Business.com |
- Why Data Integrity Is Crucial for Your Business
- How to Print Postcards at Home with Word Processing Software
- Enterprise Social Network Benefits and Which Ones to Try
- 4 Inexpensive Ways to Boost Revenue
- Understanding Stripe Credit Card Processing Fees
- Shopify or Amazon? Which Is Better for Your Business?
- Grasping the Importance of a Unified Customer Experience
| Why Data Integrity Is Crucial for Your Business Posted: 24 Nov 2019 08:00 AM PST 
Everyone is bombarded by data daily. But data is also crucial to the effective operation of any business. What is data?Data can refer to the following:
For instance, business data could include the number of products a company sold in its northern region in the first business quarter. These numbers can help leaders in your organization make future business decisions. Why is data (and its integrity) so important?Data integrity refers to the quality and reliability of data, including the preservation, precision and consistency of data. When the information at hand is reliable, business owners and executives can make suitable choices, which contributes to the overall success of the business. In fact, the best everyday decisions are made using real-time data. This lets you have a pulse on your business's efficiency in the marketplace and on the performance of your competition. But many business managers are concerned about the quality of their organizations' data. According to a study from KPMG, only about 35% of executives reported a high level of trust in their business data. When asked why they don't trust the data, more than 60% of C-suite executives blamed technology or automated processes. And more than 90% of the executives surveyed said bad data could negatively impact branding and reputation. How to ensure data integrityNow that you understand why data integrity is so valuable for companies, it's time to learn how to achieve it. When stakeholders and executives are confident in their data, they can move forward more aggressively with plans and growth. Most big companies gather data through numerous approaches, including the following:
Plenty of companies use a combination of these data-collection methods. But what can you do to ensure data integrity? Here are some ideas:
Recommended resources for managing data integrityData-management needs vary widely by organization, so it's important to consider your own needs when choosing resources. Services and solutions in this space range from simple, cloud-based data warehouses to complex AI software that handles much of the day-to-day data management for you. Here are a few options to consider: 1. Digital GuardianDigital Guardian helps you keep data safe from a variety of threats. It safeguards against inappropriate access by both outside, malicious attacks and inadvertent disclosures. The service lets you keep track of who accessed your data and what they did with it. The benefits are that you can respond quickly to breaches and you can ensure stakeholders that reports are drawn from data that was not altered in inappropriate ways. 2. Varonis Data Classification SystemVaronis offers a variety of data-management solutions, including a classification system that automatically identifies sensitive information. For organizations that have multiple levels of access, this can significantly reduce the resources needed to safeguard information while keeping data available for appropriate business use. 3. Explorance Organizational SurveysIt's not always about protecting the data. Sometimes, you need a way to gather accurate data and analyze it for decision-making purposes. Explorance offers just one of the solutions in this space via its Blue survey software. This software is designed to poll people within your organization, and you can use it to survey between 100 and 200,000 people. 4. Panoply Data Management ToolsMost organizations collect data from a variety of sources, including marketing surveys, industry reports and internal sales figures. With data located in disparate places, and likely different formats, it can be difficult to get a clear, big-picture analysis. Panoply was designed to collect and combine disparate data, housing it in a single, catch-all warehouse that can be queried for analytical purposes. 5. Ataccama ONE Smart Data Curation PlatformIf you want to go a step further with automated data collection and curation, Ataccama ONE is a platform that brings data together and offers analysis guidance via smart profiling. You can get cloud-based, on-premises and desktop versions of this solution. Companies worldwide that are known for their data-based processes use this platform. Whether you opt for a resource from this list, find another software program that meets your needs or decide to develop something in-house, if your data isn't accurate and timely, your business will suffer. So take the necessary steps today to ensure data integrity is a high priority for your company. |
| How to Print Postcards at Home with Word Processing Software Posted: 24 Nov 2019 07:30 AM PST 
You can create your own customized, professional-looking postcards at home for a fraction of the cost of professional printing services by using a computer or mobile device and a printer. Make sure your printer can print on card stock, and begin by collecting some basic office supplies. Here's how to get started. What supplies do you need to print postcards at home?The supplies you need to create your own postcards are easy to find and inexpensive. You will need scissors, cardstock, a printer, software, clip art or photos, and pens or pencils. If you have trouble cutting a straight line with scissors or you want to speed up the process, you can add a reasonably priced paper cutter to your list of supplies. If you're feeling fancy, you can add other supplies to dress up your postcards. For example, colored envelopes, stickers and markers or an embossing stamp let you add extra personalization. Create homemade postcards with a word processorThough it's easy to do this project at home, it might take a little while to get comfortable doing it if you aren't well acquainted with your word processing software. These instructions will help you find the options you need so you don't have to refer to your software's Help function. 1. Create a document that is 6 inches wide and 4 inches tall.This is the size of an average postcard. The size is important because the bigger the postcard is, the more it weighs. The weight determines whether you can use a postcard stamp or a regular stamp. If you want to use regular stamps, feel free to make your cards bigger. To save card stock, you can print two postcards on an 8-1/2-by-11-inch piece of cardstock by dividing the page into two separate sections and creating a card on each section. Use your word processing software's Insert option. Most postcards have one image that covers the entire surface of one side with a simple message at the bottom of the image. Try to fill the entire card space with some kind of image or message. You can do this by clicking and dragging the small squares at the corners of your image to enlarge it. |
| Enterprise Social Network Benefits and Which Ones to Try Posted: 24 Nov 2019 07:00 AM PST 
Social media is a powerful channel for marketing and sales, but it's also an incredible tool for people who want to stay connected with others. About 45% of people globally use social media. Some benefits of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram include instantaneous communication, the ability to share messages with many people at once and collaboration support. Enterprise social networks allow businesses to enjoy these benefits privately and confidentially. What is an enterprise social network?Enterprise social networks are similar to social media networks, but they're limited to people within an organization. These networks can include tools ranging from basic chat platforms to project management spaces that let people keep track of calendars, documents and tasks. How do enterprise social networks revolutionize communication?Although an internal communications network is far from a new idea, ESNs are vastly different from their intranet cousins. Mainly, ESNs mimic the look and feel of the networks we've come to use daily. In doing so, they encourage a dialogue in which all employee voices are equal to those of senior executives. ESNs level the playing field by allowing equal opportunity for every employee to be heard. And although this may seem like an uncomfortable prospect for traditional corporations, it shouldn't. In the end, ESNs help organizations share information, collaborate and strengthen company culture. Consider these three important benefits of adopting an ESN: 1. Streamlined communicationsESNs reduce inbox clutter by replacing time-consuming email threads with public or private discussions that are displayed concisely on the network. 2. A company knowledge archiveEnterprise social networks provide an all-access platform for important corporate documents, including process memos, training resources and relevant industry news, thus helping to keep employees on the same page. This centralized location for information also aids in the onboarding of new employees by allowing them to become familiar with formal systems or even company culture. 3. Real-time crowdsourced contentRegardless of their level of training or experience, employees encounter new issues periodically, and they may need a quick answer to their questions. This can be especially true for departments such as customer service or sales. These employees may be on the phone with a customer, for example, and might need quick help from a co-worker. ESNs can assist employees by allowing them to quickly crowdsource answers to questions. And they can do so from anywhere, allowing employees in different locations to get fast answers. "If someone in one country needs a quick answer to a question about customer deployment, they simply post the question to [the network]," said Karen Lee, a representative at global business analytics software provider SAS. "Answers come back almost immediately from other locations." According to Lee, the same is true of key documents. "Or, if an employee needs a specific document, they can post their request to [the network]," she said. Just as quickly, someone else responds with a link to that document's location." ESNs also function as real-time supplements to employee handbooks, helping to gradually refine corporate systems and guidelines. What are some enterprise social network options?You can find enterprise social networks to meet a wide variety of needs. Some have free versions or free trials. Here are three options you might consider: ClarizenClarizen is a work management platform that makes it easy for teams to collaborate. You can use it on mobile devices, which makes it ideal for companies that have field reps. It also includes project management and reporting, and you can integrate vendors for even better communication. Clarizen doesn't make all of its pricing public. Instead, you must request a quote. This may be because there are many versions and levels of the platform, so you can customize it to meet your needs. Biggest pro: It's extremely powerful and features lots of options. Biggest con: It may be too complex for some companies. SlackSlack is like a souped-up chat room. You can create private, team and general channels. You can also dedicate channels to specific topics. For example, you could have a channel for welcoming new staff members or a channel for a specific customer service process. Slack's free version lets you add plenty of people and use basic features. You can use the app for added functions, but only 10,000 of the most recent messages remain visible and searchable. For access to all your communications or more features, you can pay for standard, plus or enterprise Slack services. Paid Slack services start at $6.67 per month per person. Biggest pro: Slack is easy to use and integrates well with other processes. Biggest con: Slack may be too simple for organizations looking for ESNs for task and project management. Workplace by FacebookWorkplace by Facebook lets employees collaborate on a familiar platform. It leverages all the familiar aspects of Facebook, including individual and group chats and video calls. You can try the paid Advanced version for 30 days for free or sign up for one of the other versions: Essential: $0 You can have up to 50 groups, and each person has up to 5GB of storage. Video calls can have up to 20 people on them, and other features include mobile app access, workplace chat, collaboration tools, directory integrations and admin controls. Advanced: $4 per person This plan includes everything offered in the Essential package, but you get unlimited groups. You also get org charts, bot APIs, customer integrations, active directory integrations, monitoring tools and additional security. You can have up to 50 people per call, and everyone gets up to 1TB of storage. Enterprise: $8 per person This plan includes everything offered in the Advanced package. In addition, each person gets unlimited storage, and the company gets access to dedicated support and early access to new features. Biggest pro: This platform is likely to be familiar to most people within your organization. Biggest con: Workplace by Facebook might be too familiar, leading to inappropriate use of the platform. Be prepared to communicate expectations for how the system should be used. These are just three options for ESNs you might try. There are numerous other options, so you'll likely find the exact functions you need to encourage collaboration and better communication within your organization. |
| 4 Inexpensive Ways to Boost Revenue Posted: 24 Nov 2019 06:00 AM PST  Every business, even an established one, will experience a slump in sales at some point during its existence. Even with superior products or services, a killer brand, and a hardworking band of employees, a business may still struggle to bring in new customers or deals and experience a sales plateau. And irrespective of the forces fuelling the sales plateau, a slump in sales can be catastrophic for businesses that are just starting out. The ability to generate sufficient revenue from sales is an important determinant of growth for a business. It is also a key metric that is used to measure the profitability of your business, something that your investors, creditors, and other stakeholders will be keenly looking at when deciding if they should partner with you. So, for businesses that are looking for ways to boost revenue without having to pump significant amounts of capital into their business operations, here are a few inexpensive ways that will go a long way in helping you break through a sales plateau. 1. Create a growth-oriented sales strategyAn effective sales strategy is the lifeblood of any profitable venture. Without it, your sales reps will be stumbling in the dark, often making decisions based on impulse and short-term gains instead of building on long-term goals as would typically be described within your sales strategy. A good sales strategy often has a clear starting and endpoint. Begin by assessing where your business stands, specifically regarding your overall sales process. Key indicators to dig into here include total sales within the past year, the number of new and repeat customers, which customers brought in the most revenue and those who had the shortest sales cycles. You can then use these indicators to create an ideal customer profile that your sales reps can subsequently use to target prospective customers with the highest chances of conversion and repeat business. Your customer profile, bundled with an in-depth SWOT analysis, should help you come up with clear revenue goals and an efficient sales funnel customized for each of your sales reps showing how they intend to generate leads. 2. Re-assess your business modelSometimes, the only way to break through a sales plateau is by simply getting out of your comfort zone. This may involve anything from simple behavioral changes around the office to a complete overhaul of some of your core business functions that are working against revenue generation. For instance, if you've been selling exclusively via a brick and mortar store, with marketing strategies targeting walk-in customers, then it might be time to open an online store to help increase sales. If you've never worked with any social media channel or have restricted yourself to just Facebook or Twitter, it might be time to expand your horizons and look into how you can use social media to get your business out of a sales rut. You can even go further into your core business structure to shake things up. If you've never legalized your business, this should be the time to walk down that path. As far as business costs go, a legal business entity gives you significant tax benefits, including tax exemptions and deferred tax payments. A registered business also carries a significant level of credibility and perceived reputability, which gives your business significant mileage when it comes to improving customer relationships. Plus, it has become quite affordable to register a business, especially if you plan on sticking with an LLC. Some registered agents can help set up your LLC, complete with a tax ID for reporting purposes, for a few hundred dollars. Plus, as long as you don't give out more than 20 percent of shareholding to an individual partner, you get to keep full control over your newly-registered company. 3. Optimize your payments infrastructureWhile the payments industry has been - and still is - going through one of its most disruptive cycles in decades, businesses, both e-commerce and physical stores, continue to bleed sales during payments. Online stores continue to suffer astounding cart abandonment rates, with two-thirds of shoppers abandoning shopping carts at the payment stage. Consequently, the payment stage of an online or physical store presents a ton of simple and inexpensive opportunities for boosting sales. At the basic level, there's a lot to be gained by simply giving your customers a choice when it comes to payment methods. However, be careful not to increase the complexity of the payment page by offering too many input options for the customer. Incorporate design elements that will nudge your customers into choosing their preferred payment method early enough, so you get an opportunity to hide everything else that isn't relevant for them. Another little-known tactic for boosting sales at this stage is by incorporating financing as a payment option. According to research by Currency, an online payments platform, businesses that offered financing at the point of purchase increased the average size of purchases by 15 percent, which makes it easier for the business to achieve its sales targets. It is also important to pay special attention to security during payments and at the point of data collection. Your customers will be more likely to pay or give your business their data when they feel safe enough to do so, thanks to the rising wave of cybercrime within the digital space. One cybersecurity report found that small businesses incurred at least $2.2 million, on average, in costs associated with cybercrime, a significant number for merchants looking to boost profits. 4. Collect and analyze dataWhen your business has the infrastructure in place to collect and analyze data, your company can make better decisions regarding many crucial business processes, including inventory management and pricing strategies, which can help boost revenue down the line. Collecting data at a point-of-sale terminal or during various points on your e-commerce site lets your business gain insight into many revenue-boosting elements of your enterprise, including what items are the most and least popular, how much time website visitors are spending on each page of your website, which pages of your e-commerce shop they are spending the most time on, and so on. All of these stats can give you a better idea of your most valuable products, web pages, and customers, including their demographics. This data can be used to create targeted business strategies that promote your most popular products. You can use the data to direct potential customers to the most popular pages on your website while using the same information to identify your most valuable customers. You can then extend special offers to the demographic that is most likely to spend money at your business, thus improving your chances of closing sales and boosting your bottom line. For young merchant businesses that are just starting out, saving money while generating revenue should be a paramount goal, especially during those formative years of the enterprise when the business owners and their investors are looking to break even. So, while these tips will work for businesses of any size, they'll be especially handy for businesses in their infancy that want future-proof ways of growing profits while keeping expenses down. By registering your business, for instance, you give your enterprise a base from which you can build a solid brand that will be more favorable among potential customers. And if you do plan to get online, your registered business will benefit from enhanced security features like advanced SSL packages that will boost your website's credibility and, naturally, increase the number of paying customers. Additionally, providing multiple options for online shoppers is crucial in a world where customers are starting to prefer shopping online rather than at physical establishments. If your business can effectively collect, analyze, and act on the data it collects, then your business is more likely to create strategies that influence and incentivize customers to shop with your company and make a purchase. By taking advantage of some of these measures, you can work your way towards your revenue-generation goals without investing a significant amount of money in your business operations. |
| Understanding Stripe Credit Card Processing Fees Posted: 24 Nov 2019 06:00 AM PST  Customers expect they can pay for goods and services beyond just paying with cash. Debit card and credit card transactions are increasingly common, as are digital wallets, which allow consumers to make contactless payments by holding their smartphone to an NFC-enabled payment terminal. But to extend these payment options to your customers, you need to partner with a payment processor. Stripe is one such processor. In fact, it's our pick as the best processor for online businesses. It offers competitive rates and relatively few fees compared to other leading payment processors. This guide will help you understand Stripe's pricing and the fees you can expect to pay when partnering with the company.
Editor's note: Looking for the right credit card processor for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire below to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. Does Stripe charge a fee for refunds?Stripe has chargeback fees, like most other credit card processors. If a customer disputes a charge and requests a payment reversal, Stripe charges you $15. However, if the dispute is settled in your favor, Stripe will reimburse the entirety of the fee. Most credit card processors do not reimburse chargeback fees in the event of a payment dispute. Moreover, if you issue a refund to a customer, Stripe does not charge a refund fee, but you will not be reimbursed for the initial transaction cost of the refunded payment. How much does Stripe cost per month?Stripe charges different rates and per-transaction fees depending on the transaction being conducted and how the customer is paying for those goods and services. Here's a closer look at Stripe's rates and fees:
How much you pay each month depends largely on your sales volume and the value of each sales ticket. Stripe offers volume discounts for businesses that process more than $100,000 in transactions per month. Custom pricing is available for businesses that engage in microtransactions or unusually large sales tickets. Additionally, nonprofits could qualify for special pricing. [Want to learn more about credit card processors? Check out our reviews and best picks.] How are Stripe's fees calculated?Stripe does not charge many of the common fees that other credit card payment processors charge. Here's a list of the common fees you won't pay with Stripe:
You will, however, incur costs for chargeback fees and international transactions. International transactions are based on a percentage of the transaction value, while chargeback fees are a flat rate of $15. You are refunded the chargeback fee if the disputed transaction is resolved in your favor. Stripe charges additional monthly fees for extra services or third-party integrations. Which is better: PayPal or Stripe?PayPal and Stripe are both mobile payment processors and, as such, offer similar pricing and fee structures. PayPal charges several of the same fees that Stripe does, including a chargeback fee and international transaction fee. PayPal's chargeback fee is a flat rate of $20 per incidence, while international transaction rates are 1.5% of the sales value. (There's a supplemental 2.5% fee for currency conversions when they're required.) PayPal also charges additional fees for optional services, like its recurring billing service and advanced fraud protection services. Here's a closer look at the common fees you won't pay with PayPal:
With PayPal, you can have funds instantly deposited into your bank account for $30 per month with PayPal Payments Pro. It allows you to accept payments online through a virtual terminal or through your website with a payment gateway. How do Stripe's fees compare with Square's fees?Square, a prominent competitor with Stripe, offers a similar pricing and fee structure. Square maintains several fees that Stripe charges. It's per-transaction fees vary from 10 to 30 cents on most payment types. Square does not, however, apply a chargeback fee. Here's a closer look at the fees you won't pay with Square:
With Square, you can have funds instantly deposited into your bank account rather than waiting the standard two or three days. This service will cost you an additional 1% fee. There are also monthly fees associated with additional services or third-party integrations. What is Stripe's commission fee for international transactions?If you accept international payments with Stripe, an additional 1% fee will be levied on top of Stripe's regular rates. If currency conversion is required for the international payment, Stripe charges 1% on top of the normal international transaction rates. Stripe supports processing in more than 135 currencies, accumulating separate balances for payments in different currencies. When setting up a Stripe account, you specify a "presentment" currency, which is your preferred currency. Whenever the presentment currency differs from the "settlement" currency used in the transaction, Stripe converts the payments to your presentment currency before transferring funds to your bank account. This is when you incur the currency conversion fee. How flexible is Stripe with fee negotiation?Generally, Stripe's fees are nonnegotiable. The company doesn't charge some of the most common fees that other card processors charge. However, if your business generates more than $100,000 in sales volume each month, you might qualify for discounts. Additionally, there are some custom plans that could be negotiated when you sign up with Stripe. Nonprofits might qualify for special pricing. Most businesses, however, are subject to Stripe's normal fees, which include the per-transaction fees, chargeback fee and international transaction fees. Credit card processing is a must for small businessesCredit card processing is effectively a need for most small businesses today. As more consumers forego cash for easier payment methods, like credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets, enabling these payment methods is a matter of customer service and securing repeat business. Many processors charge a wide range of fees, which can significantly increase your monthly costs. Stripe maintains comparatively few fees and charges competitive rates, however, making it easy and affordable for entrepreneurs to accept credit and debit card payments, as well as allowing customers to use their digital wallets. If you're interested in credit card processing services, companies such as Stripe, Square and PayPal could be right for you. To learn more about credit card processing companies and how your business could benefit from working with one, see our best picks page and our reviews of the best credit card processing services. |
| Shopify or Amazon? Which Is Better for Your Business? Posted: 24 Nov 2019 06:00 AM PST 
Shopify and Amazon offer excellent e-commerce solutions, and both platforms are popular. Shopify announced at the June 2019 Shopify Unite event that the company had 820,000 merchants. Amazon's figures are less precise, but it's commonly believed that more than 2 million sellers have products listed on that e-commerce platform. While both platforms offer potentially large exposure, the benefits and challenges of selling through them are unique. Businesses must choose the platform that works best for their needs, products and selling methods. What is Shopify?Shopify is a commerce platform. It lets you create an online store and manage all e-commerce functions — including inventory, payment acceptance and shipping — in the same place. It's also a hosted platform, which means it's cloud-based. You don't have to purchase software and pay to upgrade it; your Shopify membership ensures you have access to the latest updates. What are some benefits of Shopify?Shopify offers an easy setup and friendly administrator interface, making it one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the market. This program also provides several free professionally designed templates. The administrative options for Shopify are listed in English, but you can create your storefront in any language. Additionally, the platform lets you choose which payment gateway to use. It also accepts funds in several currencies. Another popular function of Shopify is its E-Commerce University, which provides access to numerous articles, how-to guides and other training resources. Shopify also has a 24/7 in-house support team. Keeping your customers happy is one of the most important things you can do when operating an e-commerce business. Shopify helps you provide the best tools to your customers so that they purchase through your store. Some of these features include the ability for your customers to zoom in to get a better look at your products and the ability to show other customer reviews. You can choose to work with third-party fulfillment services (or drop shippers). You can also opt to fulfill all of your own orders. How much does Shopify cost?As of November 2019, Shopify offers three pricing options. The cost is between $29 and $299 a month, plus transaction fees for each sale. You can also try Shopify for free for 14 days to help you decide whether it's right for your business and which plan you might need. Basic Shopify
Shopify
Advanced Shopify
Shopify is extremely flexible. If the three major plans above don't cover your needs, you might also consider Shopify Plus, which is a custom-designed solution for enterprise organizations. Another option is Shopify Lite, which lets you sell items on Facebook or a blog for only $9 a month but doesn't include a Shopify store. What is Amazon?You probably already know that Amazon.com is an e-commerce behemoth. But did you know that more than half of all the units sold on the platform are sold by third-party sellers? You can sell on Amazon as an individual or a professional, and the platform offers several options for shipping. What are some benefits of Amazon?Probably the biggest benefit of having your products on Amazon is that it makes it easy for customers to find you. As of 2018, 54% of people started their product searches directly from Amazon. Only about 46% of the search traffic began on Google. So, for some products, if you're not on Amazon, more than half of potential customers may not find you. Here are some other benefits of selling on Amazon:
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon?The cost of selling on Amazon depends on how you sell and whether you want Amazon to fulfill orders for you. If you're fulfilling your own orders, you can sell as an individual or a professional. Individual Sellers
Professional Sellers
How much Amazon charges for referral fees depends on the product category. For books, it's 15% of the sales price, for example. But for consumer electronics, it's 8% or 30 cents minimum. You can also pay to have items fulfilled by Amazon. That means your inventory resides in an Amazon warehouse and Amazon handles the shipping. You'll pay a per-unit shipping fee on every order plus a warehousing fee per cubic foot of product stored. Choosing between Shopify and AmazonBoth platforms have their pros and cons. Shopify requires you to brand and market your store, while Amazon comes with a built-in audience. But Amazon limits how much you can truly control about your sales; for example, third-party sellers can't list every type of item. Ultimately, you have to determine which platform best supports your business. Or, you can choose to integrate both Amazon and Shopify, to get the best of both platforms, but you'll have to pay for both. |
| Grasping the Importance of a Unified Customer Experience Posted: 24 Nov 2019 05:00 AM PST 
What the customer service experience reveals about your businessWe've all been there. Maybe you need to send an important email that's taken half an hour to draft. Or, you're booking tickets for a vacation. Then, disaster strikes: Suddenly, you've lost your internet connection. You quit and restart your browser. You reboot your laptop, tablet or phone. Things still aren't working. You turn off your router and modem and wait 5 minutes before turning them on again. Nothing. Finally, you bite the bullet and call customer service. After waiting on hold for more than 20 minutes, you finally reach a human being. You give your customer details to the customer service representative and describe the problem. Then, you explain what you've already done to troubleshoot the problem. Because the customer service reps are reading from a script, they have you repeat all of the steps you already did. You bite your lip and play along, as you don't really have any other choice. Surprise, surprise: The problem's still there. The customer service rep says they'll have to get an engineer to call you back. "Don't worry," they say; "someone will get back to you in 10 or 15 minutes." Half an hour goes by. Annoyance has turned into frustration. Frustration has turned into anger. You're about to call the company again, when the phone rings. Hurrah! It's the engineer! However, he doesn't know anything about your problem, just that you have a problem. You explain the situation all over again. You can hear the engineer tapping away at his keyboard. "Try it now," he says. Success! All is well with the world again. However, not more than five minutes later, you receive an email from the company, asking you to rate how well your problem was addressed. The internet service company has an active digital marketing presence with a Facebook page and 100,000 Twitter followers. Yet, as far as you're concerned, the company stinks; it's failed to deliver a unified customer experience. The company, in its defense, would say each department did its job:
Yet, all three departments succeeded only in annoying you. To impress you, they needed to recognize you as the same person across all three interactions. Customers expect a unified experience from any size businessWhat companies of all sizes fail to recognize is that customers don't care whether they're speaking with sales, support, service or accounts. To them, the company is one organization. A single entity. A single brand. But if customers don't care which department they're speaking to, why do companies continue to keep customer information in separate boxes for sales, service, accounts and marketing? Part of the answer is logistics. It's not feasible to train every employee on every job within the company, and there needs to be a chain of events within process maps for proper workflow. Also, the larger the company, the more distance between the phone representative and the problem-solver. Is a unified customer experience possible with modern technology?With the multitude of automated systems, remote access workers and multinational companies, it may seem like the days of a unified customer experience are long gone. However, many companies not only offer a unified customer experience but excel at it. But this success puts pressure on small business owners to make sure they don't fall behind in customer service. "Your customers' expectations are not being set by your industry," said Mohan Sawhney, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University. "They are being set by the best of the best of the best." Therefore, businesses must present a unified experience from the customer's viewpoint. It's not enough to interact and engage with people on public platforms such as Twitter; you need to map out the unification on the back end as well because this is what customers expect. How can a small business deliver individualized customer experiences?One way to build individualized customer experiences is to develop a process that encompasses the many potential twists and turns a customer's request could take. Determine an end point (most likely a successful resolution of the problem), and work backward from there. Be prepared to spend a little time on this process. You have a powerful advantage as a small business owner: It's much easier to build a road map for a small business as it grows than to retrain lots of employees and remap processes later. Large companies rely heavily on AI and automation, and that may be in your future as well. But as a small business owner, your goal is to create the same success as big business achieve using the skills, people and equipment you currently have. Follow your company's road map to successful customer resolutionsAs you map out your customers' journeys, look for detours and road blocks that can cause frustration for both your staff and your customers. Whether you have a single person with a notepad, a social media presence on every platform or an automated phone system, customer service ideals should remain the same:
Once you have your guidelines in place, it's time to reenact a series of customer service requests. As you do this, look for problem areas. Where is the broken link in the chain of communication, and how can you fix it? What methods are available to help employees pass along customer data from one stage of the process to the next? It's also helpful for your employees to keep records of both successful and unsuccessful interactions. You may never reach your goal of 100% customer satisfaction, but every time you replace a pattern that didn't work with one that does, you're one step closer to achieving that objective. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses continue to be the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. In most cases, small businesses handle customer service very well. With the readily available technological resources and a little planning and practice, your business could soon be one of the "best of the bests" in customer service. |
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