Jeweller - March 2020

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BUSINESS Selling Are you making the most of your customer service superstars? For some employees, providing outstanding customer service comes naturally – and their talents can be used to enhance your whole team, writes JEANNIE WALTERS. Ask any group of customers what they liked about a recent customer experience, and they typically mention the same thing – although, they aren’t ‘things’: it’s always about the people. Senior executives across different servicebased industries have noted that, when leaving feedback, customer comments often included a specific name. Instead of saying, “The flight attendant was great,” they would say, “Kelly is really extraordinary!” These extraordinary people in your organisation should be not only rewarded for their behaviour, but also observed and invited to participate in creating the best practices for your business. The tricky thing about humans is that we have trouble observing ourselves. So it’s up to business managers to identify the customer service ‘superstars’ and discern how they create better customer service. If you aren’t paying attention to you staff ‘superstars’ then others won’t feel the need to follow their exemplary lead. Here are some of the ways customer service superstars stand out, gathered from years of observing different businesses and organisations. Listening and responding beyond the data One customer service representative working for a national business call centre noticed customers would contact her requiring the same instructions again and again. Many of their questions weren’t available as choices in the business’ customer service system. The call centre employee recorded the questions in her notebook, created a set of resolution instructions, and presented her work to the call centre manager. However, the manager refused to add the questions and answers to the system because the numbers on file didn’t reflect a large caller demand for that information. Identifying and rewarding your best customer service employees is critical. Not to be discouraged, the employee simply provided her instructions to her fellow customer service representatives and, as a result, transnational customer satisfaction rates increased. In this case, the call centre manager’s decision simply reflected the data-driven culture of the company. However, the superstar saw a truly customer-centric solution and made it happen in a low-tech way. This staff member helped the rest of her team learn how to really listen for the root cause of reasons for inbound customer requests. Empathetic and engaging behaviour At a world-class art museum, some of the visitors were reporting an unfriendly and uptight environment. Staff working in customer-facing roles were trained in ‘soft’ skills – yet still the comments kept coming. Obervation of individual gallery experiences revealed the unexpected cause; security guards stationed to protect each individual gallery in the museum, were often abrupt and unfriendly to visitors. They were doing the job for which they had been employed, however sometimes they were perceived as rude. For an example, It is easy not to pay attention to the individual staff member who excels at his or her job; often, they do not seek glory or recognition an adult exclaiming, “Don’t touch that!” is startling to a young child. One guard, however, had a unique approach, especially with children. He crouched down to speak to them at eye level and used phrases of engagement such as, “Do you like that sculpture? I do, too! It’s one of my favourites. That’s why we have to be so careful.” His warm tone and engaged behaviour should have become the standard across the museum’s security team, but that could only happen if leadership was paying attention. Getting out of their silo A small university discovered its superstars when its academic advisers began asking students about their experiences outside study. Students trusted the advisers for academic counsel, but as the relationships grew they shared more than just feelings about their classes. Superstars were all over the campus: dining hall attendants, health centre nurses and registrar clerks were all mentioned in glowing terms by the students. As more student responses were analysed, it was found that each of these groups had at least one staff member who could help the rest of their team better serve students. It is easy not to pay attention to the individual staff member who excels at his or her job; often, they do not seek glory or recognition – they simply do their job in the only way they know how. By actively identifying your superstars, your customers’ experience can improve thanks to their intuitive skills. So… do you have superstars and do you recognise them? Jeannie Walters is founder and CEO of Experience Investigators By 360Connext. experienceinvestigators.com 48 | March 2020
BUSINESS Management Why taking risks is critically important When it comes to taking your business to the next level, there are several key areas where a calculated risk makes all the difference, writes DAVID BROWN. Taking a risk is subjective; what one person considers risky another might not give a second thought. As we age, we certainly become more risk averse, sinking back towards the ‘tried and true’ rather than the ‘new and exciting’. This can be part of our in-built wiring – we get better at making risk judgments as we age, since we now have a history from which to refer. You only have to ask yourself whether you’d repeat some of the things you did when you were 20! From a financial perspective, some of this decision-making process is due to having more at stake – financially, we are generally wealthier in our fifties than we were in our twenties, and have more to lose if things go wrong. This risk aversion sometimes stems from having previously been financially harmed. We instinctively shy away from previous bad experiences. With too many bad memories returning, we start to believe that the same thing can happen again. Yet in many cases, these previous bad experiences were circumstantial and not directly related to the actions that we took. I see this time and time again with jewellery storeowners who stick to the same path of action over and over again even though the market has moved on. As it turns out, avoiding change can be the greatest risk of all. Failing to take a chance can be more risky than taking a few calculated gambles – that is, ensuring the risk factor is managed as effectively as possible. So, in what areas of a business should you take risk? Inventory – Product is one area that should be managed by the numbers and I’m a firm believer in continuing to reorder and resell, until it sells no more. However a certain percentage of your The benefits of taking a risk frequently outweigh the drawbacks. buying needs to be focused on testing new products that may become winners. You are losing out on the potential for greater revenue if you continue to solely stock the items you’ve always stocked. When it comes to widening your product offering, take a strategic approach and look for the gaps that could be easily filled with an item that will delight your loyal customers, or bring new customers into your store. Marketing – The digital world has made it easier than ever to measure the impact of your marketing strategy. Split testing – also known as A/B testing – is the automated process of showing different marketing material to two different audiences and seeing which one gets the best response. For example, you could see which of your two Instagram ads – one with a flat-lay product image, or one with a product on a model – gets the most customer click-throughs. It’s a great way to quickly refine and evolve your strategy to its optimal level. By constantly reshaping and trying new marketing headlines and offers, you can easily determine which works best with a minimum of risk. The important question when considering a risk is to determine what the worstcase scenario will be... In most cases, this downside is actually minimal Price – Do you really know how much that item can sell for? Could your mark-up be higher than you currently charge? Testing the market for price can offer considerable returns for very little risk. All of these areas have one thing in common – they can be calculated risks with a limited downside that can be easily reversed. None have the power, on their own, to cause permanent damage to your business; all of them offer an upside that faroutweighs their downside. Calculated risk taking is part of entrepreneurship – after all, being a business owner is a risk in itself. The important question when considering a risk is to determine what the worst-case scenario will be if things don’t go according to plan. In most cases, this downside is actually minimal. I recommend having a ‘risk budget’ as part of your annual plan. This isn’t an expense account line item, but rather a portion of your funds, in several different areas, that you are prepared to risk in order to move your business forward. In every case, you need to decide if the upside offers a multiplier several times higher than the downside, and whether the downside can be capped at a certain point to minimise that risk. If you explore these options you will find,that there are many opportunities in your business to take controlled risks that can offer significant upsides – and some of these risks could potentially catapult the business to another level. When you assess these risks on that basis, you will find the risk really isn’t that big a risk after all. David Brown is co-founder and business mentor of Retail Edge Consultants.. retailedgeconsultants.com March 2020 | 49
Page 1 and 2: VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY I
Page 3: Y O U R L E A D I N G S U P P L I E
Page 6 and 7: Looking for new product ideas? Mayb
Page 8 and 9: Upfront Upcoming Trade Shows 3 - 5
Page 10 and 11: Only $6,495 USD yehuda.com +1.212.2
Page 12 and 13: News Prestigious diamond jewellery
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Page 19 and 20: INSIDE My Store Sarah & Sebastian S
Page 21 and 22: LEARN ABOUT Gems Chrysoprase Chryso
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