0 Don't Let Customer Service Be Your Downfall Posted by ReviewSNAP | at 12:10 PM

Customer service is a broad term generally used to define how well customers are served by the organizations they do business with. Our experience and observations indicate that there has been a deterioration of customer service levels in many businesses in recent years. This stems primarily from poor attention to detail and a lack of a customer-orientation throughout the business. Bear in mind that your business should be striving to provide nothing short of outstanding customer service.

It is a well known fact that customer service is one of the primary factors in a customer's decision to purchase again from a particular business. When customer service falls below the expectations of the customer, the likelihood of that customer buying again from that business diminishes. Every contact that a customer has with a business should be considered an opportunity by the business to cement a relationship with the customer.

We believe there are three key components to providing outstanding customer service:
1) hiring,
2) discipline and
3) consistency.

Let's look at each of them in more detail:

Hiring. The ability to deliver outstanding customer service is, without question, dependent upon the quality of employees hired. Employees who are not able to deal with customers effectively can have a devastating effect on perceptions of the business. And employees who cannot execute according to well-defined procedures will cause mistakes, delays and frustration. Laziness and lack of a thorough screening process are key reasons why marginal employees are hired.

Discipline. This term refers to doing things right on a highly consistent basis. A key assumption is that your business has well-defined procedures and processes that are customer-oriented and efficient. Once those are established it is essential that there be a very clear expectation of all employees involved that they execute their tasks exactly as defined. Managers must be able to hold employees accountable for meeting that expectation! When employees are allowed to deviate from the process/procedure or not follow rules, there is a lack of discipline.

Consistency. Customers cannot be served well one time and poorly the next. Unfortunately, the vast majority of businesses do not consistently serve their customers at a high level. Think about your own experiences with the businesses you buy from. How many truly deliver outstanding customer service every time you deal with them? We suspect the answer is not many, if any at all.

The inability to deliver outstanding customer service consistently can be the downfall of a business. In simple terms, it can put you out of business. There exists an opportunity for the business that can figure out how to deal with the three components discussed above. Because few, if any, businesses concentrate enough on delivering outstanding customer service, a business that understands how to do it will gain a significant competitive advantage over its competition.

Take the time to evaluate your own business in terms of the three components identified above. Does your business honestly deliver outstanding customer service at a highly consistent level? If the answer is "yes", are you absolutely certain of your answer? We have found that many businesses that thought they were doing an excellent job of serving their customers were actually falling well short of customer expectations. Don't allow your business to fool itself into thinking customers are receiving outstanding service every time they have contact with your company.

0 Performance Appraisal Software Posted by ReviewSNAP | at 11:11 AM

Capterra, a leading online destination for business software buyers, recently released a survey in which more than 1000 respondents shared what type of software their businesses are looking to buy. Performance Appraisal Software was desired by 13% of those who participated in the survey.

ReviewSNAP offers a highly flexible, Web-based performance appraisal system and was built to fit the needs of companies of all sizes and industries.

0 MyBusinessBooks Releases Marketing Plan Manual Posted by ReviewSNAP | at 10:12 AM

MyBusinessBooks has just released our new Marketing Plan Manual! Writing a comprehensive and sound marketing plan can mean the difference between success and failure. The Marketing Plan Manual is a complete guide that includes all of the instructions, forms and templates needed to write the kind of plan that will help ensure high levels of success. This manual will help you:

-Create effective marketing objectives and strategies.
-Analyze and organize information and data needed to develop your plan.
-Identify and define your target markets.
-Develop realistic and attainable sales projections.
-Price your products to maximize margins and volume.
-Define an advertising and promotion plan that positions your company and products appropriately.
-Build a distribution channel that maximizes revenues and customer satisfaction.
-Plan your personnel needs and define roles.
-Develop a marketing budget that makes sense.
-Utilize market research to support decisions.
-Create an action plan that defines each activity or task, who is responsible for ensuring their completion, and when they must be completed.
-Write a complete and comprehensive marketing plan that will get the results you want.
Your marketing plan should be written in a manner that is straightforward, practical, and realistic. And it should give you the best possible chance of meeting or exceeding sales and gross profit objectives.

This manual is a comprehensive guide that walks you through the entire process of writing a marketing plan that will help you gain a competitive and strategic advantage. Written by marketing professionals who understand how to think strategically and develop plans that differentiate one company and its products from the competition, The Marketing Plan Manual is widely used by organizations of all types and sizes. It works equally well in small and large businesses.

0 Hiring In a Tight Labor Market Posted by ReviewSNAP | at 7:07 AM

In a strong economy, current and prospective employees have a broader range of employment opportunities. This means that the always challenging job of finding good people becomes even more challenging. It's important, however, that you not compromise your requirements for top notch people. Once you begin to allow your organization to fill positions with marginal people, you have started the performance erosion process. Try to stay focused on the fact that the success of your business is highly dependent upon the number of high performers you bring in and keep in your organization.

The basis for hiring high performers is found in an organization's ability to keep them. If a business can create an environment that is stimulating, rewarding, positive and even fun, good employees are less tempted to leave. Most bright people are astute enough to understand that the grass really isn't always greener elsewhere.

Here are a few thoughts on hiring in a tight labor market:

-As mentioned, the fewer high performers you lose translates into a less urgent need to hire more except in the case of accelerated business growth. Refer to Business Problem: High Employee Turnover to learn more about reducing employee turnover in your organization. A significant issue as it relates to hiring people in any type of labor market is the reputation your organization has as an employer. Word about the kind of company they work for travels quickly from current employees to outsiders. It doesn't take long for a company's reputation to become tarnished by current and former employees who are disgruntled about the way they are/were treated. When a company has a very solid reputation as an employer and it is known as an organization that cares about its employees, prospective employees will be more proactive in seeking employment there. When an organization has a bad reputation as an employer, the chances of hiring and/or retaining high performers are slim. This issue is very often overlooked as a reason why a company can't seem to attract good employees.

-Look at who's in charge of your hiring efforts. If you have a Human Resources department, do those involved in hiring understand the process? Are they aggressive in identifying strong candidates? If managers or supervisors are responsible for finding people, are they skilled in promoting the organization to prospective employees? Are they taking enough time to do justice to the hiring process? Is there laziness in the hiring process?

-Placing ads in newspapers can be a futile effort in a tight labor market. The likelihood of attracting more than a few potential high performers is not good. And the likelihood of hiring one of them can be even more remote. If you are going to place ads, place them in newpapers or magazines that provide some chance of attracting quailified candidates. The most important thing in placing ads is to be as specific as possible about the requirements for the job. If you are unclear about the specific requirements, you run the risk of attracting fewer qualified candidates and a host of unqualified candidates. Spend a little extra money to buy a larger ad in order to have enough space to promote your organization and to furnish the specific position requirements.

-Be aggressive and creative. Most organizations lament their inability to attract good candidates, but they are strictly using traditional methods such as newspaper ads to find them. Using your contacts, put out the word to as many people as possible that you are looking for a particular type of individual. Don't be afraid to ask them if they know anyone matching what you are looking for. Ask aquaintances and friends if they had former employees who were excellent employees matching your requirements. If they have someone in mind, find out where they are now and don't be afraid to contact them either by phone, mail or email. Attend as many business functions as possible. Remember that you are always on the lookout for prospective employees even when you don't have an immediate need. When you meet someone who seems to possess the qualities and background you deem important in your employees keep their business card and make a note on the back of it about your impressions of the individual. Keep these cards in a separate location specifically for prospective candidates. When you are shopping, make note of employees such as receptionists or sales clerks who seem to have the skills you are looking for. Don't be afraid to plant a seed about future employment. The point here is that you need to keep your eyes open constantly for prospective employees. We all run into them every day, but fail to make the connection that they could well be working for us.

-Use head hunting and search firms carefully. Many are nothing more than resume handlers and don't carefully screen candidates for "fit" to your jobs. There are some, however, that do a good job of matching candidates to employers and positions. Ask your friends and aquaintances if they have used search firms. If so who do they recommend you use and who should you stay away from. Keep in mind that you will pay a healthy fee when using a search firm. If you are using a firm for the first time, negotiate a lower first time trial use fee and let the firm know if they do a good job you will use them again.

Identifying and hiring qualified high performing employees is one of the most difficult tasks of the business world. Employers simply have to be aggressive in their efforts to locate good people. Look at your current hiring practices and modify them to become more efficient and more aggressive in locating good candidates. But, be selective in who you hire. Even in a tight labor market you are better off leaving a position open than filling it with a marginal employee.