Wall Focus-119

(News collection for Management studies)

Volume: 02           Issue: 119         01-November, 2010 – Monday Pages: 8

Focus :  Customer Relationship Management
Satisfying customer needs – Customer service excellence needs to be an obsession.

What needs should sales and service providers satisfy to make customers happy?

We want to be respected. We want to feel acknowledged as a person and for what we are. Being ignored or being seen as an intrusion is something none of us like.
If the salesman is taking time to understand the customer instead of jumping to sell a product, it makes the customer comfortable and builds confidence in the salesperson.

Make the customer feel important.

The selling is about satisfying customer needs and that customers have two types of needs to be satisfied – physical or tangible need and personal or psychological need. Retaining customers is about going beyond mere satisfaction ion. It is about making them happy and delighted so that they want to come back.

Let us see what needs sales and service providers must satisfy that will make customers feel good and happy.

These are fairly basic human needs and apply to all whether young or old, rich or poor, man or woman. I believe these are very basic after the roti, kapda, makaan needs. We will also see that these needs are interrelated and the solution to all is almost common. While there could be many personal needs, I would categorise them into four broad categories with the understanding that most other needs would fall into these categories.

Customers want to be respected  - We want to be respected. We want to feel acknowledged as a person and for what we are. Being ignored or being seen as an intrusion is something none of us like. We need to ask ourselves how often we do this in our interactions with customers or colleagues. What can service providers do to show respect? A lot, which is quite simple really.

We show respect by attending to a person. When we are talking to a person and we get distracted by someone else or receive phone calls or look somewhere else or do our own work like writing or working on a computer terminal, what we are really showing is a lack of respect for the person in front of us.

In today’s context, we have an even more common and yet a really unacceptable situation. A salesperson sits in front of a customer (I will change it to - a person sits in front of another person, as this can be any personal interaction context) and while one person is talking (the customer), the other person (the sales or CR person) takes a call on his mobile or plays around with SMS. I believe this is downright rude and shows total lack of respect for the other person. Adding insult to injury, it never ceases to amaze me that I find so many sales/service people meeting me after an appointment they have sought, and then in my office, on my time, take calls on their mobiles for doing some of their business.

I have now learnt to tell people who come to see me on sales calls to switch off their phones while they talk to me in my office on my time. I am the customer. What amazes me even more is that companies spend a large amount of money on service training and customer handling and do not drive home these basics. Respect, as I see it, is to focus on the person we are dealing with and give undivided attention to him or her.

I have also not understood why customer-facing people get interrupted by other colleagues and telephone calls. In my book of rules, this is unacceptable. This should be part of Customer Service 101 in any programme.

Customers want to feel important  -Leading from this is a similar need – we want to feel important. When a customer deals with a salesperson, she likes to believe she is the most important factor in the success of the salesperson and the company. What can we do to show that she is important and that we value her business? Quite simply, as we saw above, by respecting the person.

How often do we find ourselves as a customer standing in front of a sales or service person, and the person not even looking up and acknowledging your presence? True, the person behind the counter or desk may be busy or with another customer. Can he still do something meaningful to acknowledge the other person without upsetting the person he is dealing with? A smile, a nod to show that he has registered the customer’s presence, is a good enough place to start. Or a short and pleasant ‘will be with you in a while’ and ‘thanks for waiting’ shows you value the customer and her presence.

As a salesman, I have found many simple ways of sending the message across to the other person that he is important and that I value his time. If I meet a customer in my office, I would consciously clear my table of papers and material so that there is no clutter between me and my customer. I may also tell my secretary or the operator to hold all calls for the next few minutes as I would not like to be disturbed. These actions cost me nothing but I believe they give me a lot in terms of building relationships with my customers. I need to send the message to my customer that he is important and I respect his time. There are many other such actions we can take.

Another simple step is to thank the customer for her business at the cash counter and hope you would see her again. Most people at cash counters do not even look up at the customer. In fact, most often I find myself thanking the cashier after my purchase – essentially for giving me the change due to me and letting me get away from the shop.

Customers want to feel understood  -We want to feel understood. Any customer talks to a salesperson because he or she has a need that is to be satisfied. The customer has so much choice that often she is confused and not sure she is doing the right thing. She also fears that the salesperson’s job is to sell whatever they have and not necessarily what is best for her. A customer thus wants reassurance that she is dealing with a person who understands her needs and will recommend a solution that is best suited for her. The salesman is, in fact, like a doctor in this situation. The patient (customer) has a pain (need) and the doctor has to prescribe the right medicine (the product, solution) that will remove the cause of pain. What does a good doctor do? He sits the patient down, asks questions, listens patiently, looks at symptoms, understands the patient’s issues, does an examination and then writes out a prescription.

How would a patient feel if he tells a doctor he has a stomach ache and the doctor immediately writes out a prescription? He would feel uncomfortable and wonder how the doctor could give the right prescription when he has not even taken the trouble to understand the problem.

On the contrary, when a doctor asks questions and takes time to understand, the process itself makes the patient feel comfortable and very often half the pain seems to disappear! This is exactly how a customer feels when he needs to buy something or has a problem with a service rep.

The fact that the salesman is taking time to understand the customer instead of jumping to sell a product makes the customer comfortable and builds confidence in the salesperson. I find this is very relevant for service and complaint-handling departments where anxiety, anger and emotion levels are likely to be high. Customers want to be reassured that you are making the effort to understand the problem so that you are likely to give the right solution. This makes the customer comfortable.

Customers want to feel comfortable  -This brings me to another need – we want to feel comfortable. We want to feel easy and not pressurised when dealing with others. As I see it, being comfortable is the end result of having other needs met. We can see from the above that if a customer feels respected, important and understood, she will be comfortable with the salesperson. When we are comfortable and at ease with the salesperson, we are happy and want to come back to the same person.

Make customers WANT to come back  -Interestingly, a few simple steps would satisfy the above needs very easily. In fact, one simple step alone will largely satisfy the above needs well – being a good listener. Remember, we all have personal needs and simple actions can satisfy these needs and make us happy. It costs nothing really but there is a lot to gain. We all want to deal with people who make us happy. When a customer is happy, she wants to come back to the same store, bank, dealer or shop.

As Stew Leonard Sr., of the American Stew Leonard’s chain of supermarkets, said, “When a customer walks into my store he does not ask what I can do for Stew Leonard. He asks what Stew Leonard will do for me.” What Stew Leonard knew was that he had to make the customer happy. Happy enough to make the customer WANT to come back. That is the secret of building customer loyalty. Not very difficult is it?

(Ramesh Venkateswaran-The writer is Director, SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore.)

SPECIAL FOCUS – Books - Manage Mentor
Lead but don't forget to manage ( Collected by K.Mounika- 09D61E0030)

Leadership Secrets
Michael Heath

Bosses who are chronically impatient may not like to know that ‘being impatient may look dynamic but it rarely has a positive outcome,' writes Michael Heath in Leadership Secrets (www.harpercollins.co.in). In fact, impatience often leads to misunderstanding, rework and repair, adds Heath.

Winning people: Stating that patience is required for dealing with people, politics, and perspective, the author reminds that people are not immovable in their thinking. “But they have to feel that they have control over the decision to change. When pressure is applied they might comply. But they will not be persuaded.” The leader needs to realise that winning people over to his or her cause may take time. As for politics, the author's counsel to leaders is to read the politics and wait patiently for the right time to move. And a sense of perspective helps leaders in choosing the conflicts and opportunities wisely.

Leaders and managers: ‘Lead but don't forget to manage,' is another insight in the book. “You manage things; you lead people,” reads a quote of Grace Murray Hopper, aptly cited by the author. He also refers to Abraham Zaleznik — that the role of a leader is like an artist, scientist, and creative thinker as opposed to a manager.

“Managers live in — and maintain — the system, the detail of working life. The small stuff. They're responsible for the ship's boilers. They make sure the turbines are working. See to it that the crew's happy and that courses are followed. But the leader decides the course. They look at the map and place their finger on where the ship is going.”

Quick wins: A section devoted to change has a chapter titled, ‘maintain momentum,' where the author emphasises the need for keeping motivation high during any change process. A simple tip that he offers is to look for ‘quick wins' which let people know the process is working.

Get feedback: To know what stage your change process has reached, ‘Watch the ball,' the author advises. “What is it that makes a great tennis or squash player? Is it how they hit the ball?” he asks. “No, it is how they pick up the flight of the ball early and move to the best position to hit it.” So too is accurate feedback, analogises Heath. It is about getting the important information as far ahead as possible.

DAY FOCUS:  (Focused by K.Mounika- 09D61E0030)

Logistics -Railways to introduce dual cab passenger loco

In some good news to loco drivers, the railways have decided to introduce cabins at both ends of a diesel locomotive to enable them with better range of view, speed and operation.

“The trial of the dual cabin system is going on and will be put into operation for passenger trains once it gets the certification from the Commissioner Railway Safety,” said a senior Railway Ministry official.

At present, the diesel locos with 4500 HP for passenger trains are equipped with a single driver cabin at the front side of the engine.

“Drivers face difficulties in viewing the signals while running the train in opposite direction,” said the official adding “the rear-end drive constraints the driver to speed up beyond 110 km per hour.”

The new design, named WDP4D, overcomes speed limitation by providing two cabins for driver and crew-friendly features such as LCD screen displays among others.

“The new locomotive is capable of running at more than 130 km speed in both directions and thus fulfilling the needs for increasing speed of the passenger trains,” he said.

Rlys, NTPC sign MOU for setting up power plant

A MOU was on Sunday signed between the Railways and the central power utility NTPC for setting up a 1320 MW power plant at Adra in West Bengal’s Purulia district.

Speaking at the MOU signing programme, Railway Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee said, “The project is not only a matter of pride for the people of West Bengal, but also the entire country.

“This shows that if there is a will there is a way,” she said in an apparent jab at the Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee government for alleged neglect of development in Maoist-affected Purulia district.

She asked officials to ensure that the project was implemented within three years against a target of five. “If the target is for five years, why cannot it be implemented in three?” she asked.

Railway sources said the power plant would be set up on land belonging to the railways which has agreed to co-operate with the union ministry of forest and environment for compensatory afforestation in 300 hectare.

They said the total project cost was Rs 8,000 crore which would be financed through debt-equity ratio of 70:30.

The equity contribution of the railways and NTPC would be in the ratio of 26:74, the sources said.

The power from the plant would be transmitted to the Railway Load Centre in the eastern, northern and western region through national and state transmission networks.

Ms Banerjee said that this was the second power project, railways was to build in collaboration with NTPC. A 1,000 MW project jointly by the railways and NTPC was already coming up at Nabinagar.

At present the railways’ peak power requirement was 3,500 MW which was estimated to reach 6,000 MW in the next ten years.

Executive director, electrical engineering management, railway board Mr Sudhir Kumar and executive director NTPC Mr S N Goel signed the MOU on behalf of the railways and the NTPC. NTPC chairman Mr Arup Roy Chowdhury was present on the occasion.

The railway minister also laid the foundation stone for a Coach Mid-life Rehabilitation (MLR) Workshop at Anara in the district.

MANAGEMENT TIPS: A B C of Motivation

Avoid Negative Thoughts, People, Things and Habits.
Believe in yourself.
Consider things from every angle and others points of view.
Dare to Dream and Dream Big
Energy, Excitement and Enthusiasm is in your blood.
Family and Friends are hidden treasures; enjoy these riches.
Give more than you planned to.
Have a good sense of humour.
Ignore Criticism, Ridicule and Discouragementfrom others.
Jump on Problems because they are Opportunities in disguise.
Keep up the good work however hard it may seem.
Love yourself, just as you are.
Make Impossibility a Possibility.
Never lie, cheat or steal, always strike a fair deal.
Open your eyes and see things as they really are.
Prefect Practice makes you perfect.
Quitters never win and Winners never quit.
Reward yourself for every small success and achievement.
Stop Wasting your Time and Procrastinating important Goals.
Take control of your Life and your Goals.
Understand so that you could Understood.
Visualize your Goals and Dreams everyday.
Win over your own weaknesses and make them as your Strengths.  Accelerate your efforts
Yes Yes Yes, Yes you Can and You Will
Zap your Stress and Enjoy your Life.

Case Study : PERSPECTIVES OF MANAGEMENT

           

The division manager had recently heard a lecture on management by objectives. His enthusiasm, kindled at that time, tended to grow the more he thought about it. He finally decided to introduce the concept and see what headway he could make at his next staff meeting. He recounted the theoretical developments in this technique, cited the advantages to the division of its application, and asked his subordinates to think about adopting it.

It was not as easy as everyone had thought. At the next meeting, several questions were raised. ..Do you have division goals assigned by the president to you for next year?.. the finance manager wanted to know. ..No, I do not, ..the division manager replied. ..I have been waiting for the president.s office to tell me what is expected, but they act as if they will do nothing about the matter... ..What is the division to do, then?.. the manager of production asked, rather hoping that no action would be indicated. ..I intend to list my expectations for the division,.. the division manager said. ..There is not much mystery about them. I expect $ 30 million in sales; a profit on sales before taxes of 8 percent; a return on investment of 15 percent; an ongoing program in effect by June 30, with specific characteristics I will list later, to develop our own future managers; the completion of development work on our XZ model by the end of the year and stabilization of employee turnover at 5 percent...

The staff was stunned that their superior had thought through to these verifiable objectives and stated them with such clarity and assurance. They were also surprised about his sincerity in wanting to achieve them. ..During the next month I want each of you to translate these objectives into verifiable goals for your own functions. Naturally they will be different for finance, marketing, production, engineering and administration. However you state them, I will expect them to add up to the realization of the division goals...

(a) Can a division manager develop verifiable goals, or objectives, when the president has not assigned them to him or her? How? What kind of information or help do you believe is important for the division manager to have from headquarters?

(b) Was the division manager setting goals in the best way? What would you have done?

Focus – Day Tip It is not earning a livelihood that is important. What matters is the ideals for which you live.