Virtual Assistance Business Briefs » customer service

Customer Service Revival

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:05:09 +0000

I’ve decided to start my own ministry, and my first order of business will be a customer service revival. Will you join me?

Funny as that may seem, the exodus of customer service has been evolving for several years. The latest downturn in the economy has simply caused a bigger impact on customer service, I believe, due to lay- offs and cut backs in middle management and through the downsizing of staff in general, leaving remaining staffers overwhelmed and overloaded doing the job of many.

As independent contractors, and small business owners, we have a higher level of control over the results our clients experience through our work together, and the perception of our level of client care.

I’m still relatively picky about who I work with, meaning I totally understand my target market, and why matching our business personalities and acumen are so important. I find referring prospects to other providers that better fit their need, simply brings my level of service up a notch.

By not working with people who don’t share similar business strategies and standards, I minimize the number of service challenges that could or would be presented to me. Not that I mind being faced with a dilemma or two for its learning opportunities, but to me, it all reverts back to something I learned the hard way, when I first started my business.

“The customer is ALWAYS right!” Okay, I know, literally speaking, the customer isn’t always right, but sometimes no matter what I say, or how I say it, I may never be able to convince someone that what they’ve perceived as bad service, isn’t just that.

Even if the client is totally at fault, how I address the situation and solve it to some satisfaction makes all the difference. Knowing that I may never be able to satisfy someone, and understanding that I have no control over it, helps me to stay focused on the end result.

I have found that making sure that I only do business with those clients that fit my business model, alleviates a lot of these situations.

So let’s make a pact to revive customer service at all levels by establishing good client relations, increased service standards, and give our clients the best possible experience. I believe my business has grown in a more positive direction because of it, which allows me to continue to provide those services I am most passionate about doing.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or to learn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Customer Service Revival is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Why Reveal Your Prospect’s Objections?

Jeannine Clontz — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:22:41 +0000

One of the questions I ask during the prospect interview process is, “Have you ever worked with an independent contractor before?” – the response this elicits helps me to determine if there are any negative past experiences that might present itself as an objection throughout the interview process.

Objections are an important part of the process and create opportunities for you to understand the prospect better; helping you to respond to any objection in the most favorable way.

Once the objection is revealed, ask the prospect to give you more detail about the objection so that you’re sure to respond in a way that addresses their concerns. You may also want to ask them if this is the ONLY objection to moving forward.

This allows you to build a stronger relationship, and creates a certain rapport with the prospect to differentiate you from the rest of your competitors.

You may find that through the objection process the prospect reveals something that would indicate they are NOT the ideal client for your business. If so, don’t take this business and hope for the best, try and find another option for them. It’s just not worth it.

Go with your gut feeling about the prospect. If something seems wrong, it probably is. Most of all don’t fear prospect objections. Even if you don’t end up closing on this particular prospective client, It’s a great way to learn what keeps prospects from making the commitment to begin your work together.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, provides marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. For information about finding a VA, download her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or lto earn why Social Media should be an important part of your marketing plan with her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, or contact her at info@accbizsvsc.com

Why Reveal Your Prospect’s Objections? is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: client objections, client problems, client tips, handle client objections, handle client problems, unethical client

Gain Subscribers for Email Marketing Through Your Website

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:49:44 +0000

The task of building a list of subscribers for email marketing isn’t too difficult if you already have a website that has engaging content and decent traffic. However, your visitors won’t sign up just because you asked, you need to optimize your site to build your subscriber list without compromising its current focus or making it look like a sales page. To help you use your website to build your subscriber list for email marketing, consider these tips:

1) Make Your Sign-Up Form Visible

The first step to getting email marketing sign-ups is to let your visitors know the option to subscribe exists. Make it easy for them to find your sign-up form. If possible, you should position it in a way that it is visible no matter which part of your site a visitor is viewing.

2) Provide Incentives to Subscribers

All internet users have become wary of signing up with their email addresses because of the many ways it can be used. This may bring up privacy concerns. To put such privacy concerns to rest, you need to give your website visitors powerful incentives to subscribe. Statements like "Register to Receive Our Weekly Newsletter" or "Sign Up for More Information" will no longer be enough to gain subscribers for email marketing. Experiment with different statements and incentives in order to find exactly what it is that will work for your specific target audience.

3) Minimize Required Fields

Although getting as much information as you can from your subscribers will allow you to fully customize your email marketing campaign for them, it may not be a good idea to ask for too much information right away. If your subscription form requires too many fields, potential subscribers may easily be turned off and refuse to sign-up at all. Generally, all you really need to ask for is the subscriber’s name and email address.

4) Send an Email at Once

To manage expectations, immediately send emails to all who subscribe. These emails should contain everything new subscribers can expect from you whether it’s a newsletter, free report, or something else. The same email should contain instructions that will allow new subscribers to confirm their email addresses or opt-in if you so desire. This will help you make sure that all the email addresses in your mailing list are valid and all those who subscribed are actually interested in what you have to offer. Doing this will help you avoid statistical nightmares when tracking the results of your email marketing campaign.

Always remember that visitors won’t subscribe to your newsletters or marketing emails just because a sign up form is available on your site. You need to woo them with incentives, entice them with proper communication strategies, and make it easy for them to sign up. As long as you keep all these in mind, you can make good use of your website to gain subscribers for email marketing.

Share your thoughts and ideas for new ways to gain subscribers by leaving a comment below!

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Gain Subscribers for Email Marketing Through Your Website is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: add subscribers, build your list, Business Tips, email marketing, email marketing tips, website

Now Tweeting for Business (Part Two)

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:00:47 +0000

Last week we looked at how utilizing Twitter in small businesses can save marketing dollars, expand your customer base, and manage and increase your ability to build relationships. In this final segment, we look at additional ways Twitter allows small business to reap big rewards.

Feedback loop

Small businesses rarely conduct market surveys due to the expense and time necessary to manage them. Twitter allows a business to monitor what people are saying about them and their products. You can ask for active feedback and criticism, respond to questions and deal with any disgruntled tweets through Twitter. Listening to what’s happening on the ground can also help small businesses decide on a strategic direction.

Keep your enemies closer

Competition is fierce for the small to medium enterprise. Twitter lets small businesses monitor their competition. What new initiatives are on the horizon and what can you do to stay on the cutting edge?

If your competitors are not on Twitter, search for tweets that mention them so you can see what others think. Competitive intelligence is a good reason for small businesses to use Twitter and stay a step ahead.

Differentiation

Being able to build a presence can make or break a small business. Twitter allows a dash of creativity, humor and humanity in marketing your business. Twitter accounts can be as funny or outstanding as you want them to be – better for your customers to remember you.

A car dealer in Albany, New York, has the attention grabbing twitter profile “iamhuge”, a silly but memorable profile name that fits in with the business’s general marketing pitch and attracts curious customers to his website, Twitter account and dealership. (“Being HUGE on Twitter: A Small Business Case Study,” Rebecca Kelley, website: 10er20.com/blog, 4 August 2009)

Twitter is not just for the big guys. Small businesses are signing up for Twitter accounts in ever-increasing numbers. There are quite a few benefits of using Twitter in small business, including cutting marketing costs and keeping tabs on competitors.

Please take a moment to share your Twitter experiences, or questions by leaving a comment below.

Now Tweeting for Business (Part Two) is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: twitter, twitter for business, Twitter tips

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing

Jeannine Clontz — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:37:11 +0000

Respecting your current and potential subscribers is important in building trust through your email marketing campaign. How you collect email addresses and what you do with them will establish the level of respect you’ll provide. Most individuals consider their email address as private so what you do with it greatly affects whether you get to build on that trust or ruin it entirely. Subscribers trust those that show the most respect for their privacy. Here are tips to help you give subscribers the highest level of respect.

1. Set High Permission Standards

Never trick people into opting in. Get clear permission to send out everything you want to through your email marketing campaign. This means you should never pre-check opt-in boxes or trick subscribers with intentionally misleading text (i.e. "Do not select this option if you do not want to receive…"). Before people sign up, provide clear information on exactly what they are signing up for. Let them know what type of emails they will be receiving and how often they can expect them. Another level of confirmation is best. Ask new subscribers to confirm their decision to opt in through a second action, like asking them to click on a confirmation link located in your first email.

2. Be Transparent About Your Privacy Policies

Don’t intentionally publish privacy policies in long legal speak, or small print, knowing subscribers are unlikely to read them. Make it simple for them to discover and understand exactly what you intend to use their data for, and establish the proper level of respect. This means writing your privacy policies in simple language and making it easily accessible. If you trust and respect their privacy and if you really are trustworthy, you shouldn’t have anything to hide.

3. Respect Permission to the Highest Degree

Never rent or sell your list to third parties, even if you feel confident it can’t be traced back to you. People set certain expectations when they submit their email addresses to trustworthy email marketers. Subscribers don’t expect marketing messages from new senders or other things they did not explicitly sign up for. They should receive exactly what you told them to expect. In doing so, you will be recognized as a trustworthy provider.

In email marketing, you need to show subscribers exactly why they should trust you; and the amount of respect you give their privacy is a huge part of creating your trustworthiness. Never try to trick them into opting in for anything they don’t expect or fully understand. Value the trust they show for you as they give you their email addresses.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Subscriber Respect Builds Trust in Email Marketing is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: attracting clients, building client relationship, business brand, Business Ethics, business goals, Business Tips, ethical decisions, ethical dilemma, ethics, marketing, Marketing Tips

Getting to the Root of Client Deductions

Jeannine Clontz — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:58:40 +0000

Ever have a client make a deduction from an invoice? You know the type, they always find fault with your work, can’t believe that you charge those kinds of rates, and they wonder why you’re not able to drop everything and handle their projects immediately without adding “rush charges” to the invoice.

As I’ve gotten more experienced as an entrepreneur, I’ve found that there are several types of clients that use these tactics.

The first type is totally unethical, and no matter what you say or do, it’s always better for you to cut your losses and discontinue doing business with them. I know this can be difficult, but it could hurt your credibility.

The second type is the client who is always looking for something for nothing. They will take your project quotation and rip it apart looking for hidden discounts.

Sometimes they are just thorough, sometimes they are doing what has proven to be successful in the past. These clients can be turned into good, ethical clients by simply taking the time to find out why they work this way.

They may have worked with unethical providers in the past, and have found that by questioning an invoice, or price, they usually will get some sort of discount, or free offer.

Open the discussion by asking about their complaints and how you can rectify the situation. Be a good listener. Let them vent their frustrations. Ask them for an explanation of any deductions, and try to put yourself in their shoes to see if you can get a better idea of their motivations and concerns.

Maybe your invoices could detail more information about your charges and how you met their needs. Let them know that you want to be more familiar with their specific needs so that you can provide better services in the future.

Most importantly don’t take it personally. Sometimes we are not the perfect fit for someone’s needs. What we need to do is maintain our integrity and remember that we can’t be all things to all people.

Do those tasks where you consider yourself to be the expert. Encourage new clients to contact your references so they have a clear picture of who you are, what your strengths are, and how those strengths can help them achieve their goals.

Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing support and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her free 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or her FREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, send a request to: service@accbizsvcs.com. For more information visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com, www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com

Getting to the Root of Client Deductions is a post from: Virtual Assistance Business Briefs

Tags: building client relationship, client care, client relationship, customer service