Setting Expectations for Your Employees

Every business has goals of some kind, even beyond the basic need to make enough money to keep the lights on this month. Usually, a business hopes to grow, to bolster its reputation, and to genuinely satisfy everyone involved day-in and day-out. These kinds of goals are often broken into…
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Lessons from Amazon

In this week’s blog, we’re going to cover Shep Hyken’s recent video, *How Amazon Sets the Standard for Every Business.” Before we even get going, consider how evocative that title is. It’s easy to imagine that there are a lot of business owners out there thinking that they don’t compete…
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Repeat Business vs Customer Loyalty

For our last dive into Shep Hyken’s ACA 2021 report, we’re going to take a closer look at rewards programs, and how they generate repeat business—and how this differs from customer loyalty. As we have in previous blogs on the ACA 2021, let’s first consider some numbers. Hyken asked his…
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The Human Touch

The next part of Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 report deals with customers’ preferences regarding self-service and human-to-human options. Specifically, Hyken asked, “When you have a problem or issue with a company or brand, which solution do you prefer to help solve your problem?” According to the report, “41%…
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The Communication Age-Gap

The next part in Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 document covers Communication Preferences, as ranked by the four different generations Hyken surveyed: Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-X, and Boomers. As with the previous sections in his report, there are several noteworthy differences—but also plenty of common ground—when it comes to each…
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The Value of Customer Service

Returning to Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 report this week, let’s take a look at how much consumers value quality customer service. To begin, let’s consider this number: a 52% majority of people reported that they were willing to pay more if it meant they would receive a higher…
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The Wow Starts Now

“The Customer Experience” is a catchall term you’ll hear thrown around a lot in the retail and service industries. It encompasses the entire interaction a customer has with your business, including everything from branding impressions, the store visit, and to what happens after—customer service, sales, and support. For a restaurant,…
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Avoiding More Common Mistakes

Last week, we took a look at Gene Marks’s article for The Hartford, wherein he explained many of the common pitfalls that small-business owners fall into. This week, let’s take a deeper look at a few more critical mistakes you should avoid. Don’t Overwork Yourself Marks admits that “running a…
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Avoiding Common Mistakes

Gene Marks, writing for The Hartford, has posted a great list covering many of the common traps small-business owners fall into, especially when they first get started. Many of these observations are important even for veteran business owners, so let’s look at a few today. Don’t Ignore Your Customers As…
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