november 5, 2006 10:43 - Virtuose!

Have you ever seen someone being virtuose at something? They make it look so simple, don't they?

Recently we were in the theatre, where world renowned harmonica virtuose Toots Thielemans was playing. Born in 1922, Toots is a fragile 83 year old man, and when he's talking you'd say he doesn't have a lot of air. But when he starts to play... unbelievable. Even if you don't like the sound of the instrument, you'll be mesmorized by the way this man is playing!

The other day I ran into a video of Chriss Bliss. Now, I don't know Chris Bliss (is it an artist name?) but I was truly amazed at his juggling. I can't explain it, I guess you'd better check out the video:

Amazing, don't you think?

Do you know what the difference is between someone who's virtuose at something, and a person who's just good at something? I think it's not just explained by talent and hard work/training. The big difference is made by passion. A genuine passionate love, plus talent, plus hard work creates virtuosity.

But it starts with the passion! So, what are you passionate about?

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november 14, 2006 14:35 - Sell, no matter what...

Hi, Marjan here. It was high time for me to get a new winter coat, so I set out to immerse myself in yet another customer experience.

For some reason or another, I always seem to be attracted by the single most expensive item in the store (note: I do not have to see the price tag to find it!) but with 3 kids I thought it better to go for the not-so-expensive choice. But that's another story.

At first, the lady in the store seemed nice enough, and she helped me find a few coats. But, when I was fitting, this lady turned out not to be so helpful after all, she wanted to sell, no matter what. You know the type: you fit something that is clearly not flattering, and according to the sales lady it's looking fan-tas-tic!

I don't know how it is with you, but I don't like to be lied to in my face!

Off to the next store! (I found a lovely brown winter coat, so I'm quite happy voting with my feet).

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november 17, 2006 09:57 - Whatever happened to customer service?

Today, Travis wrote:

Whatever happened to customer service? When I graduated from high school back in the early 90's, customer service was all the rage. Every business book and article stressed the importance of providing unparalleled customer service. It was taught that if you didn't treat your customers well, your business was doomed. And who can forget the statistic, "It takes 10 times more money (or whatever the figure was) to obtain a new customer as it takes to keep an existing one." Now fast forward 15 years...it seems like no company cares about customer service. We have automated phone banks, people who can't speak English, and rude reps who could care less if you take your business elsewhere. I miss the days when the customer was king :-(

This is as true today as it was 15 years ago. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line the focus became short-term shareholder value. Some businesses became so obsessed with it that it became their downfall (ie. Enron). Others will follow. Cutting costs isn't always the answer, if you don't also look at cost centers as profit centers. This is often forgotten.

Regarding outsourcing to India et al: I think we will see a dramatic improvement of the English in the next 3-5 years. But there will still be the risk of detachment, that the customer service quy or gal doesn't feel part of the company s/he is representing. This will probably be a bigger challenge than the language.

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november 28, 2006 13:44 - Two CRM misconceptions... and a third!

In CRM Lowdown, a post titled "Can You Ever KNOW Your Customer?" was made about two common misconceptions in CRM.

The first common misconception was to think that all your customers are alike, and treat them as such in your CRM system. Why a misconception? Because, no matter how hard you try, your customers will not reveal all to you.
The second misconception, or as I'd like to call it: BLUNDER(!) is to treat all customers alike. Not only are customers different, they also deserve to be treated different. There's nothing wrong with treating your best customers as... your best customers!

But there is a third misconception, I think. Customers don't come into contact with your business in certain pre-defined ways. For example, if you think that your customers only come into contact through your customer service department, you're dead wrong! As I wrote in my CRM definition: "When talking about the length, width and depth of your customer's relationships, it comes to mind that they are not one-dimensional. The relationship with your client can exist on many levels, not just through the customer service reps, or the web site.".

Your customer comes into contact on many levels: through other customers, press coverage, product usage, e-mail letters, sales persons, web site, newsletter, forums and communities, returning stuff, repair service, etc. etc. All these moments of contact shape the image the customer has about your company and/or product. When contacts are smooth, the relationship continues to move... any rough contacts will slow down the relationship or grind it to a halt (read more on my Friction theory)

So get to know your customers, appreciate their differences and the mult-level of contacts, and treat them such that there's no friction. Easier said than done, I know... :-D

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november 28, 2006 21:05 - Here's a person I respect!

One of the great minds on the Net has started a blog of his own.

Dr. Ken Evoy is the founder and CEO of SiteSell, and he's a shining example when it comes to customer service. I literally know no other company where the CEO makes himself as available to his customers as he does. Dr. Ken has his priorities straight. His main interest is to have his customers succeed online, and his business grows and grows because of it.

You guessed it... I'm a customer, and yup... we're on a first name basis. ;-)

Anyway. If you're only remotely interested in Internet and Business (with a hint of great customer service), this is one blog to keep your eye on. (Go to URL)

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