The Not-So-Secret Ingredient For Business Success

The Customer Is Always Right (or Something Like that)

If there was one key thing for guaranteeing that your business would thrive, what would it be? Let’s ask Best Buy! Throughout the last ten-ish years, big box electronic stores have taken a big hit during the retail apocalypse. Once industry-giants like Circuit City, CompUSA, H.H. Gregg, Tweeter, and TigerDirect have all ceased to exist. It seemed like Best Buy was destined to join them as the company struggled to compete with the prices and convenience of shopping online at places like Amazon.

But after Hubert Joly took over as CEO in 2012, Best Buy experienced five consecutive years of sales growth, a 25% return on investment, and a doubling of online sales revenue from the time that he was hired.

Joly’s secret? Customer service. Joly came to Best Buy with an extensive background in the hospitality industry. He used that knowledge to focus Best Buy’s efforts on improving the customer experience before anything else. He implemented a price-match policy, launched an In-Home Consultation program, and introduced 24/7 tech support for any product regardless of when and where it was purchased. He also invested in training, awards, and new benefits for the company’s employees so that they would be more willing and able to assist customers.

After Joly stepped down in 2019, Best Buy lost its focus on the customer experience under the new leadership and it has again started suffering from lower sales and even employee layoffs.

The moral of the story? Don’t lose sight of the key to a successful business: serving your customers. Without happy customers, you won’t have a business.

Customer Service? Customer Experience? Customer Support? What??

• If you’re not entirely sure what customer experience even is, Martech provides a great run-down and defines how it differs from customer service. (article)
  
  
• Excellent customer service happens when you anticipate and meet customers’ needs and expectations, and there are a dozen practices you can easily implement today. (article)
  
  
• Poor customer service traits have more weight on customer experience than any good practices you may have, so here are 6 things you should avoid at all costs. (article)
  
  
• Customer service experiences determine if they return or reach out to your competitor, and having a solid follow-up strategy can put your customers’ experience over the edge. (article)
  
  
• Your employees are often going to bear the brunt of the customer service responsibilities, which is why you need to create a winning customer service culture within your team. (article)
  
  
• If you want to get real nerdy with it, Hiver did a whole book report that breaks down the history of customer service, the types of proactive and reactive customer support, and more. (article) 
  
  
  

Connect + Grow

If you’ve got big plans for the end of the year and you want to surround yourself with like-minded creative bosses that get it, you’re not alone.

The Being Boss Community is a fun, inclusive, and supportive space for creative business owners to get together, talk about business, help each other find solutions, and grow.

The best part? The Being Boss Community is completely free to join and gives you access to meet-ups, virtual co-working sessions, and tons of resources.

Stats That Prove Our Point

• 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service. Helpscout gathered that stat and 106 more about customer service that you need to read. (article)
  
  
• 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. In case 107 stats isn’t enough, here are a few more. (article)
  
  
• Customer satisfaction might sound ambiguous, but there are several ways that you can track and measure it. (article)
  
  
• Customer Lifetime Value is one of the most important KPIs in business. Here are some ways to calculate it and improve it. (article)
  
  
  

Stop Chasing Payments*

Tired of late payments from clients and customers? Not only does it mess with your cash flow, it’s also just awkward. As the boss of your business, we know you have enough to worry about. So why not let FreshBooks chase down those unpaid invoices for you?

Save time and avoid awkward client exchanges about overdue payments. Let Freshbooks send your custom invoices and stay focused on the other things that need your attention.

Try FreshBooks free for 30 days, no credit card required when you sign up here >>

*This is sponsored by our friends at Freshbooks.

Happy Customers = Happy Business

• You can’t dodge unhappy customers forever, but there are some go-to ways to respond to and resolve complaints. (article)
  
  
• If you think your customer service skills are lacking, here are 20 tips you can practice to build up your chops. (article)
  
  
• Your team’s customer support skills may be struggling too; but don’t worry, there are some tips for training them as well. (article)
  
  
• The onboarding process (or lack thereof) for new customers is where most churn occurs, so it’s important to implement these 13 best practices to improve your onboarding. (article)
  
  
• Returns are inevitable in product businesses, and having a solid return policy and process can help encourage customers to purchase from you in the future (and make your life easier.) (article)
  
  
  

Upcoming Events

Want access to a community of bosses and live events? Join us for weekly Monday meet-ups to troubleshoot your struggles and celebrate your wins. Get shit done thanks to a little extra accountability during our coworking sessions and more! Check out our events page to see all upcoming events and join us in the FREE Being Boss Community.