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It’s OK to Say No

June 20, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

In the eyes of the customer, you’re being rude by not saying no.

People like honesty from the people and companies they interact with. And they like closure. Saying “no” isn’t mean – it’s actually a service to them. They don’t have to wonder if and when you’ll build a specific feature. They won’t complain about how you’re not really paying attention to their feedback. Instead, they’ll appreciate that they got an answer.

via UserVoice’s blog “Understanding Your Customers”

A thousand times yes. If you’re not going to build out that tool, go after that market, etc., tell the customer so.  They’re going to appreciate your honesty and how it allows them to find the best tool for what they need. So if the answer’s a “no”, tell them.

Weekly News Roundup June 16

June 16, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

Newspaper

During the course of my week, I run into lots of intriguing articles and such in the world of customer support.  Remember, these are to inform, get you thinking, and a little bit of fun on the side – they aren’t endorsements or agreements with what’s said.

Don’t Forget About the Croissants – UserVoice.com

“Wading through a robocall menu makes us angry; being put on hold with decent music and the option to mute it might make us less so. A 404 page might frustrate us; a 404 page that is funny or sincere might lighten the blow.”

Helping the next customer is critical.  But getting the environment right for their wait is key as well.

Hey Brands, Stop Ruining My Pinterest  – Cosupport.us

“Think of it this way: My friends and I are hanging out in this room sharing pictures of things that inspire us, ideas for things we want to DIY the shit out of, food we love, places we’ve visited. And you come in banging a hugeGONG GONG HERE’S MY BRAND HEY GUYS…”

Pinterest is a treasure trove of great photos, fun DIY projects, and annoying brands that try to shove their way in every where.  CoSupport founder Sarah Hatter shows brands how it should really be used.

Hiring and Managing Outstanding Customer Service – Live Chat Inc.

“Hire for attitude and passion, don’t micro manage, and influence employees to learn new skills. Focus on quality first, and efficiency second.”

You would thing businesses and teams knew this stuff already but they don’t.  Making the right hire is critical to having a rockstar support team.  Even one bad support rep can pull down a chunk of your customers with them.

It’s a Simple Note

June 14, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

Note and Pen

From Flickr Artist Brandy Withers

Stop. Right now. Whatever email you’re answering or help article you’re writing, put it on hold,

Pick up a piece of paper and a pen.  Now write a note to someone.  Could be a customer or a team member or your mother.  Doesn’t matter.  You’ll thank me later.

Dear  So-and-so,

I just wanted to say thanks for                    .

~ My-name

It’s worth the five minutes – I promise.

A Simple Phone Call

June 13, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

Phone Call Schedule

Nifty bit of info on the Zmags’ support page.  Instead of having to wait forever stuck on hold, just let me know when the best time to call is.  Doesn’t make it all better but this goes a long way to relieving any frustration.

Try Helping in a Different Way

June 12, 2012 By Chase Clemons 3 Comments

Help Sign on Window

From Flickr Artist Marc Falardeau

For every online tool out there, you’ve got to have two things when it comes to customer support:

1) An email address for someone to contact you.

2) A help section with answers to the top questions.

That flow typically works out like this:

Customer has question and clicks on help button.  -> This takes them to the help section, where hopefully they’ll find an answer to it.  -> If they don’t find the answer, they click on the email link to send you their question via email.

This is the bare minimum.  If you don’t at least have this, well… let’s just say you want to rethink how you’re “supporting” your customer.  But who wants to just reach the minimum?  Those are the people that strive for customer satisfaction rather than happiness.

When it comes to helping someone, you’ll want to always be trying something new.  Email and help sections are a no brainer.

Beyond that, try…

  • In-app live chat.  I tried this with a specific group of customers and they loved it.  Sure, it’s like having a support number to call (meaning you’ll always have to have that chat app manned by someone), but that’s the point of support.  Make things incredibly easy on the customer even if that means you have to bear some of the pain.
  • Videos on demand.  Screencasts are easy to make.  I mean, so easy your grandmother probably sends you a virtual Christmas card with your grandparents waving at you via the webcam.  Use videos to highlight some best practices or simplify something complicated inside your app.
  • Online classes.  First and foremost, don’t use the word “webinar”.  It’s dumb, stupid, and just sounds wrong.  Really, who though putting “web” and “seminar” together was a good idea?  Anyway, set up some online classes.  Maybe just an intro to your app or such.  Customers love this because it gives them a short way to cover all the basics.  Potential customers love it because they can see instantly if your tool will be a good fit for them.  It’s a win/win for everyone.
  • IRL.  Don’t forget, you can do support in real life too. Invite a customer over to your office so you can help them with any questions.  You’ll get to pick their brain on how they’re using your tool, which can give your designers and programmer all sorts of new projects.

The big thing here is to not get too comfortable with only providing support via email and a help section.  The only time that works is if you’re AT&T and no one else carries the iPhone. 🙂

Working Support

June 11, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

Most of you already know I’m part of the awesome support team at 37signals. Each day, I get to work with customers to help solve whatever troubles they run into. And since it’s a core part of who I am (I love helping people), I believe it only right to share some of what I learn here.

This is just my little effort to help add some knowledge to the world of support. Stay tuned for more. 🙂

 

Protect the Idea

March 1, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

“Dismissing an idea is so easy because it doesn’t involve any work. You can scoff at it. You can ignore it. You can puff some smoke at it. That’s easy. The hard thing to do is protect it, think about it, let it marinate, explore it, riff on it, and try it. The right idea could start out life as the wrong idea.” – Jason Fried | Give It Five Minutes

Again, I work with an amazing team.

A Simple Tweak

February 29, 2012 By Chase Clemons 5 Comments

Airport Concourse

Photo created by Intiaz Rahim.

I learn a lot from sitting in the airport concourse and just watching people.  Today’s lesson?

A simple tweak can yield powerful results.

There’s a small nail salon across from the gate here.  Two of the employees stand out front greeting people as they walk by.

“Hi! How are you today?”

“Hello there! How’s it going?”

“Hi there! Do you have time for a manicure today?”

In two hours, they haven’t had one taker so far.  So being weird like I am, I wanted to see if they might be open to a suggestion.  With two people, it’s pretty easy to A/B test what phrases work best for potential customers.  So one employee kept with the generic questions mentioned above.  I convinced the other employee to try a different approach.  We tweaked her wording and then started looking for the right customers rather than just talking to everyone.

“Hi there! How’s your nails looking today?”

“Hello!  Would you like a 10 minute manicure?”

“Hello there! When’s the last time you had your nails perfected?”

Simple tweaks that put the focus on two things: 1) Speed and 2) State of their nails at that moment.

The first employee still asked generalities about how they day was and if they had some time.  Potential customers were able to brush those off easily and say “I’m great” or “Not today” and keep going.  The second employee asked potential customers questions about their nails and honed in on women travelling alone that were strolling through the concourse.

How well did it work?  The previous two hours yielded no customers despite two employees talking to everyone they could in the concourse.  The next hour finished with six new customers, which means money for the team.  Same foot traffic in the concourse as before – just new phrases and approaches from the team.

With your business/hobby/whatever, make sure you’re using the right words.  Trying tweaking a phrase here or a word there to see what happens.

A simple tweak can be a truly powerful tweak.

You Are Your Habits

February 16, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

“Researchers have figured out how to stop people from habitually overeating and biting their nails. They can explain why some of us automatically go for a jog every morning and are more productive at work, while others oversleep and procrastinate. There is a calculus, it turns out, for mastering our subconscious urges. For companies like Target, the exhaustive rendering of our conscious and unconscious patterns into data sets and algorithms has revolutionized what they know about us and, therefore, how precisely they can sell.” – How Companies Learn Your Secrets | The New York Times

Habits are important… yada, yada, yada.  How many times before have you heard people talking about changing your habits and all? A million times – and that’s just in January. But when it comes to numbers, how much control does your habits have over you?

Target and other retailers send massive amounts of money on statisticians to help change your shopping habits.  The New York Times article focuses on changing the shopping habits of pregnant women.  Using different statistical methods to alter its customers’ shopping habits, Target grew it’s revenue from $44 billion in 2002 to $67 billion in 2010.

It’s no doubt that habits are powerful but I think we underestimate them.  From what we buy to who we vote for, habits shape our subconscious, which ultimately makes us do things without ever thinking about it because they’re routine.  Do you really think about driving your car down the Interstate?  Or do you set the cruise control, crank up the music, and just drive? Formed over years of doing the same thing over and over, driving becomes automatic.  You get lost in a conversation with a passenger and pay no attention to the buildings your passing.  It’s not a bad thing – it’s just a habit.

Cultivating the right habits is the key.

The best part of that article –

“Habits aren’t destiny — they can be ignored, changed or replaced. But it’s also true that once the loop is established and a habit emerges, your brain stops fully participating in decision-making. So unless you deliberately fight a habit — unless you find new cues and rewards — the old pattern will unfold automatically.”

You are your habits.  If you do something habitually that you don’t like, you have to fight to change it.  Losing weight, eating healthier, writing that book, or whatever, those goals all center around the habits you have right now.  You just need the right habits in place to finish them.

Too Lazy and Don’t Respect

January 25, 2012 By Chase Clemons Leave a Comment

Too Lazy Don't Respect

Ah tl;dr.  It’s the way commenters try to get away with having an opinion on something without taking a moment to understand the author’s.  A title catches their eye, they skim it really quick, and then make voice their thoughts to the world in the comments section.  It doesn’t matter that this one article might have been weeks of blood, sweat, and tears to make sure the story is told just right. All the tl;dr commenter wants is to show why the author is wrong.

So don’t look for sympathy from me when I skip over that commenter like they don’t exist.  tl;dr is just their way of saying too lazy and don’t respect.

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