Positive Customer Support Attracts More Business from Existing Clients

A joint venture marketing partnership gets a business and their line of products and/or services in front of new customers, but failure to execute satisfactorily will kill the deal. If you are unable to properly service the inflow of customers and ensure satisfied clients than the partnership flow of hot leads will dry up and many partners may walk away from the deal if they feel customers have been impacted negatively.

The biggest fear of any joint venture partner is how there customers will be treated from the start of the sales cycle to the delivery of the goods or services and any issues that may arise in between. No one wants to be the person that recommends a company only for that person to have an unpleasant experience. This needs to be a number one priority for heavily sales focused organizations that have teams constantly pushing for the next deal to close. Create processes in the exchange between partners to make sure customers are followed up with on specific time intervals post sales transaction to ensure any issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.

Ticket System for Issues

Depending on the size of the partner businesses and the number of potential customers it is wise to have a ticket system in place for reporting issues. This system should be made available to all partners for the purpose of responding to customer service issues as they arise in order to make sure they’re handled in an efficient and timely manner. There’s nothing worse then being a customer with a problem and feeling like you are contacting a black hole. Create an online email form where customers can fill out requests or ask questions. Make sure the online ticket system has an automated response to reassure the customer that their issue has been received and will be addressed soon.

Log Problems & Update During Meetings

Logging all customer problems should be mandatory in the partnership agreement so that both parties can improve the customer experience. Both partner companies should be seeking clients that will actively refer their business based on a smooth and professional customer service experience. During meetings with partners resolving customer complaints and problems with service should be addressed without delay and if there is a string of issues that stem from a single problem do not wait to address the problem at a later date get it fixed immediately. It can be easy to avoid making changes to personal or procedures, but that’s why any partnership needs to start slow and work out any kinks between the two companies servicing the customer together.

Reward Excellent Customer Service

If you have an employee that is repeatedly acknowledged by customers as especially helpful, make sure to reward that employee in a way that fits your company’s culture. Whether it’s a small bonus or gift certificate, employees that go above and beyond to provide excellent service deserve recognition for the work they’re putting in. Resolving customer problems and dealing with issues that the sales team may have not been clear about can be difficult on a customer support team member. For this reason it’s extremely important to do everything possible to make sure the marketing and sales pitches are consistent across the board.

Take the time to make consumers feel special and you’ll be rewarded with long term customers that ultimately assist you in attracting new business by their referrals. Failure to provide consistent and excellent customer service will only cost your business in the long run by losing crucial customer referrals. Spend time with your front line of customer support team to understand the issues that they’re facing repeatedly to try and resolve them from occurring altogether in the future.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

Discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

Understanding Customer Needs in a Joint Venture

When you began your business, you most likely met a specific need for a targeted market base. Unfortunately, many companies begin to forget the needs of their customers as the business begins to grow. Customer service is all about meeting the consumer’s needs, but you must effectively identify them first.

This article will provide some insight on how to determine what your their needs might be in order to formulate appropriate strategies as your joint ventures expand your customer base.

Keeping Up with Changing Needs

Customers’ needs evolve over time, so ongoing research. This can be achieved through surveys or simply asking them what they think of your products and service. When your customer gives you a response, actively listen to what they say in order to correctly identify those needs and find constructive ways fulfill them.

Another way to keep up with their changing needs is to stay abreast of market trends in your industry. When new products or services are introduced, find out what the customer thinks of the changes. If the trend moves toward the latest supply, be prepared to meet the demands by updating your inventory. When you’re up to date with their current needs, you can do a better job of utilizing the various marketing strategies of your joint venture to reach out to a whole new customer base.

Mistakes to Avoid

Many companies make mistakes when evaluating their targeted demographic. One of the biggest mistakes is to identify the company’s internal needs above their customers. This can be seen in businesses that cut back staff to reduce costs, but sacrifice customer service to do so. It can also involve creating marketing strategies in a joint venture that tout the positives about a company without taking into consideration how those positives can directly benefit the customer.

Another problem companies face is accommodating conflicting needs of different customers. In these situations, a business must often take the time to evaluate what individual customers want, rather than formulating blanket policies that might not satisfy any of their customers completely. The success of this approach lies in the effective training and empowerment of the service staff to handle each customer’s needs on an individual basis. This allows for flexibility and creativity in your service to keep the large majority of your customers coming back for more.

The Value of a Joint Venture

When you launch a joint venture, this creates the perfect opportunity to learn your clients’ needs anew. What better time to conduct customer research than when you are about to set sail on
a whole new marketing campaign? When you know precisely what your customers are looking for, it will be much easier to market directly to your base and transform new customers checking out your business for the first time into ongoing, satisfied customers that keep coming back for more.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

5 Things to Teach Your Customer Service Reps Before Your Joint Venture

If the purpose of a joint venture is to increase your customer base and your sales, you need to prepare your customer service staff for the changes that you are expecting. New customers, who are checking out your business for the first time, want to know that your company is ready and willing to meet their needs. We have five things to teach your customer service reps before your joint venture becomes a reality.

Service with a Smile

An increased customer load may stress out your customer service staff at first, so remind them that service with a smile is at the core of your business success. Even if a customer has to wait in line for a few minutes, getting to the front of the line and meeting a smiling face will do much to diffuse their impatience. Model the behavior by greeting employees and customers with a smile yourself.

When Apologies Work

There are times when it is completely appropriate to offer an apology to a customer after a prolonged wait for service or when the item they ordered is not delivered on time as promised.

Teach your employees that in addition to an apology, customers want to know what you’ll do to make a situation right again. Empower employees by allowing them to offer a discount or other perk to disgruntled customers that might bring them into your business again.

Follow-up is Key

When a customer has a question or complaint, efficient follow-up is the key between keeping a customer or losing him to the business down the street. Teach your staff that once they begin working with a customer, they “own” that customer until the problem is resolved. This gives accountability to the situation and improves your customer service at the same time.

Handling Complaints

More customers means increased complaints, so teach your employees how to handle angry customers with grace and efficiency. Customers sometimes need to vent their frustrations before listening to the possible solutions. Show your staff how to listen actively so they can correctly identify the problem and offer effective solutions the first time around.

The Value of the Cross-Sale

When new customers come into your establishment, they will be more likely to become regular customers if they purchase additional products or services from you. Explain to your staff that cross-selling is not merely about increasing sales. It involves tuning into a customer’s specific needs so the products or services offered will make their life easier, more convenient or more pleasant in some way. Customers who realize you are looking out for them in this way will be more likely to frequent your business when subsequent needs arise.

The purpose of a joint venture is to bring more customers into your business. Be ready for the increased load by training your customer service staff to offer the highest quality service to every new customer who comes through your door.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

5 Things to Teach Your Customer Service Reps Before Your Joint Venture

If the purpose of a joint venture is to increase your customer base and your sales, you need to prepare your customer service staff for the changes that you are expecting. New customers, who are checking out your business for the first time, want to know that your company is ready and willing to meet their needs. We have five things to teach your customer service reps before your joint venture becomes a reality.

Service with a Smile

An increased customer load may stress out your customer service staff at first, so remind them that service with a smile is at the core of your business success. Even if a customer has to wait in line for a few minutes, getting to the front of the line and meeting a smiling face will do much to diffuse their impatience. Model the behavior by greeting employees and customers with a smile yourself.

When Apologies Work

There are times when it is completely appropriate to offer an apology to a customer after a prolonged wait for service or when the item they ordered is not delivered on time as promised.

Teach your employees that in addition to an apology, customers want to know what you’ll do to make a situation right again. Empower employees by allowing them to offer a discount or other perk to disgruntled customers that might bring them into your business again.

Follow-up is Key

When a customer has a question or complaint, efficient follow-up is the key between keeping a customer or losing him to the business down the street. Teach your staff that once they begin working with a customer, they “own” that customer until the problem is resolved. This gives accountability to the situation and improves your customer service at the same time.

Handling Complaints

More customers means increased complaints, so teach your employees how to handle angry customers with grace and efficiency. Customers sometimes need to vent their frustrations before listening to the possible solutions. Show your staff how to listen actively so they can correctly identify the problem and offer effective solutions the first time around.

The Value of the Cross-Sale

When new customers come into your establishment, they will be more likely to become regular customers if they purchase additional products or services from you. Explain to your staff that cross-selling is not merely about increasing sales. It involves tuning into a customer’s specific needs so the products or services offered will make their life easier, more convenient or more pleasant in some way. Customers who realize you are looking out for them in this way will be more likely to frequent your business when subsequent needs arise.

The purpose of a joint venture is to bring more customers into your business. Be ready for the increased load by training your customer service staff to offer the highest quality service to every new customer who comes through your door.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.

The Customer Connection: How to Get It

The primary purpose of a joint venture is to build your customer base by exposing your company to a wider range of targeted potential customers. However, the bulk of a company’s profits come from repeat business, which means connecting with your customers in a way that keeps them coming back for more. We have a few ideas on how to make and keep a customer connection that keeps on giving to your bottom line.

Communication is Key

If you truly want to connect with your current customers, the first step is to talk to them regularly. Greet them by name when they walk into your business and ask how they are doing. Learn the names of their children, pets or favorite sports teams. Ask what they think about your business and what they would change if they could. These regular exchanges don’t have to take a lot of time and effort, but they can make the world of difference in how often a customer chooses your company for his business.

Listen to Them

Customers will provide plenty of feedback about the quality of your business, and all you have to do is listen to what they have to say. However, active listening is a skill that is cultivated through use and practice. Active listening involves tuning into your customer’s words and repeating their meaning back to ensure there are no misunderstandings.

During the active listening process, you should be able to identify any potential needs your customer might have and provide effective solutions to those needs to enhance your customer’s satisfaction with your business.

Provide Incentives

Everyone likes to be appreciated, and your customers are no exception. Show them what their business means to you by scheduling periodic customer appreciation events. It might be coffee and donuts or a complete meal. You might also do a frequent customer mailing that includes special discounts only available to current clients or provide a special sale open only to those special people. If your cash is limited, get creative in your appreciation offerings, such as a special express line for current customers or a customer card that offers a discount after so many visits to your establishment.

Solicit Feedback

Some companies use customer surveys, while others take a less formal approach and simply ask customers what they like and don’t like about your business. You can have staff do follow-up calls after working with customers or send a mailing asking for customer feedback. To ensure you get a good response from your request, provide a small incentive with the survey, such as a discount on the next visit after the survey is returned. You might be surprised at how much you can learn about your company by simply asking the people who patronize it most.

Customer connections are the most effective way to build a loyal customer base and a healthy bottom line. By taking the time to forge professional relationships with the people who patronize your business most, you are more likely to keep those customers satisfied and coming back for more.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free report on Joint Venture Marketing.