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You don’t have to be marketing online for long before you declare at least once that all of your customers are “morons!”

In corner number one we have the disgruntled customer that is going to sue you over a $17 product.

In corner number two we have the customer who insists you are a scam artist and is determined to see you brought to justice (this is my personal favorite).

It doesn’t happen often, but if you’re going to be in business for yourself, you will run across some nasty customers from time to time. Some can be diffused, some can’t. That’s just the way things go in business.

There are some simple techniques for dealing with irate customers without burning yourself an ulcer over them or stooping to their level and telling them you hope they get cancer and die!

Here are some tips you may find useful

1. Don’t take it personal

There is one thing that almost all nasty customers have in common. They try to attack you on a personal level. Name calling is not unusual. When you take it personal, you are likely to get into a yelling match with the customer which resolves nothing and only stands to make things worse. Try to diffuse the situation and kill the anger with kindness so to speak. If that doesn’t work, ask them to contact you again once they have calmed down and are willing to speak reasonably. Refuse to speak with a customer in an irate state. You don’t have to put up with abuse ever.

2. Don’t overdo the “customer is always right” concept

In customer service training you will always hear that the customer is always right. While that is true to some extent, sometimes they are just flat wrong. You should always try to accommodate a customer within reason, but do not allow that concept to go too far.

3. Realize it isn’t always your problem

Sometimes people just have a bad day and are looking for someone to take it out on. A hateful, ugly customer is often one of these people. If you listen to their ranting and raving, then respond kindly telling them you understand their frustration and you want to work with them to come to a resolution, you will often diffuse the anger and uncover the rational human being beneath it.

4. Don’t fall for fear invoking bluffs

In customer service some business people tend to do anything to avoid the potential harm of a threat even if it means losing money or giving in to irrational demands. When you are threatened, consider the validity of the threat. Do you really think someone is going to pay thousands of dollars in attorney fees to sue you over a low dollar transaction? Likely not. Again, do what you can to accommodate within reason but don’t give in to unsubstantiated threats.

5. Be prepared to decide whether or not a customer relationship is worth salvaging

You’ve heard it said that one happy customer tells one person about your business while an unhappy customer will tell 10 or more. Undoubtedly, word of mouth can be the best or the worst exposure for your business. This is the very basis of the “the customer is always right” concept. Of course it is best to salvage a customer relationship if you can, but again, do so within reason.

Jason Tarasi publishes the “Marketer’s Protection Newsletter”. Subscribe now and DISCOVER the insider secrets you MUST know to protect yourself from fraud, lawsuits and other potential risks that could permanently harm your online business. http://www.marketersprotection.com

Have you ever tried calling a help desk? If you did, you may think that the help desk is located within the company’s building. However, because of the availability of high-speed internet access, chances are, you are probably calling a customer service center building located half way around the world.

A call center is a kind of outsourcing company that companies in the United States are hiring in order to save a lot of money. It is a fact that setting up an in-house call center can prove to be costly. However, you will need to set up a calling center in order for your clients to reach your company regarding their inquiries and complaints. If you don’t have a call center, your company will find it hard to communicate with your clients.

Therefore, outsourcing is the answer to your problems. Because of the advancement in the internet, it is now possible for companies to hire businesses for call services outside the country. Companies do this in order to communicate with their clients more efficiently.

Outsourced call centers are cheaper in developing countries because the labor is relatively cheap compared to developed countries. There are also plenty of skilled workers in developing countries with limited employment options.

So, these telephone service centers are one of the best choices for professionals in other countries. This particular job is preferred by a lot of people in other countries because of the high amount of salary which is above their minimum wage.

However, before you hire an outsourced calling center for your company, you should first consider the fact that not all such services are equal in terms of quality and the amount of money they charge. Here are some of the things you should look for in order to get your money’s worth:

* Amount of calls answered. A good center should be able to handle large amounts of calls in a single day. Ask the call center on how many average calls they can handle in a single day.

* Average call waiting time. Find out about the average waiting time before a client can be connected to an agent. The shorter time they wait the better.

* Average call time. It is also important to find out about the average time an agent spends in a single caller. It is important to keep the calls as short as possible in order to entertain more clients.

* Professionalism of call center agents. Try calling in to find out if the agents they hire are competent at handling calls. Agents must be skilled at handling frustrated callers and able to handle emotional and physical stress.

You should find out how agents handle the calls and if the information they give you is sufficient and effective. Language skills should also be considered in call centers’ agents. If they are unable to communicate, they will be considered incompetent.

These are the things that you should find out about a particular calling center firm. Once you hire an outsourced call center, you should frequently make calls in order to find out if they are indeed doing their job.

Outsourced customer service centers can be a great way to save money. If you need a service for inbound and outbound calls, outsourcing is a great solution that can save buisnesses considerable costs.

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VOC certainly helps in designing products and services based on specific customer needs and requirements, but the problem is that the data collection process is not easy. Lack of proper data can seriously undermine the successful implementation of Six Sigma projects and in turn, leads to frustration, reduced process capability and missed deadlines. In such a scenario, it would become quite impossible to satisfy the needs of the customers, leave alone delighting the customers, which is one of the primary aims of most Six Sigma projects. Given below are some of the techniques that can be employed by project managers to jump-starting Six Sigma projects.

Verifying The Applicability Of VOC Data Collection Tools

Six Sigma makes use of different types of standardized statistical tools for the purpose of VOC data collection. Each of these tools has a specific utility and is meant for use in specific business processes only. While selecting tools for a particular project, the project manager should carry out the necessary checks to ensure that the selected tool will be able to give the desired results.

Selecting tools for use in simple business processes is quite easy, but the task becomes quite difficult when the project involves making changes to complex business processes. In such cases, what that matters most is the experience of the project manager, which can be utilized for selecting the most appropriate VOC data collection tool. Qualifications and theoretical knowledge are also necessary, but it’s the experience that counts when it comes to selecting the most effective data collection tool.

Understanding Customer Behavior

Analyzing the inputs provided by customers for understanding their specific needs is no doubt an essential task, but when you consider the amount of effort that goes into data gathering and analysis, its importance is certainly reduced. Large established organizations with unlimited resources at their disposal may not feel the pinch of carrying out such mammoth tasks, but small organizations are certainly not as lucky and have to plan properly if they do want to invest in carrying out a similar task.

The best option for these organizations is to skip this step altogether because if we think rationally we find that in reality most customers are not certain about their needs. The only things that they are sure about are the things that they do not want such as high prices, poor quality and late delivery. Therefore, instead of spending vast amounts on VOC data collection, the organization can simply concentrate on designing cost effective products or services, something that most customers really want. Skipping VOC data collection process is however not possible in case of products or services that are targeted at a niche market, where customers are far more critical of what is being offered to them.

Six Sigma may be based on standardized statistical theories and concepts, but it does not mean that it cannot be altered to suit the requirement of a specific business process or industry. More than anything else, Six Sigma is a practical approach for improving quality and increasing efficiency.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution’s Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six
sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

The average company loses half their customers in 5 years and half their employees in 4 years(*1) This has significant impact to overall customer, employee, investor and supplier loyalty. Loyalty is the degree to which these groups are loyal to your product, service and organization.

In today’s market, being customer focused is a key to survival and longevity. High levels of loyalty have positive impact on customer satisfaction, profitability, and reputation. Happy employees work harder, produce more and stay with an employer longer. Investors and suppliers feel increased confidence in the organization and their actions reflect that.

So how do you know if your organization is lacking in loyalty or strong in it? Here are just a few key steps in gauging and improving loyalty:

1. Evaluate current levels of loyalty. Information can be gathered from customers, employees, suppliers, partners and investors. Ask questions such as: How satisfied are you with our product and service? How well are problems handled? How can we better serve you? Ask your employees how satisfied they are in their jobs and how well are they communicated with. These all affect loyalty. Find areas to improve on, and then act on them!

2. Create clear mission, vision and value statements and goals. These provide the map to guide daily behavior and long term performance; it invites people to adjust the activities, projects, tasks to support and shift the organization closer to the set goals. Clearly define these and communicate them.

3. Invest in your employees. An attitude of indiffence to your customers causes an average of 68% of customers to stop doing business with you.(*2) This attitude of indifference is displayed and communicated by employees both within the organization and to customers. A commitment to communication, on-going learning, culture development and rewarding performance all help in creating a positive attitude and work environment.

4. Create a customer focused organization. Gauge how customer focused or internally focused your processes are. Does your Eastern Canada order desk close at 5 p.m., yet your customers in Western Canada cannot order when it is convenient for them? Utilizing simple mapping techniques can allow you to display these processes and quickly identify areas for improvement – both in efficiencies and with the goal of creating more customer focused processes.

5. Identify the target customer group that will purchase your product and service. These customers should clearly see the value in what you offer, have the funds to pay for it and be looking for long term customer-supplier relationships. Are you currently selling to your target audience? Should you be targeting other groups? The closer you are to your defined profile, the higher loyalty and profitability you will experience.

The bottom line is that Loyalty has significant impact. Customers, employees, suppliers and investors are important to the success of your business. Take the time to re-evaluate your success with each group, and watch as your performance, profitability and potential increase!

Canadian Management Centre’s Customer Service Training seminars, provide the skills and techniques to improve customer satisfaction.

http://www.cmctraining.org/