Despite proclaiming the contrary, most businesses don't really care about their customers. Sure, they swear blind that the customer is at the heart of everything they do. But when push comes to shove, customer happiness comes second to quarterly profits and Christmas bonuses. In just 99 pages, So You Want to Be Customer-Centric? helps you shake the habits that are preventing companies being truly customer-centric. This straight-talking executive action guide helps you focus on customers in spite of budget constraints, corporate politics, organizational silos and ambivalent data. Not because it's a nice thing to do, but because it is ultimately more profitable. The book includes case studies and best practice insight from senior executives who have been there: C&A, ING, Lexus Europe, L'Oreal Group, Orange Business Services, Philips, Sanoma Magazines International and the World Economic Forum.

If you've ever thought that you're the only one who truly cares about service and you're not sure how to maintain momentum in your organization, 'The Customer Service Zoo' may be just what you need to look at things with a fresh perspective. It's an easy to read parable with a light hearted approach to the perennial challenges of customer service; told with the charm and experience of Australia's most recognized customer expert. Along similar lines to 'Who Moved My Cheese' or 'Fish, it encourages you to look creatively at customer issues; while still looking after yourself. Feeling uninspired while preparing a customer service strategy, a father reluctantly takes his daughter to the zoo. The animal antics trigger a brainstorming journey, where his seemingly childlike thoughts convincingly come together. The lessons learned, as the story unfolds, are captured in an A-Z of simple and memorable animal analogies. It's for anyone who has direct or indirect customer contact. Originally released by Allen & Unwin, Australia's largest independent publisher, it's been translated into numerous languages. Les Galbraith Vice President American Express Travel 'An excellent reference for leaders amidst today's demanding work life' Peter Weisner Manager Sales Mercedes Benz 'Original as well as effective' Tony Jollye Australian Institute of Management 'Characteristics that good managers may well take to heart''

Knockout Customer Service puts a fresh twist on a well discussed topic. There are tons of books on customer service; this is the first to compare customer service and training for customer service to boxing. Knockout Customer Service reveals a unique Customer Service Boxing Model to demonstrate the relationship between training and coaching. It quotes some of the most famous names in boxing and recalls historical fights; using analogies of the fundamentals of boxing to the fundamentals of customer service. The book also provides insight for defusing irate customers, leveraging employees experience and developing an overall customer service strategy. Not only should you find this book informative in the area of customer service, it will also spark the boxing enthusiast in you. Enjoy

Victoria Wells has been in the customer service field for over 30 years. She has a unique perspective on the role of a customer service representative as, throughout her career, she has been an employee, an employer and a consultant. Victoria has had the opportunity and the privilege to work with many different companies in diverse fields. She felt that a simple, common sense, no-nonsense guide to a career in customer service was missing from all the training books and manuals available. Her writing style is chatty and non-threatening. She uses experiences from her own career to highlight, and bring clarity to, the advice she offers.

Improve your vocabulary skills for the office and daily life with an easy-to-follow workbook that teaches you the facts you need to know to complete office tasks.

Jennifer Wilkins, who helps adult learners achieve academic and vocational success as the owner of Pathways Educational Services, an adult learning centre, provides lessons, exercises, and strategies to help you further your career as an office professional.

The workbook includes twelve modules and three review sections. The exercises introduce 365 words that are related to general office work. Each module begins with a list of words and their definitions to help complete the exercises that follow, and there are 142 exercises to complete.

Whether you're seeking help with a secondary-school business, an English as a Second Language program, or other training geared toward essential skills development, this workbook can help you. Get the tools you need to develop vocabulary and vocational skills, improve reading and oral communication skills, enhance problem-solving skills, and boost spelling and phonics skills.

Success is right around the corner, and getting there can be quick when you use Essential Skills: A General Office Vocabulary-Building Workbook.

For the most part, marketing and customer service have remained the same over the ages. Despite massive changes in the market position of customers and how we communicate with each other, most companies still use Caveman Era marketing tactics. A few marketers understand that the game has changed. Instead of hitting customers over the head with ad after ad, they go to potential customers where they are. Once there, they begin a relationship with prospects. In essences, they court customers. Cavemen Can't Market uses the analogy of a Suitor courting, or WOOing, an Intended to not only become a customer, but to move that customer through stages of commitments until she is not only loyal to him, but also makes him part of her identity. In the end, she will tell others how wonderful she is, in essence, marketing for him. Inside this analogy there are three stages of marketing: Attraction Conversation Relationship Marketers must understand these stages, as well as the pitfalls in each stage, to be successful in the new marketing era. Those who don't...will be as obsolete as a Caveman.

The worst customer situations demand more of front-line employees than good intentions and the right attitude. These kinds of issues can send seasoned service professionals into red alert, and require the communication skills of a crisis counselor. "The Customer Service Survival Kit "explains how to use the right words to turn volatile scenarios into calm and productive customer encounters. Anyone can learn this delicate art with the book's blend of clear techniques, lessons from behavioral science, case studies, situation-specific advice, and practice exercises. Readers will discover: - The power of leaning into criticism - Trigger phrases that can make bad situations worse - The secret to helping people feel deeply heard in a crisis - How to use the divide-and-conquer approach to safely deliver bad news - Indispensable problem-solving tools - How to become immune to intimidation - How to wrap up transactions so that customers are happy - And more Best yet, learning to handle worst-case scenarios has the spillover effect of boosting the skills and confidence needed to deal effectively with ANY customer--the key to radical improvements in every organization.

In The Customer Experience Fiasco, experts from Andrew Reise provide an engaging and instructive fable that unravels the mystique and complexity of customer experience strategy. When CEO Randall Phillips is caught off guard by a customer's YouTube-video during a television interview, he swears to fix it - and fast. Dana Chase, a rising star in the organization, is tapped to fix the fiasco as quickly as possible. This enthralling fable follows Dana's trials and tribulations as she tries to save the company and her career. The path she eventually finds and follows is Andrew Reise's proven methodology for developing a winning customer experience strategy.

This book is geared toward professional growth or means to enhance leadership skills from home to the professional organization. The following core skills sets are referenced: Customer Service, Leadership Characteristics, Motivation and what motivates you, getting our youth motivated, and youth networking for excellence to address and eradicate bullying, and educating yourself for a future. Finally, it talks about your individual motivator or inspirational leader and what skills sets you demonstrate based on that person(s) teaching or views. This is an easy read and is dedicated to my grandmother for her great leadership in my life. In addition, this book, if you allow it, can assist you in dealing with change.

A guide to effectively communicating with customers to create lasting--and repeat--business relationships.
This book provides practical, results-oriented guidance for effective communication with customers through sample words, phrases, scripts, and strategies applied to real-world examples.
Unlike the vast majority of books that deal with customer communication, "How to Say It(R) Creating Complete Customer Satisfaction" does not separate sales from customer service communications, but instead integrates them into a single book. Readers will learn how to: Speak the language of Yes by asking the right questionsGet referrals through established customersOffer value through solutions, satisfaction, and trustAnticipate and preempt objectionsOwn a problem by owning the solution

"'42 Rules for Outsourcing Your Call Center (2nd Edition)'" is a compilation of real-life problems, lessons learned, pitfalls found, and practical approaches for planning, implementing, and outsourcing call center operations. It provides a path for companies outsourcing their first call center with a logical sequence of steps for moving an existing operation to an outsourced organization. The book is a foundation for anyone considering outsourcing their call center. It starts by answering the question "Why Outsource," and then guides the reader with rules from defining the project to selecting a vendor to the first go-live call.

Businesses continue to be challenged to find ways to minimize costs and maximize profits while retaining their customers with excellent service. They need to focus on customer retention and realize that running their own contact centers is not their core competence. These businesses need outsourcers that can deliver high customer satisfaction and execute cross-sell/up-sell revenue strategies.

This book takes the reader through the entire process from gathering requirements and setting goals, to identifying an outsourcing strategy and understanding and operational capabilities of a outsource partner. The reader will learn: When outsourcing makes sense How to define an outsourcing approach What to look for in an outsourcing partner When to determine if agents can work at home How to craft an effective RFP

"'42 Rules for Outsourcing Your Call Center (2nd Edition)'" is a must-have for all call center managers hoping to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention and turn their call center into a revenue generating machine.

Players on the golf course must battle the course and conditions in order to succeed. While a caddy might lend a hand carrying the load, individuals must rely on their own strengths to accomplish goals.Business is also a singular endeavor, and owners and managers must battle market conditions, competitors, and unexpected challenges. To succeed, a business must hire the right people, invest in the right training, and deliver world-class customer service.Golfer and business owner Elizabeth knows these lessons well; hoping to help her friend Matt, she teaches him the lessons she's learned over a friendly game of golf. What ensues is a detailed tutorial on how to successfully operate a business.As Matt plays each hole, he learns why vision is so important in reaching goals, how to clearly articulate an end game, ways to avoid hazards and how to escape them, and many other lessons from the golf course.If business owners managed their businesses the way professional golfers play the game, they will find themselves more successful and more profitable-and they'll have more fun in the bargain Find out how to succeed in business with "Lessons from the Links."

The book is written for CEO's, business owners and managers that want to improve the experience they are providing to their customers. Five principles of customer service are illuminated with insightful interviews with CEO's, business owners and employees that consistently demonstrate good customer service. We share illustrations depicting real customer service situations, both good and bad, that bring levity to a serious subject. We also show the financial value of implementing our principles by providing the impact to four business drivers and sharing the harsh reality of data on the sad state of customer service.

"Customer service has been central to Dell's success - this book is packed with practical techniques and proven insights for improving performance." - Michael Dell, CEO, Dell When You Get This One Thing Right You'll Literally Obliterate The Competition...How you treat your customers and what you do to keep them coming back for more will have the biggest impact on your bottom line. Get the service right and you'll benefit from lower future sales costs and increased market share as the 'good word' spreads. Get it wrong though and you can kiss goodbye to future business success as ever more sophisticated and demanding customers take their money elsewhere. With this in mind 'Bare Knuckle' persuasion expert Simon Hazeldine has joined forces with savvy customer service veteran Chris Norton to show you how to transform your organisation into a world beating customer led cash machine. Drawing on their own hard-won experience and modeling the best customer service principles today, Simon and Chris strip customer service back to the bone giving you the essential tools you really need to become your customers' true champion. Inside you will learn...* How To Find Out What Your Customers Really Want * The Right Way To Build A Customer Service Culture * How To Implement A Customer Service Strategy * The Bare Knuckle Customer Service Model * How To Benefit From Customer Complaints * What Customer Relationship Management Really Does * How To Set Up & Run A World Class Call Centre * The 5 Most Stupid Things To Say To A Customer * ...and much more

VIR-TAN-ZA (vur-TAHN-z ) n. neologism, a newly coined term] 1. A condition, state, or attitude of truth, financial success, and customer loyalty among business-to-business sales professionals. 2. Courage in the face of adverse business cycles or uncommon challenges. 3. Commitment to the highest degree of preparedness in business dealings resulting in outstanding professional and personal achievement. 4. A process for creating exceptional solutions to sales challenges, exceeding a customer's expectations. From Latin vir, "strength, heroic courage," veritas, "truth," and bonus, "a great good, a superior benefit, a bonanza."]

For the first time in book form, "B2B Customer Insight: The Proven Path to Growth," will reveal how customer insight surveys tailored to B2B relationships generate significant strategic data; data that, when properly applied, enables company management to expand their share of existing markets as well as successfully penetrate new ones. When these surveys are regularly conducted and implemented, they lead to increased long-term profits and sustainable growth. This book will appeal to virtually anyone wanting to learn about the hidden dynamics of B2B transactions, and how to make those dynamics work in a supplier's favor in their customer relationships and overall business development. In my 20 years of consulting with large manufacturing companies in a variety of industries, I've been able to develop a tested and proven customer insight methodology that I will share for the first time in this book. Utilizing real-life case studies with clients who have agreed to participate in this project, I will also discuss how this research process should never stop with the numbers. Instead, it should provide practical and impactful solutions to specific business dilemmas. The advantage of offering actual case studies of companies who successfully made significant changes (of course based on our PMG customer insight surveys) will also differentiate us from other B2B business books that lack hard, fact-based guidance as well as multiple examples of genuine and significant application.

Customer Service? Recognizing, Educating and Promoting by staffing and training firm owner Dr. Rae Pearson is an invaluable guide to everything you ever wanted to know about customer service. Using her 30 years of experience watching employees handle customer service, Dr. Pearson now shares her most invaluable, tried, and true tips. From whether or not the customer really is always right to how to make and keep steady customers, Customer Service? Recognizing, Educating and Promoting approaches customer service as one of the most important things you can do in your job. Using these positive business habits makes real sense in today's tough business climate, and Dr. Pearson's straight talk could make a big difference in any business's bottom line.

The essential guide for all customer service professionals. Written by industry thought-leaders from all over the world, this valuable resource delivers a comprehensive blueprint for any organization wishing to excel in customer services. Filled with pages of practical jargon-free advice, Insiders Know-How: Customer Service redefines customer service and sets a new benchmark for the industry. This book is sponsored by The SME Shop at www.thesmeshop.com

Negotiating with a customer-or prospective customer-is one of the most challenging forms of negotiating. Why? Because you have to negotiate great relationship and great return at the same time In Both Sides Win you will find three practices that will help you build relationship and achieve your goals when negotiating with a customer or prospect. The practices will help you gain influence, handle upsets, benefit from sources of power that many people tend to give away and, importantly, avoid getting sucked into price discussions too soon. The book is short and concise-something you can throw into a briefcase and pull out as a quick reminder on how to best approach a negotiation with a current or prospective customer-or anyone else. Although the focus of Both Sides Win is on customer negotiation, the practices will enhance your effectiveness in any kind of negotiation or sale.

A contractor's success hinges around their most important asset: the customer relationship. With forty five years in the construction industry, author Joe Egan rose from apprentice to senior management and ownership positions at several large construction companies. Learn from his decades of experience in witnessing the building and destruction of that fragile bond between the contractor, employees and customers. Readers will (1) Uncover the common traits of the very successful contractors (2) Know the reasons why customers issue contracts other than the low price (3) Understand the principals and importance of true leadership (4) Recognize how to treat subcontractors (5) Build and maintain loyal customers (5) Learn how to get the contract on the next presentation and (6) Distinguish what is really important in life.

Henry offers employers a guide for finding and hiring top talent that can transform a business organization.

Praise for Mike Russill, Vice-President, Retail, Sunoco Inc. Catherine Neville, President, Quality Management Institute Dan Plashkes, President, S&P Data Philip C. Brown, Senior Vice-President, Telebanking and Alternate Channels, Bank of Montreal Brenda Anderson, Executive Director, International Customer Service Association J.A. Sinex, III, Manager, Global Integrated Services Team, External Affairs, DuPont Breakthrough Customer Service Best Practices of Leaders in Customer Support "An impressive array of experts and industry winners provide a virtual road map through the major changes necessary to achieve real breakthrough customer service. A must-read for those determined to make great customer service a competitive edge!" "Breakthrough Customer Service scores a direct hit on how to differentiate a business through strategic customer service." "If companies implemented just a few of the great ideas found in this book, they would enjoy world-class leadership positions not only in their own industry, but across all industries." "A stimulating look across industries and channels, the way customers actually experience service, and a very useful way to identify breakthrough opportunities." "A great management tool, it provides real-world examples and effective solutions that can be applied to your business." "This book is must reading for companies that want to be more competitive. It provides businesses with thought-provoking solutions to consider in their quest for superior results."