April 2013 - Posts

• Method: 3 Things to Surprise and Delight Your Customers

  Last Friday we decided to try something new: a virtual pizza party with a few customers. “Virtual” because most our customers are in different cities from us. “Pizza party” because we sent pizzas to their offices at lunch time. And this little experiment lead to today’s 3 Things post: Surprising and Delighting Your Customers 1. Random Acts of Kindness. So to finish the pizza story, once a month we do a demo day, where staff show each other what they’ve been working on. It's exciting...but it was missing something: our customers! So on Friday at 11 am, we decided to surprise a few customers by getting pizza delivered to their offices, and then chatting with them on Twitter, while we ate pizza “together”. The feedback we got was they loved the surprise. It gave that little morale boost they needed on a Friday. (P.S. If you want an invite to our next Virtual Pizza Party tweet us @MethodCRM with #ShowMeTheDough.) 2. Ask the “Magic Wand” Question. This is a fun and whimsical way to ask your customers for feedback. Here’s how we’ve done that with Method customers: “If you had a magic wand and could change one thing about Method right now, what would it be?” The answer you get will be your customer’s #1 pain point with your product or service. Maybe offer them an hour of free consulting or a small discount on their next invoice in exchange. Either way, I bet you a nickel at least some of them will say, “I’m really impressed you’re taking the time to do this”.  3. Gift of Time. Instead of a card, bottle of wine or box of chocolates in December, give a few of your most loyal customers the Gift of Time. Start by asking them for their top 3 charities. Then follow up by offering to volunteer or attend the next fundraiser (ask for 3 charities so you get at least 1 that aligns with your values). You could just cut a check, but I bet you another nickel your customers will be more surprised and more delighted if you offer a little piece of your time. Surprising and delighting doesn’t have to cost a lot or take more than a few hours… and it’ll be remembered for much longer than that. So if you had a magic wand and could change one thing about this blog post, what would it be? We’d love to hear your thoughts. And as the 3 Things series grows we’ll be adding guest bloggers and looking for your stories on what’s worked and what hasn’t, and how you adapted or improved on an idea we shared. And please let us know if you have any pain points or challenges you’d like us to cover. Email: 3things@methodintegration.com Twitter: @methodCRM Till next time. Jamil Posted Apr 25 2013, 12:44 PM by Method_Jamil with 2 comment(s)

• Method: 3 Things I Learned in Radio

  Last week Paul launched our new blog series “3 Things” by talking about his obsession with finding solutions and how this relentless focus on solving problems, for our customers and ourselves, has become part of Method’s DNA.    When I joined Team Method last month I was struck by how much Method’s value system reminded me of the first place I had the incredible fortune of working: CHUM Radio.  And this led to today’s blog post:   Valuing Your Team.   Here are 3 Things I learned in radio on how to value your team:   1. The little things make a big difference. First a quick story… when I met Mr. and Mrs. Waters for the first time (the owners) I was nervous, a little sweaty and mumbled my name. Yet even with 100+ employees, from then on both Mr. and Mrs. Waters always remembered my name.  They didn’t say “Jamal” or “Jemil”.  They called me “Jamil”, and that’s not an easy one to remember.   They were the owners.  I was the Intern.  And this simple courtesy set the tone for my entire 7 year run.   It’s easy to remember a name, set reminders for birthdays, get treats for the team on Friday afternoons (something I love about Friday’s at Method). Doing these little things builds goodwill.  And most importantly, your people feel valued.  Take it from the Intern -- me.   2. Organize your team in a circle; not a ladder. Picture this: your team is standing in a circle, and your goal is in the middle.  Doesn’t that sound more collaborative and focused than standing on different rungs of a ladder?   Here’s what happened at CHUM: by using the circle instead of a ladder, the whole team understood the company’s goals, and their role in achieving them.  Most importantly, we understood why we were doing what we were doing – not just what someone else told us to do.   That made the company efficient because all staff, from junior to senior, were empowered to work independently.   3. Our people are our most valuable asset. The Waters family would regularly say, “our most valuable asset is not the transmitter, building, or broadcast license.  It’s our people… the talented folks who create amazing radio and client partnerships every day.  They went so far as to call us “CHUM People”.  What effect did this have?  It made us feel privileged to work there.  And it made CHUM a highly coveted place to work. I still feel proud to say I was a CHUM person.   Maybe it sounds like I drank the Kool-Aid -- what I do know for certain is I felt privileged to be part of something unique. A big salary doesn’t buy that kind of loyalty.   What do you think? What can you do to make your team feel privileged to be a part of your company?  Any similar experiences? Please leave a comment or question, or hit us up on Twitter @MethodCRM.  Every week we’ll have a new post featuring 3 Things you can do now to elevate your business. Till next time. Jamil Posted Apr 19 2013, 12:43 PM by Method_Jamil with no comments

• Introducing method:3 things

  I consider Method to be a solution-obsessed company. I personally get very geeky about problem solving, and find that this characteristic has woven itself deeply into the entire company's DNA. It has defined who we are. At Method, we're a technology company, but the beliefs and practices that have led to our growth and success are applicable to any small business, regardless of the location or industry. We're going to share what makes us a solution-obsessed company as the first theme of a new weekly series we are launching. I know you are busy running your companies, facing tough choices, balancing priorities and doing the most you can with limited resources and time. So our series will be focused on giving you three effective ideas for your business you can put into practice right now. So let’s get started with a topic everyone can relate to: Customer Service Here are 3 things we practice at Method: Stop selling. Start helping. As a solution-obsessed company, you need to be a good listener in order to understand the problem you are trying to solve. Seek further clarification to help you understand not just what the customer needs, but why they need it. When you know why, you can make better recommendations, set better expectations, and anticipate future needs or roadblocks. Be consistent. Avoid case-by-case promises that cause one customer service experience to differ from another. Instead, make fair and reasonable policies and empower staff to make decisions. Train your staff with online material that is always up to date, giving them access to the knowledge of their peers. At Method we use articles (“solutions”) and encourage all staff to contribute and update as needed. The result: rookies and veterans both provide solutions to customers that are accurate and relevant. Seek feedback. Before getting off the phone with a customer, let them know the date and time you'll be calling them next to give them a status update. Never leave a customer in limbo. When we are working on an issue for a Method user, we often give them a recommended solution, ask them to try it and then let us know how it went. But silence is not success - a service ticket is not closed until the customer says it is closed, so we reach out daily for up to two weeks until we get confirmation that the issue is indeed solved. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you and if you have any other tips to offer.  As the series grows, we’ll be adding guest bloggers and looking for your stories on how you put what we suggested into practice, how you adapted or improved on it and if you have any pain points and challenges you’d like us to cover. Email: 3things@methodintegration.com Twitter: @methodCRM As they say, good things come in threes. Paul Posted Apr 11 2013, 03:18 PM by Method_Paul with 1 comment(s)