Blog Archives - Page 28 of 38 - Etech Global Services

Implementing Quality Assurance Controls for Call Center Projects

If your Call Center already maintains an effective Quality Assurance (QA) program you have a leg up on other companies who do not invest in this resource. The best programs act not only as independent auditors of agent behaviors, they also provide valuable insight into the ‘how to’ of program or center improvement, including valuable Voice of the Customer feedback. When new projects are launched it is wise to spend some time planning how to incorporate this critical resource into the Project Implementation plan. Gather Requirements from Client You may find during the Discovery process as you gather requirements for the project from your client that there are particular deliverables required for a QA process. In the event that the client does not already use a QA process this would be your opportunity to introduce them to the concept, explain industry Best Practices and make recommendations about how to incorporate Quality Assurance as part of the overall Performance Management plan. Recommendations could range from the content of the Audit tools to White-Label configuration of the QA software. During this phase you can establish expectations and act as Trusted Advisor. Identify and Equip Personnel Dedicated to the Project QA personnel must be independent thinkers with attention to detail who can objectively score a call or chat with consistency. After being provided initial training on the subject matter and scoring forms, QA agents must also receive calibration including ongoing sessions so that all of the behaviors included in the Audit Tool are both defined and interpreted accurately. Effective calibration should result in variance of less than 5%. For new programs it is typical to arrange calibration sessions with your client to ensure that the team is correctly scoring all behaviors accurately. These sessions may result in additional or refined definition of the targeted behaviors. After the QA process is established and the personnel have been trained and calibrated, for ongoing program excellence you must also provide a mechanism to inspect auditor accuracy. This can typically be accomplished with an Audit the Auditor process, where senior or certified auditors are given the responsibility to sample the accuracy of the output of the QA agents. This step will ensure that high levels of accuracy are not only established but maintained and measured throughout the life of the program. Develop QA Audit Tools Once the process flow has been mapped, the specific behaviors which are critical to the success of each customer interaction must be identified, defined and weighted. The most typical rubric is to achieve a total possible score of 100% with higher values assigned to the most influential behaviors. With thought to the reporting throughputs which will be generated you may also consider creating logical groupings or sections with their component behaviors. For example, for an Outbound telemarketing project, you may wish to organize the scoring tool to mirror the desired selling behaviors such as Introduction, Needs Analysis, Product Presentation, Closing and Handling Objections. The subset of behaviors which could be included in the Introduction section might inquire whether the agent was ready for the call and whether the agent introduced themselves appropriately. Most audit tools would include a separate section for etiquette and language skills and a category of ‘auto-failure’ for any behaviors which are mandated by regulation or client requirement. Reporting Detail and Broad Trends As individual customer contacts are audited, a body of data will be created which can then be mined for purposed of targeted performance improvement initiatives. It is advisable to structure the reports which will be generated so that analysis may be made of individual agent behaviors, team performance, and broader segmentation if the project is located in multiple locations to target performance gaps. If the scoring tool has been segmented by groups of behaviors, the aggregated data will indicate which areas large groups of people may need additional training or coaching for. For example, if in the example above for the sales process, if each behavior section has been scored for the project in the 80 to 100 percentile except for Handling Objections, then the Operations Management and Training Departments can devise effective strategies to modify the training curriculum, provide ongoing training and target individual coaching sessions. Reports should be used to close loop the performance management process and should be an iterative process so that the tools accommodate the desired outcome. In addition to auditing critical behaviors, the QA process can and should also reveal insight into the Voice of the Customer. If significant numbers of customers complained of difficulty navigating a website, then that is critical feedback to report to the client and its programmers. VOC summaries will address issues outside the control of the individual contact center agent and identify both areas of opportunity and also those things which drive customer satisfaction. Monitoring and Improvement Once the initial implementation work has been completed, the longer term processes should include steps to seek constant improvement, both on the individual level and for the organization as a whole. A typical quality analysis over time will likely show that a few behaviors present a large majority of the quality failures. You should plan on identify each critical to success behavior and working on improvement plans until behavior levels are acceptable. Establishing a closed loop feedback process will become a critical part of the quality culture. QA: In House or Outsource? For some, the ability to develop a Quality Assurance department or program may not be cost effective or be may constrained by other considerations such as lack of software or scale. The qualified QA provider will supply the requisite software and personnel and a seamless consultative experience to those who find ground-up development too cost prohibitive to consider. Quality management can be the missing piece to move your brand ahead of the competition. Whether you create your own program or contract with a provider, Quality should always be integrated into all of your programs and will be in the long term, well worth the effort

The Emerging Role of Social Customer Care in Business

The month of April was action packed, and among the most memorable things I did, was taking part as a speaker at the PACE Convention & Expo. The focus of the convention was creating an effortless customer experience and the emerging role of social customer care in business. Customers need engagement throughout the product life cycle, from their research to purchase to consumption and even after consumption. Unlike before, whereby, you only needed to engage the customer before and during the purchase. Social customer care should be a big part of your marketing strategy because more and more customers are going to social media to seek for answers. This trend has gained popularity among consumers because, They do not have time to pick up the phone and ask the customer care representatives. They are not sure how long it will take you to respond to the online contact form. They are aware of the “onlooker effect” whereby the potential reach is broader than just the dialogue between the consumer and the company. They want value for their time and money. How then, can you engage your customers on social media? Be proactively reactive. This means that you respond in a timely, personal and relevant manner. Timely Consider these statistics: In Twitter, there are approximately 5,000 tweets every second. 30% of the users expect a response within 30 minutes. One in five brands say they “rarely” respond to customer complaints made via social media, yet consumers who use social media expect a response within an hour According to Sprinklr 38% of consumers, feel “negative” about a brand who fails to meet their expectations for a timely social media response. Consumers expect instant feedback from you. When you make them happy, they will make you happy too. If you do not respond immediately, you lose the opportunity to please a customer and many others that follow you. Personal Social Media provides the window to personalize your message. As a brand, you need to take advantage of the issues raised; the social media channel preference, location and influence of the customer. For example, when a customer asks a question on your twitter handle, you need to answer them in the same channel, use their name in your response, be sympathetic with them and their concern and most importantly, offer them an appropriate solution. When you do not personalize your response, it leads to channel irritation, which easily spreads to other customers. Relevant When a customer raises a question, it is up to you to remain relevant. Relevance to the customer means that you help solve the particular problem. However, relevance to your organization means leveraging the data for future use, aligning your responses to other marketing initiatives and remember, what you say reflects on your brand. For example, if a customer wants to know when the new products will be available in the stores, do not start telling them about the production process and the numerous unforeseen challenges that can come up. Be precise with your answer, give the tentative dates and promise to keep him or her updated on the progress. The task of managing all your social media platforms concurrently may sound like a daunting task and you may shy away from trying it. At first, it will overwhelm you a little, but with practice, it becomes easier by the day. You can also outsource this part of your customer service to experts in contact centers who will give you all rounded social customer care. In conclusion, we have looked at the role of social customer care in business, and the best way to engage consumers; being proactively reactive by providing timely, personal and relevant responses. Are you engaging your customers online? What are some of the tricks that you have tried and tested and worked wonders for your company? Feel free to share with us. This blog first publish on LinkedIN

Tips to Grow your Business through Direct Email

Direct email has taken a back seat with the increasing popularity of social media channels, but it still works and should be a channel to consider in your marketing plan. Some of the reasons cited as hindrances to using it include spam filters. I personally appreciate spam filters because they move the unwanted emails before I even see them, saving me time and protecting me from potentially harmful viruses. How can you leverage this strategy despite the above challenges and still grow your business? Here are tips for you to consider as you draft your email marketing strategy. 1. Determine Your Ideal Audience The first step is to define your target audience. You know what product you want to push and the people it will benefit the most. Write out their profile for you to narrow down the scope. If you are selling software, you can classify your audience into users, decision-makers, and sponsors. This is important to do because direct email marketing works best when you send professional, attractive and compelling ads to a smaller group of recipients that will be interested in the message. The person you choose to target must be in a position to influence the buying decision. You can start with the user or sponsor or the decision-maker, it all depends on the approach that works best for your product. 2. Use the Right Tools to Source for Contacts Because you will need contacts for your target audience, consider credible tools to gather this information. A wide variety of online tools exists such as LinkedIn or the target audience website under the team page. Remember to mention how you obtained their contact information in the email. 3. Write the Email Message You now have your contacts and are ready to start your marketing. Your next step is to draft your email message. Your message will make or break your results because how you communicate to your prospects will determine how they respond. A well-crafted message will make them appreciate the time and effort you spent to provide them with a solution for their business. Use an attention-grabbing subject line; this is what captures your audience’s attention. The title will make the person open the email immediately or trash it. The secret is to customize it, therefore, making it relevant to the person. Make sure it includes some reference to how they will benefit by collaborating with you. In your message body do not write unending stories. Remember that everybody has busy schedules and a long email will be dismissed immediately. When your targeted prospects are ready for more information, they will get in touch with you. Keep it simple and to the point. Do not forget to include a call to action clearly stating what you want from each person. Write a compelling call to action that is easy to respond to such as ‘click here for a free demo’. Make your email message interesting and worthwhile for the reader. 4. Test and Review Utilize technology to test how people are responding to your emails. Measure what matters most to your business: clicks, appointments bookings, or positive and negative replies. Test every part of the email message from the subject line to the call to action. These tips will help you think strategically about direct email marketing and can contribute enormously to your marketing mix. As you do all the above remember to offer something of value, the same way you would if you were meeting someone face to face.

Strengthen Your Brand with 3 Seamless Customer Experience Tips

Your brand has made a mark in the noisy market-place and every day you need to ensure you maintain that position. Whether you stand for integrity or innovative products, one key aspect that will help you keep that standing is a seamless customer experience. Customer experiences are not only limited to the retail space but also in the online space, and today’s consumer has more options than one could ever imagine possible. By a click of a button, they have walked out of your store, and into that of your competition. A seamless customer experience means that you are customer centric, and you fully develop all your channels. This makes it easier for customers to navigate to the information they need on whichever channel they prefer and still get the same brand experience across channels. Follow these three basic steps to improve your customer experience and elevate your brand relevance. Simplify the Buying Process : In the online retail space, simplicity is king. Once the customer is online, they want to view the products and with a click, make the purchase. However, when they have to scroll through several pages to make the purchase, they are frustrated and abandon the cart. According to a study carried out by American Express Survey, 78% of customers have bailed out on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of poor customer experience. When customers are happy with the services they receive, they will tell others about it, and that increases your sales. However, when they are dissatisfied, they abandon your brand together with their friends. With a myriad of options available, the most hassle free and direct outlet wins. Efficiency : Efficiency goes beyond the service delivery to operating costs. When your team offers a flawless experience, they spend less time per client. They become so good at their duties because there is consistency in what they do. Leveraging technology also helps your entire organization to become efficient because the same standards are applied. Especially when you have an offline and online retail space, it increases your output while reducing your operating costs. Remember, to meet the high expectations of today’s empowered customer you need to improve your efficiency. Pleasing the Customer : Your organization exists to meet a particular customer need, and when that happens, the customers are satisfied. When you improve your services by offering a personalized and seamless experience, you leave your customers feeling special and valued, which leads to brand loyalty. Loyal customers are an asset to your company because they advocate for your brand to their friends and family. There is no better way of marketing yourself than through your satisfied customers, who willingly talk about you on their social media platforms. News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many people as praise for an excellent service experience. Therefore, only superior experiences can grow your brand. In summary, the pendulum has shifted, and your consumers define your brand image based on their experiences. Do everything in your power to ensure that you offer superior experiences to your customers for a healthy brand. If you can provide a simple buying process, efficiency and make your customers feel valued, your company will have a good handle on the importance of seamless experiences to your brand.

Omni-Channel Communications Strategy

Omni channel is a harmonized operation model of serving customers, in which the company channels are aligned into a single face, along with one consistent way of doing business. The companies replace the many views of the customer they often hold today with one unified view of the customer across all the channels. It enables you to respond in a consistent way to the customer’s constantly growing needs. An Omni channel strategy involves giving a consistent and seamless experience via technology, customer service and the retail space. Your customers experience the same from all points. For example, a customer can purchase a product online and when he encounters a problem, can return it to the physical store for a replacement or repair with ease. An Omni channel strategy is most useful to communication service providers e.g. call centers that are facing intense competition fromother emerging companies. What spurred this dynamic transition? The customer has changed significantly; he is now more connected, his journey with you is now vibrant, nonstop and easily reached. Vibrant – this is powered by technology, customers no longer follow the traditional purchase model – of awareness, then consideration and evaluation and lastly purchase. Today’s customer checks around several online stores before making a purchase. Non-stop – the customer journey is continuous because the devices he uses i.e. mobile phones, tablets and computers are always on and can find the information they are looking for at all times. Easily reached – customers have access to information like never before. Many sources (articles, blogs post and websites) of this information are not in your control. What steps can you take to adjust to these changes? Your aim is to offer customers a consistent experience across all the channels, such that they feel like it is a continuation of a previous interaction from whichever channel they initiated the process. Leverage digital to gather insight You cannot make any meaningful changes without knowing what you are changing and how you are changing it. There is a huge data pull online that when utilized will generate the necessary insights, not forgetting what can be gathered from the physical channel. These insights drive your marketing efforts. Knowing your dynamic customer, gives you the basis of personalizing their experiences at their channel of choice while remaining relevant. Integrate the channels As stated above, Omni channel is about creating a single channel, your next step should be to integrate all your channels into one. The current multi channels operate independently with their own strategies, the physical store, the call center, the social media management team. Integration means that, if a customer wants to make a purchase or payment, they can do it from any channel without any challenges and they leave satisfied. They can go to the store, or through the e-commerce enabled website or by calling the call center. For example, when you run a promotion on your social media platform and website, customers should be able to enjoy the same in your retail space. They should not see the promotion still running online yet the products are out of stock. We understand that customer service is no longer a marketing function only; all departments that interact with customers offer it. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to integrate the new Omni channel approach across all the functions, from the technical team, sales and marketing team, the other staff and management. For example, when a customer speaks to an agent about a device problem he is experiencing, and the agent advises taking the device down to the service center, the customer shouldn’t go there and have to start explaining his problem all over again. A simple customer number should suffice. This integration offers the customer a seamless experience and he will be satisfied with the service. Leaders need to encourage faster and easier implementation of the Omni channel communications strategy. Integrate the business units In summary, Omni channel communication is the way to go because of the connected customer challenge, the same customer whose journey with you is vibrant, non-stop and easily accessed. Your role therefore, is to respond to the customer and offer a unified consistent experience that begins with you leveraging technology to gather insight and then integrating it across all business units and channels. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

How to Use Call Center Performance Metrics to Achieve Success

Call center managers are charged with a tough job, because supporting customers means constant revision to your process, so you move with their needs and deliver consistent quality. Understanding how your various KPI measurements work together to give you an idea about the balance of your services is an important first step to achieving success as a manager, and it is also the key to understanding when your call center is succeeding, so you avoid over-tweaking your process and overdoing change in the name of call center performance. Understanding the Four Metric Categories The four main areas of concern for call center managers are: Service Quality: Measuring service quality means looking at whether or not your call center meets customer needs efficiently, asking questions like: Do your employees have the knowledge and resources necessary to act decisively and solve problems? And how is customer feedback reflecting training efforts? Accessibility: These metrics allow you to track use of your self-service system, wait times, and call abandonment, and they tell you whether or not customers have a hard time actually reaching the point where service quality comes into question. Inaccessible systems tend to be rated more lowly on service quality, too, even when actual call center performance at problem solving is quite excellent, because accessibility issues affect the customer’s perception of the entire process afterward. Operational Efficiency: Metrics that cover call wrap-up time, forecasting accuracy, the average handling time for each call, and your employees’ adherence to their schedules are all designed to ensure that high quality, accessible work is also efficient enough to handle the call load your center receives. Cost: Last but not least, cost considerations ensure you operate within budget by measuring cost per call, agent attrition, and absenteeism to give you a full picture of your call center’s effectiveness. Balancing the Metrics Knowing what categories to measure and which KPIs are most important in each category is just the first step. To achieve the best possible call center performance, managers also need to understand how to balance the metrics, to achieve success in every area. Otherwise, cost effective and efficient call centers may still be hampered by training issues or accessibility problems that reduce their overall performance, and similarly, the best and most accessible service is unsustainable if costs are too high. The issue is more complex than that, though, because some areas affect others in direct ways. For example inefficient but high-quality service typically means long wait times and less calls processed. This creates a situation where accessibility goes down even as service goes up, and the long run, that can lead to service quality measurement declines as customers who have been kept waiting remain dissatisfied and stressed even after receiving the service they desired. The goal, then, has to be achieving success in all four areas without focusing too intently on one, unless that one happens to be lagging behind. Training efforts and organizational restructuring, as well as the investment in new resources, needs to be balanced to address the needs of all four categories at once, as well. That allows for better overall call center performance, and, more importantly, the kind of success that is sustainable into the future.

How HR Can Add Value to Customer Experience Excellence

Customer experience is no longer a function of the customer representatives’ only or customer-facing employees only, but the entire organization participates in ensuring customers experience high satisfaction levels. They all act in different capacities that lead to superior customer experiences. Human resource department is the force behind employee engagement with the blessing and guidance of the top management. When the senior management sees the employees for who they are – internal customers- they will do what it takes to ensure they are motivated, engaged, valued, appreciated and satisfied. We know that an engaged employee will perform at optimum and thus provide excellent services. The above statement is a generalization; let us get down to the specific actions that the Human Resources department can undertake to add value to the customer experience. Have a Dual Vision For the human resource department to be efficient, they need to align their strategy to external customer engagement strategy. They do this by first understanding customer expectations and employee behaviors that will help meet those expectations. A dual vision will help them set clear objectives, and strategies to achieve them. When the HR takes care of the employees with the customers in mind, they will have a greater impact on the service delivery process. That customer driven strategy will contribute to the overall success of the organization in customer service excellence. Be Approachable and Available Just like an organization positions itself to be readily available to customers with positive or negative feedback, so should you to your “customers”. The only way to understand the employees is to have a dialogue with them. When you keep your doors open for constructive conversations, you will influence the employee behaviors. Think about how easy it is for them to do business with you; are you putting into practice what you are teaching them regarding their behavior towards customers? Is it easy to get in touch with you? Do you give them timely feedback? Do you have channels that your customers can reach you when and how they choose? These questions will guide you in developing a customer focused strategy, as well as know the best channels to communicate with your staff. Recruit Meticulously A core responsibility of human resource is staff hiring. However, to add value to the customer experience excellence, you need to hire differently. For instance, you can focus on recruiting staff that have the right attitude more than the skills. Reason being, you can train on the skills but not attitude. When you have the right team from the onset, with the right attitude towards customer service, then you are on the road to excellence. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration All departments need to work as one because a customer looks at the company as one entity, not units. The human resource department promotes partnerships between the other units. If there is no unity and a process of handling customers, it affects the quality of services delivered. For example, if the representative needs technical support to resolve a customer’s grievance, but the technical team takes too long to respond to the escalated issue, then only the HR manager can mitigate that problem. He or she will open lines of communications and instill the need for all departments to collaborate for the benefit of the organization. At times, they organize team-building activities that encourage cohesion among the staff. In summary, the human resource department play a crucial role in customer experience excellence. It is all about people when HR takes care of the internal customers and by default, the excellence flows to the external customers. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

Placing the Right Agents on the Right Campaign

As the marketing manager, you have spent a considerable amount of time drafting and planning your next marketing campaign, it is now ready to go. What is your next step? You sit down with your colleague at the contact center to break down the brief. One lingering question on your mind is “will this yield my desired results?” The determining factor in your results is the type of agents assigned to your campaign. Here is a list of the key areas of the importance we consider when placing the right agents for your unique campaign. 1. Key Competencies How competent an agent is directly affects their job performance because this reflects their level of knowledge, skills, and ability to handle the campaign. Do they have knowledge of the company’s offerings? How proficient are they with the contact center tools? What outstanding skills do they have? How capable are they of handling different types of customers? For example, you work for a large clothing Retail Company and you’re running a “get a 20% discount on every referral” campaign. The key competency this sales agent must have is the ability to convince the customer to buy and refer someone. On the other hand, a key competency of a service agent is excellent customer experience and the ability to actively listen to what the customer is saying. The aim is to have agents with the right competencies to achieve your campaign objectives with ease. Without competent agents, the campaign is as good as dead and a waste of valuable resources. 2. Personality type Personality is something that is unique to each and every one of us. Finding the right combination and fit for each campaign is something that has to be done for each campaign the contact center takes on. Some individuals are may have more people skills, while others result/numbers oriented. An agent’s personality type plays a huge role in how effective they will be at a particular campaign. For example, the way a people-oriented agent will handle customer objections is different from the way a numbers-oriented one will. The first agent will go the extra mile to see that the customer’s issue is resolved and that the customer is fully satisfied; the second agent will naturally count that as a lost sale and move on to the next contact. Personality type also shapes the agent’s internal attitudes towards their roles. A positive attitude is vital when it comes to having a successful agent. Finding and hiring agents that have that contagiously positive attitude will not only help that agent succeed, but it could also play a helping hand in the entire campaign’s performance. Agents are very aware of the overall mood and environment on the campaign floor so having that extra boost that a single agent can generate can truly make a difference, not only for the agents on the floor but also for the customers on the other end of the interaction. The important thing is to uncover the agent’s personalities during the hiring process and place them in the right department where they will thrive and exceed performance expectations. 3. Motivational fit Personal motivators vary from one person to the other but they generally follow Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and can be summarized in three categories. Personal interest: Does the company offer what the person wants in order to achieve their career objectives? For example, if a person has loved working in a high-energy, fast-paced outbound call center, will they enjoy working in an inbound center? Job fit: Do the job roles and responsibilities motivate the person? Is there enough room to be creative in their delivery? Does the working relationship with the immediate boss, hinder or encourage excellent delivery? Is the work environment helpful? Culture fit: Does the culture of the company and contact center equal the individual’s priorities and interests? This includes the type of people who work there, how the center management leads, company values, and company commitment to employee development and training. In conclusion, the above considerations; competencies, personality, and motivational fit are all related in various ways. However, an established contact center comes in handy because we are able to give you the right people who will guarantee results. Having the right people in the right position at the right time is critical to the success of your campaign. This blog was first published on Linkedin

4 Extreme Leadership Success Tips

A majority of people aspire to be leaders and every leader aspires to be successful, but it is not always a smooth ride to the top. At times you will experience success beyond your wildest dreams, and at other times you will encounter challenges that will make you want to quit. The highs and lows of business may call for extreme leadership. Extreme leadership is synonymous to extreme sport. Extreme sports are activities perceived to have a high level of inherent danger. These activities involve speed, height, an elevated level of physical exertion and specialized gear. Steve Farber explains extreme leadership as the dynamic interplay of fear and love –two of the most powerful experiences in human nature. Embracing extreme leadership can be easy if you follow these tips. Put on Your Specialized Gear Any player knows that a key rule of the game is to have the right equipment. For example, if you were a snowboarder, would you go without your snowboards? Whether you are just practicing for a competition or doing it for leisure, you need your snowboards to enjoy the activity. The same applies to leadership, your first step is to be equipped for the job, and you should have the right set of equipment. Set up the systems you need to run and manage your business effectively. Be selective in your purchases especially of technological equipments, so that they meet the needs of the business and its customers, giving you a competitive edge in the crowded marketplace. With the right gear you are able to handle challenges that come your way with ease. Focus on Where You Are Going You cannot hit what you cannot see. Focusing on your long-term goal will help you reach your destination faster. However, when you are distracted by what is happening on the sideline and questioning your every move, you will take too long to achieve your objectives or not achieve them at all. If you need to adjust your goals, do that only after aligning them to your customers’ journey. Utilize the insights you gather from the big data analysis. Other than understanding your customers’ needs and wants, you will also know what is dragging you down. Focus gives you discipline and tenacity to keep moving forward. Be Ready to Speed You need speed to win. Think about rafting; the waves come in different magnitudes and they do not wait for you to get ready. If you are not ready, you will fall. When you are prepared to steer with confidence and speed, and think 10 steps ahead of your competition, you will come out on top. Being ready helps you to maintain momentum even when things get tough. However, to make your journey less bumpy, ensure you gather all necessary information to take action. Business is changing at a faster rate than ever before, and you need to adapt with ease and speed to be successful. Be Confident Your confidence determines how far you go. If fear of the unknown overpowers your love for what you do, you will definitely not be able to stay afloat on the big waves. Your love for the “sport” gives you the foundation for your confidence and insights from Big Data build it to greater heights. Confidence is also about believing in you. You should wake up every morning with energy to face what comes your way. Extreme leadership is a necessity for every leader to excel and succeed in the aggressively competitive market. You do not have to be loud to be extreme, just be strategic. When you put on your specialized gear, focus on where you are going, be ready to speed and maintain confidence, you are on the right track.

Improve the Omnichannel Experience; Reduce Customer Effort

Loyal customers are an asset to an organization, and the secret weapon to win them is offering superior customer experiences. When you focus on how customers feel about the services they expect and receive, you will meet their needs and give them the great experiences they are looking for. The key to any experience can be measured by customer effort. Customer effort is the amount of effort a customer has to put in to resolve his or her request. When customers do not expend a lot of energy and effort in receiving a service, they are more satisfied. Of course the opposite is also true. Customers become increasingly more dissatisfied with your services if they have to go through a lot of trouble to receive it. We’ve all been on both ends of this spectrum. Put yourself in their shoes. What type of service do you prefer? You interact with your customers on various channels, and these channels provide an opportunity to reduce customer effort. Some customers will start a conversation on Twitter and follow it up with a phone call. Do you handle each channel as an independent point of contact? Alternatively, do you integrate them to offer a seamless experience? If you want happy customers then you must provide that seamless experience- The Omnichannel experience. Omnichannel is about utilizing your multiple channels to be readily available when and how customers want to interact with your organization. For the customer, however, the same standards of service across the board is critical. A consistent, seamless experience makes the customer feel like they are carrying on with a conversation despite the channel they started it; he or she does not have to start from scratch every time they interact with you. Customer experience has an inverse relationship with customer effort: when it increases the other decreases. Therefore, it is essential to keep improving those experiences with every interaction in order to brand your business as one that is able to provide the Omnichannel experience effortlessly, time and time again. Here are a few tips on how you can improve Omnichannel experience and reduce customer effort. Senior Management Commitment The journey starts with the executives. An Omnichannel experience requires an entire organizational transformation. When the leadership initiates it, the rest of the company will adopt it. With the company vision in mind executives are in a good position to tell how the organization is doing, whether they are heading in the right direction, and the pace at which they are getting there. To change the way the entire organization handles customers requires more than sitting down to draft the strategies; it needs a complete commitment to the process. It should be a priority and necessary resources should be set aside to facilitate the implementation of an Omnichannel experience strategy. Break down Barriers All departments take part in delivering customer service in one way or the other, and how they approach it affects the results. When units support each other, share information promptly, and talk to each other to get solutions, you create a team dynamic focused on the implementation of a seamless experience. Not all organizations enjoy this. Some corporate cultures have built barriers between departments over the years. You should work at breaking these barriers down by making them understand their role and impact in the customer satisfaction journey. Create an open communication and transparent culture where each department feels comfortable to provide constructive dialogue with reducing customer effort in mind. If you can’t provide that reduction within your own organization, it will be almost impossible to provide it outside of it. Leverage Technology Once Senior management is on board and departments understand their roles and responsibility in the customer’s journey, it is time to leverage technology for efficient information sharing. You need to put an infrastructure in place to capture data, analyze, centralize it, and send it to the right people at the right time. The communications department, led by the CIO, should prioritize data analysis and information sharing. Another important thing to do is ensure that when the data gets to the final users they can understand it and take action. Leverage available technology for a consistent and seamless service delivery. Improving your Omnichannel experience is a continuous process that you have to be deliberate and dedicated to doing. When there is a commitment from senior management, no barriers between departments and you leverage technology, you will effortlessly offer a seamless service. It starts with the organization and spreads to the customer. Customers will receive the same excellent service at whatever channel they contact you on, and reduce their effort throughout the experience. After all, we should be willing to do what is necessary to provide the same service we ourselves are wanting whenever we are on the end of the customer experience. This blog was written by David Carrizales, Assistant Vice President for Etech Global Services.

Integrated Customer Engagement

Technology is changing every day and only getting better, and what’s amazing is how people are taking advantage of these new tools. Businesses are now handling transactions online and consumers like it. If you have never tried chat for your customer service or sales, you may want to consider it as a viable option, especially if you are like me and are too busy to wait on hold for endless hours. With chat you can help your customers at any time and just about any place. Now if you are a forward thinker and like to be on the cutting edge, your company should also be looking into Twitter as a viable option to help consumers. Some companies have a twitter handle, yet only use it for pushing content out which is one direction and not as much value to a consumer who has a problem. Some companies have gone a step ahead to employ people whose work is to respond to posts that are made on the website of the company as well as the social media pages such as Facebook and Twitter. Recent statistics show that Twitter is becoming more popular by consumers who want help or have something to say. As an experienced business person, it would be a good choice if you have not already, to establish a twitter customer care solution where the customers can be engaged on their preferred channel. If a customer has a question they can ask questions and get responses in real time. It is important to note that communication should be conversational with the brand and that no question can go unanswered. Chat customer service is also important as it also helps to improve the extent to which you serve you customers. Make sure that the one using the chat to communicate with the customers is good at chat etiquette to avoid losing customers. Chat etiquette is where one is able to deliver messages in a polite manner and avoid using tone that can raise issues from the customers. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

10 Best Qualities Adopted by High Performing Employees

Every organization strives to have the most qualified individuals on the team. With proper training and hiring of those who would make an efficient employee, you can reach this important goal to help your company be more effective with employee performance. Etech Global Services can offer your organization ways to measure employee qualities with some of the most complete call center quality assurance programs. Here are some things to look for when hiring valued employees. Listen Thoroughly to Issues Great employees are good listeners. These individuals take the time to listen to customer issues, feedback from supervisors and other pieces of information, so they can do their job better. Maintain a Positive Outlook High performing employees are also much more positive than usual. No matter what setbacks may occur, you can count on a top employee to maintain this positivity and to help motivate other members of the team. Able to Meet Challenges Additionally, your best employees are able to meet challenges. In fact, these individuals may often look forward to challenges. You can take advantage of this by using motivational contests between employees to help boost performance. Excel at Time Management Time management is another key factor for success in the workplace, and the most successful people can meet deadlines and complete all of their responsibilities. Top performing people are able to accurately adjust their schedule in order to get everything done on time and with the best approach. Demonstrate Company Commitment Next, the top performers in your company also demonstrate a commitment to your organization. They are typically loyal and devoted to your business’ mission and values. Focus on Developing More Personal growth is another big part of what makes a successful employee work so well. These employees are always on the lookout for ways to increase their skillset and knowledge of a specific topic, which helps them become even better at their job. Adjust Performance Constantly Along with personal development, your most prized staff may also be working to adjust their performance in their work at all times. They often combine feedback and new knowledge and come up with even better strategies of succeeding in their tasks. Reach Company Goals The best employees at a company are the most likely candidates to consistently reach company goals. These workers make it a point to contribute the most to your business’ productivity. Take Responsibility for Actions Additionally, top performing workers are able to own up to their actions and accept when they’ve made a mistake. Usually, after a misstep happens, they don’t linger on the problem, but instead, look for new solutions. Utilize Effective Routines Lastly, the most successful people in your organization may already have an effective routine or strategy of their own. Beyond company training, these people use methods in their own life and tasks that help them get ahead and stand out among everyone else at the top. Finding the best people to join your team can be challenging, but there are countless numbers of benefits when you hire top performers. When you carefully pay attention to specific qualities during hiring, training and quality assurance monitoring, you can help bring out the best in the performance of your employees.

How to Identify the Best Call Center QA Program

Quality assurance is the cornerstone of call center management practices. Optimizing QA practices increase agents’ efficiency, reduce wasteful spending, and enhance the quality of the service to customers. The combined benefits of optimizing QA practices provides a competitive edge, making identifying the best call center quality monitoring program essential to overall success. Comparing Quality Assurance Platforms A powerful call center quality assurance program can make the difference in agents’ abilities to provide top-notch customer service if it provides customer-concentric and objective evaluations. The three main platforms of quality assurance teams include the following: Internal: An internal quality team is ideal for businesses that want analysts to answer calls during high call volume and have total control over the quality program. There is an inherent risk of lower quality by pulling analysts to help guide call queues because the agents are not being evaluated during those peak times or given proper coaching. Because evaluations tend to be subjective, possibilities are dropped to mentor agents. Outsourced: Cultural issues may arise with outsourced QA teams. There is a significant distinction between customers from the U.S. and those in the Philippines, South America, and India, for instance. A tone or word could mean the difference between losing a customer or establishing loyalty. A call center quality assurance program should provide call center managers with relevant data to properly coach agents properly alongside insight into the customers’ expectations. Pro-sourced: Pro-sourcing quality teams are another platform to consider. An essential component of a successful pro-sourcing relationship is uncovering business intelligence to help an organization reach its goals and objectives. Most pro-sourcing quality assurance teams are located where customers reside, so they have the ability to understand the regional and local culture of the customers. Pro-sourcing quality partnerships work with the business expert to provide an unbiased, customer-centric analysis of strategies to enhance the customer experience and increase client loyalty. Make sure that the program and quality analysts are experts in call center quality assurance. That way they can provide meaningful insight into excellent customer service for your clients. Aligning Call Center Quality Assurance Programs with Business Needs Over three-fourths of consumers view customer service as the real test of how much a company values them. More than half are comfortable severing their relationship with a brand over one poor customer experience. Choosing a call center quality monitoring program is essential for providing outstanding customer experiences every time agents interact with customers. However, selecting a suitable call center quality assurance platform that aligns with the business’s goals and needs is a daunting process., Here are four elements that contribute to the success of a call center quality monitoring program: Precise and to the point Clearly defined agent program Consistency, accuracy, fairness, and objectiveness Integration of managers and supervisors into the process Following these techniques, tool, and tips will help businesses significantly improve their call center quality assurance practices. It will optimize the service their team provides to their clients. The enhanced quality and efficiency will result in a competitive edge. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

Automatic Conversation Insights for Quality Assurance: 5 Tips

Nothing is as important as the quality of services or products that you offer to your customers. It determines the level of customer satisfaction, employee engagement and your revenue. To monitor how you are doing with respect to quality, you need a set of standards, policies and procedures to be followed by everyone in the organization. When looking at process improvement models or performance initiatives, one should also ensure that there is a vehicle for constant testing and upgrading. The feedback loop, or closed loop process will enable identification of weaknesses and inconsistencies in the service delivery. One of the best ways of monitoring and improving Quality Assurance (QA) is through conversation analytics, the study of call recordings and live phone calls. It combines language and audio processing to offer exceptional insights into customer sentiment and emotion. Simply put, it brings the human aspect into the analysis. How can you use valuable conversation insights to improve your quality assurance? Here are five tips to get started. Remove Human Bias Human bias is likely to occur during call scoring, which affects agent performance. Automating the quality monitoring process ensures that there is consistency and transparency in the process. The information gathered is accurate and can be acted upon to improve services. Elimination of human bias also ensures that the conversation insights gathered during analysis are also consistent. Organize Unstructured Data The typical call center receives an overwhelming amount of raw daily data. Conversation analysis helps you to create connections and relationships from the unstructured data. Automation helps the QA team to dig deeper into the data and create a wider knowledge base into consumer behavior. The other departments will make better use of the information once it is in a structured format. Direct your Focus Conversation insights give you a better understanding of your company performance, not just the individual agent’s performance. Customer insights reveal how they feel about your products, prices, policies and services. This vital sentiment directs your focus to what is most important to the customer and the business, such as employee engagement, customer satisfaction and business growth. Create a Fast Information Loop For the conversation insights to bring change to your quality standards, you need to have a fast information loop. Gather feedback consistently to understand how the company is performing. Remember to test and review your feedback loops for speed and accuracy before settling on a process. Embrace Innovation For real change to take place in your quality assurance program, you need to embrace innovation. Technology and innovation are at the core of automation. It starts with Big Data analysis, distilling insights and using them to improve your business processes. Innovation also influences your choice of metrics so that you can focus on measuring customer satisfaction levels, employee engagement levels and overall organization performance. With automation, your QA team will work better and faster and given that they are the connectors between the staff, customers and the business, you will gain intimate knowledge about customer sentiments and company policies through conversation analytics. Consider these five tips to push your business forward and get the edge on the competition today.

Contact Center Essentials: 5 Keys to Success

Excellent customer service stems from a variety of components, such as a well-performing contact center. While smoothly operating call centers utilize specific elements that drive top-notch performance, few contact centers reach this level of service. With growing customer demands, businesses need to rethink which features empower successful customer service experiences. Identifying and Meeting Customer Needs In today’s data-intensive world, it is challenging to identify what matters most to customers. Call center success involves separating out distracting figures and facts to determine the measurements that mark success and ultimately enhance the client’s experience. Balancing quantitative and efficient contact center success metrics have a favorable effect on the customer experience. Here are the top five keys to ensure call center success. Technology: Call center technology is continually evolving, making it challenging to keep track of the latest market innovations. For instance, over 86 percent of today’s call centers are multichannel, from intelligent call-backs to universal queuing and voice biometrics. It is essential for call center success that metrics include web and mobile support. Also, nearly 60 percent of 25 to 34 year-old customers share poor customer experiences on social media. Key performance indicators: Analytics enable businesses to anticipate customer needs and exceed expectations. It supports reliability and efficiency and creates an improved customer experience. Likewise, automating call center processes reduce new agent training periods, eliminate extended hold times, enhance and optimize agent utilization, and present opportunities for up-selling. Performance and contact center success metrics are critical to overall business success. For instance, a one percent improvement in first call response results in an annual operational savings of over $275,000. Agent engagement: Employees who are engaged are 87 percent less likely to leave for another position than those who are disengaged. Empower and encourage employees to strive for success when engaged with customers. Enthusiasm, confidence, helpfulness, and a proactive approach will gain customer loyalty, satisfaction, and trust. Make employees aware of how their contribution has a positive impact on the overall success of the company. Ongoing training: Businesses can increase customer interaction success rates by training agents to resolve issues efficiently and respond appropriately to clients. A well-trained, educated, and informed agent will improve the first contact resolution and also reduce average handling time. Training is vital to ensure agents are aware of the expectations for handling customers. They need to understand how to personalize the interaction instead of just handing the call. After an agent is initially trained, follow-up training must take place. New Ideas: These should be measurable and influence the perception of the business positively among customers to ultimately improve revenues. This will help businesses deploy customer management strategies on empowering agents to implement new approaches. For instance, call-backs lower customer abandon rates by over 30 percent. For call centers to deliver high-end services consistently, it must implement the tools to empower agents to provide outstanding customer service. These five keys to call center success will influence performance and move toward call center success. The result will be more than just customer satisfaction; it will also create customer and employee loyalty.

3 Call Center QA Best Practices to Try Right Now

One of the biggest ways a company can increase sales is by focusing on their contact center QA. Call center and BPO quality assurance are some of the top factors in determining a business’ level of success. Etech Global Services can help you find the best solution to address your call center quality analytics. When you utilize programs that analyze your call center’s quality, there are additional specific ways to make sure you’re getting the most from it. Here are the best practices that you should implement in your call center to increase quality immediately. Invest in Training The best customer service agents are the most knowledge in their jobs. All top customer service representative programs begin with a highly effective training program. When hiring new employees, you make an initial investment in training and recruitment. You can get a greater return on this investment if your training program can effectively make an employee succeed in your business. You can also get a lower turnover rate by keeping your employees more satisfied. Your training program shouldn’t merely focus on new hires; additional training programs for existing employees can help you maintain top quality assurance for your customers’ experiences. Prioritize the Top Calls Another best practice for call center quality assurance involves the type of calls your system spends time to analyze. Rather than picking a random percentage of your entire call database to evaluate, prioritize on your most lucrative or meaningful phone interactions. Insignificant or routine calls don’t always need to be thoroughly analyzed for quality. Your most valued calls may include ones where there is significant interaction between a customer and an agent, calls that involve high volume purchases, repeat calls from previous customers with a problem and calls related to new products. Once you’ve narrowed down the choices to those top calls, you can focus your analysis on samples from that group primarily. That way, you can get more out of your call center quality analytics system. Link Call Center Quality and Customer Data The most important method of maximizing your success with a call center analytics system is to link it to other parts of your business. One thing that definitely needs to be in this equation is your data regarding customer satisfaction. No matter what you provide, a product or a service, you must also have some way of analyzing whether or not your customers are pleased with your offerings. Use this information along with your call center data to get a better picture of where your company stands. Customer surveys after a call can help you ensure that your call center analytics are focusing on the right issues. Then, you can take the new information you’ve learned about your customers’ attitudes and feelings and apply it to your training program, making it all link together. Whether your business is fielding thousands of calls a day or just a few, it’s important to be able to understand how your phone agents are able to deliver service. A comprehensive call center quality assurance program is able to help your business reach its goals faster and more effectively. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

10 Influential Ways to Improve Call Center Quality Monitoring

For businesses that rely on the ability of their customer representatives to deliver outstanding service over the phone, call center quality analytics are a must. With call center quality monitoring, you can ensure that your employees are following the guidelines that can help your business succeed. Along with a monitoring program from Etech Global Services, there are additional techniques that can help your company get the most out of this technology. Here are the best ways you can utilize this helpful tool for your company. Let Representatives Be Part of the Process : The most important thing for a company that uses call center quality analytics is that your agents need to be part of the process. This can help foster a more positive atmosphere for evaluations rather than a punishing one. Incorporate Fun, Friendly Competitions to Motivate Team Members : To support a positive atmosphere, you may want to incorporate fun contests that are tied to call quality scores. A little friendly competition between employees can help motivate team members. Identify Common Problems With Agents : When analyzing call center data, look at what some customer service representatives struggle with. If you see a trend, you can address it as a company with new training. Work With Team Members Who Need Help : For those who are struggling to meet the requirements for call center quality, work with the team members who need help. Focusing more energy on training is a better investment than simply replacing these employees. Connect Quality Assurance to Company Goals : Identify the needs of your company, and draft specific goals that you want your agents to reach. All of your quality assurance effort should be directly related to these goals. Focus the Most Energy on Your Top Calls : Instead of monitoring short routine calls, focus your quality assurance program on the most involved calls where there is more interaction between customers and representatives. This is a better use of your time and resources. Analyze Customer Data With Quality Analytics : Customer surveys and other forms of evaluation should also be used alongside of call center quality assurance. Analyze all pieces of information to get the best picture of where your customer service falls. Give Plenty of Positive Feedback : Your call center monitoring feedback should offer plenty of opportunities to recognize those who are doing well. Employees want to continue doing the things that they get recognized for, so this increases motivation and productivity. Implement a Specific Training Program : When new employees come onto your team or existing employees are struggling, use your data to implement a specific course of call center training. This can help your employees know what to expect and give you greater results. Utilize Your Human Resources : Take advantage of all that your team has to offer by putting peoples’ strengths on the stage. Peers training each other can be much more effective than a supervisor or team leader taking the lead. Call center quality is a vital part to keeping your business practices consistent and profitable. Using the top ways to improve your call center effectiveness can help your company increasingly meet its goals. This blog was written by Jim Iyoob, EVP Customer Experience and Operational Excellence for Etech Global Services.

3 Tips to Increase Conversions for SaaS Business

The digital world is very exciting and is always getting better every day. For the technical sales professional, it means unending possibilities of closing the deal. Any opportunity that will increase your conversions is worth looking at because it increases your revenue. One such opportunity that has been tried and tested is the SaaS business. SaaS is an abbreviation for Software As A Service. It is a way of delivering applications over the Internet as a service. As a customer, you do not have to purchase software; you simply access it over the Internet. It is a brilliant product as it relieves you of the hassle of managing the software and hardware. The company providing the web-based software assumes all the risks and controls its accessibility, performance, and security. Now let us unpack how you can increase conversions as the SaaS provider, Funnel testing and optimization There are three types of funnels, Paid sign up – no free trial. The customer visits the page, signs up, pays and activates. Free trials – timed product trial. The customer visits the page, trial sign up, activates and then pays to upgrade. Freemium – free for life. The customer visits the page, signs up for free, activates and upgrades. The funnel type you choose is dependent on your application functionality. Carry out the following steps for proper funnel testing and optimization. Baseline your macro conversations – What is the percentage drop from the guests who visited your site, to those who signed up, to those who activated and finally upgraded. Categorize your optimization options – Your optimization opportunity is the step that has the highest drop. For instance is 10,000 people visited the site, 1,000 signed up, 500 activated and 100 upgraded, the highest drop off is from those who visited the site and those who signed up. Research – Gather qualitative data to identify the conversion barriers. Carry out surveys and usability test to understand why there is a high drop off. Develop and implement A/B tests – Once you have understood where the challenges are, improve your funnel of choice. You can combine, change or remove the order of steps. After the modification, implement by testing your new designs from the headlines, buttons, images and other variations. Measure the result against your baseline – After the tests, measure against your baseline and see if there is a change. Review and repeat accordingly. Your aim in this step is to uncover the funnel that gives you the highest conversions. Segment your customers Define your customer segments. For example, you can split the homepage into different sections for testing. There are three main types of customer segments to test, Company size segmentation- You can divide your clients by the business size, this also captures people who want to use the applications for personal use. Segment using the number of employees in that company which then determines the pricing. Account type segmentation- A typical example is a professional account for individual use and enterprise for organizations. The professional account gives them an opportunity to sample the application free before signing up. Customized segmentation- You ask the visitor a few questions to determine their needs before directing them to the application site. By understanding your core customer, you will design the applications to meet their specific needs as well as focus on the highest return on investment. Test Your Calls to Action A SaaS application is not complete without a call to action. The last step towards increasing your conversions is to test your call to action. Go back to your funnel test and use the result to survey, analyze and create appropriate tests. The best approach is to customize your call to action as opposed to copying what everyone is doing online. The call to action should be short and enticing so that the visitor clicks the button. For example, instead of “See plans and pricing,” use “Try us today” or “Free download.” Try different calls to action and stick to the one that gives you the highest conversions. In summary, these three tips, funnel testing, and optimization, segmenting your customers and testing your calls to action will increase your conversions. The rule of the game is test, test and test some more.

3 Little Known Ways That Consumer Sentiment Affect Your Business

The sentiment is defined as an attitude or opinion prompted by emotions or feelings. To understand this better ask this question: How do consumers get these feelings when they base their opinions on your company? I believe they come in two ways: After interacting with the staff. Customer service plays a huge role here in how they will feel about your company. For instance, when a customer is served well, they feel satisfied and happy with the company and thus have a positive opinion about it. A happy customer is a return customer. On the other hand, if a customer is not served well, they will feel disappointed and not valued, thus will have a negative opinion about the company. After consuming the product or service. For instance, a customer buys a product hoping that it will do what the company claims it will. When it doesn’t meet his expectations, he feels disappointed and thus forms a negative opinion about the entire company. But if he is happy with the results, he views the company positively and raves about it. In this digital era, you can quickly analyze your consumer’s sentiments by opinion mining. This is simply tracking their moods toward your products/services through their posts, tweets, reviews, and comments. It can either be negative or positive or a combination of the two, they are all good depending on what you do after receiving the analysis. If you have never thought about reading between the lines of your customer’s feedback, the time to start is NOW. Here are 3 little known ways that these findings affect your business:- 1. New/modification of your product When you are planning to introduce a new product into the market, you always undertake market research through surveys and focus groups. The feedback you receive helps in the product design, but the most important information that will help you is from customer reviews after the launch. What sentiments do they have towards the products and your company? It helps you go back to the drawing board and develop an entirely new product or modify it. You know this is of utmost importance because consumers and growth are the lifeblood of your business and there is no better way to grow than in the direction the consumers want. Let us see how you can use consumer positive or negative sentiment to drive product/service development. Positive sentiment : Case in point, Etech Global Services. It started off with one service: a telecommunication consumer call center. The clients and consumers were happy with the services and their positive sentiments facilitated the introduction of other services like chat, email, social, and software development. It is now an omnichannel contact center able to meet the needs of a larger clientele from different industries across all communication channels. Negative sentiment : For example, if you launch an app and some customers respond by saying it “crashes too often” or “it takes too long to start” then you can turn this negative review to your advantage. You use it to modify the app by eliminating the shortcomings and, viola, you have a great product that consumers love. 2. Damage/build your business reputation Consumers always share their sentiments with their friends, family, and other consumers. Positive comments and reviews about your products will definitely build your business by attracting new customers. I consider this word-of-mouth advertising which is the most effective method of advertising, and to add icing to the cake, it is absolutely free. On the other hand, negative comments and reviews (word of mouth) can severely damage your reputation in a matter of seconds. For example, a customer can post about a bad experience they had with an agent and the thread starts, within a short time it becomes the trending thread, and some customers who were initially satisfied with the company, all of sudden become extremely unhappy. What do you think these negative sentiments will do to your business reputation? It will definitely damage it. I recently published an article on managing your reputation, read it here. Please remember the old saying, “a happy customer tells one friend, and an unhappy customer tells the world” 3. Turn potential customers into loyal customers Before a customer makes the final buying decision, they ask around to know the experiences of others. When they actually go out and buy it, the aim is to validate what they heard about the product. If it turns out to be right, they become loyal customers. For example, if I recently traveled and wanted to eat somewhere different, I went online and looked at the available options. To narrow them down, I read the online customer reviews and settled on the one that had the highest rating. I was not disappointed and anytime I visit that town, I will always go there. All around us are potential customers who would benefit from our products or services. What they have heard about you, can make the difference in whether or not they use our products or services. When they come to you, how they will feel will determine if they will return or not. What every manager wants is to turn potential customers into not just one-time consumers but loyal customers. Positive online customer sentiments work in your favor by bringing potential customers to you. It is now up to you to either meet their high expectations and convert them or disappoint them and lose them forever. There you go, these are the ways that consumer sentiments affect your business: new development or modification of products, building or damaging your reputation, and turning potential customers into loyal customers. You have the power to direct the feelings of your customers and thus their sentiments. How have consumer sentiments affected your business? This blog was first published on LinkedIN

Grow Your Bench, Grow Your Business: 8 Simple Succession Planning Tips

How prepared is your business to capitalize on opportunity? Without a strong bench you could essentially be limiting your growth potential. Take this quick quiz: Do you feel if you want something done right you must do it yourself? Is there nobody on your team you trust to get the job done? Do you scramble to have coverage in your center? Do you have high leader turnover? Do you drop balls because you are doing other people’s work? Are you overwhelmed? Would you like the opportunity to do something different? Do you fail to hold people accountable because you do not have a replacement? If you answered yes to any of these questions…it’s time to look at your succession planning tactics. Here are a few tips to take ownership of where you are and implement change: If you don’t have a succession planning strategy, begin now. The cycle you are in will not be broken without an investment in change. Draw a line in the sand and break the cycle. You cannot afford to wait any longer. Own the problem and the solution. List and define the critical roles within your center. This will give you a framework to work from. Prioritize based on impact to the business, and other known variables (pending promotions, center growth, retirements, resignations, etc) Identify who has potential for upward mobility. Focus first on your high potential people, those with consistent results and demonstrated ability to learn quickly and thrive on challenge. Who is important…what, how, when are equally important. What will they need to know? How will they acquire those skills? When will this be complete? Enroll your team…You’ve already proven one person cannot do everything. Break the cycle and involve others in being part of the solution. Map it out…don’t keep plans in your head. Take ownership of ensuring there is a mapped out plan with timelines that can be executed on. Finally, find an accountability partner to have check points with. This should be someone you can trust to not accept excuses from you. It’s easy to make excuses for ourselves…but not as easy to explain to someone else why we’ve failed to hold ourselves accountable. Not only will you begin to build a strong bench, but engagement, performance and morale will all improve as a result. In the words of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.” I encourage you to start your journey today!

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