Company’s promotional items and business gifts that are personalised convey the attitude of genuine appreciation of the client base, employees and partners in the business. The marketing of promotional products and promotional company gifts assist in demonstrating clearly the value you attribute to the people. This will help a lot in gaining the good will of customers in the long run.

Consumers will have a long lasting, not to mention positive, impression of the company. This will increase its popularity among users, clients or consumers, which will ultimately result in tremendous profits to the company. Therefore, it is very important that businesses make enough provisions for such corporate giveaways.

For gaining additional impact, personalisation of the promotional products that are used for marketing is necessary. A strong impact is always created by imprinting the business name and corporate logo on the merchandise. Such merchandise will serve as good corporate giveaways for any recipient.

The personalised items used for corporate giveaways change even the more everyday and straight forward products into things that are extraordinary and inimitable. Not just for clients but also for your family, partners in business, employees, co-workers and friends. Business name and message will often be indented on the person’s mind because of the appreciation that is shown towards him or her.

These corporate giveaways can be delivered to the important and esteemed clients or guests as a symbol of gratitude. Employees that exhibit outstanding performance can also be the recipients of these gifts. This will boost the employee’s morale and make the other employees strive for excellence in order to obtain recognition and company’s esteem. It will surely increase the motivation of an employee once they realise the value of these incentives. There are several reasons why you would want to provide giveaways and company business gifts. These reasons might be that you want to show your gratitude towards the person or to share the landmarks that the employee achieved with the company. Employees gifted with promotional products that are utilised for marketing will always remember the company, even if they leave. They will serve as a continual reminder of the company’s appreciation of the employee. It is a great way of displaying how much you care for the person.

Corporate Giveaways are available from leading UK promotional merchandise supplier Outstanding Branding who have over 15 years’ experience in supplying Branded Merchandise and Promotional Clothing.

Those old adages “first impressions count” and “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” could not be more true when applied to the retail profession. The aim of a shop display is to entice the customer and unless your premises look enticing and welcoming, your potential customer will simply be a passer-by. We have all seen shoppers peering into shop windows, hesitating by the door and then changing their minds and walking past. Why do they do that?

Well, it could be that your shop display is just too unappealing. By unappealing, I mean dark, dingy shop fittings, inadequate lighting, especially in the shop window and either not enough products on view or too many items, crowded together or jumbled up. Get your display right, with crisp and clean shop shelving and fittings and a judicious use of product placement and you are far more likely to be successful at attracting potential customers. Get the customer through the door and half your battle is won!

So, how do you win the other half of the battle? Actually getting your customer through the door is one thing, but now you have to sell your products. One of the most important factors is to ensure that your products are logically laid out and that your departments are well defined. The skilful use of shop displays and fittings, including cabinets, shelving, baskets hooks, adjustable “Slatwall” panels and counters will go a long way in assisting you in this task. Clear product labelling and special offer or sale tickets will help attract the customer’s attention. Where possible, remove a sample product from its box or other packaging and display it attractively, preferably with other complementary products.

This is great for giving customers ideas on how they could utilise the product and also encourage them to buy accessorising items. Provide testers for perfumery and cosmetics and comfortable changing rooms. Ensure an adequate number of mirrors is provided among your shop fittings – full length where necessary. I have noted that, in many shops, when you want to try on a pair of sunglasses, a hat, jacket or coat, you have to hunt around for a mirror. If you eventually find one, it is sometimes too small for you to have a proper idea of whether the item is suitable. Even if a full length mirror is available, it can be partly obscured by racks of clothing or other articles, therefore inhibiting a proper view. It is this kind of inattention to detail that can lose you a sale.

Make sure the shopping experience is a pleasant and comfortable one for your customers. A good tip is to provide some seating and, if space permits, a low table and some reading material (this could of course be company literature). Many shoppers bring their “other halves” with them, who may become bored and pressure them to leave the shop prematurely. Pleasant background music, subtle and calming aromas and good lighting which is not excessively harsh will all stop your customers from leaving in a hurry.

For details of our shop fittings visit our site. Complete delivery and installation of shop fittings to suit your retail space.

Regardless of whether your Company deals business-to-business or business-to-consumer, inadequate inventory management processes will affect your Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction levels. The following is the story of a customer with a number of pieces of equipment that he services and maintains through a particular Company. How many other customers have faced the same or a similar situation. How many ‘bottom lines’ have suffered because of inadequate inventory management.

I’m a cane farmer, whose tractor for pulling the bins the cut cane is stored in before transporting to the mill, broke down in the middle of crushing season. I have other tractors which are in use but it was really busy and I needed this broken-down one fixed. Now. I’d pretty much figured out what the problem was, and needed two spare parts to remedy the situation. So, as you do, I phoned the ‘cane harvester and tractor supplier and garage’ to obtain these parts. Got a nice guy on the phone who took the details of what I wanted and said he’d organise it. “Who was it for, what address for delivery and billing. etc….no worries, get that to you asap”.

I expected to receive the parts, by express, the following day. One part arrived with a note saying that the other part was not in stock but they would have it in two days and send it then. One part was no good to me, I needed them both to make the tractor work. Why hadn’t he checked this on the phone and told me then so I would know and could have tried somewhere else for that part…and it was the middle of crushing, surely there hadn’t been that many tractors breaking down, needing that particular part. I was pretty upset about it at the time but there wasn’t much I could do about it – other stockists of this part would take two days to deliver anyway.

Well, the part turned up, by express, the nest day, thankfully. I fixed my tractor and continued the crushing. End of crushing is when I take my machinery to be serviced, and since I spoke with the same guy on the phone when I organised the services, I asked him what had happened. The computer system had recorded no stock on that item line, but when he had been placing the order for that part a staff member had seen and advised him that there was one of those parts in the warehouse, so he sent it straight away – computer glitch apparently.

The above is a simple example of a preventable inventory management problem. A successful inventory management process anticipates, analyses, plans for, and delivers inventory standards which do not compound into Customer Service disaster. It not only focuses on the correct inventory supply levels, but also factors in the expertise of the personnel who deal with the inventory process, the relationships with the suppliers and distributors, as well as those who perform the maintenance functions, and, the communication processes used to convey the current and prospective requirements between both the suppliers, the distributors and the end-users.

Inadequacies in these processes compromise personnel efficiency and Customer Service levels and also result in the customers Customer Satisfaction levels ranking as less than acceptable. Since the advent of Just-In-Time Management practices, there has been extra-ordinary advances made in the Inventory Optimisation, Materials and Spare Parts Inventory Management principles and practices, and the Supply Chain realm. These advances, when implemented prevent ‘glitches’ and provides Customer Service delivery that results in Customer Satisfaction of not only an acceptable standard but a superior one.

If you are interested in improving Customer Service levels by improvement to Inventory Management principles and practices, an Internationally experienced Industry expert of 25 years has the insights you need. He is double degree qualified and writes for the Society of Supply Chain Specialists. To see what he has to offer http://www.inventorychaos.info

Let’s face it; your current customers are your business life’s blood. They are generally your primary source of revenue you should be spending a good percentage of your marketing budget focusing on them. A good rule of thumb is that 60% of your marketing budget should be spent on your current customers or marketing directly to them. Remember, it costs far more to gain a new customer more often that it does to keep a current one.

Take the time to get to know your current customer’s better. Phone calls, visits or emails that just check on them and get to know them better will do wonders for your relationship. Do you have a newsletter for your company? Let your customer’s know what is going on with you as well. Of course, you want to get permission from your customer’s to be put on your email list, but most of them will do this without issue.

Newsletters can also be used to let customers know about upcoming promotions and specials within your company. Online eNewsletter programs like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp or iContact are excellent marketing tools because they give you important measurements like open rates and click-through patterns. During tough times, marketing efforts have to be scrutinized to ensure they are returning results. The analytics from eNewsletter programs helps you justify your marketing expense and gives you data to help you change and adapt your message to ensure maximum impact and sales. If you aren’t using one, you need to seriously consider doing so.

Recognize special events with your customers. Send them a gift basket on their business anniversary date and just say “thanks for being a customer!” Is there a significant date in your customer’s life or an event that is important to them? If you are getting to know your customers you will learn this information, then you can simply send a card or a small gift to congratulate or let them know you are thinking about them.

Holidays are always a great time to recognize your clients. Be careful though about what you send. Don’t just get something off a shelf and think it will make an impact. Remember, other businesses might have them as clients too and how embarrassing would it be to give them the same gift basket from a “big box store” that some other business gave them. Your gift needs to be unique, original and stand out from others to get you noticed. This will help keep your business top of mind with your customers. Also, brand your gift with your colors and logo whenever possible. This also keeps your business top of mind and extends your brand. Remember, your gift could be seen by other potential clients that may be in your client’s office so make sure you are always branding anything you send. (For more information on gifts that stand out, see THE original basket boutique)

Hold a special event or meeting for your current customers. An open house for your customers will give you a chance to know your customers better and offer an opportunity for them to introduce you to more potential clients. Get with your local chamber of commerce and offer to hold their monthly business afterhours meeting. If you are not a member of your local chamber or commerce, then you should certainly rethink that decision. Local chambers are normally very good opportunities for networking and typically have low annual costs. Larger metropolitan areas might have several chambers. Don’t feel like you need to join all of them. Find out which ones are the most active by asking around and talking directly to the chambers. Then you can make a decision that will give you maximum return for your investment.

Referral business is critical to your clients businesses and yours. Initiate a referral program for your clients. When you refer a client, make sure your client knows you sent them a customer. If one of our customers sends you a new client, reward them with some kind of a thank you. This will help reinforce their actions and let them know how much you appreciate the new business.

These were just a few ideas on customer loyalty. There are many more that you might come up with. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. How do they think? If you were your own customer, how would you want to be treated? Sounds easy enough but you would be surprised at how many small business owners lose track of this. As small business owners, we tend to get wrapped up in the management of our day-to-day activities that we sometimes overlook the simple things that help build our business and keep our customers engaged with us.

David Beckham, B.BA, MBA, is a small business consultant. His background and expertise is in small business marketing, management & development. David and his wife Sheri are the owners of THE original basket boutique franchise and US Headquarters in Gulf Breeze, FL. For more information about David Beckham, please visit his web sites at http://www.marketpromba.com or http://www.crazyaboutgiftbaskets.com.

To be profitable every customer must be 100% satisfied with the services and products provided by your company. This is probably why Sales Managers attending sales management training courses often spend much time exploring how to get their salespeople to identify the client’s needs.

Despite this, how many companies really know how satisfied their clients are? Often the managers in charge shy away from exploring client satisfaction as a result of prejudices against satisfaction analyses.

Only 28% of companies regularly assess the satisfaction of their clients according to a study carried out by the WHU in Koblenz under the supervision of Professor Christian Homburg.

The survey involved 1,000 marketing and sales managers from industrial goods companies. The survey not only provides information about the current state of client satisfaction assessment. It also shows the uses client satisfaction surveys offer and provides recommendations which can be implemented in practice.

Which client groups are targeted in client satisfaction assessments? Most companies limit themselves to asking existing clients. Potential clients, on the other hand, are seldom asked. This selection appears completely sensible, bearing in mind that new client acquisition is considerably more expensive than caring for existing clients. Therefore the key priority is to ensure existing customers are happy.

Who is asked? Product users or decision makers are generally asked. Unfortunately most companies tend to limit themselves to asking only one person.

You should take into account, however, that one person can reasonably assess just one part of a supplier’s performance, not the whole. To get the whole picture it is important to ask several different people from within the customer’s company.

What do companies ask? As the data for the following question shows, client satisfaction analyses tend to concentrate on the technical service side and the product.

Companies should bear in mind the fact that other processes in order processing/logistics, quality of client care by the sales department and delivery times are comparatively seldom investigated.

Which performance criteria are assessed? Technical service 90%; Product 84%; Company (in general) 74%; Order processing/logistics 68%; Sales department client care 66%; Comparison with competitors 58%; Delivery times 55%; Other 13%.

Note: It is precisely in these “other” areas that gaps in performance lie.

Substantial amounts of important information regarding client satisfaction is lost by companies who limit themselves to assessing only technical and product satisfaction.

How and how often are clients questioned? Approximately 68% of the companies asked said that they assess client satisfaction through personal questionnaires. In more than half the companies asked (58%) this is carried out by their own salespeople. Herein lies one of the critical points of satisfaction analyses. Clients feedback can be distorted by the presence of an interviewer, this is especially true if the sales people interview the customer.

Trying to collect objective information in this way is, according to the experts, illusory. The only way to collect reliable information is to have a written questionnaire.

Also unsatisfactory are the results showing how regularly assessments on customer satisfaction are performed. Only 11% of the companies asked carry out annual assessments.

What prejudices do companies have against client satisfaction assessments? The problems of client satisfaction analyses are generally overestimated. Oft-quoted problems of resources (time, personnel, cost intensity) and uncertainty about know-how are over-rated.

It can be concluded from the experiences of organisations that carry out customer satisfaction analysis: The problems which arise during client satisfaction analyses are relatively minor.

90% of the companies asked believe that the use of carrying out such an analysis, on the other hand, is high to very high.

A dangerous misapprehension is the assumption that companies can form an opinion about client satisfaction by purely looking at complaint statistics. Surveys have shown that only 15% of unsatisfied clients make complaints. According to the leader of the WHU study, Professor Christian Homburg, “Any company which limits itself to complaint statistics is only concentrating on the tip of the iceberg.”

What recommendations can we draw from the survey results for assessing client satisfaction that can be fed back as good practice to the sales managers responsible for measuring customer satisfaction via management training?

1. Assess client satisfaction on a permanent basis and systematically. This is the only way of being able to draw comparisons and it is the only way to make mistakes visible.

2. Do not make the common mistake of believing that internal surveys and complaint statistics are sufficient indicators of client satisfaction.Only a minority make complaints.

3. Incorrect internal surveys can lead to making the wrong decision so use external know-how.

4. Bear in mind the complex decision-making structures in your clients’ companies. Do not focus your analysis on a single person, you will miss important information.

5. Do not let potential problems put you off. Many problems are over-rated and the uses that you can gain from client satisfaction analyses are considerably greater than any obstacles.

6. And last, but not least: do not sweep the results of your client satisfaction analysis under the carpet. Use the information that you have acquired and implement the requisite measures in your company to increase client satisfaction. Your management training sessions should include the results so that the awareness of all managers on what they need to do in their departments to improve customer care is increased.

Richard Stone is a Director for Spearhead Training Limited that specialises in running management training courses to improve business performance. Richard provides consultancy advice for numerous world leading companies. View more details by clicking on the link.

When the customer who has a problem becomes angry, it becomes impossible for you to resolve the situation. In this case, the first thing to do is to calm the angry customer. This article give you some concepts and techniques that can be used to do this effectively.

The Basic Human Needs

Each of us has psychological needs. These needs are so basic that we must maintain a minimum level of each to feel life is worth living. These basic human needs are:

• A recognition of self-worth and some feeling of importance.
• A sense of love and belonging
• A feeling of self-respect and dignity
• A feeling of some personal power and self-esteem
• A feeling of financial stability

The people in the accounts receivable department face these psychological needs everyday as they interact with their customers. If you understand that each person you talk to must have their basic needs enhanced and strengthened, you will do your jobs better.These needs are the soil in which you plant your seeds. Study them closely so that you can use them wherever and whenever possible.

Listen To Their Story

When you answer the phone, or meet a customer in person, and the person is openly angry or hostile, calm yourself and listen intently to his or her story. Listen to what he or she has to say from beginning to end, without saying anything. Show that you are listening and that you understand what your customer is saying by a simple “yes” or “no” where appropriate.

If you have questions, or if you don’t understand something that is being said, take notes so that you can go back to the point and get it answered.

Try to see the customer’s point of view, and try to see if you can agree with him or her. If you can agree, tell the person that you agree. If you can’t agree, say that you understand the problem and will try to resolve it.

After the customer has told you his or her story, and you have clarified any unclear points, explain what you can do to solve the problem. If you can’t agree with what the customer perceives as the problem, ask what he or she wants you to do. It is at this point that you know where you can start your negotiation.

Turn Off Anger

In this type of situation, you must be able to set your ego aside and act as objectively as possible. It is difficult to act objectively when someone is venting his or her anger at you personally, but if it appears to be a legitimate complaint, try to understand the other person’s state of mind and act calmly and quietly. Listen for the content of what is being said, not the method of delivery.

If you show patience and a genuine concern for the customer’s situation, you will find that the person will start to quiet, and finally you will be able to approach the problem rationally.

Find the Real Reason for the Anger

Sometimes you will get a person who is so worked up that you have a hard time figuring out what the problem really is. If this is so, once the person is quiet, you can start asking questions that will reveal the real reason for the anger.

Your questions should use the standard probing system, which attempts to establish the who, what, where, when, and why of the problem.

Dispel Suspicion and Mistrust

Once you know the exact nature of the problem, you can start to build trust and develop a rapport with the customer. Again, your attitude is the key to this turnaround in the customer’s attitude. If you convey sincerity and a genuine concern for helping the person, he or she will generally respond with a change of attitude.

If the person continues to be hostile and angry after you have taken all the steps we have talked about, you may be dealing with an irrational person, in which case you may never be able to resolve the problem.

On the other hand, if the person continues to be hostile, this can signal that you are dealing with someone who is attempting a ploy to gain a reason not to make a payment. The most effective way of telling if this is the case is to ask point-blank what the person wants you to do. If the customer mentions not making a payment, and you have not been able to establish a genuine problem, you are probably dealing with a ploy. The response to this type of person is a direct answer that says you cannot defer the payment but that you will investigate the problem and share your conclusions with him or her later.

Help the Customer Get What He or She Wants

If you are dealing with a true problem situation, your main task is to help the person get what he or she wants. It may be fine for you to simply straighten out the customer’s account and leave it at that, but if you are a bank and the mistake was a misdeposit of the customer’s money, you may have to write letters of explanation to companies that received checks that bounced.

Be sure you understand fully what the customer wants you to do to resolve the problem so that you can leave him or her completely satisfied with how you handled the situation.

Establish a Commitment for Action

The last thing that you must do is tell the customer what action you are going to take to resolve the problem. This is a commitment by you to take action. It ends the problem and assures the customer that certain tasks will be completed within a defined time.

This is the process that you can use to solve the problems that you encounter. It is a simple, straightforward process that leaves no loose ends hanging, and it assures the customer that his or her problem will be resolved.

George

Did you find this article informative? Too short? Not enough information? Check out the Credit Management Institute Website for a full-featured, detailed accounts receivable program that will make your life easier, and increase the cash flow for your company. You’ll find it at: http://creditmgmtinstitute.com

You can reach George at georgeobancroft@gmail.com