Posts

5 Tips for Providing Great Customer Service in 2017

, , ,

Great customer service is the lifeblood of any business. The goal of great customer service is all about providing a trusted and positive customer experience and ensuring they are happy and confident in their choice.  They say a good salesperson has the ability to sell anything to anyone at least once. However, the customer service provided CAN be that significant differentiator and determine if they continue to be a client.  By delivering a positive and trusted customer experience, you can not only increase the likelihood of up-selling opportunities, but also ensure your client will recommend you to others.  The essence of great customer service is forming a solid and trusted relationship with your clients.

#1 – First Impression

Ensure that every one of your customer facing associates are capable of making a good first impression. First opinions are formed within the first 10 seconds of meeting someone new. Being on time, prepared, being yourself and presenting yourself appropriately are all important traits that will affect that first impression.  You never have a second opportunity to make a warm and welcoming first impression.

#2 – Provide Timely Responses

Customer support response times can dictate how a client perceives your company and can affect the overall customer experience.  Keeping your clients informed in a timely manner by answering your phone and responding to emails within a reasonable time-frame are essential to great customer service.

#3 – Listen to Your Clients

There is nothing more exasperating for a customer than to communicate and explain things multiple times because you truly aren’t listening.  This can definitely have a negative effect on the overall customer experience.  It is imperative to always pay attention and REALLY hear what your customer is saying.  Let your client talk and show them that you are listening by reiterating what they’ve said and suggesting how to solve their specific problem.

#4 – Deliver a WOW Experience

A WOW experience is delivered by combining empathy and a true understanding of what your client is facing — and then identifying and resolving that challenge.  The best way to understand your customer is to look through the “lens of the customer”.  But be careful to not promise anything unless you are able to follow through with that promise. Being prompt and taking the extra steps goes a long way in showing your clients you care.

#5 – Show appreciation to your customers.

Thanking customers in a meaningful and thoughtful manner on every customer encounter shows clients you care and appreciate their business.  Showing our appreciation via a thank you note after a meeting, a “thank you” gift at Christmas, birthday greetings, taking a client to lunch or inviting them as your guest to a special function, etc.  The key to customer loyalty can be embodied in two simple words: “Thank you”.

Providing great customer service is integral to any successful business. It is about doing the right thing to the best of your ability and being that trusted adviser.  Taking care of your customers creates a trusted positive customer experience and helps encourage them to continue buying from your business through good times and bad.

Mitch Gipp is an experienced Client Engagement Manager who has worked in the telecom industry for over 22 years. For more information on Mitch’s tips, or if you have any comments or questions related to this post, please contact him at mgipp@renodis.com.

 

/by

The Power of Words: This ONE Word Could Change Your Entire Outlook

2017 Inspiration from the desk of Mya Olson, Renodis Project Manager

Have you sat down to write an introduction letter to a potential client and pored over each word because the letter didn’t sound just right? Then you tweaked one word and it changed the entire feeling of the letter so it was just what you wanted — just what you had planned in your mind. One word, changed the entire feeling of the letter. The power of words is amazing.

Novelist KJ Kilton once said,

“Words have power. Their power doesn’t merely emanate from the meaning they carry, but also hidden truth they leave behind in what is left unsaid.”

You hit send on that introduction letter, receive the call that the customer wants to meet, fast forward 6 months and this once potential client is a new customer.  Now, on a semi regular basis you’re sending correspondence and hopefully with as much thoughtfulness as that first letter. This correspondence and these commitments to our clients, are sometimes all customers have to go on when they think of us.

It’s equally important that we do what we say. That when the customer (both external and internal) think of our correspondence they can rely on the message that’s delivered. If you want your customer to take you at your word, then give them the reason to do just that, make your words count.

Have I said yet, that the power of words is amazing? They give another person the opportunity to trust you, to like you, to identify with you. They give you the ability to build upon your partnership. But the power of your words has just as much influence on your personal thoughts and inner dialog as it does on the people you interact with.

Recently I was talking with a friend about our happiest moments in life. I was surprised to find out that their moment was the moment they wake up every day. They are excited at the prospect of all the good that will come from the day. Wow, that’s awesome – to wake up excited about the good that will come from each day. It got me to thinking, what words could I change to keep me excited about my day, to get me out of bed thinking positively about the prospect of my day. I realized it starts by changing one word…

By changing the word “have” to “get”, my entire outlook changes. I “get” to get out of bed; not only do I have a bed to get out of, but I am awake, and that means I am alive! I “get” to go into work; that means I have a job to go to! I “get” to draft correspondence, whether it be PM documentation, letters to end users, or stereo instructions. I “get” to use my knowledge and my words to help my customers. That feeling of giving help leads to feelings of usefulness, of stewardship, and all of this from changing one word.

George Orwell wrote in his novel, 1984,

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”

The words we use are powerful. It is up to us to make them positive, useful and necessary.

As I continue in this new year, I will be thinking more about the words I write and the words I speak. After all, the words I use can leave a lasting impact on who they are spoken to, or merely thought, either good or bad. They can make or break an introduction, strengthen or harm a relationship, accelerate or kill my career but most importantly words have the power to change my outlook about every day that I “get” to wake up.

With over 18 years of telecom experience, Mya Olson has been a part of several world class organizations and filled multiple different roles. These roles include: Major Account Executive with one of the nation’s largest telecom providers and, IT Manager for a multi-national chain managing new business implementation from conception to test and turn up. At Renodis she brings her industry knowledge and experience together to serve her clients as Project Manager. In addition to Operations Director in the Olson household, where her 3 girls share the responsibility of CEO and her Farming husband is CFO, Mya enjoys teaching Yoga to her small community in rural South Dakota. If you have questions or comments related to this post, please contact her at molson@renodis.com.

/by

How To Get the Most Out of Your Telecom Provider’s Online Portal

,

Are you using your telecom provider’s online portal?  Do you know what your login and password is?  Do you even know if your provider has a portal, or what it does?  If you answered no to any of these questions, you probably are not taking full advantage of your telecom provider’s online portal.  It’s a powerful tool that can save you time, provide useful information, and give you a window into your network’s performance.

Most major telecom companies (AT&T, CenturyLink, XO, Verizon, etc.) have online portals that let customers open and track trouble tickets, download and analyze your bills, and see network or long distance utilization reports.  These carriers also offer a wide variety of portal training opportunities – see the handy links section at the end of this blog to get started.

Here are some common problems and solutions to help you get the most out of your telecom provider’s online portal:


Problem #1: The person with the top level login is no longer with the company.

Solution #1: This is easily remedied by the contacting the carrier.  Call your sales account team, and ask them how you can get administrative access to the portal.  Don’t have a sales account team?  Call the customer care number on your bill and ask them how to begin the process to get access to their portal.  Once you have the top level administrative login for your company, you can add users and give them access to the various tools as you see fit.  For instance, AP can have a login that only allows them to access billing statements.

—

Problem #2: The telecom provider’s online portal doesn’t seem to have much to offer.  I wish I could do _____.

Solution #2:   Some portals require separate functions to be set up individually by request (billing, network utilization, trouble tickets.)  You also may need to have individual accounts manually added to the portal in order to be able to access them.  Contact the support number for the portal for instructions, or, (you’ve heard this before) lean on your sales account team for support.

—

Problem #3: I have access to my telecom provider’s online portal, but I don’t know how to use it.

Solution #3: Many online portals have Quick Start Guides, and some even have video and scheduled instructor led training.  It is worth taking a few minutes to hunt around on the website for these resources (or checkout the helpful links at the bottom of this blog).  Once again, if needed the portal support team or your sales account team should be able to point you in the right direction.

—

Problem #4: My telecom provider doesn’t have an online portal.

Solution #4: This is true, some smaller carriers have not spent the resources needed to provide an online tool for their customers.  Make sure you let them know this is a priority for you, and the next time you are considering a change in network, make having a robust online portal a decision making factor.

—

Problem #5: My network support team would like to get service outage notifications.

Solution #5: Most portals will give you the option to designate outage notification to recipients of your choice.  Some of the more sophisticated portals will allow you to list multiple names, different ways of reaching that individual and the time of day they are available.  Tip: if you have a group email box that includes members of your network team, use that as the primary notification recipient.  That way you ensure all team members are made aware of outages as they take place.

—

Problem #6: My network team needs to be able to access tickets after hours via a mobile device

Problem #6: The online portals for the best known carriers are able to be accessed via cell phone, tablet and other mobile devices.  Some have special mobile login web pages, others detect the mobile device and display content appropriately.  Note: not all portal functionalities are available on the mobile version – for instance graphic heavy tools that display network performance may not be available on to use on mobile devices.

—

In summary, a good sales account team should make sure you are fully set up and trained on their online portal.  If not, it’s worth taking the time to do some research on your own 1) to find out how to get access 2) what tools are available for your network and 3) to make sure you and your staff are trained to use your telecom provider’s online portal to its full potential.

FAQs and Helpful Links

AT&T

  1. AT&T Portal Access
  2. AT&T FAQs
  3. AT&T Portal Training
  4. AT&T Mobile device access

CenturyLink

  1. CenturyLink Portal Access
  2. CenturyLink Portal Registration
  3. CenturyLink Portal Training
  4. CenturyLink Mobile device access *

* CenturyLink mobile access is the same URL as regular access- the site will detect your mobile device and adjust content accordingly.

XO Communications

  1. XO Communications Portal Access
  2. XO Communications Portal Registration
  3. XO Communications FAQs: Download the XO Business Center Quick Start Guide at the bottom of this page
  4. XO Communications Training
  5. XO Mobile device access

Renodis is the only firm in America providing professional management of businesses communications infrastructure. As a pioneer in its field, Renodis is committed to providing objective service that empowers clients to reduce the Total Cost of Telecom™, free up valuable IT and Executive resources, future-proof their technology, and gain more time for core business initiatives. Contact us to learn more.

/0 Comments/by