Tesco seem to think that Berkhamsted is a town of single person households.It is not…there are more families in the town,its a fact,you only have to look at the number of schools to confirm it.

Tesco deny consumers a choice in Berkhamsted by dictating what they can or can not purchase.

A six pack of bread rolls used to be available …not any more

It appears that the limited choice customers have is to buy 4 for a £1 …a saving yes given that each bread roll is scandalously priced at 35 pence…

If you need 6 rolls for the family that you don’t have in this town, then it costs you a mighty £1.70  for 6 rolls…

Why the fuss you might ask?

Simple…customers should be given the right to exercise choice and in this case we cannot.Tesco are more concerned with getting as much dough from shoppers as they can rather than offering food staples at a price that is accessible to family budgets.

The store manager was unable to offer a rational explanation as to this lack of choice merely saying that it was a central decision to de stock the cheaper 6 roll pack option.

Several shoppers agreed that it was a scandal and were vocal in their views that customer satisfaction was dwindling and that they were spending more money than they wanted to. If they had cars,these were elderly, they maintained that they would drive to a superstore where they could purchase that 6 pack of rolls…

Now Tesco have spent millions on an advertising campaign that tells us that “Every Little Helps”…I am guessing that this means every little squeezed out of customers by over pricing their bread helps to pay for the ad campaign…

Doubtless the response, not yet forthcoming from Twitter, will be along the lines of how wonderful Tesco are in terms of their range of offers…

All well and good but please make sure that the basics are taken care of….on that note why is the Basics range not available in the Berkhamsted store?

Don’t tell me…it’s a single person household town and the Basics range is aimed at the family segment of shoppers…

Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 has a great chrous..

It’s all takin’  and no givin’

They just use your mind

Dragons Den Tread carefully

Watching the new series of Dragons Den has forced me to think that little more about branding and how sometimes a good name just isn’t good enough.

Last nights episode gave us Love Da Popcorn which looks like a good company with a product that will do well.

I hestiated to use the word Brand there because a brand has so much emotional tie ins that Love Da Popcorn can’t possibly have yet.

The fact that the three founders all work in advertising makes me think that they are constructing that brand and that it has not emerged itself from a light bulb moment.I could be wrong of course but my feelings tell me that they are trying just a tad too hard to be quirky,offbeat and far too Ben and Jerry..

The fact that they could not respond to the laser beam of costs that is Theo and had no idea of distribution costs etc was alarming to say the least.It was like those costs were a minor detail…we’ve got the name,a bit of artificial heritage and are trying to be a bit wacky..

In their heads the founders had gone from start to off load without getting the all important middle bit right…I wish them well and have a sneaky suspicion that they will get to where they want to be but in a different form to what they think now.

A brand evolves and its  a case of getting all the parts to be working together before the essence becomes distilled.Marketing,sales, distribution and customer research all play their part.

A good name isn’t enough as Deborah Meaden said when talking last week about Gloven…at least this week were were spared an explanation from Duncan Bannatyne on names for products —Gloven was wrong because it wasn’t a cross between oven and glove like a spoon and and a fork…can’t think how that works

What a spork…

Is the Voice of the Customer,Voc,really a pointless way to spend money? Does it tell companies anything?

Having recently read this article I’m beginning to get the feeling that some companies don’t have trust in what their customers are saying.It also makes me wonder if the process of understanding the customer is in itself not understood.

The argument that Voc is a rational response to an emotional issue is exactly right.What this article misses is that customer feedback is one part of the equation and not the total answer.There are multiple messages that are being sent by customers.

Customer experience and journey get overlooked.Surveys capture but one part of what they are trying to tell companies.Often that one part is customer satisfaction.

What is needed is more empathy with the customer,correct.

Surveys should if done in isolation look at satisfaction,loyalty and propensity to recommend.These are by far the better metrics to employ.

To understand customers there needs to be a variety of capture methods – groups,interviews and an awareness of  the market context of that customer experience.By taking into account the competitive environment it is then possible to get a better understanding of what the message is.

Surely the point of customer feedback then  is not just to benchmark customer satisfaction? The main point should be to identify your brand advocates and understand them? These are your revenue generating customers after all and the ones that will help to grow your business.

Brand evangelists will propel the brand,satisfied customers just take care of it.

Is that too simplistic a view?

One thing that I have learnt in nearly 30 years in business is that you have to look after your customers because if you don’t somebody else will!  In the ever-automated world that we live in, larger businesses have rightly used technology to help them provide their products and services to their markets, quicker and with fewer mistakes and at lower cost to them and their customers.

BUT…

Oh yes there is a but, in recent times I have seen technology being put in charge of managing the client relationship more and more and let’s be honest in most customer situations it plain doesn’t work.  We will all have stories of getting stuck in a virtual circle in some large corporate companies phone system only to be back at square one 15 minutes later despite being told “Please continue to hold your call is important to us”!

A slick technology based customer facing system can work for some of the “New World” businesses, Amazon is a great example of this, great customer delivery system backed up by an astonishing personal marketing strategy that sells you stuff you never knew you wanted!

I sometimes feel that businesses of all sizes lose sight of what is important to their customers, conversations tend to exist on a transactional level and little or no time is spent these days on understanding customers and where their business is going.  As face to face account management has become less common being replaced by more remote forms of customer care can we still maintain that all important relationships with customers?

There is no doubt the Internet is a powerful market but if your model is more traditional how do you best serve your customers?

• Make your best customer feel special, if you have a new product or fresh service offering make them feel special by offering it to them first and ask them what they think and how you can improve your service.

• Have a regular opportunities to call or visit clients, in sales a “Reason to call” is one of the most powerful marketing tools, bring your customers into your business introduce your key staff it all helps to strengthen the business-to-business relationship.

• Make sure you have a process for dealing with a customer complaints, take them seriously after all is often said that the very best customers to have are the ones who forgive you when you make mistakes!

The reality is none of us own our customers but we do share them with other suppliers.  The real challenge is to make the service we offer stand out.  Make them feel special, help them out when they are stuck and most importantly value their custom!  Use technology to serve your customers but be careful not to replace the all-important personal touch.

About the Writer

Clive Mulligan is the Principal of Simply Consulting, a Sales & Marketing Development Consultancy focused on helping small and medium sized businesses grow their businesses by developing a strong sales & Marketing Strategy.

A Sales Professional since 1984 Clive has been described by colleagues, business partners and colleagues as being “Challenging and Supportive”, being a “Knowledgeable professional and a pleasure to work with” and as having “wealth of business development experience across a number of sectors”, Clive harnesses this experience to work with forward thinking business owners to help them realize their full business potential.

For Further information please visit the website at www.simply-consultancy.co.uk or to contact Clive at clive.mulligan@simply-consultancy.co.uk or call 01923 831 725

Content sticks as well...

I’ve just come to the end of this brilliant book and am amazed at what it’s telling me.

Amazed I might add because it has changed the way that I think about marketing, the old rules truly are dead and finished if this book is anything to go by.

Grant Leboff has again come up with a major book that challenges the marketing approach.

The traditional marketing approach has been one of shouting at the consumer with the hope that some will listen and use your products.This route has proved to be an effective path for many a company…until now…

The internet has changed our relationships with others, we interact more we have choice like never before and we have the ability to be what the book calls “attractive”. It’s about reputation and about the experience that these companies give the consumer.

Never before has it been more important to enter into a process of engagement.As the book says its about the “Return on Engagement” not the “Return on Investment”.

Customers demand that engagement so that they feel valued and included.No longer can they be ignored or passed over without consideration being given for what they feel and want.

Companies need to deliver a consistent experience and tailor their services to that experience…if you are an accountant do you provide accountancy or reassurance and support? Not all accountants are the same….

Whilst striving for that consistent experience it’s crucial to monitor it so that it remains so.Customers are increasingly aware of when attention slips and they vote with their wallets.

Listening to your customers before someone else does really should be a major priority.

Read the book,digest the learning and begin to engage…

Is the Light finally on?

Last night was the end of the series of Secret Shopper the Mary Portas TV event that has opened our eyes to the changing customer service for the better.

It was a great series with some cringe worthy examples of blatant poor customer service coupled with some pretty memorable lines,”West facing is the new South facing”from last nights show…

Sharp practices were exposed,rude assistants shamed and arrogance dispelled all in the name of better customer service.

Did it achieve anything? Does a high profile TV show over 4 weeks change the way we are served? Is it the start of something big?

Sadly I would argue that the answer to all the above is NO because the change needs to be based at a more grass roots level.

There is pressure to make profits which is not always consistent in the short term with achieving operational goals. Slim staff budgets often mean that training is a secondary option,new recruits get a condensed training period which means condensed customer service.

Sales training looks at the “close” not the “Listen”…get the sale at any cost-the sofa and mobile phone shows being prime examples.

There needs to be an understanding that the customer experience is vital to sustained profit which translates to improving the customer journey and Listening to the customer before someone else does…

It would be great top think that a revolution in service standards has begun…the reality is that it will be short lived and many operations be they retail,hospitality,leisure and commerce will gravitate back to shorter well trodden paths…customer needs avoidance….

Black Horse...should be faster

Lloyds TSB has had some problems over the last year or so what with the economy and being bailed out by tax payers.

It strikes me that they should really be making more of an effort to display at least a modicum of customer service skills.

Over the last two months I have been trying to get another company credit card.I have filled in all the forms and the new person has given their details  and off they were posted.

Last week a letter arrived instructing both of us to go to our nearest branch and sign so different forms along with presenting ID.

Today was that day…problem was that it didn’t go well.

After an age we were told that we had been sent the wrong forms and that new ones would have to be dispatched and that we would have to come back again…I was screaming by this point..

The people behind me waiting to be served were screaming louder…not one of the people behind the glass who were all standing arounding chatting moved a muscle to help.

Eventually I presume the Manager came out and helped with people who just needed to pay money in.

Currently Customer Service is all the rage and will be more so when Scary Mary hits our screens on Wednesday.It seems incredible that in a bank the size of Lloyds TSB that you can wait fro nearly ten minutes and no one takes control and smiles and apologises for the delay.Staff seem to have been trained to look down,over or through customers rather than at them.

Come on Lloyds lead the way and stop ignoring us…

Not the best award Talk Talk have had

Next week sees the new Mary Portas series Secret Shopper starting on C4,Wednesday 9pm.

This will be a must watch because it seeks to show warts and all the lack of customer service that seems normal in this country.

Scary Mary gathers the evidence and confronts the chiefs to show them just how bad things are.

Brilliant…it’s about time that customer service was elevated to where it belongs, to the top of the customer experience.

At the same time the Daily Mail today delivers the results of it’s worst customer service award…and the Wooden Spoon goes to Talk Talk..

Other contenders were Santander,HMRC,Ryanair,Nationwide and the Royal Mail.

It seems that Talk Talk have done very little Listen Listen and customers have been treated in the most appalling manner….Calls not returned,staff that were rude,and dishonest claiming that faults would be fixed and lying about tariffs to get customers to change to a higher one.Some customers have had no phone or internet for months and still could not get anything done to sort it out.

Chasing new customers is one thing but failing to deliver on service standards to existing customers is unforgivable.

We need to stand up for ourselves and insist on good service as a given and not fall over backwards when we encounter a helpful,friendly and smiling face that makes our encounter truly great.

All companies in what ever sector may just be about to get the Portas treatment from a lot more people…about time….

This old thing still works well

Rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated..

A recent article in B2B Marketing highlighted just how popular the channel still is and that it is et to grow.

Recent research shows the main uses for Telemarketing appear to be for “generating new leads” and for booking “sales appointments” closely followed by “lead qualification”.

These primary demand generation factors,whilst important,are not the only use that Telemarketing can be put to.

It’s interesting that this Telemarketing survey was conducted via Email…Customeyes have been saying for some time that Tel-E-Marketing is the way forward where both elements are combined.

An interesting finding from the research was that customer feedback and research were also cited as uses of Telemarketing.

As a research tool the telephone is vastly underrated and can deliver some amazing results.People love to tell you things and “conversations” not calls allow you to explore and dig more than any email or social media campaign can.

Social media is a great marketing and research channel when used in conjunction with the telephone.

We are becoming more used to punching out emails as a first means of communication than getting on the phone and building rapport.

Maybe it’s time that the phone was dusted off and used more often.

If you need some help with your Telemarketing then please do email us….or push the boat out and call…

Full survey results available at www.b2bm.biz/telemarketing