There are a few business books I find myself going back to over and over. I’ve just added a new one to my library that I know will be one of those books – The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence, by Tom Peters.

The 163 ways to pursue excellence are presented in bite-sized nuggets (thank God) that I’ve found to inspire new ways of looking at things. Sometimes I’ll find a sentence in the book that launches my thinking in ten different directions. Other times I’ll read a section of the book and want to slap myself for not thinking of it on my own. But one of the signs of a useful book, in my opinion, is one that highlights gaps in my thinking.

Tom’s writing style is fun. He sometimes uses a small font size and sometimes uses a A LARGE BOLD FONT IN ALL CAPS. Some of his paragraphs are just two words. And he clearly isn’t worried about offending anyone. Agree or disagree, he refreshingly says what he thinks.

If you’re looking for a book to give you the dose of inspiration you’re in need of, or will challenge your organization’s thinking, check out The Little Big Things.

Tags: Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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American Express today released the results of a study they conducted with Echo Research titled, “American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.” Click on the link to access the report.

The study explores attitudes and preferences toward customer service, including data from the U.S. as well as eleven other countries.

Some of the findings surprised me:

“In fact, contrary to conventional wisdom, customers are more inclined to talk about a positive experience than complain about a negative one. Three-quarters (75%) are very likely to speak positively about a company after a good service experience in contrast with 59% who are very likely to speak negatively about a company after poor service.”

Previous studies have reported that customers are more inclined to talk about negative experiences than they are to talk about positive ones. I’m wondering if this new report indicates that excellent experiences have become so rare for customers that they have to share them with others.

Another finding reinforces the importance of building trust over time with customers:

“Importantly, consumers are far more forgiving if a company has earned their trust over time. Almost nine-in-ten consumers (86%) report they’re willing to give a company a second chance after a bad experience if they’ve historically experienced great customer service with that company.”

This statement is true in my case. With an organization I trust because of their typically high level of service, I’m willing to forgive the occasional glitch in the experience. And because excellent companies usually recover well when they make a mistake, I often end up more loyal than before the mistake was made.

Potential actions to take:

• Share the results of this report in your next team meeting. Discuss the implications for your own organization.

• Send the report to others in your organization, letting them know how you are using the data.

• Highlight some of the data points in your next employee newsletter.

Tags: Commentary, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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American Express today released the results of a study they conducted with Echo Research titled, “American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.” Click on the link to access the report.

The study explores attitudes and preferences toward customer service, including data from the U.S. as well as eleven other countries.

Some of the findings surprised me:

“In fact, contrary to conventional wisdom, customers are more inclined to talk about a positive experience than complain about a negative one. Three-quarters (75%) are very likely to speak positively about a company after a good service experience in contrast with 59% who are very likely to speak negatively about a company after poor service.”

Previous studies have reported that customers are more inclined to talk about negative experiences than they are to talk about positive ones. I’m wondering if this new report indicates that excellent experiences have become so rare for customers that they have to share them with others.

Another finding reinforces the importance of building trust over time with customers:

“Importantly, consumers are far more forgiving if a company has earned their trust over time. Almost nine-in-ten consumers (86%) report they’re willing to give a company a second chance after a bad experience if they’ve historically experienced great customer service with that company.”

This statement is true in my case. With an organization I trust because of their typically high level of service, I’m willing to forgive the occasional glitch in the experience. And because excellent companies usually recover well when they make a mistake, I often end up more loyal than before the mistake was made.

Potential actions to take:

• Share the results of this report in your next team meeting. Discuss the implications for your own organization.

• Send the report to others in your organization, letting them know how you are using the data.

• Highlight some of the data points in your next employee newsletter.

Tags: Commentary, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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Check out this excellent post written by Bob Burg (author of The Go-Giver): “Ernesto Would Be Proud, Part 2.” (Read Part 1 also, but Part 2 is the one I want to highlight here). The recommendations Bob presents are appropriate for any organization that wants to deliver excellent service to its customers.

Bob highlights four “aspects of value” – Consistency, Attention, Empathy, and Appreciation. He makes a compelling argument for how focusing on these  four elements can create a great customer experience.

Something to think about – In your job or in your organization, what three behaviors would demonstrate excellence in each of Bob’s “aspects of value”?

Tags: Commentary, Recommended Resources, Service Analysis, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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Just wanted to send a quick recommendation for two articles in today’s Wall Street Journal (June 7, 2010).

The first, “Customer Service as a Growth Engine,” reinforces the message that as the economy rebounds (albeit slower than any of us had hoped), companies are investing in improving customer service – “Just over a quarter of the 1,405 companies surveyed by Accenture late last year said customer service would be the first area they’d increase funding for as the economy recovers. Some companies have begun that practice this year.”

The same article goes on to say that American Express is “expanding a training program started last year aimed at getting call center agents to focus less on resolving calls quickly, and more on building customer loyalty.” From personal experience I can tell immediately when a call center’s only accountability metric is call volume per agent. No warm, fuzzy feelings there.

The other recommended article in today’s WSJ is actually a review for a book written by Zappos founder and CEO, Tony Hsieh. The book (which I haven’t read yet), is titled, “Getting a Foothold Online: Delivering Happiness,” and recounts the birth and growth of the giant online shoe seller. The key lines come toward the end of the article – “He freed his reps from scripts, from mandates to sell, from having their calls timed. The reps had only one imperative: Wow customers. And they did.”

If you’re looking for ammunition to support your argument for improving customer service in your organization, check out the articles and pass them along.

Tags: Commentary, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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