Cybernation Virtual Assistance, LLC

5 Ways to Upgrade to 1950s Customer Service

Laurel Landsman — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:15:51 +0000

Do you think upgrading to 1950s customer service sounds a little like retro madness or a great idea?

There is common ground between customer service now and customer service in the 1950s. You know the answer — COMMUNICATION!

Inside a storefront it is very clear, very quickly, whether sales people are assisting customers to have a great customer experience. Clearly, as evidenced by my last post, it is not always the experience provided to retail customers.

There is no reason that your company should not be using all the social media marketing and content marketing tools available to you to better communicate with your customers online. A great online customer experience translates not only to sales, but customers who return and bring their friends.

Upgrade your business to 1950s customer service with these 5 tips:

1. COMMUNICATE effectively! Use the right tools to reach the largest audience. Social Media, Website blogs and E-Newsletters can be very effective in communicating with your customers and clients online.

2. Provide the BEST PRODUCT OR SERVICE that you can provide. Give your customers the best possible information about how to use your products and services whether online or in person.

3. RESPOND to your clients and customers quickly. Respond to comments on your Facebook Fan Page and comments on your business blog as quickly as you can. Phone and e-mail inquiries should be responded to promptly and if you don’t yet have an answer to their question, let them know that you are working on it. You will build good will with your customers by your quick response.

4. FOLLOW UP to ensure that your customers’ experiences are all that you want them to be with phone calls, e-mails or surveys.

5. COMMUNICATE your thanks to your customers and clients for giving you their business in this land of so many choices. There are too many ways to thank them to enumerate here but you, no doubt, are already providing special discounts to loyal customers, having customer appreciation days or thanking them in any number of other ways.

There is absolutely nothing new here! These tips are time honored and used heavily throughout the 1950s (except, of course for the online tips). The reason these tips are so important is that they work!

What do you think about upgrading to 1950s customer service? Are you already doing these or will you implement them?

Want Winning Customer Service — Visit the 1950s

Laurel Landsman — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:23:27 +0000

A lot of things have changed since the 1950s. Customer service was everything to a retail or service business in the 1950s. If you drove into a gas station you would have a gas station attendant at your window immediately. The attendant would ask “fill ‘er up, sir/ma’am?” while another started cleaning your windshield and checking your oil. This was standard gas service station protocol. You didn’t have to do anything except pay the smiling attendant. You could ask to have the air checked in your tires and they would do that right at the pumps and it was done free of charge.

There are still a lot of stores where you will be asked if you need assistance or if you have been helped yet, but it doesn’t happen in every store and many retail and service companies seem to be woefully lacking in basic customer service. I am always astounded when you find sales people who don’t seem to care whether or not you have a good experience in their store.

Recently, while in a retail store, I was searching for a specific item. When I entered the store I encountered a group of several salespeople in a clump at the front part of the store enjoying a conversation. I looked at them but no one seemed inclined to ask me if I had a question or how they might help me. Interrupting their chat, I asked where I might find the item I was looking for. A hand waved lazily in the general direction of the back of the store and I was told it was “along the back wall.” The salesperson did not accompany me on my search nor was I, once I located the proper area, given any further assistance with the inevitable questions that I had about the item. I was not pleased.

Did I find the item I wanted? Yes. Was I impressed by the store staff and their ability to make me feel that they cared about the experience I had in their store? Not so much! In fact, had the price on the item not persuaded me to buy it at that store, I would have preferred to go elsewhere. Will I be likely to tell people that they should shop at that store? No. They will get no referrals from me!

There seem to be a lot of businesses who are not taking advantage of giving their customers and clients a great customer service experience. It is sad because when a store or service organization does give you great customer service, you are so pleased about it that you will tell people what a terrific experience you had with that business. You may even post something on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ about your great experience.

Businesses should think about the fact that a bad experience may be posted to social media and amplified on by other dissatisfied customers until they are forced to do damage control.

Do you know what these bad customer service businesses give the rest of us? A perfect opportunity to shine as customer service leaders. A smiling, friendly face with kind and helpful words for their clients and customers can make an enormous impression. Whether your business or service is retail or online, you can make great customer experiences an everyday event. Using communication well is your best tool for customer service success!

We can learn a lot from that 1950s gas service station model. Do you want to upgrade your customer service to a 1950s level?

5 Reasons You Should Follow Your Heart in Business

Laurel Landsman — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:35:08 +0000

Are you following your heart in your small business? It seems like such a natural idea, simply doing something you love to do and making money at it. A couple (or more) decades ago they called it “following your bliss.”

I have never been all that fond of the latest “catch phrases” that seem to become fads. Fads fade and you are left with your own day to day reality. I have always wanted to find a way to follow my heart in business. Now, after more years than I will tell you in the corporate world, I have.

What I am learning as I set up my business and work with clients is that helping people with their businesses makes me happy to be doing exactly what I’m doing.

So what are the five reasons you should follow your heart in your business?

The number one reason you should follow your heart in business is a no-brainer – HAPPINESS IS NOT OVERRATED!!
Number two — You will surprise yourself everyday with your strength, creativity, capability and capacity for joy.
Number three — What you bring to your customers, your clients, and your friends will be the best possible service or product that you can provide. There is simply something about sharing what you love and believe in that catches fire with people. Enthusiasm is contagious.
Number four — The buck stops with you. You are responsible for your own business destiny. You will find that you feel a sense of liberation because you have allowed yourself to believe in the possibilities that exist for you and for your business.
Number five –Your business may be small but your dreams aren’t and in following your heart you open yourself up to new ideas, people and adventures.

No one ever climbed a mountain standing still. It takes faith to put one foot in front of the other until you reach the top. The view can be breathtaking if you give yourself the freedom to follow your heart.

How Social Media is Like A Pot Bellied Stove

Laurel Landsman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:28:11 +0000

: Old Time Pot Bellied Stove

Ever wonder how people had conversations before there were cell phones or computers? In the 1800′s they had a pot bellied stove! The pot bellied stove was the center of conversation in small towns everywhere. Every general store had one with chairs around it for people to warm themselves and talk. While they were having those conversations they might decide they wanted to buy something — a cup of coffee or a wad of tobacco, some yarn to knit with while they sat — you get the idea.

The point is that the proprietors of these general stores knew that if people sat around in their stores having conversations, they would buy more. They were connecting and engaging their customers. Back then it was critical to know your neighbors and storekeepers who would keep your shelves stocked with food and help you out in an emergency.

Okay, so the pot bellied stove is no longer the marketing tool it once was but conversations and creating community with your customers and clients are still the best way to connect.

You are making connections face-to-face and you are making connections through a series of clicks. The advent of social media has changed the way we reach customers and clients and has given us a means of connecting that is immediate and filled with opportunities.

Seizing the opportunities that social media offers us for a return to that feeling of neighborly conversation can make a difference in how a business is perceived. It can impact your customers and clients feelings about you and your business in a very positive way.

What plans do you have for 2012 to create that feeling of neighborly conversation using social media as your pot bellied stove?

6 Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Blogging

Laurel Landsman — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:23:47 +0000

Are you a small business owner with a fear of blogging? For many small business owners, blogging may be intimidating. If you don’t consider yourself a “writer” you may be wondering if you need a blog at all. If you do need one, you may wonder how you would come up with posts on a regular basis.

A blog on your website may be very helpful for a lot of reasons. It can help increase your bottom line by increasing your clients and customers feeling of engagement with you and your business.

The key to blogging for a small business owner is knowing your product or service and knowing what your customer or client wants. After all isn’t that the key to any successful business? Okay, so how does that apply to blogging?

Blogs are an opportunity for you to provide your customer or client with helpful information about your product or service. Don’t worry about giving away free information. People appreciate information that helps them better understand products and services. By helping them to have a better understanding of your product or service they are likely to realize how much they need you.

There is a lot of talk about building a “community” through blogging. Your blog can help you create a group of people who feel connected to you and your business. If customers and clients feel like they are part of your business family they are more likely to buy your products or services and refer others to you.

So, you say, okay I get all that but what about actually blogging?

Whether you are selling a product or a service, you can blog about the issues that people have that make them need your product or service. For example, if you are a landscape designer you could talk about how to prepare the ground for planting in the spring. You could talk about what to do if aphids are attacking your roses. There are so many topics that you could cover generally that would provide valuable information to your clients or customers and make them think of you and your business when they need help with their landscaping.

If you are a roofer you could talk about how different types of roofing products provide greater energy efficiencies. You could talk about how flashing works to protect certain areas of the roof and why it is important. By making your customers and clients aware of your expertise in your product or service area they will want to use your products and services. You will be their “go to” business.

Say you are a provider of services such as a fitness coach or massage therapist, you could give tips on how to improve health through your services. You could talk about certain exercises and how they help with particular muscle groups and injuries. You could give many health and fitness tips that your clients would appreciate.

Here are 6 Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Blogging:

Identify your customer’s or client’s needs or problems and provide information to solve them.
Provide tips that relate to your products or services.
Share links from other sources that provide good information that relates to your products and services.
Provide an interesting photo or graphic to help illustrate your blog.
Create that community feel by asking questions and providing feedback to comments.
Blog on a regular schedule so that your customers know when they can expect to see a post from you.

These are just a few things to think about when you consider starting a blog. If you are still feeling overwhelmed by the idea of blogging, consider collaborating with a writer who can take your thoughts and ideas and turn them into great blog posts.

Collaboration with a good virtual assistant who can help you to strategize about your blog and come up with a viable editorial schedule can be a great way to get your blog going.

What are your fears about blogging and do you plan to start a blog in 2012?

Believe in Your Business Magic

Laurel Landsman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:26:31 +0000

We are living in a season of magic. Along with the magic of the season comes a lot of introspection as we think about the year that is drawing to a close and our plans for the coming year.

Sometimes we get stuck looking backward. When reviewing your business, try to be objective about the events of the last year. Both good and bad events give us opportunities to learn and grow.

Recapture the magic of your business. You started your business because you believed in yourself and your idea. You knew that you could bring something special to the world and share it with others.

Here are five suggestions to help you regain your business magic:

Celebrate Your Successes. Write them down. You probably already know your monetary successes. There are reports for that. But what about your intangible successes? Do you have a new business relationship? Are you mentoring someone just starting out in your business? Did your company give back to your community?
Write Down Why You Have Business Magic. The magic is in you. What is it that makes your goods or services special? Why do you want to share it with clients and customers?
Doubt and Uncertainty Rob You of Your Magic–Counter Them With Belief. In reviewing past events you may allow doubt and uncertainty to enter your thinking about your future plans. Doubt and uncertainty are the enemies of magic. Counter them with your belief in yourself and your company. Remember why you started and where you are heading.
Challenges are Growth Opportunities. When you are faced with a challenge you will grow no matter what the outcome may be. Growth often brings change and that is difficult too. This makes it hard to see challenges in a positive light but the growth they bring strengthens your business magic.
Believe in Your Business Magic and in Yourself. You started your business because you believed in yourself and your business magic. Affirm that belief every day. Through that affirmation you are re-committing to the magic of your business.

BELIEVE and regain your business magic in 2012. Do you believe in your business magic? Are you ready for a wonderful and magical 2012?

Using The Write Tools for Your Small Business

Laurel Landsman — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:55 +0000

What are the “write” tools to use when writing about your company? Do you have a social media presence that you frequently update to keep your customers and clients in the know?

It isn’t enough to have great brochures lying around the office that you can send to your customers and clients. Brochures can still be useful tools in your marketing campaigns but they are no longer the best tools for capturing and holding the attention of your customers and clients.

Your website and online presence is vitally important. Online brochures and e-books about your products and services can really get you noticed in cyberspace and give you great click sharing and word of mouth.

Do you have a blog on your website to share information about your products or services that is regularly updated providing content that is valuable to your customers and clients?

Providing valuable information and having a ”conversation” through a blog can make your customers and clients feel like part of your company’s community giving it a family feel. People are more likely to tell their friends to use products and services of companies that they feel invested in. By giving them the opportunity to be part of an ongoing discussion they are joining your company’s community.

There is so much information out there about online marketing and the importance of social media. It can be overwhelming when everyone seems to have jumped on the bandwagon and is giving you their opinion of what is the best way to secure your online presence.

There are a lot of websites and blogs devoted to Internet marketing and finding good ones can really help you. A great Internet marketing website and blog to check out is Neil Patel’s Quicksprout site http://www.quicksprout.com/. Neil is one of the entrepreneurs who have taken Internet marketing to the public and written about it in a way that even non-techies can understand.

While it is important to research and understand as much as you can about what you write and how you write it, you may not have enough time. Cybernation Virtual Assistance is here to help you.

What “write” tools are you using when you write about your company?

5 Reasons Why Routines Are Good

Laurel Landsman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:54:59 +0000

Routines get a bad rap. You hear people talking about getting out of their routines to do something else. Usually that something else is exciting and fun. The key here is that it is something unusual and not part of their regular routine.

Does that mean routines are bad? I don’t think so at all. As a matter of fact I think routines hold us together. They are the glue that keeps all the everyday tasks on track.

What exactly is a routine? A routine is something we do with regularity. A mail-person delivering the mail who walks the route a certain way has a routine. When you turn on your computer, get a cup of coffee, check e-mails and return phone calls you are performing your morning routine.

Because routines are made up of things we do or someone else does on a regular basis we may no longer appreciate what goes in to accomplishing the tasks that make up the routine. We tend to undervalue routines because they we do them so regularly.

Five Reasons Routines are Good:

Routines keep us working on our list of daily tasks and make it easier to perform them even when we don’t want to.
Routine work can be performed well and build confidence in our abilities to get work done.
Routines are comfortable because we know what to expect.
Through routine conversations we build strong relationships with family, friends, customers and clients.
Routines are life’s glue. Not only do they keep the everyday tasks happening but all of our routines together weave a tapestry of life where each of us counts on the other.

Some routines may be changed without damage to the list of daily tasks accomplished and making minor changes can make your routine more enjoyable.

I’m thankful to those who follow their routines each day ensuring our safety, health and security.

What are your routines and how do they keep your business on track?

Website Waltz

Laurel Landsman — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:41:34 +0000

I’m sure that everyone has issues and struggles when setting up their business websites. We have certain ideas about how we want it to look. I know I saw my site in my head. I saw how it would look, what I would say and how wonderfully effective each page would be. Then reality crashes in.

It started when I decided that I would set up my own site without professional help. I suddenly realized that setting up a website was like performing a dance when you don’t know all the steps. It could be smooth and elegant like a waltz when the pages fall into place and your words flow into your content. It could be choppy and sharp like hip hop when your efforts to order your pages catches you flat footed.

I’ve never doubted my administrative or writing skills but I am not a computer programmer. The idea of dropping programming language into the existing code to make a change in my site filled me with something akin to abject terror. I immediately saw the entire site blowing up and bad things happening.

I found other ways of modifying my site and I am feeling much more confident in my website dancing skills. You will have to be the judge of my content and its effectiveness.

Now that I have the basic website in place I will learn as much as I can about WordPress. I want to make this site as useful to others as possible. I know there are a lot of people out there who want a beautiful and functional website. If I can learn the website dance so can you.

Starting a new business has a lot of challenges but I like to think that there are no challenges we can’t overcome. With a positive attitude and a lot of perseverance you can even perform the website waltz with two left feet.

High Expectations Getting You Down?

Laurel Landsman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:33:06 +0000

Expectations are a funny thing and they are different for each one of us whether we are starting up a new business or working on growing an existing business. Some expectations, like New Year’s resolutions, are just too high and not realistic. We believe when we make them that we will go to the gym seven days a week or write the great American novel in a month but these are probably not realistic resolutions.

Setting our expectations too high can make us feel like we are not making any progress. This feeling can lead to the goal being abandoned when it might be achieved by breaking it down in achievable sections.

Setting reasonable goals for ourselves and measuring our progress as we go ensures that we can meet our expectations. What gets measured gets done. Measuring our goals may not be exciting and it requires discipline but we can celebrate each goal we meet and celebrations are fun!

Goals don’t have to be big and lofty to be celebrated. Celebrating when we meet small goals keeps our momentum building. It keeps the big goals in sight. Small achievements light the path.

We can meet our goals if we set the habit of reviewing and celebrating. First, decide which goals you want to measure and review. For example, you may want to set a goal of adding a certain number of clients within the next six months, bring in “x” amount of additional sales dollars, add a blog to your website or start a newsletter for clients.

Make sure that your goal and your expectations about it are realistic and achievable. With a routine of review you will soon be celebrating success.

I highly recommend Stephen R. Covey’s books. While his books, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and ”First Things First” were published in the 1990′s, they are still a great resource for keeping our goals and our work life balance managable and measurable. With the new tools and apps for computers and phones measuring and reviewing our goals is just a click or a touch away.

Expectations can be good if they are managed well. They can drive us to do more than we thought possible. I plan to make my goals and my resolutions for 2012 measurable and achievable.

What goals and expectations do you have for your business?