1)      Customer Service

2)      Culture and Core Values

3)      Employee Training and Development

There were several surprises for me in reading this book.  My perception of Zappos.com was that they started the business with a customer-service focus, a customer-centric culture, and the best employee training from the get-go.  But I was wrong.  It evolved as they evolved.

For example, one thing that surprised me is that even though they began the company in 1999, it wasn’t until 2003 when they decided to make customer service the focus of the company.  It came about as a result of needing to cut expenses to survive. During that time, they decided to cut their marketing expenses and refocus their efforts on trying to get existing customers to purchase again and more frequently, which resulted in developing a better customer experience.

Another surprise about Zappos.com is that their focus on their culture and core values wasn’t fully established until 2005. The focus began when they moved their call center to Las Vegas.  It’s through this move that they realized that their culture was their number one priority, even more than customer service.  They believed if they got their culture right, building their brand around customer service would happen naturally.

The last but not least surprise is that most of Zappos.com’s efforts on customer service and the customer experience actually happen after they’ve made the sale.  Surprise upgrades to overnight shipping, quick fulfillment due to a 24/7 warehouse operations, and call center employees who focus on the personal connection instead of call handle times are examples of how their service goes beyond the sale. Their goal is to create more and more positive emotional associations with their brand through every interaction with the customer.

Get this book.  Whether you are a mom & pop business or a mega business, you will learn how you too can create a company that is fueled by the customer experience for both your internal and external customers.

Norma, The Loyalty Lady,is an innovative Customer Experience Strategist, Business Coach, Blogger and Speaker. She works with small service businesses to help them build an unprecedented customer experience that will drive customer loyalty and retention. Contact her at Norma@CaptivatedCustomers.com or by phone at (480) 694-6940.

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So repeat after me:

“2010 will be my best year ever because I am going to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to my customer service experience.”

Here are my Top 10 Customer Service Tips for 2010:

1) Meet with your staff and express your commitment to provide the best customer service experience that you know how.
2) Get your staff’s buy-in. Tell them why you are changing your service experience and how it can benefit them. Let what they must do to be awarded and recognized for excellence in customer service.
3) Start a customer service training plan for the year, focusing on product knowledge and people skills.
4) Take a hard look at your staff. Move people up or out of a position if they aren’t representing your customer-centric culture.
5) Assess your current customer service experience. Ask your staff what they’ve heard from customers and what changes they think that the company should make. Look at your complaint file and review website comments for other clues.
6) Ask a business colleague or two to act as a customer by phone, in person, and on your website. Get their feedback about the customer service experience.
7) Review your Customer Service Policies. Do they make sense? Do they anger or annoy your customers?
Collect Testimonials. Make it easy for your customers to “yelp” about you. When they’ve had a good experience, send them an email with a link to Yelp.com, LinkedIn, and/or your website to post the good news.
9) Plan your promotions. Look at a Holiday Calendar and create an excel spreadsheet detailing your promotions. There are fun, weird and quirky holidays that you can promote. For example, you can celebrate Fruit Cake Toss Day in January. If you own any kind of food-related store, develop a promotion around this and donate the Fruit Cakes to charity. On everyone’s calendar should be National Customer Service Week the first week in October.
10) Last but not least, have fun this year with your staff and your customers. Customers just want to’ have fun so find ways to make it happen in 2010.

Click here to learn more about our services at Captivated Customers.

Atkinson talked about developing “strategic speed” because of the impact it has on sustaining our businesses. The 1980’s and 1990’s were about first-generation speed. It’s now time for second-generation speed which is about mindset and mobilizing people.

Strategic speed means delivering value to customers faster. The key to strategic speed is how your organization’s leaders think and act. They don’t aim for speed per se, but rather for increases in three people factors:

1) Clarity – shared understanding of the situation and the direction you are heading. Employees should be able to answer the question “where are we going and why?”

2) Unity – collaboration across departments, geographic boundaries, etc, is the main driver of unity in business. A culture of collaboration helps projects and strategies hold together.

3) Agility – Encouraging people to find ways to meet strategic objectives in a constantly changing environment rather than sticking to a rigid plan. Companies which can quickly resolve customer issues win.

Atkinson stressed that strategic speed requires leadership and that leaders need 4 key abilities to succeed:

1) Affirming strategies
2) Driving initiatives
3) Managing climate
4) Cultivating experience (learning and sharing by all)

He challenged the audience to think about these concepts as they return home to develop new strategies. Visit Forum’s website at Forum.com to read more about this concept.

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