March 30, 2010 Can I Speak with a LIVE Person…PLEASE!?! Why are businesses using automated answering services during normal business hours, as a replacement to nice, friendly, helpful, AND LIVE, customer service representatives? Do business owners actually believe this is a good idea? An upgrade in customer service? I don’t know anyone who hasn’t felt utter frustration, at least once, after encountering an automated answering machine when calling to place an order or ask a question. The worst is the kind that is supposed to recognize your voice commands, but no matter how perfectly you enunciate, it can’t differentiate yes from no. When people call your business, they want to…
November 24, 2009 Which Survey Delivery Option Should You Choose? There are all sorts of ways to solicit customer/prospect opinions, running the gamut from informal (a quick “how did we do?” call) to formal (a separately administered focus group). The type of survey we have been discussing lies somewhere in between. Starting with printed surveys (near and dear to my heart!), you can contract with a specialized marketing company to assist you in determining the questions and format of the survey, as well as the target audience, potential response rate, statistical significance, data collection and interpretation. This professional approach works well if you have a larger, more intensive survey and…
