Photo Credit:  Michael Cote

I like to take a few road trips a year, usually to Arizona or Las Vegas, and I usually rent a car instead of driving my own car. In the U.S. there are many car rental companies and most of them cater to regular people like me who need a car for whatever reason. The majority of these companies also offer business car rental programs as well. However, there isn’t a national company that I know of that solely focuses on leasing cars to business or corporate people.

Why is this important? Well, business people have specific needs. Some people are on a schedule and need a car at a certain time. There are others who travel frequently and don’t want the hassle of going through paperwork and other formalities when renting a vehicle. Then there are business people who want curbside or pickup service.

In the UK there are companies like Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions that focus on business car leasing and fleet management. Their website is also customer friendly filled with resources too: http://www.hitachicapitalvehiclesolutions.co.uk/

When your business focuses on a specific niche, you are able to really get to know what the people in your target market want and need. You’re not trying to be all things to all people. You can set yourself apart from all the other companies that offer the same type of product or service because you truly understand what your customers want. If you can fulfill a need with better care and attention, you’ll have no problem staying in business.

Even if your company doesn’t have a niche that it caters to, what can you do today to learn more about what your customers want or need? Is there something you could provide that no other company is offering?

Customer Service isn't always about the big stuff... mostly it is the little things that make a big difference....... fb.me/BGymqqbs

— Julie Cross (@JulieSprkles) December 11, 2012

We often hear about how it is the “little things that count”, but what exactly are these “little things” when it comes to customer service? Here are 5 things that are at the top of my list:

1. Say their name - This is probably the #1 “little thing” that can instantly create a connection between you and a customer. People’s ears perk up when you call them by their name. When you first start speaking with them, introduce yourself and ask them what their name is - regardless if you’re interacting on the phone or in person. This is something many people learn through customer service training, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do it.

I remember talking with a T-mobile rep a couple years ago who addressed me by name. She was so genuinely nice and helped resolved my issue that it overshadowed any preconceived ideas I had about cell phone customer service agents.

2. Be grateful - Yes, we often hear “Thank You” being said from the people we do business with, but how many people do you think truly mean what they say? Believe me, an attitude of gratitude will score you tons of brownie points with customers.

3. An offering - When a customer enters your place of business, think of them as entering your home. Offer them a water, a cup of coffee, or even a magazine if they need to wait for a little while to be helped. Better yet, have a couple iPads in waiting room areas handy stocked with magazines or brochures.



Photo Credit See-ming Lee on Flickr
4. A phone call - In a world dominated by email communication, we often forget the value of that voice connection. People are overwhelmed by their email inbox. Sometimes they just like the good ole fashioned phone call. When I worked at Nordstrom, we would call customers to remind them of our big sales, and 99.9% of the people we called were happy for the phone call.

5. Taking that extra step...or two - Here’s my tale of 2 grocery stores: The employee at the first grocery store told me where I needed to find an item and pointed me in the general direction of where the item was located. At the second grocery store, the employee walked me to the exact spot where I could find the item I needed. Which grocery store do you think I shop at more often?

If you were in charge of customer service or business training for employees, which one of these "little things" would you emphasize? Is there one thing you could personally work on to improve your customer service?

I can't remember what company I called a couple weeks ago, but I was subjected to a very long IVR menu that consisted of 9 department/service options. They should have included this 10th option: "If you're annoyed with this long recording, press 10..."

Unfortunately, this is the norm if you're calling major corporations nowadays. But thankfully we have geniuses in the world who empathize with our customer service sorrows and have invented helpful apps like Zappix.

Zappix has visual IVR menus for companies so that you can scan which department you'd like to contact. The app will call the company for you and quickly connect you to that department so that you don't have to sit there and listen through those long voice recordings. You can contact a company via Facebook, Twitter, and email through the app as well. I just downloaded the app myself and was impressed with the long list of companies that are included.

Here's a video overview of how the app works...


Learn more: www.zappix.com

Zappix is also partnering with customer service bloggers or those interested in sharing their thoughts about the Zappix experience. Learn more here: http://www.zappix.com/blog-with-us/

The internet has become a part of our daily lives, and although I don’t know what the numbers are, I’m guessing that your average person browses hundreds of pages per day. People are experiencing mind overload, so if your website has too much information, people can become confused and you end up losing business. Gone are the days of flashy buttons and graphics and long, wordy web copy. Does your website make it easy for customers to do business with you?

Browsing through MyLife.com, a website that lets you connect with people via email and social sites, plus search for people, I came across their page where you can find people by zip codes.

It’s basically a page where you do a search by filling in the boxes. That’s it. For those of us who have been filling out forms online for eons, this seems like nothing, but let’s not forget about users who don’t spend a great deal of time online. People sometimes need a call-to-action. Most websites should be designed to get people to take some type of action, whether it’s making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for your newsletter or service. You have to show and tell them them what to do - what buttons or links to click on. These links and buttons have to be seen easily.

I learned this recently when I was doing some hands-on blogging training with a client and we visited a site where she needed to sign up for a service. She ended becoming frustrated because the signup link was so small and hidden away in the upper right hand corner of the homepage.

If you’re offering an online service, your homepage should have that call-to-action front and center to get people started right away. As you can see, the MyLife.com homepage has a form and bright orange “Try a Search” button right at the top.

Bottom line: Your website is a place for customers to get information about your business, but you have to make it easy for customers to do business with you. Take some time to reevaluate your website and see if you can make any tweaks and add a call-to-action.

Customers expect the best from service professionals, and sometimes what they expect can be unrealistic, as Grover of Sesame Street learns in the video below...



You have to admit that Grover did everything he could do to give the customer what he wanted. Would you have done the same?

"If we don't take care of our customers, someone else will." ... How will you exceed your customer's expectations today? #DThink

— Disney Institute (@DisneyInstitute) April 13, 2013