. It is important to treat your employees just like customers. Show that you want to retain your employees just as you wish to retain your customers. Show that you care about your employees just as you do your customers.

Employees leave employers when they don’t feel appreciated. It is important to set achievable goals for your employees that can show employee accomplishments and progress. This will allow you to be able to recognize employees for their achievements. Ways to practice employee recognition include:

Periodical Recognition: An employee of the month, quarter, or year program can help motivate your employees and give them something to strive for. People are competitive in nature and would love to get such an award just for bragging rights. Adding a little prize can help show that you care about your employees.

Service anniversary: Be sure to acknowledge an employees service. Do not forget to award employees for achieve certain lengths of service. Get them a gift that shows you appreciate all the time that they have put in to your company.

Acknowledging Diversity: We are all diverse people and we can’t be afraid to use diversity to develop ourselves and our employees. Doing things such as recognizing employees that are veterans can go a long way to earning employees respect.

Specific Performance: If an employee shows exemplary performance , recognize it. Bring up the instance at a team meeting to both show recognition and show other employees a great example.

This all starts with providing great customer service. Showing your customers you care about them will lead to you being able to develop similar relationships with your employees. Take the tactics you use to make sure the customer is happy and carry it over to your employees.

Providing Good Customer Service on Black Friday

With all the chaos that is black friday, I wonder how much customer service changes. Does the number of customers cause the customer focus to decline? Does the business cause employees to not focus as much on customers? Do customers’ lower their customer service standards because of the deals they are getting?

Answering these questions require us to look at the type of customer that shops on black friday. Customers that shop on black friday are looking for one thing, a good deal. They do not wake up at 3 am in order to go out and find a good customer service experience. As a retailer, it is important to realize the type of customer that shops on black Friday. In order to provide good customer service it is important to acknowledge these differences and cater towards them. These are some of the keys in providing great customer service on Black Friday:

1. Efficiency: Customers are in a hurry more than ever on black friday. It is important to help the customer as quick as possible and make surer that they can move on with their day. The high quantity of customers also requires efficiency. It is important to help the continuously help customers.

2.  Effective communication: Because of the time crunch, it is important to answer questions quickly and correctly.

3. Know What Going On: There is so much going on during black Friday . It is important for managers to relay information to employees effectively. If a sale product has sold out, let them know. That last thing you need if or a customer to be waiting on an employee who is doing a stock check.

4. Planning: Everything can go wrong on such a busy day. It is important to have a solid plan for once those doors open. In case of a procedural problem, be sure to have a back up plan; and a back up plan for your back up plan.

5. Keeping Your Cool: Everything will go smooth as long as everyone stays calm. Be sure not to frazzle your employees. They could in turn do something to create an upset customer. There are other things that need to be done than soothing relationships.

Attending a Conference

Like I mentioned in my last post I am attending a conference this week. Lately I have been thinking a lot about the conference and about how to get the most out of the experience. I obviously don’t want to make a fool out of myself so I also thought of what to and what not to do while I am there:

I know that there are going to be a lot of professional development sessions and I am excited for those. But, I feel that they are not the most important aspect to conferences. The networking aspect is arguably the most important. You are given an opportunity to meet many people in your field and create business relationships important to your career development. That said you obviously have to behave yourself. You are in this field and people will talk about the conference. If you create a bad image of you by not being prepared or not being on time, you could probably kiss that dream job good bye. You are at a professional meeting even if it is at a social gathering portion.

It is important not to be shy at conferences. This could hold you back in developing new business relationships. Ya you probably will not know that many people, and if you do you probably will want to keep yourself in a comfortable situation. Sit by people you don’t know and interact. Make sure you have a variety of opening lines to make sure you will be able to meet a lot of people.

It is important to seize every moment and make the most out of every opportunity. Try to remember people’s names and be sure to hand out business cards so they remember yours. You will only be at the conference for a couple of days so it is important to make to most of it. It is important to select sessions that are relevant to you and not overload your days. Make sure you leave plenty of time to meet people and get your name out there.

Overall conferences provide a great way to meet new people, build new connections, and come away with new knowledge within your field. Make sure to come prepared and that what happens at the conference doesn’t stay at the conference.

A Little About the Association of College Unions International

I currently work as a “Student Facility Supervisor” at the student union on campus. This week I will be attending the Region 15 Conference for the Association of College Unions International, ACUI. Before I worked at the student union, and for sometime during, I was not aware of ACUI. I am sure not many of you know either. All I can think about this week is the conference, thus I wanted to do a post about ACUI.

ACUI is a not for profit organization for student union and student activities professionals. Members include students, such as myself, and administrators. ACUI’s mission includes “support(ing) its members in the development of community through education, advocacy, and the delivery of services.”

I feel that ACUI does a great job connecting people in the same industry while providing a chance for them to network. ACUI consists of 15 conferences that hold annual conferences allowing members to meet face to face. The conferences provide professional development sessions that help develop leadership skills in the students. Guest speakers come and discuss everything from human resources to business technology.

Since joining ACUI I have been able to connect with other members and began developing hopefully effective business relationships. Looking forward to the conference this week.

Acknowledging Great Customer Service

Every now and then we receive great customer service. I feel it is important to acknowledge those great customer service experiences. It is also important to look at those experiences and see what makes them great.

Since I moved in August I’ve been going to the local pub and grill and I’ve received nothing but great service from one of the bartenders. He makes every visit better. There are even times that my friends and I will foregoing to the place if he is not going. I feel that this example really amplifies the importance of customer service.

This bar is a new place that is still figuring out the kinks. They are getting the best group of employees together and I feel they have a good start. Let’s break down what makes him a great customer service employee:

1. Never has a bad day: Makes the experience great by never being in a bad mood. Ya everyone has problems but don’t bring them to work and be the anchor on the fun boat.

2. Takes pride in his work: Takes accountability for everything at the bar even if it was his fault. Make sure that every customer has a great experience.

3. Creates good customer relationships: He makes sure everyone knows his name and that he gets everyone’s name. When a customer returns he makes sure he acknowledges that.

4. Going the extra mile: Even if a little problem happens he makes sure to correct it no matter what. Even if the customer doesn’t expect anything it is important to show you care for the customer.

5. Open to feedback: He makes sure everything is going well and is open to any suggestions or concerns.

Overall it is important to look at great customer service experiences and what makes them great.