Why is a hotel always full while the next door one is empty, although they offer the same services at comparable prices? Why does a certain video game convince millions to play it, while others struggle with a lot less buyers, although they are a bit cheaper? Why does an IT product sell, while others don’t, although they provide similar features? Why do you need an appointment made weeks in advance for some beauty salons and you need none for others, as their personnel seems to always be waiting for customers that never come?

It’s easy; people are not buying products and services only. They buy experiences which include those products and services. Everything else going on while they are researching, testing and buying is of ultimate importance, just as how they are treated after getting the product or service and they come back to either buy more or require assistance. Continue reading

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I have a confession to make… I am extremely harsh when it comes to customer support. I’ve spent quite a while being a tech support engineer, I know how much it matters in building a great relationship with customers. So when I make my decisions about certain products or services, the quality of tech support backing them up is extremely important.  Why? It is simple. Anything can crash. No one should look for guarantees they will have no problems, they should make sure they will have help solving them when they appear. And based on my fare share of customer support talks, chats, email exchanges, I thought I’d make a top of the best ways to drive customers away.

1. Don’t pick up when they call

Definitely, this is the fastest and never dethroned method to make sure your customers will switch you for any of your competitors quicker then lightning. Continue reading

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You might have an amazing product or service. You might have done a great job promoting it, everybody knows it, they can see it everywhere and new customers are likely to recommend it. But if the customer service you offer is faulty, say goodbye to repeat customers and to long term deals. Because no matter how good, affordable, innovative, useful your product is, there always are problems! In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be, but in ours, there are. And what happens when your customer has a problem is what turns your relationship with them into a long term one. Yet here’s where most businesses fail! Continue reading

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What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Welcome to a new and sunny edition of our Monday reading list. I’ll start with something a little differnent today, an entry for this month “What I learned from” group writing project, lessons from a sidewalk. And it’s Brad Shorr’s entry, talking about sales lessons learned while pounding the pavement, it’s downsides and the many pluses of newer technologies.

Jonathan Fields has some adivice for you if you want to be a better speaker – go commando! What does that mean? It meand improvising, creating on the fly and coming up with a very real speech.

Jean Murray of Home Biz Notes talks about a rather sensitive issue: what to do when your spouse doesn’t support your work? Read her article for some great tips on how to get them on your side.

John Bell of the Digital Influence Mapping Project talked explained the difference between paid media, earned media and word of mouth, in the context of what brands want.

Shirazz Data thinks social networking has really nailed customer satisfaction. The next task on its to do list? Customer loyalty. Read his entry to get an idea of how to make the transition.

And to chear you up for this week, here’s an amazingly funny entry from Jaffe Juice: click to see how Michelangelo’s David would look after spending too much time in the US . And Ian Lurie’s explanation of why SEO is just like bacon!

The internet is a really dizzingly large place, I’m sure I’ve missed a couple of great articles. Let’s share them in the comment box!

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What I think you shouldn’t have missed last week…

Hello everyone, nice to see you at a new edition of our Monday reading list. Hope your new week will be better than the last!

Worried about how to tweet, if you should unfollow certain people or about what will happen if you disappear from Twitter for a couple of weeks? Forget all of your fears and just start tweeting after reading Joanna Young’s 21 irresponsible ways to improve twitter confidence.

Bounce rates are an important metric, yet are often ignored. Tad Chef of SEO 2.0 shared 7 simple ways to decrease bounce rates and get more conversions.

The recession is claiming it’s victims. And great customer service is a much needed lifeboat. Joseph Thornly of Pro PR has a great case study from the travel and tourism industry to show you just how much high quality customer care can do for you.

Thinking to start your own business blog? I’m sure you’ve read a lot about it, but you should add Linas Simon’s list of things to check before you start.

Are you on the look out for a cause to join? I found the perfect one for you, recommended by Donna DeClemente of Lip Sticking: help stop violence against women. Don’t let the headline kid you, it’s a good thing they’re promoting

Sonia Simone starteg a wonderful series on Remarkable Communication showing the 7 big mistakes small businesses do. Here’s mistake number 2.

Is there something you want added to this week’s list? Let us know in the comment box!

See you all next week!

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