Posts Tagged ‘Customer Service’

The good thing about being an entrepreneur is that you get to be your own boss. The bad thing about being an entrepreneur is that every client is your boss. When you have a job, you generally have one boss, in business every client is your boss. You are not working for a raise; you are hoping to get a long-term opportunity.  Anyone will buy something once; you want your client to buy over and over again — from you.

So how do you manage your new bosses? Customers come in three types:  those that know exactly what they want, those that know only what they don’t want and the dream client who looks to you for your expertise to solve their business challenge.  The dream client comes along two to three times at most in any business.  So be sure you are prepared for client option one or two.  No matter which kind of client you have the best thing that you can do for your client is carefully manage their expectations.  Here are some standard practices you should develop for client management.

• Develop a detailed project plan
• Create a listserv for all key players involved in the project.
• Over communicate with weekly status reports
• Anytime there’s a meeting or conference call immediately follow-up with an email recapping the conversation and any action items and delivery dates.

If your client makes a request that changes the scope of a project, never say no.  Just explain to the client how this new request will add to their budget and change the delivery timeline.  Be careful not to act like you are not flexible.  Clients pay for convenience and to have problems solved.  Clients will change their mind, especially those that do not know what they want. You must make sure your fee is high enough to include covering these costs.  Most importantly, never show your clients that you are overwhelmed or frustrated.  Be aware that clients’ staff may sabotage you, too.

So what do you do when there is a problem? When you are struggling to communicate a roadblock that your client has created, never communicate about a problem in writing. Request a phone conversation or a better option… which is a face-to-face meeting.  You can’t communicate intent in writing.  Talking directly to your clients is always the best way to solve any problem.  If you or your subcontractors are the problem, it is best to communicate with the client about any delays or mishaps before you miss a deadline.  These are the most difficult conversations to have, but when you are the boss, you have to take responsibility for any mistakes or problems and — make it right for the customer.

So how do you make it right for the customer? It depends on how big of a mistake you made. Here are a few suggestions:

• Respond immediately with an action plan
• Ask for another chance to do a project or ship additional merchandise.
• Offer a heavy discount on future purchases
• Offer to refund all or a portion of your fee.

Your goal should be to make sure your client walks away thinking you did everything you could to fix the problem.  A happy client is a repeat customer who will be an ambassador for your product or service.

Do you have any suggestions for making nice with customers? Leave me a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #SmallBizChat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in12 Months is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

If you’re ready to start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com

In business, reading is fundamental. It is crucial to help you grow your expertise as a business leader.  One of my favorite things to do is read books about small business best practices, social media and leadership.  Here’s a list of best books that I think will have a major impact on your business strategy heading into 2010.  Later this week, I’ll have five more of my favorite books to share.

Small Business Cash Flow: Strategies for Making Your Business a Financial Success  by Denise O’Berry (J. Wiley & Sons, 2006)  The best thing you can do for your business is understand how much profit is in every sale and stay cash flow positive. Denise O’Berry writes a terrific book that explains the ins and outs of financial management in a successful small business. The book does a good job of pointing out how a small business owner can stay on top of the cash flow issue in running her business.  This is an incredible resource book that I highly recommend.

Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz (Writer Digest Books, 2008) It is not often I read a book that truly enlightening from cover to cover. On a scale of 1-5, Get Known Before the Book Deal is a 10! If you want to know what it takes to get a book deal, Christina Katz gives a very specific recipe, but this book is not just helpful to people who want to be authors.  This book is for anyone who needs to build a marketing platform and a brand for their expertise.  This book changed my entire business model and my brand. I could not recommend this book more highly.

Customers For Life: How To Turn That One-Time Buyer Into a Lifetime Customer by Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown (Doubleday, 2002)  This is a must read for every business owner.  None of the ideas in this book are ground breaking, but the authors do a great job of explaining how they translate into loyal customers for your business. This book will help you create systems in your business to avoid customer service problems in the first place. This book was originally published in 1998 and has been updated three times since, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. Every business owner should have this book, and I’d also recommend buying copies for all your employees as well.

Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share their Secrets to Creating a High-Profile, High-Traffic and High Profit Blog by Stephane Grenier (Levac Publishing House, 2008)   This is one of those books that serious bloggers will keep on their shelves.  I like that this book features 40 top bloggers and not just 10 or 15 like most profile books. I enjoyed learning great techniques and about what blogs these pros read.  Try reading a chapter a day, look at the blogs of the blogger featured, see what they are doing well that you can implement in your blog. Learning how successful bloggers approach their blogging is an exercise that will have lots of benefits.

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers – and Save the Planet by Jennifer Kaplan (Prentice Hall Press, 2009)  Green is not just the color of money. Going green can be overwhelming, but Jen Kaplan provides a comprehensive guide to practical, meaningful, low-cost changes that can be applied today to go green in your business. Green practices are being measured by everyone including your customers-so use this book to build an additional competitive advantage in your business and save the planet as the same time.

Do you know a book that should be added to the list?  Let me know, I love getting your feedback.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in Feb 2010.