The Impact of Tipping and “Tipflation” on Customer Satisfaction (podcast)

Man holding a tablet with tipping screen inside a restaurant

Join customer service expert Shep Hyken as he talks about how tipping and “tipflation” impacts customer satisfaction scores and the need for businesses to improve customer service and experience. Top Takeaways: The frequency of tipping, or “tipflation,” has increased across industries. Businesses should consider tipping practices’ impact on customer satisfaction and carefully evaluate when and how tipping…

Read More

Strategies for Working With Difficult Customers

No matter what industry your business is in, you are bound to encounter difficult customers and clients at some point. Whether you’re working to satisfy the demands of picky homeowners or provide emotionally intelligent advice to clients in difficult financial situations, you need to know how to confidently face complexity. Follow along as we provide…

Read More

Why We Have Trouble Talking to Customers

a business owner talking with customers

As sellers, our job is talking to customers. But apparently we do a very bad job at it. Research report after research report say the same things: The majority of customers prefer a rep-free buying experience. Over 83% (and climbing) prefer to learn about products/solutions without involving a seller. For those that do involve sellers,…

Read More

Your Customers Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

Recently, I was in a discussion with a group of outstanding sales people. They were talking about how to align their selling process with the customer buying process. One of the sales people asked, “How do we learn their buying process?” Some readers may think, “Isn’t this obvious?” After all, classically, we know we have…

Read More

Are You Managing The Process Or Is It Managing You?

Deal review after deal review, I see the same thing. Sales people don’t seem to be managing the process, they are responding to what the customer is doing (or not doing). This is particularly frightening, when one recognizes customers don’t know how to buy, they wander through the buying process, going back and forth, starting…

Read More

6 Personalization Strategies to Supercharge Your Marketing

“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie That truth is a cornerstone of Dale Carnegie’s timeless advice in his perennially bestselling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. It is just as true – and important – today as when Carnegie…

Read More

7 Guidelines to Assure 2-Way Customer Communication

Entrepreneurs and business executives seem to be even more focused on their technology than the rest of us, and less inclined to listen to the voice of the customer, even if they remember to ask. Real two-way conversations with real customers, including the all-important body language, are unheard-of these days. Being connected to the Internet…

Read More

How to Save a Relationship with a Customer When Things Go South

Sometimes, being an entrepreneur isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When I left my 9-5 job, it was to pursue the ultimate freedom of self-management. I became the boss, and that meant the power was all mine, right? Not exactly. As we all figured out —particularly those of us in the service industry and…

Read More

The Faces of Our Customers

Recently, I’ve been trying something new when I meet with clients. I ask, “When was the last time you visited your customers–in a non sales situation? When did you actually see what they do, how they use your solutions? What have you done to get to know them better? Unfortunately, the responses aren’t surprising. Many…

Read More