Service and Follow-up for Customer Retention Chapter 13 McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

13-3 Chapter 13

13-4 Main Topics  The Business Tree of Life: Service  The Importance of Service and Follow-Up  Building a Long-Term Business Friendship  Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention  The Product and Its Service Component  Customer Satisfaction and Retention 13 Chapter

13-5 Main Topics 13  Excellent Customer Service and Satisfaction Require Technology  So, How Does Service Increase Your Sales?  Turn Follow-up and Service into a Sale  Account Penetration Is a Secret to Success  Service Can Keep Your Customers  You Lose a Customer—Keep on Trucking Chapter

13-6 Main Topics 13 Chapter  Returned Goods Make You a Hero  Handle Complaints Fairly  Is the Customer Always Right?  Build a Professional Reputation  Dos and Don’ts for Business Salespeople  The Path to Sales Success: Seek, Knock, Ask, Serve

13-7 The Tree of Business Life: Service The Golden Rule Guided by The Golden Rule:  Prove you truly care with royal service.  Prove what you said in your presentation was the truth.  Take your time to build long-term business friendships.  Realize that customer satisfaction leads to customer retention.  Place the customer’s interest before your own.  You can see that ethical service builds true relationships. I T C Ethical Service Builds T r u e Relationships T TT TTTT TTTT

13-8 Exhibit 13-1: Only Through Truth Can Trust Be Supported to Bridge the Gap Between People

13-9 The Importance of Service and Follow-Up  How does this chapter refer to service?  As part of a product, such as insurance or advertising?  In the context of helping others?

13-10 Correct! Service Refers To:  Helping others

13-11 What Is the Difference between Service and Follow-Up?  Follow-up refers to maintaining contact with a customer (or prospect) in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the product and the satisfaction of the customer.

13-12 Words of Sales Wisdom and Sales Proverbs  Sales Proverbs! Examples are:  You do business with the one you trust and you trust the one you know.  Obtaining new customers and selling more products to present customers are the ways to increase sales.  It is always easier to sell a satisfied customer than to an unsatisfied one or a prospect.  The cost of acquiring a new customer is higher than keeping a present customer.

13-13 What Do These Sales Proverbs Mean to a Salesperson  Take excellent care of your current customers.

13-14 When Does the Business Relationship Begin?  After you first sell someone and they become a customer

13-15 Which of the Following Is the Purpose of the Sales Call? Is it:  Solely to make a sale?  To help someone?

13-16 Now You Have it! The Purpose Is to:  Help someone by:  Solving a problem  Fulfilling a need

13-17 Is Being More Concerned For Helping Someone than Making the Sale Hard for Most People?  Yes it is!  Motivation needs to come from the heart, not from the bank account.

13-18 Exhibit 13-2: If Customers are Truly Important, Their Needs Come First

13-19 Putting the Customer First Requires Salespeople to Have Personal Characteristics That Allow Them to:  Care for the customer  Take joy in their work  Find harmony in the sales relationship  Have patience in closing the sale  Be kind to all people  Have high moral ethics  Be faithful to their word  Be fair in the sale  Be self-controlled in emotions

13-20 How Would You Answer these Questions:  Do these success characteristics describe you?  Do you have all, or part of them?  Can you develop the missing ones?

13-21 Once Again, Are You:  Caring?  Joyful?  Able to get along with others?  Patient?  Kind?  Ethical?  Honest?  Fair?  Self-controlled?

13-22 These Personal Characteristics Are Important if You Want to:  Have personal friends  Have business relationships

13-23 Building a Long-Term Business Friendship  What Is A Business Relationship?  A relationship that revolves around business issues  A business relationship is much like a personal friendship.

13-24 The Three Levels of Friends  Level 1 – Acquaintance  Level 2 – Friend  Level 3 – Intimate Friend

13-25 Exhibit 13-3: Trust and Wisdom in a Relationship Grow Over Time Acquaintance High Low Trust HighLow Wisdom Friend Intimate Friend

13-26 To Move up in Levels of Friendship Requires:  T-I-M-E  Truly caring for other people  Placing their interests before yours

13-27 Relationship Marketing and Customer Retention  Transaction selling – sells once  Relationship selling – periodically stays in touch  Partnering – continually works with customers

13-28 How Does Relationship Marketing Build Friendships?  Creates customer loyalty  Results in retention

13-29 The Product and Its Service Component  Customer service:  Product  Price  Place  Promotion  Exchange transaction  After the sale  Expectations determine service quality

13-30 People Buy the Product Plus What?  Plus the services  A product is a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes, including package, color, and brand, plus the services and even the reputation of the seller.

13-31 People Buy the Product Plus What?  Plus the services (other attributes of the product)  A product (good or service) is a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes, including package, color, and brand, plus the services and even the reputation of the seller.

13-32 Here Are Several Expected Services  Product has no defects  Price is fair  Product is available when and where needed  Correct, honest advertising  Transaction handled correctly, quickly, professionally  Warranty honored

13-33 In a Business Friendship, How Can You:  Mistreat a person you consider a friend?  Be uncaring, sad, pushy, impatient, rude, unethical, untruthful, self-centered, and/or emotional?

13-34 Customer Satisfaction and Retention  Customer satisfaction  Feelings towards purchase  Customer retention – if satisfied, they will buy again

13-35 Exhibit 13-4: Customer Retention Occurs When the Buyer is Satisfied with Purchases Over Time

13-36 Excellent Customer Service and Satisfaction Require Technology  Technology and automation is often required to provide excellent service.

13-37 So, How Does Service Increase Your Sales?  Service increases sales by helping you obtain new customers and sell more to present customers.  Satisfied customers will provide customer referrals.  Referrals are very important for:  Future sales  More referrals

13-38 Exhibit 13-5: Sales Come From Present and New Customers  Salespeople are constantly involved in follow-up and service in addition to planning future sales calls to customers; they also spend time prospecting.

13-39 The Circular Relationship in Managing a Sales Call

13-40 Turn Follow-up and Service Into a Sale  Convert follow-up and service situations into sales.  Follow-up and service help satisfy the needs of customers.

13-41 Account Penetration is a Secret to Success  Account penetration  Determined by:  Total and major-brand sales growth in an account  Distribution of the number of products in a product line  Level of cooperation obtained  Your reputation as the authority on your type of merchandise for the buyer

13-42 Service Can Keep Your Customers  Concentrate on improving your account penetration.  Contact new accounts frequently on a regular schedule.  Handle customer’s complaints promptly.  Always do what you say you will do.  Provide service as you would to royalty.  Show your appreciation.

13-43 You Lose a Customer–Keep on Trucking  To win back a customer:  Visit and investigate  Be professional  Don’t be unfriendly  Keep calling

13-44 Increasing Your Customer’s Sales  Develop a customer benefit program:  Have present customers buy more of a product than they currently use  Have present customers buy the same products to use for different purposes

13-45 Increasing Your Customer’s Sales, cont…  To increase sales with a customer:  Develop an account penetration program  Examine your distribution  Keep merchandise in the warehouse and on the shelf  Fight for shelf space and shelf positioning  Assist the product’s users  Assist the reseller's salespeople  Demonstrate your willingness to help  Obtain customer support

13-46 Returned Goods Make You a Hero  Cheerfully return merchandise following the company’s returned goods policies.  It is in your best interest to return faulty merchandise.

13-47 Handle Complaints Fairly  Customers may be dissatisfied with products for any number of reasons.  “The customer is always right.”  Occasionally a dishonest customer may require you and your company not to honor a request.  Customers should get the benefit of the doubt.  Take care of your customers.

13-48 Is the Customer Always Right?  “Always” is the key word in the phrase.

13-49 The Author of Your Textbook Feels the Customer is Not Always Right  Is he correct?

13-50 How Does One Know What is Right or Wrong in a Business Setting?  What can you use to make a morally ethical decision when dealing with a customer?  Company guidelines  Legal laws  What the boss says  What else?

13-51 Dress in Your Armor  You need to be prepared to meet a few unethical and dishonest people.  They may ask you to do something unethical and/or dishonest.

13-52 What is Meant by “Dress in Your Armor”?  Armor is something that will protect you, but from what?  You need protection from a person who is unethical and/or dishonest with you, such as:  A customer or prospect  A competitor  A co-worker  Your boss

13-53 Your Armor Consists of:  Speaking the truth  Doing what is right  Readiness to discuss what is ethical  Trusting you know what is right, honest, and ethical

13-54 Build a Professional Reputation  Be truthful and follow through on what you tell the customer.  Maintain an intimate knowledge of your firm, its products, and your industry.  Speak well of others.  Keep customer information confidential.

13-55 Build a Professional Reputation, cont…  Never take advantage of a customer by using unfair, high-pressure techniques.  Be active in community affairs – make your community a better place.  Think of yourself as a professional and always act accordingly.  Provide service “above and beyond the call of duty.”

13-56 Exhibit 13-9: A Super Sales Success Secret

13-57 Do’s and Don’ts for Business Salespeople  A survey of purchasing agents showed the most important traits that purchasing agents found in their top business sales people:  Willingness to go to bat for the buyer  Thoroughness and follow-through  Knowledge of the firm’s product line  Market knowledge and willingness to “keep the buyer posted”  Imagination in applying their products to the buyer’s needs  Knowledge of the buyer’s product line  Preparation for sales calls  Regularity of sales calls  Diplomacy in dealing with operating departments  Technical knowledge of specifications and applications

13-58 Do’s and Don’ts for Business Salespeople, cont…  Seven deadly sins of business selling  B. J. Hughes’ checklists of do’s and don’ts

13-59 The Path to Sales Success: Seek, Knock, Ask, Serve  Seek customers to serve and you will find them.  Knock and people will open their doors.  Ask and people will buy.  Provide service after the sale and customers will buy again.  Selling requires the three F’s:  Faith  Focus  Follow-through

13-60 Exhibit 13-10: The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Selling

13-61 Exhibit 13-11: B.J. Hughes’ Checklist of Do’s and Don’ts Help It to Be a Customer-Oriented Company

13-62 Summary of Major Selling Issues  Salespeople increase sales by obtaining new customers and selling more to present customers.  Customer referrals are the best way to find new prospects.  By building a relationship and partnership, you can provide a high level of customer service.  Customers expect service.  To serve customers best, improve account penetration.

13-63 Summary of Major Selling Issues, cont…  Always strive to help your customers to get the best use from products you have sold them or to help them increase the resale value of these products.  Today’s professional salesperson is oriented toward service.

End of Chapter 13 Chapter 13 McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.