Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Customer Service and the 21st Century Business Model

Customer Service and the 21st Century Business Model

The changing dynamics of our everyday lives in the business community dictates what we must do to build a completely satisfied customer base. Our immediate reaction to any customer comment is necessary because if our consumer is left out of the equation (as seems to be the case in so many business structures today), the very foundation of why you started your business in the first place will be demolished.

One of the most important things any business needs to do is determine what type of service you are able and/or willing to give your customer. Many times, businesses get too comfortable with the type of service offered and never take into consideration how our changing environment may be affecting your core business. Are you keeping up with the available technology? For example, once people finally became accustomed and comfortable with downloading music and video onto their MP3 players and computers, the need to actually sell hard copies of CD's and DVD's became obsolete. So those companies that dealt in such things had to change their business structures to sell the people what they were ultimately interested in buying and get rid of the services they didn't use any longer. Times change, technology changes and so must your direction.

I'll bet around the turn of the 20th century when Henry Ford started creating the first automobiles, there were buggy whip manufacturers that had to change their own direction and start selling something else or simply go to work for Henry Ford. As technology changes, what you offer your customer must also change.

A wise business owner will also check out the competition to see what the "other guys" are doing to gain market share. If your company isn't doing what the competition is doing, it's worth an internal discussion to determine whether your purpose is to build a specialized niche or whether the competition may be leaving you in the dust. It's important to find out your best and most profitable direction sooner than later. If you wait too long you may lose your opportunity.

I also feel that the corporate hierarchy must get closer to their specific business situation to better understand what is really going on with the customer base. Each manager, leader, or vice president must get a clear understanding of what the customer is thinking and needing from your company. Many times, decisions are made by individuals who are not in tune with what is actually happening in the day-to-day operations of their own field locations. Corporate leadership should consider placing their management teams in actual store locations to give them a first-hand understanding how the customer truly interacts with the company.

Let's say you work in the corporate office of a leading department store chain. Imagine having the corporate leadership sent out to work with the store employees and interact with the customer base at that location for a week or so. Observing how employees are scheduled, understanding the inventory needs and experiencing the hardships by actually running a facility could be an eye opener. I believe that after a week of this kind of experience, the corporate management teams might have a much better perception of how their decisions in the board room impact the field operations. Hopefully that would improve the way business is conducted and ultimately improve the customer service aspect of the business. If it's done on a continuing basis, the customer base should certainly feel a difference which might just translate into added revenue for your bottom line.

One thing is certain; the need for effective customer service has never been more important than it is today. There is so much information that is immediately available through the Internet, and communications has never been easier and cheaper. While I agree that technology makes customer service efforts a lot easier, never lose sight of the fact that your customer is a "real" person with "real" needs. It is incredibly important to make sure that your company "touches" as many people as possible throughout the day, through personal phone calls or even individual visits (when possible) to insure that your credibility and your concern for their success is completely understood. While a customer may appreciate your service or product; the need for personal contact is, in my opinion, the "make or break" task that can generate a devoted customer base. If you do that, you might just create a customer for life.

 





Customer Service and the 21st Century Business Model - To learn more about this author, visit James Dicks's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

David Barr
David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

Casey Gollan
Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website

Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Jeff Foster
WebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas.  We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing
- Visit Jeff Foster's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


James Dicks
(Visit James's Website) For more than a decade, James Dicks has been one of the nation's leading educators on the subject of Real Estate, Stocks, Options, the Foreign Exchange Market and empowering investors to handle their own investments. James is living his dream by helping investors and businesses overcome the hurdles of reaching their financial goals. Millions of people have heard James message of diversification, money management and financial freedom and thousands have attended one of his many free workshops. Increasing investment knowledge is James' goal and he strives to reach this goal by using a common sense approach that investors of all types can utilize on their road to financial freedom. He is the author of the bestselling book FOREX Made Easy Six Ways to Trade the Dollar and his most recent book from McGraw-Hill, Operation Financial Freedom. The newest book, released in April 2006, also from McGraw-Hill, centers on a tremendously hot topic today, Real Estate, How to Buy and Sell Real Estate for Financial Freedom. His newly developed trade recognition software, PremiereTrade AI, is generating interest and sales on an international level. James is a dynamic trainer and motivator, speaking on nationally syndicated radio shows and appearing nationally before thousands of people educating them on personal finance, real estate and investing. As both a former Marine and dedicated family man, He strives to make a positive difference in the lives of every person he meets, and is proud to have served in the United States Marine Corps.

James Dicks is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


James Dicks's

Complete
List Of
Personal-Finance
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get James Dicks's Complete List of Personal-Finance Articles For FREE!

More James Dicks
The next Real Estate Get Rich Quick Plan Rentals
Cant See the Forest for the Trees
Its the Little Things that Create BIG Savings
Time for a REAL Change
Chicken or the Egg Is it SAVE jobs or CREATE jobs
Management and Leadership
The Need for Hopefulness
Finances and the Year Ahead
Communicate with the people you owe its a winwin for everyone
Is 5 Years Long Enough To Get Rich Quick
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Leanne Hoagland-Smith  
David Acheson  
Cheryl Matthynssens  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Entrepreneur Flight Manual Icon Entrepreneur Flight Manual
How To Get Media Attention Icon How To Get Media Attention
Great Sales Fallacies Icon Great Sales Fallacies
Business vs Personal  Icon Business vs Personal
Put Yourself Into the Top 3% Icon Put Yourself Into the Top 3%
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009
 
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts - Best Posts for Bloggers
The Top 10 ProBlogger Posts
Best Posts for Bloggers
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Patience Ayadi Benin City, Nigeria,
Patience Ayadi
Benin City, Nigeria
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Robert Iachetta, $372k to $921k in 2 years
Robert Iachetta
$372k to $921k in 2 years
Julie Mitchell, $470k to $1.1 Mil in 2 years
Julie Mitchell
$470k to $1.1 Mil in 2 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Ron Joyce, Tim Hortons
Ron Joyce
Tim Hortons
P.T. Barnum, Barnum Circus
P.T. Barnum
Barnum Circus
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
T. Harv Eker, Millionaire Mind
T. Harv Eker
Millionaire Mind
Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup
Jack Canfield
Chicken Soup
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Getting Your Message Heard Amidst The Clutter
By Allan Katz
     The 5 Easy Ways To Increase Store Traffic
By Allan Katz
     What Makes Marketing Work
By Allan Katz

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More popular articles
- Hosted Microsoft Crm
More Information