Karaline Loiterton started The Wedding List Company after experiencing poor customer service during her own wedding registry process. She saw an opportunity to improve customer service in the wedding registry market. The Wedding List Company provides personalized service and a wide selection of gifts tailored to couples' tastes. Loiterton extensively researched the market and focuses on customer satisfaction. She ensures customers have a pleasant experience through small details like food and drink during consultations. Loiterton believes high quality customer service differentiates her business and is key to its success.
A collection of successful tradings and transaction stories within the world's largest trade exchange company that utilizes technology revolutionizing barter system catering to the modern world - Bartercard.
Confused about how to thank your customer? Check out some brilliant messages and quotes for thanking your customers in unique ways. Make your bond stronger with customers through messages that make them feel special.
A collection of successful tradings and transaction stories within the world's largest trade exchange company that utilizes technology revolutionizing barter system catering to the modern world - Bartercard.
Confused about how to thank your customer? Check out some brilliant messages and quotes for thanking your customers in unique ways. Make your bond stronger with customers through messages that make them feel special.
About Kleeneze
Kleeneze distributors go door-to-door delivering and picking up catalogues from households, taking orders and then dropping off their customers’ products. They earn money for every order placed and can also build a team of fellow distributors to further boost their earnings. For Free info pack at http://www.mykleeneze.co.uk/raymondwhittaker
The catalogues feature over 2,000 products ranging from everyday essentials to innovations that you never knew you needed.
Kleeneze has over 12,000 distributors across the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe. The company estimates that its distributors visit 2.5 million homes every month, delivering over 10 million catalogues and generating over half a million orders.
A best ceramic cookware can bring you best recipe.
That's why you need best cookware. We provide lots of ceramic cookware guideline.
This information will help you to choose the best one.
HOW TO REINVENT YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPSLisbeth Calandrino
Want to build your business? Build partnerships with your customers. The power point is a parable built around my grandfather Tony, the wine maker. If he were alive, he would have been a social media wizard! He loved his customers and focused on giving them what they wanted.
HOW TO REINVENT YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPSLisbeth Calandrino
Building relationships with customers is more difficult these days. Customers are more fickle, have more places to shop and have more knowledge. Customers don't get sold anything; they buy what they want. The smart business builds the best customer service program by partnering with their customers and giving them what they need. It is built on a parable about my grandfather. It takes about 45 minutes; is fun and will give you some ideas for building customer partnerships.
About Kleeneze
Kleeneze distributors go door-to-door delivering and picking up catalogues from households, taking orders and then dropping off their customers’ products. They earn money for every order placed and can also build a team of fellow distributors to further boost their earnings. For Free info pack at http://www.mykleeneze.co.uk/raymondwhittaker
The catalogues feature over 2,000 products ranging from everyday essentials to innovations that you never knew you needed.
Kleeneze has over 12,000 distributors across the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe. The company estimates that its distributors visit 2.5 million homes every month, delivering over 10 million catalogues and generating over half a million orders.
A best ceramic cookware can bring you best recipe.
That's why you need best cookware. We provide lots of ceramic cookware guideline.
This information will help you to choose the best one.
HOW TO REINVENT YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPSLisbeth Calandrino
Want to build your business? Build partnerships with your customers. The power point is a parable built around my grandfather Tony, the wine maker. If he were alive, he would have been a social media wizard! He loved his customers and focused on giving them what they wanted.
HOW TO REINVENT YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPSLisbeth Calandrino
Building relationships with customers is more difficult these days. Customers are more fickle, have more places to shop and have more knowledge. Customers don't get sold anything; they buy what they want. The smart business builds the best customer service program by partnering with their customers and giving them what they need. It is built on a parable about my grandfather. It takes about 45 minutes; is fun and will give you some ideas for building customer partnerships.
Loyal customers are worth up to ten times as much as their first purchase.
86% of consumers will pay up to 25% more for a better customer experience.
It costs six times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one
All organisations should continually strive to deliver amazing customer experiences. At retail360, we have a vision to give people the customer experience they are searching for - because we understand customer service can change people's lives.
And any business with customers is in the people business, it all comes back to people.
The Nordstrom department store is legendary for exemplary customer service: from the earliest beginnings of Nordstrom, a sign hung from the ceiling that read, “If We Sell You Well, Tell Others. If Not, Tell Us.” Well known for putting customer over company, Nordstrom salespeople are empowered from above to always make it right for the customer. With lessons that can be useful for solo agents, team leaders, and brokers alike, Nordstrom’s business philosophies easily translate into the real estate industry. By taking a page out of the Nordstrom book, from practical translation of the Nordstrom way into customer relationships to incorporating the Nordstrom beliefs into our personal values systems, we can revolutionize our businesses and our industry.
As part of RE/MAX Realty Advantage's commitment to reaching out and serving the entire real estate community, our Director of Agent Development, Shauna Zamarripa teaches a class specifically on how to generate leads using referrals as a source of business. This series is deigned to introduce concepts, provide examples and to assist real estate agents in creating their own blended marketing model that works for them. Shauna teaches webinars on this content regularly because having the information is great, but getting more than just the information is even better. For more, visit www.281advantage.net
28 tips solicitors can use to win more work from their existing clientsDouglas McPherson
All too often for solicitors the default when it comes to marketing and business development is 'new client acquisition'. It's actually easier to win more work form your existing clients and here are 28 tips to help you get started.
Mel feller looks at how real estate agents should treat their clientsMel Feller
Mel Feller Looks at How Real Estate Agents Should Treat Their Clients
Please note that this article comes from the heart. It is heartfelt because I had been a top producing real estate agent for twenty years. I know what it takes to keep buyers and sellers happy and still as a real estate investor, I handle a lot of my buying and selling myself even though I do not have a real estate license today. I am deeply involved in training several high producing real estate agents today. So my knowledge of the real estate field spans over 45 years. No matter who your customer is, in any business, they turn into repeat customers down the road or not, depending on the way you choose to treat them!
Real Estate Agents who treat buyers with disdain would do well to remember that those buyers would become sellers one day. In addition, they will remember those agents who treated them well when they were initially looking to purchase. If you happen to be the Buyer’s Agent always, treat them with the highest respect, just the way you would like to be treated. I can promise you that no real estate agent will admit to treating people badly, but I do see and hear about it all the time.
1. 68 Better Business Magazine
It's the
little things
that make the difference
CUSTOMER SERVICE
p68-70 Karaline/JM 8/29/03 6:51 AM Page 68
2. S
ERVICE, or lack thereof, was
the inspiration behind Karaline
Loiterton starting her bridal
registry business in the first place.
After a ‘not so special’ experience
with wedding registries herself, she
set out to develop a niche small
business with a first class feel. Now
her business, The Wedding List
Company, is revolutionising the
‘traditional’ bridal registry here in
Australia and providing a premium
package with a focus on customer
attention, pleasure and satisfaction.
Wedding registries were not
something Loiterton thought about
much until it was time to use one
herself. Living in London and planning
her wedding in Europe, Loiterton
experienced a variety of wedding
registries and learnt first hand the
importance of customer service and
how it’s the little things that make all
the difference.
“We had many guests coming from
Australia and for them my husband
and I used an department store in
Australia, however, for our European
and American guests we used a
business in the UK which provided
more personalised service,” she said.
“I was overwhelmed with the
difference in service and how it affected
our overall wedding planning
experience and began asking why the
bridal registry market was largely
untapped when it came to first rate
service. I began to wonder why and
started thinking about taking this kind
of service to the next level,” she said.
While working as marketing
manager for a prestige cosmetics
company, Loiterton busied herself in
extensive research into the UK and
Australian bridal registry market,
spending nights and weekends
planning and raising capital.
Eventually she began taking the big
steps to get the concept off the ground.
“I produced a business plan with the
help of my husband and raised capital
through private investors in the UK
who were equally enthusiastic with the
concept. I returned to Australia in
January this year to start up,” she said.
The Wedding List Company was
launched in Darlinghurst in Sydney’s
eastern suburbs in July this year,
providing a shopfront service to
bridal couples and their guests, as
well as an on-line facility that is the
first of its kind.
“This will be an enormous benefit for
those couples with overseas or
interstate guests, or even busy local
guests who cannot make it into the
store,” she said.
For Loiterton, the on-line facility was
another way to empower all her
customers.
A visit to the Wedding List Company
reinforces that personalised service is
Loiterton’s business mantra, and that it
has obviously been integrated into
every facet of her business.
“I honestly believe in good old-
fashioned service and do not see
why this should not be extended to
this industry.
“In retailing there appears to be a
trend away from the large malls back to
the smaller independent operators on
the high streets. People are looking for
advice, quality and trust and so are
back buying from the local butcher,
fruit shop, deli etc,” she said.
“A wedding is a very personal thing,
you hope that it’s only going to happen
once and you want everything to be
perfect. It’s the little things along the
way that make all the difference.”
Loiterton has invested much time
and effort into knowing exactly what it
is her customers want. And from the
beginning she has tailored her business
to suit their needs.
Use this checklist to ensure your customers
are receiving the best possible service.
■■ Thoroughly research your customers to
gauge their needs and wants. Build a
profile of the different types of customers
you may come across and use this to
tailor your service to meet their
requirements.
■■ Be an expert on your service and industry.
Your customers should be able to look to
you and your staff for expert advice.
■■ Add value to your service where you can.
It may be as simple as offering a
customer a cup of coffee when they visit.
■■ Be predictable. Customers like to know
what they should expect. Make sure your
service is always of a consistently high
standard.
■■ Try to build morale with your regular
customers. Everybody enjoys service
when they feel it is personal.
■■ Brush up on your communication skills.
In today’s busy world many people forget
their manners. Customers notice when
staff are courteous and pleasant.
■■ Always ask for feedback on your service.
If you know your strengths and
weaknesses, you have a much better
chance of improving your service at
large.And don’t think that because there
hasn’t been any complaints, that your
customers are all happy. You have to ask
to find out for sure.
Better Business Magazine 69
Customer service makes all the difference — as a
customer, how would you like service tailored to suit
you? Jess Blanch looks at a business that built itself
on service from the first day it opened its door.
Upgrade
your service
p68-70 Karaline/JM 8/29/03 6:51 AM Page 69
3. “We have the ability to offer gifts
to suit each individual, spanning
everything from kitchenware to
silverware, appliances to decoration,
art and antiques or wine. There’s an
extensive range of gifts on display
by trend-setting designers or items
that are simply the essence of
tradition,” she said.
“There are more and more couples
these days who have lived together
before they’ve become engaged, and
people are marrying later in life than
they used to. Their tastes are far more
developed and they often have many
of those things that have been
traditional wedding gifts.”
Loiterton and her team work with
couples to compile a wedding list that
reflects the couple’s tastes and lifestyle.
They aim to ensure the ‘wedding list’
has a sensible range of prices available
and advise couples on the appropriate
number of gifts for the number of
guests they are inviting.
“Our job is to help couples clarify
their needs, and also to help their
friends and family in selecting wedding
gifts. With such a cross section of things
to choose from, there are few people
who will know exactly what brand and
style they will want. In the same way,
guests would like advice as to what the
couple really wanted,” she said.
And personal attention is in store for
all of The Wedding List Company’s
customers, even if you’re not actually
the bridal couple.
“In this way we are as much about
the guests as we are about the couple.
We want the guests to feel they have
bought something they will be
remembered for and that they wouldn't
have minded buying even if it wasn't
on a registry.”
Holding constant attention to the
finer details that add to the overall
experience, Loiterton has ensured that
the experience for her customers is
pleasurable and special.
“Another way we add an element of
service is by offering a glass of
champagne, tea or coffee to the couple
during their appointment. It adds a
feeling of indulgence and makes the
occasion special. The small touches we
hope make The Wedding List Company
experience fun, stress-free and a
memorable part of wedding
preparations.”
The feedback Loiterton has received
has been positive – everyone has
commented on how much they
enjoyed the consultation. “In fact”,
says Loiterton, “some couples who
had been in department stores to find
out how they operated were very
pleased with the fact they didn't have
to walk around my store and write
down all the codes.”
For Loiterton, customer satisfaction is
paramount, particularly at this stage of
her business, in an industry that she
believes is all about word of mouth and
building relationships.
“Most brides choose everything from
their dressmaker to their florist through
a recommendation. Therefore we are
doing our best to make a good
impression and building relationships
with everyone from the leading
caterers, event organisers,
photographers and florists to
encourage as much marketing as
possible,” she said.
Feeling as though she has covered
every base when it comes to
customer service, Loiterton believes
she has research to thank for a lot of
this success.
“My research gave me an
understanding of my customer, which
is really what this is all about. But also
it was imperative for me that I was an
expert on this market. This is a new
industry for me, and the first time I
have started a business, therefore it
was important my decisions were
supported by facts rather than
opinions.” BB
70 Better Business Magazine
CUSTOMER SERVICE
“Another way we add an element of service is by
offering a glass of champagne, tea or coffee to the
couple during their appointment.”
Remember,
customer
satisfaction is
paramount. Word of
mouth and personal
referrals are some of the best
ways to increase your
customer base.
If you give each customer a
little special attention, they
are likely to refer you to
everyone they know.
On the other hand if your
service is less than
satisfactory you may learn
that bad news travels fast
and you could lose potential
customers.
Be aware that your service
is a direct reflection of your
business.
tipstips
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