Customer
Service
by Michelle Wolf

Your Distinct Advantage
• Farmers’
marketers
and
people
in
direct
marke2ng
have
one
major
advantage
in
their
business
model
–
the
opportunity
to
connect
directly
with
your
customer
(rela2onships)
• Authen2city,
trust,
and
mutual
regard
–
these
are
the
founda2onal
elements
of
direct
marke2ng
and
they
are
also
key
elements
of
excep2onal
customer
service
• Businesses
hoping
to
succeed
with
direct
marke2ng
must
manage
their
customer
service
thoughCully
–
it
can
make
or
break
your
marke2ng
efforts

Customer Service
• Challenging
to
be
masterful
at
customer
service
• People
oGen
think
they
know
about
customer
service,
that
it’s
a
‘given’,
but
in
actuality,
people
aren’t
always
intui2vely
good
at
it
–
must
learn
• We
think
too
simplis2cally
-­‐
good
customer
service
isn’t
just
about
being
nice
or
friendly
• It’s
about
an
on-­‐going
series
of
commitments
you
make
(and
remake
and
remake…)
to
your
customers
• It’s
about
responding
to
the
interac2ons
people
have
with
you
by
offering
reliability
of
experience
and
consistency
• This
is
where
your
“A
Game”
can
really
shine

Moments of Truth
• There
are
several
different
2mes
in
the
sales
cycle
when
people
connect
with
you
and/or
your
business.
Each
one
is
a
“moment
of
truth”
for
your
customer
service:
 When
they
see
you
in
person
for
the
first
2me
(30+
seconds)
 When
they
call
or
email
for
informa2on
 When
they
read
your
newsleYer
or
see
your
post
on
FB
 When
they
speak
with
you
 When
they
buy
from
you
 When
they
store,
use
and
eventually
discard
your
product
 When
they
see
you
at
curling
on
Wednesday
evening…
• All
of
these
points
of
contact
are
“moments
of
truth”.
Ask
yourself,
how
are
people
leaving
those
interac2ons
with
me?
What
are
the
basics
that
I
could
be
doing
beYer?

Moments of Truth
• Customer
service
comes
down
to
how
an
interac2on
makes
a
person
feel
• It’s
not
about
the
facts,
it’s
about
percep2on
• Every
2me
a
person
comes
in
contact
with
you
or
your
business,
you’ve
had
a
“moment
of
truth”
• The
key
is
to
fully
meet
their
needs,
in
the
easiest
way
possible,
in
the
same
way,
every
2me
• Consistency
in
handling
your
“moments
of
truth”
make
you
masterful
in
customer
service
and
creates
very
loyal
customers

Good or Exceptional?
• One
common
approach
to
customer
service
is
to
strive
for
excellence,
‘deligh2ng’
and
‘exceeding
customer
expecta2ons’
–
but
it’s
a
myth
• In
truth,
loyalty
has
a
lot
more
to
do
with
how
well
companies
deliver
on
their
basic,
even
plain-­‐
vanilla
promises,
than
on
how
dazzling
the
service
experience
might
be
• Exceeding
customer
expecta2ons
during
service
interac2ons
(ex.
tea/coffee,
free
product,
or
free
service
such
as
expedited
shipping)
makes
customers
only
marginally
more
loyal

Good or Exceptional?
• Making
it
easy
for
customers
to
have
their
customer
service
needs
met
fully
&
consistently,
and
fixed
quickly
if
there
is
a
problem,
is
the
most
cost-­‐effec2ve
and
loyalty-­‐building
customer
service
commitment
you
can
make
• Having
a
‘hit
or
miss’
customer
service
track
record,
with
occasional
spurts
of
‘excellence’,
is
much
less
cost-­‐effec2ve
and
sustainable
than
focusing
simply
on
doing
a
‘good
job’
consistently
and
reliably,
every
2me,
for
everybody
• The
‘red
carpet’
impresses
less
than
the
sturdy
linoleum
does

Unsatisfied Customers
• Why
do
some
exis2ng
customers
choose
not
to
do
business
with
you
any
longer?
 1%
deceased
 3%
move
 5%
buy
from
friend
or
rela2ve
who
opens
a
similar
business
(familial
loyalty)
 9%
come
to
prefer
another
brand/farmer/product
 14%
had
an
unresolved
service
problem
• All
those
above
make
up
32%
 68%
leave
because
they
felt
no
one
was
interested
in
giving
them
service
• 2/3
customers
feel
ignored/taken
for
granted

Unsatisfied Customers
• 25
out
of
every
100
customer
are
not
fully
sa2sfied
• 70%
of
customers
who
have
had
a
problem
don’t
complain
• About
80%
of
people
who
do
not
complain
simply
take
their
business
elsewhere
without
giving
the
company
a
chance
to
make
things
right
• But
they
will
tell
at
least
10
other
people
about
their
experience
• The
math:
average
companies
lose
154
prospects
each
2me
they
serve
100
people
because
their
unsa2sfied
customers
generate
a
lot
of
‘bad
press’

Unsatisfied Customers
• 154
lost
prospects
based
on
the
service
the
typical
business
provides
to
100
people
• In
a
week,
it’s
easy
to
have
a
connec2on
to
100+
customers
• In
a
season,
it’s
easy
to
have
1000’s
of
customer
interac2ons
• Nega2ve
word
of
mouth
has
a
stronger
influence
on
the
decision
to
purchase
than
posi2ve
word-­‐of-­‐mouth
tes2monials

Customer Service Summary
Q:
The
take-­‐away
here?
1. Minimize
the
number
of
unsa2sfied
customer
service
experiences
that
your
customers
have
–
every
person
who
is
‘sa2sfied’
instead
of
‘unsa2sfied’
represents
11
saved
poten2al
customers
2. Focus
on
consistent,
reliable,
‘good’
customer
service.
Do
the
basics
right,
consistently.
The
‘excep2onal’
bonuses
don’t
leverage
resources
well
or
efficiently

Customer Service Basics
• Solve
problems
for
people
now,
even
if
you
think
you
can
offer
something
beYer
later
• We
want
to
be
served
by
someone
who
can
handle
the
issue,
rather
than
being
passed
on
to
someone
else
• Use
good
eye
contact,
a
firm
handshake,
and
smile
at
people
–
generate
a
feeling
of
paying
aYen2on,
really
focusing
on
people,
they
maYer
in
some
way
• Kind
trumps
cool,
and
shy
is
uninspiring
• Ask
people
for
their
opinions
and
input
–
they
like
to
know
that
their
thoughts
maYer
• Address
people
by
their
names;
spell
them
and
pronounce
them
correctly

Customer Service Basics
• Many
organic
food
consumers
and
farmers’
market
shoppers
are
savvy,
educated
and
knowledgeable
about
your
products.
Many
are
quite
informed
and
have
very
real
product
exper2se.
You
need
to
know
what
you
are
talking
about
and
don’t
talk
down
to
people.
• You
can’t
promise
the
moon.
You
don’t
even
have
to
promise
that
much.
But
whatever
you
do
promise,
you
need
to
bend
over
backwards
to
provide.
• Work
on
the
principle
of
“the
absence
of
doubt”
(ex.
giving
change,
phone
message,
etc)

Customer Service Basics
• Each
interac2on
you
have
with
someone
builds
an
emo2onal
bank
account
between
you
• Reliable,
posi2ve
interac2ons
and
consistent
“moments
of
truth”
build
that
bank
account
• If
you
slip
up
at
one
point,
you
make
a
withdrawl
but
the
healthy
bank
account
balance
is
s2ll
in
the
posi2ve
• With
new
customers,
there
is
nothing
in
the
bank
account
so
a
nega2ve
experience
immediately
puts
you
in
the
red,
overdraG
• This
is
why
it’s
so
cri2cal
to
build
your
business
by
keeping
a
core
group
of
dedicated
customers
happy
–
there
is
no
wiggle
room
for
error
if
you
are
always
trying
to
find
new
customers
(and
it
costs
more
too)

Remember
• Do
the
basics
right,
and
consistently
• Cul2vate
the
attude
that
it
is
a
privilege
to
be
of
service
to
others
(they
give
you
the
opportunity
to
do/grow
what
you
love
to
do!)
• Promote
a
‘whatever
it
takes!’
attude
in
yourself
and
your
staff/family
–
minimize
problems
but
when
they
happen,
fix
them
promptly
and
with
gra2tude
• Business
owners
represent
their
businesses
24/7
–
you
are
your
business.
In
smaller
and
rural
communi2es
especially,
you
can’t
‘hide’
and
your
consistency
of
character
maYers