Archive for July, 2010

Can Bad Customer Feedback Increase Your Online Sales?

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

It probably seems a little counter-intuitive, but bad feedback when handled correctly can actually provide a benefit.  All companies, even the great ones, can run into problems with unhappy customers.  Just ask Steve Jobs about the recently released Apple iPhone 4G. While bad feedback is something you’d like to avoid, the fact is it happens.  In today’s highly connected Social Media world what is most important is how a company resolves the issue.  Conversations and opinions are being shared online all the time that are influencing purchase decisions.  Companies who have decided to listen to their customers, embrace transparency and encourage feedback are seeing an increase in sales and a strengthening of their customer loyalty. Those that make a win/win out of a bad customer experience are creating a competitive advantage.

Voice of the Customer: Even if you are a very small company there are conversations taking place (good or bad) about your products on Twitter, blogs, Facebook and through other Social Media channels. Social Media is the new gossip column, the new local nail salon or as Coleman might want you to believe the new camp fire where people sit around and share ideas, complain about things and talk about their experiences. You can either choose to participate in the conversation or ignore it.  It’s your choice.  However, customers are sharing their opinions online 24/7 and dialog is taking place that is impacting your sales. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of those discussions?

Turn Bad into Good:  Research conducted by the National Association of Retailers found that more than 95% of customers who had a bad experience came back and bought more products, when their original issue was handled quickly and in a fair way. In addition, data shows that resolving customer issues in a transparent way where others can see the outcome can have a positive impact on attracting new buyers. The reason has to do with trust. People naturally have a higher level of trust with people who are willing to admit a mistake.  This same dynamic works with companies.  If customers see that you are willing to go out of your way to fix a problem and show them that you value their satisfaction they are more likely to buy again.    

What Type of Company Are You?  Online conversations are taking place and consumers are seeking out opinions in order to make buying decisions. Are you participating?  What approach do you take?   

  1. See No Evil:  You do not believe that there is a sufficient amount of customer feedback being shared by your buying audience to make it worth your while. If you do not see it or hear it then it does not exist.  You do not need to do anything about it. You find out only when it is too late.
  2. Newbie:  While you might be aware that your customers are talking about your products and sharing testimonials and reviews, you tend to ignore it. You believe bad feedback will bounce off your chest and not impact your other sales.  You have ignored the opportunity to make your products better.  Your competitors are quietly starting to catch up with you.
  3. Bull in a China Shop:  You are vigilant and you are highly aware that feedback is being shared, discussed and valued, but you are so convinced about the supremacy of your products that you think everyone is wrong.  Instead of listening to your customers in order to make things right, you tend to confront your audience to try to convince them they are wrong.  You have not only missed an opportunity to show them you are listening but you have alienated them by showing you do not care.  (Steve I hope you are reading this blog and yes you should have apologized for the reception issue upfront) 
  4. Customer Centric:  You see everything; hear everything and you have put in place functions and tools to actively solicit feedback.  Responding to both good and bad feedback, you rapidly resolve issues and take advantage of every bit of input to optimize your operations and build a stronger relationship with your buyers.  You proactively turn customers into advocates and by your openness you persuade more and more prospects to kick the tire.

Only you can decide what type of company you are and it does not matter if you are B2B or B2C.  If you want to do business online, gathering customer feedback, soliciting reviews and making it easier for your audience to have a two-way conversation with you is becoming an essential element. Companies that have embraced a higher level of transparency, participate in Social Media and value the voice of the customer are way ahead.  Bad feedback will happen regardless of how strong your brand is or how good your product.  In today’s highly connected world you can not hide.  When you turn an issue into a positive example of your superior customer focus, and make it visible, you can actually build stronger loyalty and stimulate greater sales from your customers.  Be customer centric and create an advantage while others are not even listening.

About Metricsboard: We are an online benchmark company that provides free business performance benchmark assessments. The benchmarks are automated and take less than 10 minutes online to complete.  In return, you receive a full results report with comparison data on best practices, a maturity rating against your competitors (peer group) and strategic recommendations. There is a complimentary benchmark you can take for Web 2.0 Marketing, B2B Sales, IT Infrastructure, Human Resources, Procurement and Corporate Communications. Your privacy is protected and you will not receive any sales follow-up calls.

Find out how you compare against your competitors? Learn the latest best practices and performance tips.  Visit our benchmark services page  Sign up for our RSS feed or newsletter to get regular updates on trend data covering Marketing, Sales, HR, IT and other operational areas.  Please share this blog.

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Posted in B2B Sales, Corporate Communications, Metrics and Benchmarking, Uncategorized, Web 2.0 Marketing | 1 Comment »

Don’t Like Your Culture? – You Own It; Change It

Friday, July 16th, 2010

CEO to VP HR:  “I don’t like our corporate culture. It needs to change. You own it; you change it.”

Okay, so maybe the statement is not usually as blatant as this one. Although, I do know of some CEOs who believe this to be true. To say that any one person or group owns the corporate culture is a nonsensical statement.  Corporate culture is an intangible item that one person or group cannot hold, yet each employee can feel its impact, sense when it’s “not right,” and influence its direction in either a positive or negative way.

What is corporate culture? The common definition refers to the norms of operation, the attitudes of management and people, and socially acceptable behaviors within the work environment of a company. I’m quite sure from this definition that HR, while it plays a part, is not the owner of the corporate culture.  So who does own the corporate culture? Well, let’s look at the definition – norms of operation, attitudes of management and people, socially acceptable behavior in the work environment – sounds to me like corporate culture is owned by everyone in the company.

What tips employees and leaders that maybe the corporate culture is “not right” and, for the good of the company, needs to change? Sometimes the clues are subtle; sometimes they are obvious. They may include things such as:

  • - The published values and observed attitudes of the company do not match or, in some cases, are in opposition to what actually happens
  • - There is a lack of trust between leadership and employees
  • - Attrition is higher than desired and/or higher than your competitors
  • - Employee morale is low
  • - The company has been subject to multiple harassment suits

So, having identified that your corporate culture needs to change and, as the saying goes, “understanding that you have a problem means you’re not too far gone,” what next? The obvious questions are:  “What is the current culture?”, “What needs to change?”, and “How do we make the changes?” I said earlier that HR does not own the corporate culture, BUT, HR can provide the expertise to find the answers to these questions – first by assessing the current culture, then by working with leadership to identify and facilitate the development of change initiatives.

Assessment of the current corporate culture can be accomplished through an employee satisfaction survey and/or exit surveys, a subject I expounded upon in an earlier blog. Questions on the surveys can identify potential issues pertaining to leadership, trust, adherence to corporate values, and the work environment. These surveys will not only provide an indication of the current culture but, with the right questions, will highlight areas of the culture that are candidates for programs to affect desired changes. The most important and absolute key to the success and the effectiveness of any program meant to change corporate culture is the willing participation, collaboration, and co-ordination with the company leadership at all levels – with the CEO as the ultimate champion of the culture change.

The cautionary note to HR then is that unless and until executives and other leaders support the culture change initiatives, no changes can occur. Leaders at all levels are responsible for giving permission to, and condoning, the attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate the culture. Without their buy-in and support, initiatives to make changes to your corporate culture would be nothing more than idle talk, wasted time, and wasted money.

About Metricsboard: We are an online benchmark company that provides free business performance benchmark assessments. The benchmarks are automated and take less than 10 minutes online to complete.  In return, you receive a full results report with comparison data on best practices, a maturity rating against your competitors (peer group) and strategic recommendations. There is a complimentary benchmark you can take for Web 2.0 Marketing, B2B Sales, IT Infrastructure, Human Resources, Procurement and Corporate Communications. Your privacy is protected and you will not receive any sales follow-up calls.

Find out how you compare against your competitors? Learn the latest best practices and performance tips.  Visit our benchmark services page  Sign up for our RSS feed or newsletter to get regular updates on trend data covering Marketing, Sales, HR, IT and other operational areas.  Please share this blog.

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Leadership – Build or Buy?

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

A company’s ability to build and thrive in the future rests on many factors. One key factor is the ability to have the right leadership in place, at all levels, to be the guiding hands of success. The corollary to this is the ability to anticipate the need for new leadership roles and have a source of future leaders, i.e. companies either have to develop and promote leaders  internally (build) or hire leaders externally (buy).

Companies often favor one strategy (“build” or “buy”) over the other. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. There are also reasons why one strategy may be a better choice at any given time, depending upon the business circumstances. To fill leadership roles the most forward-thinking companies employ both strategies in the unique balance that their business necessitates. This permits them to capitalize on the most positive aspects each strategy affords. Understanding the reasons and situations where each strategy provides its advantages can help companies deploy them successfully.

“Build” – “Building” internal leadership for the future requires the development of a detailed plan for identifying future leaders, building and providing training programs, and tracking open positions for placement of rising leaders. It’s a longer term proposition that will not yield immediate results. However, I don’t believe you can ever go wrong developing employee  capabilities, and the benefits accrue not only to the employee but to the company as well. Developing employees to eventually be placed in future leader roles is most effective when companies:

  • - Take a long-term view of corporate planning
  • - Are in an industry where external leadership resources are limited (e.g. aerospace)
  • - Are in an industry that is growing rapidly and available resources with industry experience have been outstripped by demand (think health care)
  • - Promote the development programs available to their employees and encourage participation. 

Developing leadership internally benefits companies by reducing recruitment costs to fill leadership roles and providing continuity of corporate knowledge enabling the new leadership placement  to become productive sooner. Building internal leadership, however, takes time and it may require two or more years to develop employees to the point where they can be promoted to a leadership role. A long-term resource planning view needs to be taken with external hiring until internal capability exists. A company’s commitment to training and promoting internal candidates through leadership development programs can enhance its ability to attract potential employees as these candidates see the possibilities of career advancement. This is a great reputation for any company to cultivate. 

“Buy” – “Buying” leadership, through external recruiting of people to fill leadership roles, is an effective method of adding leadership quickly or bringing on leadership with specialty skills not found within your company.  Companies tend to utilize the “buy” method of leadership acquisition if they:

  • - Are growing fast (again, think health care)
  • - Have not yet established leadership development programs
  • - Recognize that the need for new leaders outstrips available internal candidates
  • - Are moving in a new strategic direction and are seeking a new top executive to drive the change
  • - Have made a strategic decision to not provide leadership development programs or promote leadership from within. 

Recruiting external leadership can be an expensive proposition with costs increasing appreciably as the level of leadership sought rises (Director and Executive levels). Externally recruited leadership will also require some period of indoctrination to the company, perhaps up to six months, before they reach full productivity even if they have industry experience. Not having an internal leadership development program may also harm the company’s ability to attract candidates, both leaders and non-leaders. Companies that become known for not providing advancement opportunities or developing employees for leadership roles may find their pool of candidates for open job postings becomes shallow – word gets out. 

Companies should not expect that their leadership requirements will be satisfied by a single leadership acquisition strategy. Each strategy – build and buy – has a role to play in filling leadership needs at all levels. The real skill is in defining the balance between the two and determining which roles and under what circumstances each strategy will be utilized as the method of filling the leadership ranks.

About Metricsboard: We are an online benchmark company that provides free business performance benchmark assessments. The benchmarks are automated and take less than 10 minutes online to complete.  In return, you receive a full results report with comparison data on best practices, a maturity rating against your competitors (peer group) and strategic recommendations. There is a complimentary benchmark you can take for Web 2.0 Marketing, B2B Sales, IT Infrastructure, Human Resources, Procurement and Corporate Communications. Your privacy is protected and you will not receive any sales follow-up calls.

Find out how you compare against your competitors? Learn the latest best practices and performance tips.  Visit our benchmark services page  Sign up for our RSS feed or newsletter to get regular updates on trend data covering Marketing, Sales, HR, IT and other operational areas.  Please share this blog.

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Posted in Human Resources, Metrics and Benchmarking | No Comments »