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Practicing the Spirit of the Law: Serve Your Customer Better

StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Serve your Customer|Practicing the Spirit of the Law: Serve Your Customer BetterWhether through anecdotes or personal experience, we’re all familiar with business leaders who cut corners, inflate prices, make misleading product claims, slander the competition—and worse—yet sleep soundly at night. How can good people persist in bad business practices?

In conjunction with the spirit of the law is your business and personal ethics. Many people see ethics and business as separate entities. This belief is wrong. An individual’s business ethics and personal ethics must be aligned if one is to be a person of integrity. When a person of integrity does business, financial rewards follow.

When we build an ethical reputation, we will increase our profits.There is a positive relationship between business ethics and profitability. Our employees will be more dedicated to doing their jobs efficiently, and our customers will be more satisfied with our products and service. Loyal customers buy more products and give customer referrals.

Human beings are placed on Earth to grow spiritually, and honesty in business provides this challenge. The marketplace is a perfect testing ground for ethics. When this challenge is met, you can take satisfaction in your accomplishments and your legacy. You corrected your unethical behavior and embraced honest, transparent, and trustworthy business practices. Ethics is now taught to the next generation of businesspeople.

The Spirit of the Law

Of course, the letter of the law must always be met. But we should use a higher purpose in business decision-making—the guiding principle of the spirit of the law. A person may act in a way which is perfectly legal but not ethical. The key is to determine if a person’s deeds go beyond the letter of the law and reach the higher ethical standards of the spirit of the law.

After my salespeople learn the foundation of honest selling, I teach the higher levels of ethical selling, to go beyond the letter of the law. One of my favorite teaching examples is a time-honored story about the first offer.

Biblical and Contemporary Examples

It happened that a righteous businessman had some very fine wine for sale and a potential buyer came to him while he was in the middle of his morning prayers. The customer said, “Sell me this wine for such and such price.” The businessman did not answer, so as not to interrupt his prayers. The customer assumed that the businessman was unwilling to settle for the price offered, so the customer increased his original offer and said, “Sell me this wine for such and such price.” Still the businessman did not answer. This cycle was repeated with ever-escalating prices. Upon finishing his prayers, the businessman said, “From the time you made your first offer, I resolved in my mind to sell the wine to you. Therefore, I may take no greater amount than your first offer.”

The sages made this parable an example of proper ethical behavior, stating, “There would have been no question if he had said verbally, ‘I will sell you this for the price you offer,’ but even if he merely resolved silently in his mind to sell his product for the offered price, even if he did not articulate it, he must not go back on that resolution.”

This decision embodies the concept of ‘going beyond the letter of the law,’ to instead conduct your business within the greater spirit of the law, an ideal everyone should strive to emulate. The sages laud the righteous businessman for his exemplary behavior and proclaim the verse ‘speaks truth in his heart.’ The businessman ‘agreed in his heart’ to the original price; his silence was simply misconstrued by the buyer. Of course, making up one’s mind without verbalizing it does not constitute a binding agreement, but resolving to do so demonstrates an unusually high level of ethical behavior.

Two thousand years later in the twentieth century, the owner of a scrap metal business had a policy to always close his business for the Sabbath. The day after the Sabbath, he listened to numerous voice messages from a government agent offering to buy all the scrap metal in his possession for an urgent building project. Each of the buyer’s successive and obviously urgent messages increased the price because the government agent thought the initial offerings must have been too low. When the owner reviewed all the messages, he contacted the agent and explained that he would have accepted the first offer; he had neglected to answer the initial call, as well as all the subsequent calls, only because it was the Sabbath. He then indicated that he was prepared to let the government have all his scrap metal at the price of the first offer. The agent was so impressed by the owner’s ethical behavior that he made the firm extremely wealthy as the government’s main supplier of building materials.

Another example, what would you consider an advertorial? It’s an advertisement camouflaged to appear as a feature article. Is an advertorial legal—yes. But is it ethical?—no! By typesetting and carefully writing an advertisement as an unbiased opinion, the reader is misled, deceived into believing that the content is not commercial.

Print and Website Decision-making

Management should make business decisions based on delivering reader value. Beyond what is legal, does the magazine present promotional material as regular content? Is the ad-to-content ratio correct so the reader is delivered proper value? Does management investigate their advertisers to ensure that they have business integrity, and their product offerings are honest? Even an advertisement that has a negative reference to a competitor can harm your magazine’s or website’s reputation.

In today’s difficult financial times, is it wise to turn away companies willing to place expensive advertisements? Yes—if it is unethical.

When these types of questions factor into your decision-making, you are practicing the spirit of the law. Then, you will enjoy profitable long-term relationships with your readers and advertisers.

Ethical business is smart business. If you’re pondering what to do in difficult sales situation, and you’re unsure about whether it’s your responsibility to provide full disclosure by informing or warning the customer about a product’s limitations, then err on the side of caution, fairness, and goodness—go beyond the letter of the law. It may not be your responsibility legally, but it honors the spirit of the law.


About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor |Joel MalkoffJoel Malkoff, a.k.a. the Ethics Giver, demonstrates that ethical business decision-making isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s the profitable thing to do. Over the course of his 45-year career as a business executive and entrepreneur, he has generated more than half a billion dollars in sales. A writer and speaker on ethical business practices and principles, he serves as general manager and vice president of a corporation that manufactures and sells medical and scientific research products worldwide. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he lives in Avon, Connecticut, with his wife, Lynn. Selling Ethically: A Business Parable Connecting Integrity with Profits is his debut book. Learn more at https://theethicsgiver.com/selling-ethically and https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Ethically-Business-Connecting-Integrity-ebook/dp/B08KSB9HY3.

3 Startup Essentials That Cannot Be Overlooked

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Startup Essentials|3 Startup Essentials That Cannot Be OverlookedIf you’re just starting your business journey and you have a company about to be launched, you might be wondering whether or not you’ve got everything in place. After all, you only have one chance to make a good first impression (or a bad one, come to that), and it can feel rather overwhelming when you consider how much you want your business to succeed and how much work you need to put into it.

For many who have never run a business before, it might seem as though there are dozens of different elements that need to come together to make it a success, but in reality, when you’re a startup, there are only three that you really need to be thinking about. Ensure these three startup essentials are in place, and you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Funding

A startup without the right funding is doomed to failure. Even if you start to make money, without having some form of capital behind you, the income will be too slow to make an impact, and before you can really make anything of your business, it will be too late – you will have run out of money. This is why it’s important to have funding in place before you launch. You can then focus on building the business rather than having to worry about keeping it afloat.

When you think of getting money for your business you will probably consider a bank loan first of all. It might even be the only thing you consider. However, there are a large number of different funding methods to think about including finding an angel investor, using your savings, borrowing from friends and family, or even using the money you’ve made through your algorithmic trading. Whatever you choose, as long as you have a plan to pay it back, you can get started even if the bank turns you down.

Customer Service

Most entrepreneurs are looking inwards when they launch their business. They’re interested in their suppliers, their employees, how productive they can be, and, of course, how much money they are making. Although this is important, you must remember that you’ll need to look outwards too; you’ll need to think about your customers.

Customer service is one of the most important elements to get right in any business, and when you’re launching a startup good customer service is vital. It’s what is going to set you apart from the rest, and it’s what will get you noticed. Customers expect a high level of good service, and if you can provide it they will be happy to return again and again. Get it wrong, and you’ll find that your unhappy customer has told everyone they know, and probably used social media to do it. That spells disaster for a young business. Reputation is everything.

Social Media

Speaking of social media, that is another important element of business that a startup is going to need to have in place before they launch. In fact, your social media channels could even help your launch by previewing what you’re going to be selling and making potential customers interested before you even get started.

However, just having an account on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, for example, isn’t going to be enough. Posting once in a while and writing ads when you do isn’t going to be enough. You need to focus on the content and ensure that whatever you are posting is useful information and engaging too. In this way, it is more likely to be liked and shared, and that’s crucial for a business on social media.

Strategies to Improve Your Brand Reputation

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Brand Reputation|Strategies to Improve Your Brand ReputationEvery brand needs to think about its reputation and how the world sees them. Businesses that have been able to develop a positive reputation will always appeal to modern-day consumers as they know that they will be reliable and trustworthy. In contrast, there will always be an element of risk when using an unknown brand or one which does not have the best reputation. Therefore it pays to work on improving your reputation as best you can, but what are a few effective strategies for improving your brand’s reputation? There are lots of effective ways to improve your brand reputation, and combining a few of these should have a significant impact on the success of your company.

Offer a Personalized Experience

In today’s day and age, people appreciate when a business can provide a personalized shopping experience based on their previous habits. Collecting data and using this to offer recommended products or repeat orders is a smart way to improve your brand reputation as well as encourage customers to spend more.

Go Above and Beyond With Customer Service

The way in which a business handles customer service has, perhaps, the biggest impact on brand reputation. You need to be friendly yet professional, always willing to go the extra mile and solve any issues swiftly. Crucially, when there is an issue (these are inevitable), you need to be honest, admit mistakes and take action to remedy the situation. In fact, if you were to apologize and offer free products and/or a discount, then it could even work in your favor.

Go Green

The world is becoming incredibly eco-aware. Consumers are even making decisions based on a company’s green credentials, so this can certainly be an effective way to improve your brand reputation. Additionally, often this can help you to reduce your costs too along with the environmental benefits, so it is a win-win situation.

Vehicle Donation

Businesses that do good in the world will also be looked on favorably, especially when supporting the local community. This is why Rawhide car donation to Rawhide Youth Services is a smart move as you can greatly improve the lives of at-risk youths in the State of Wisconsin with proceeds directly financing programs that will redirect the lives of those in need of support while painting your organization in a positive light.

Customer Reviews

When people are deciding whether or not to use a business for the first time, often one of the first steps that they will take will be to look for customer reviews. This is why you should try to obtain as many as possible and also use social listening tools to see what people are saying about your brand online – if you notice trends, you can then take action to improve particular areas that could be damaging your reputation.

Improving your brand’s reputation is not easy and will always take some time, but these are all effective strategies, and combining a few of these should help you see a positive impact before too long.

Here is how to Improve Customer Service with AI Chatbot

StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |AI Chatbot |Here is how to Improve Customer Service with AI ChatbotYou can’t run a business without connecting with your clients. That said, your customer service needs to be of top-quality. Your customer should be connecting with you through your efficient team and, of course, the AI Chatbot. It doesn’t matter how excellent your products and services are until you aren’t providing your clients with the services they are looking for. Therefore, it is crucial to upgrade your business’s customer service while ensuring that it reaches its full potential for growth and success.

Did you know that businesses who prioritize their clients generate higher revenue? Believe it or not, but now customers are looking for more than the products and services. It is more about their customer experience. This is where you will find AI chatbots most useful. AI chatbot can hold real-time conversations without keeping the customers lined up in a queue. We all know that waiting for someone’s query to be responded to can be frustrating. It also takes away the stars from your rating. Living in a fast-food world, we want everything now and then.

Simply put, no one wants to wait. Suppose you’re going to ramp up your walk and beat your potential competitors in the markets. In that case, we recommend integrating AI chatbot into your business.

Improved Conversations

Even if your team isn’t around to respond and follow up with clients, the chatbots will boost your brand’s credibility by working 24/7 and tending to online visitors’ needs. With stored data, the AI chatbots will have a better conversation with clients. On the other hand, a live agent might be taking time to understand what the clients are looking for and why they have reached out. This means that a live agent will have to put the pieces of information together before solving the client’s problems.

You can generate improved conversation after storing the required data in the system. The AI chatbot will scan the stored data and determine whether it is a returning client or a new customer. If it is a returning client, the chatbot will instantly respond to the client’s personal information and preferences. In this way, the chatbot won’t have to ask unnecessary questions but immediately get to the problem.

A Pleasant User Experience

Since clients won’t be waiting in long queues for their turns to talk to a live agent, they will have a better user experience. Remember, if you want to run a successful business irrespective of whatever services and products you are selling. You must treat all of your clients like gold. Don’t keep one waiting in the line while you are dealing with the other. Integrating an AI chatbot in your business will make room for an improved communication platform between your brand and your clients. This is also an effective way to stand out from your competitors by generating a pleasant user experience for your customers.

Build your brand

Before you integrate AI chatbot in your business, you should know that no one likes to communicate with a robot. This means that you will have to ensure that you store crucial and informative data. This will enable the chatbot to quickly identify the customer, access their history, and provide the solution while generating a human conversation. This will ensure your clients that their needs and concerns are being understood and resolved within no time. By providing quick answers and better brand-client interaction, you will be on the road to building brand loyalty. When your clients know that they are being listened to and their problems are being solved, they will be motivated to stick to your brand.

How to Improve Customer Loyalty in eCommerce Businesses

StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article|Customer Loyalty|How to Improve Customer Loyalty in eCommerce BusinessesToday’s eCommerce market is very competitive, making brand loyalty an elusive concept for many. To keep the customer happy, you’ll need to consider several factors: top-notch customer service, consistency, product qualities, and much more.

However, it’s never enough to sustain customer loyalty; you have to keep inspiring them with new tactics and products.
According to statistics, it is 5 times more costly to win over new customers than to make the existing ones stay loyal to you.

A friendly relationship with customers ensures improved loyalty while keeping the revenue flowing. Loyal buyers are likely to give positive reviews about your brand and products and motivate more visitors to place their orders.

Here are some implementable methods of boosting your buyers’ shopping experience to win their loyalty:

Improve User Experience

To improve user experience in your store, consider building a secure connection with your clients. With their consent, you can send promotional emails and other information you think will trigger their interest.

When new products or stock arrive, make sure you alert them and even surprise them with VIP vouchers. Using their purchasing history, you can personalize buyer experiences by recommending offers to related products.

Customer communication is vital. Using email newsletters, you can share relevant content with customers and even send them surveys on how you can improve their experience.

Simplifying the ordering and payment process is also another way of enhancing customer experience. You can achieve this by adding categories of wishlists to customer accounts to allow them to save products for later purchasing.

Providing multiple payment and shipping options will make it easy to target international buyers who’ll conveniently pay for products from their mobile devices from wherever they are.

Such dedication will make them feel valued and improve their loyalty.

Create and Implement an Excellent Loyalty Program

To boost customer loyalty in your online store, consider creating a good loyalty program. Loyalty programs are proven to please your customers and build a community of buyers who’ll spread the word about your brand and products by sharing their success stories.

Reward programs make customers loyal and also provide a rush knowing that after a few more purchases, they’ll accumulate enough points to get the product they’ve been yearning for.

These programs also make them feel part of a buzzing online community that allows them to bond with other customers.

A loyalty program can help you boost your online store’s revenue and retain customers as well. You can simplify the process of joining by promoting it through email, on your website, or social media and offer them extra sign up points.

You can also take this time to put some of your products up for sale, surprise buyers with freebies on purchases, or offer discounts on particular products. If you are selling products where trends change frequently, you’ll be able to clear last-season stock and order more trending options.

Make Return Policies Easy

When your customers know that they’ll get goods quickly after ordering or returning, they’ll stay true to your brand.
Delivery issues can deter them from coming back. If a customer requests a particular outfit from your store, deliver as promised as you may be inconveniencing their plans and make them look elsewhere for attention.

Cost-effective and straightforward return policies can drive customer loyalty. Remember always to be generous with shipping prices to lure more buyers. You can offer free shipping and increase repeat customers. With buyer-friendly return policies, you may boost your e-store’s conversions.

Offer your customers multiple return options such as free two-way returns, flat-fee shipping, pickup options, a 1-year return policy, and much more. Always weigh the cost of returns against your risk of losing repeat customers.

Make Customer Support a Priority

Set up multiple ways through which customers can access support from your online fashion store. It can be through chatbots or live customer service agents who’ll answer all their questions regarding your products or address customer concerns.

Your customer support ability will reflect value to your customers. Therefore, excellent customer support should be a priority if you want to have loyal customers. The way you handle customers’ concerns, complaints, and questions makes them keep a score and form judgments about your brand.

Train your customer support teams to be friendly, efficient, and helpful to customers. A quick response will improve customer loyalty.

Enhance Your Email Marketing Strategy

Understanding your customers and speaking their language can help to improve your retention and conversion rates drastically. Create an ideal customer profile that will enable you to address their individual needs consistently.

In your email marketing strategy, offer your customers the option to receive only those emails related to the products they are interested in or those relevant to their purchase history.

Emailing is an excellent way of connecting with online buyers. To entice new customers who’ve made a purchase, you can greet them with a welcoming message, thank them for choosing your brand and your products, and offer them options for cross-selling and upselling.

To keep your web visitors engaged even if they haven’t made a purchase recently, sending them a recurrent email with a discount code can encourage them to buy from you again.

You can also send timely emails during their birthday or holidays with personalized offers. This approach is effective in improving customer loyalty.

Form Partnerships with Other Businesses

Did you know that partnering with other businesses is an excellent strategic way to increase customer loyalty? Partnering with established firms helps you identify better ways to engage, communicate and interact with your customers. For instance, through partnering, you can learn how a business engages with its customers.

If the method the business uses proves successful, there is no harm in trying it. Besides, you can access better technology that can help you communicate effectively with your customers. If you partner with a well-known business, this can dramatically improve the loyalty of your customers.

Especially for new businesses, they must consider partnering with other companies first to attract and retain customers, and eventually improve customer loyalty. Such startups can effectively do this through franchising. If you don’t know what’s a franchise, this is where a new business gets established under an existing company.

Starting and running a new business is daunting, especially in attracting and retaining customers. But through a franchise, a startup will garner a good market percentage and help keep such customers in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Your customers’ loyalty determines your eCommerce store’s growth. You should not underestimate the value of building close relationships with your buyers.

Devote your efforts and attention to satisfying their needs, and they’ll feel valued enough to make repeat purchases and help you market your products to prospects through positive reviews.


About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Joe PetersJoe Peters is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and an ultimate techie. When he is not working his magic as a marketing consultant, this incurable tech junkie devours the news on the latest gadgets and binge-watches his favorite TV shows. Follow him on @bmorepeters