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Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

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by Andrew Tellijohn
June/July 2007

Related Article

You’ve heard the clichés, but here’s how to turn passion into a business

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Communication

Todd Polifka,
Vision Remodeling:
763.425.6003
todd@vision-remodeling.com
www.vision-remodeling.com

Six steps help
to create a
service culture

AS BUSINESS OWNERS and managers, we focus all our attention on customers: how to find new customers, repeat customers, loyal customers and more customers than our competition. Once acquired, customers are then segmented, upsold and processed.

In the rush to be focused on all aspects of the customer, it appears that many companies seem to have forgotten about the two most important ones: customer satisfaction and customer service.

Many companies talk about customer service, but sadly for most it has become just that – talk. While companies are busy knocking down the barriers for customers to buy, they are putting up more barriers than ever for maintaining that relationship with the customer, especially if something goes wrong.

How about your business? Is everyone at your company on the same page regarding customer service? Do you think it’s possible? There are several companies doing this well, but how do they do it?

The answer is actually very simple. They have made customer service part of their everyday business activity. Customer service has become infused throughout everything they do, including answering the phones, solving problems and ensuring that the customer is completely satisfied.

It will require companies to assess every aspect of their operations, but the reward of life-long customers that become advocates for your brand and refer you to others is worth it. Here are six areas to begin to focus on, that in the long run will help you change your company’s culture to one of customer service.

1. Accessibility: Remove barriers to customer lines of communications.

The No. 1 complaint of customers, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Affairs Department, is that they are not able to speak to someone about their issue. If they are able to get a hold of a live person, their second biggest complaint is that it is not someone with the authority to solve the issues.

In a customer service culture, it is not only important to have someone answering phones and e-mails in a timely manner if not at all times, but it is also important that every employee, from the president on down, is empowered to solve the customers’ problems, or to immediately involve someone who can.

2. Transparent pricing: No hidden costs or secondary costs.

Customers feel immediately cheated when they have to pay more than the agreed upon price. No matter how legitimate the reason, the perception of the customers is that they are a victim of fraud.

In a customer service culture, upfront and transparent pricing has to happen. If there are any further charges that may be applicable, such as service contracts or warranties, present those options and prices to the customer before closing the sale.

3. What you see is what you get.

With the increasing amount of Internet purchases, customers are no longer so much concerned about being able to stop by the showroom and “kick a few tires”. They are concerned more and more about receiving the goods they have seen represented.

In your advertising, product photos and descriptions, to providing visual demonstration of services, you must be exacting in how truly you are representing your goods and offerings. You don’t want to give the feeling of bait and switch.

4. Constant communication, quick response.

The communication can be live or virtual, but it has to happen freely and be timely. We are a society that expects instant gratification. With technology today, there is no reason that your people not have access to communications, whether it is via phone or Internet.

Quick and frequent communication goes a long way to give the perception that you are taking action on the problem, and attempting to resolve it.

5. Quality products, services and craftsmanship.

It seems like this should be an obvious part of any company’s way of doing business, but if it really is in place, it means that there are fewer reasons for a customer to have an issue with the goods or services. The longer a product lasts, the longer a customer is satisfied.

6. Unmatched passion for the customer.

You probably got into business because you had a passion for the product or services you were selling. You should have that same level of passion for the people who purchase those products or services.

Especially if you want them to keep purchasing from you, you need to be more passionate about the customers than your competition. This is direly important in a crowded industry where your product may be very similar to those of a competitor.