Business Solutions Archives | Page 72 of 73

How To Handle The Toughest Online Complaints

Supporting your customers does not always make you right, but it is about making things right. You are more likely to keep your customer if your resolved a situation fully. Deal with the toughest online complaints by following these tips:

Keep It Subjective

In my experience as an Administrative Officer, email scripts were extremely helpful. I answered queries and complaints with ease as we had several fixed templates in our repertoire. However, customers get frustrated after opening a generic email where some questions were left unanswered. This is why your reply must be tailored to the problem of your customer.

A good trick to try is to “copy and paste” the entire content of your customer’s email. Break it up into workable chunks in order to address every issue. This way you will be able to ensure that you respond appropriately to every paragraph.

Not Too Late To Say Sorry

No business is spotless or perfect. Instead of concealing your flaws, it is best to own up to them. Acknowledge your mistakes and think of the potential solutions. Perhaps, you can offer a voucher or discount as compensation.

Post a sincere apology as people will be quick to realize if your apology is scripted. Show your humane side by seeking a natural tone. Translate this tone as you type your message.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Provide Peace Offering/s

As I said above, you may provide applicable compensation. It may be in the form of discounts, vouchers, coupons, refunds, free merchandise, and free classes. Do not hesitate to shower your customer with compensation after a failure in product or service.

A research showed that 58% of complaining customers who received a gift in the mail were delighted. This goes to show that your efforts will be rewarded with increased customer confidence and satisfaction.

Conversations Must Extend Offline

Polarization, the emergence of two views that drive groups apart, occur when conflicts are stirred in public. All communications on social media platforms are in the public eye. Instead of allowing negative comments to flood, deal with the issue offline. Directly communicate with the significant person face-to-face.

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Doing so will prevent the situation from escalating. Stay calm, firm, and polite during the encounter.

Sources: 1 & 2

How To Create A Healthy Workplace

A healthy workplace allows its employees to focus on producing quality products and services. This type of organization leads the key-players to work on development and growth.

On that note, here are 3 ways to build a healthy workplace:

Attach Positive Meaning To The Tasks

Experts in Employee Motivation have been following the framework of the “Job Characteristics Theory“. The theory, developed by Hackman and Oldham, included task significance. Task significance adds meaning to the assignments or projects in order to increase the employee’s efficiency. It highlights how one contributes to a wider scope beyond himself. For instance, the employee will be motivated more if the compensation scheme benefits everyone in the firm.

Studies by Social Science Professor Adam Grant found that telesales teams who were exposed to positive testimonials before their shifts performed significantly better than the control group (i.e., group without intervention). Giving meaning to the tasks improved the employees’ effectiveness.

Make The Space Vibrant And Stimulating

Decorating the dull office with colorful walls can freshen the minds and stimulate thoughts. Paint the walls orange to induce happiness and warmth. It can also increase the employees’ energy levels. Paint the walls blue to induce intelligence and mental calmness. Research has shown that people who are inside the blue rooms are more productive.

Conducive lighting must also be considered in order to take care of the employees’ health.

Offer More Flexibility And Freedom

As a member of the Millennials club, I can attest that many of us dislike structural tasks. Lack of opportunities for development and growth is a part of the reasons why Millennials quickly file their resignations. This why it is easy to gravitate towards jobs that integrate flexibility and freedom. Just observe how common freelancing is right now.

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People who are given reasonable freedom to shape their own roles lead to increased engagement, according to a study. Consider providing this luxury to your employees.

Sources: 1 , 2, & 3

How To Deal With Difficult Co-Workers

In this day and age, you can choose to create a massive wardrobe. You can choose to befriend the people who inspire you. Oh! You can even handpick the gender of your baby.

However, you usually cannot choose the people whom you will work with.

The fixed structure of the workplace allows you to interact with all sorts of people. Every workplace has toxic workers. It is inevitable! Dealing with these difficult people is challenging, yet very rewarding. Increase your positive coping skills by absorbing these tips:

Rise Above The Negativity

Some people love to create a bubble of negativity above their heads. They complain about almost every topic that exists. They feel overworked and underpaid. They do not like their bosses. Nor do they enjoy their jobs. They think their careers are on the brink of destruction!

If you are surrounded by Negative Steve and Negative Betsy, you have two moves up your sleeves. You can either avoid the negative bond or hear the person out. Avoidance is acceptable in this situation as you do not want to create a parasitic relationship (i.e., where one is dependent on the other). Take in the essence of what Tony Chatman, a corporate relationship professional, once said.

“If you bond with someone on a negative issue, they will feel that they have found a partner in their distress, and they will look for you every time they feel something negative.”

My significant background in Psychology supports these ideas. Once you bond with the negative co-worker and stimulate his or her rants, you act with validation. You make the person feel right and that the behavior is acceptable.

The other path opposes the first strategy as it employs active listening. You can initially listen to the complaints of the negative person. Decide whether these claims are legitimate or not. If so, offer assistance to solve the present problem. Know your limitations when giving advice. Suggest reading credible books, attending informative seminars, and consulting the professionals in the company’s Human Resources Department.

Prevent The Spread Of Infectious Gossip

Do you ever wonder how your every tiny mistake reaches your boss? Or, perhaps you are wondering how your embarrassing pictures reached the company’s Facebook group. Search no further than the Office Gossipmonger. Gossipmongers cannot keep their mouths shut when it comes to bad news. Instead of offering help, they seek to lower your credibility to stay ahead of the workplace hierarchy. They love to blabber about different stories as long as it does not involve them.

To prevent the spread of the infectious rumor, you must hold back on the private things about your life. Do not disclose an information that you do want others to know about. Remember that everything you say may be used against you. Donna Flagg, the author of Surviving Dreaded Conversations, highlighted that you must: “keep a safe distance so as to avoid getting sucked into the toxicity”.

As with anyone, there is a positive side to them. You can use them as a tool to spread an important information. If you want the workplace to act upon a specific issue, relay the “confidential information” to the gossipmonger. I am pretty sure that he or she will not be able to resist the urge to spread the message right away.

Learn How To Handle The Resident Bully

Workplace bullies employ emotional, physical, or sexual attacks toward their co-workers. Examples of wrongful acts include inappropriately criticizing one’s performance and taking credit for other people’s work. Consequences of these acts include dreading to go to work and public humiliation (i.e., due to being shouted or called at).

The upcoming fact took me by surprise! Statistics found that 1 in 4 Singaporeans have suffered from workplace bullying with the top aggressors being their bosses (62%) and their clients (21%). To make matters worse, Singapore was one of the few countries with the highest acceptance of workplace bullying.

If you are one of the unfortunate targets of the resident bully, deal with him or her by reading this article.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Sometimes, prized abilities and proper work ethics do not go hand in hand. This is why toxic or difficult people exist at the workplace. You may not control how these people behave, but you can control how you will react to them. Think about this!

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

How To Lure New Customers To Your Small Business

CURATE A DETAILED PROFILE OF YOUR AUDIENCE

Catching the attention of your potential customers is an easy task if you know exactly what you are searching for. So, begin by defining your target audience. Be as detailed as realistically possible. Include descriptors such as gender, occupation, NRIC number/FIN, hobbies, age group, and civil status.

Say you are selling Harry Potter merchandise to teens and other millennials. You noticed that they are immensely obsessed with social media platforms. Hence, you used Instagram and Snapchat to identify your potential customers.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

PROVIDE AN INVITING ATMOSPHERE

Charming your customers start as they enter your doorstep or website. Flashy signs may draw them in, but your accomodating gestures will make them stay. Send warm greetings and show new customers around your vicinity. This will make them feel appreciated and special.

This is certainly true if you are in the food business. Ushering your hangry customers with a friendly service can help them calm down. I cannot remember how many times this happened to me!

OFFER TEMPTING FREEBIES

Display an offer that new customers cannot resist by providing free trials. Fitness centers often distribute flyers that signify a week’s worth trial or a discounted package for first timers. This is a cost-effective way to get good reviews and honest testimonials.

There is nothing more powerful than giving your potential customers a good glimpse of what is to come!

LISTEN TO THEIR VALUABLE INSIGHTS

As you converse with your potential and existing customers, it is important to actively listen to their wants. Do not assume that you know their preferences! Many startups fail because they are selling products with a non-existent demand.

This is why you must encourage constructive feedback. These may be delivered thru social media platforms, focus group discussions, and online surveys. Take the appropriate actions to improve the operations of your small business.

LAUNCH A REFERRAL SYSTEM

My career path was carved when I became an administrative officer in a contemporary yoga studio. One of the studio’s promotions, which endured throughout year was the “Refer A Friend Campaign”. It encouraged the existing customers to invite their friends over to receive up to 20% discount on their next packages. The more people they refer, the higher the reward gets. You may launch the same campaign in your small business.

Remember that people love to be acknowledge. Use that to your advantage!

Image Credits: pixabay.com

New customers are the tools that enable your small business to flourish. If you want to attract more customers, you must consider these people in every step of your journey.

Avoid The Four Lethal Sins Of Sales Talk

Whether you consider me as blessed or not, I was born to a health-conscious family. Our parents encouraged us to exercise regularly and drink nutritional supplements to nourish our bodies. Yesterday, I was at a well-established fitness chain with several international branches. The facilities were exceptional. The machines were adequate. And, the classes were engaging. It suits my cup of tea!

I was sitting quietly at a corner to relax. Minutes later, a trainer sat next to me and began to flash a smile. He started talking to me. At first I thought that it was a flirtatious conversation, but it dawned on me that he was trying to sell himself. He said that he trains the most number of students in the facility. He said that his winning asset was not a certificate, but his winning personality. He implied that the appeal that he oozes was due to being a foreigner in an Asian land. His ego was inflated and he kept wheeling the conversation back to himself. He was overselling! I was not a fan of this approach. I shrug him off and continued with my Yoga class.

Like him, there are several salesperson who commit costly mistakes. Know each one of these “sins” by reading thru:

#1: BEING TOO PUSHY

Do not reek of desperation! Pitching a product or a service non-stop can send a signal that you are being too pushy or too obnoxious. Cultivate a safe room for the customer to make an intelligent decision. It is important to know when you must stop the sales talk.

#2: EXCESSIVE CHATTER

Too often than not, salespeople chatter about the goodness of their products or services. This practice can be annoying! In my example above, the trainer kept about himself. Instead of copying his steps, it is better to ask your customer some questions. Pause and listen to what they he or she has to say. Listening will help you to identify what the customer wants and needs. Your job is to fill these requirements!

#3: USING TECHNICAL TERMS

It is hard to listen to a salesperson when you do not know what he or she is blabbing about. Talking mainly in technical terms or business jargon can lead your customers to a “land of confusion”. Break this barrier by using a language that the customer understands.

It is wrong to say that the “company fulfills a robust implementation of 80,000 protocols”. It is friendlier to say that the “company can virtually connect anywhere”.

#4: SKIPPING RAPPORT

You need to establish a smooth relationship in any type of business. Just take a look at the websites of famous brands. They have landing pages to provide information about the products or services that they offer. These pages come first before the shopping cart. Apply the essence of the landing pages by not rushing into the sale. Take your time to educate your customers and they will reward you with coveted sales.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Do your research to know who makes up your target audience!

Sources: 1 & 2

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