Well, When Will You Update Your IT Service Management Software?

When is the right time to add or update new IT Service Management Software?  That pretty depends on what we are talking about.  Could it be… When is it the right time to retire?  When is it the right time to buy a new house? When is it the right time to ask for a raise?

When is it the right time for your business to do something about your customer service headaches? Now there is a question that just might be keeping you up at night. Or do you just lay there watching your customers jump over the fence rather than counting sheep?

And, may I ask, just where are those customers jumping to? Or maybe, what are they jumping away from? Do you want to wait until all of your competitors have already improved their customer service?  That sounds like more than a little bit too late! In fact that sounds like a move that may end any chance of being competitive.

Finding a new customer is one thing. Have that customer return for another purchase is another matter altogether. Keeping that same customer long-term is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Have you heard the expression, “You don’t know what you don’t know?”  Unless you have a customer service management system in place that is exactly where you are… You don’t know what you don’t know and you don’t know it about the most important part of your business, your customers.

There is no need to lose sleep even one more night.  Your customer service business solution is as near as your phone, SMART Service Desk at 602-235-0975. Are you picking up your phone yet?  Why not?

Our system is easy to implement, easy to use, expandable and the best news yet, is that it is affordable.  Now are picking up your phone?

Do we need to say it again? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software allows you to deliver a better, more efficient and personalized customer experience that is easy to implement, quickly establish and very cost effective.

Does there need to be another question?

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Do You Put Profits Or Customers First?

Do you feel that customer education is unnecessary? Is it better to just offer your items for sale and let someone else teach the customers the end use of the product?

Do you feel you must watch your profit percentage first and then sell to a buyer that is willing to pay your price? 

We understand and agree that a business must be profitable to be able to stay in business.  It makes no difference if you are selling widgets or providing a service without a bottom line in the black you can’t continue to operate for long.

No matter what service or product you are offering you have a competitor who is trying to sell to the very same customer. If you have similar operating costs and similar selling prices what will make a customer choose you over the “other” store?

Friendliness is the most basic of all customer’s needs, usually associated with being greeted graciously and with warmth. We all want to be acknowledged and welcomed by someone who sincerely is glad to see us. A customer shouldn’t feel they are an intrusion on the service provider’s work day!

Does it cost anything to be friendly to your customers?

Customers need to feel that the service person understands and appreciates their circumstances and feelings without criticism or judgment. Customers have simple expectations that we who serve them can put ourselves in their shoes, understanding what it is they came to us for in the first place.

Does it cost anything to listen to your customers?

Customers need to "feel" they are being treated fairly. Customers get very annoyed and defensive when they feel they are subject to any class distinctions. No one wants to be treated as if they fall into a certain category, left wondering if “the grass is greener on the other side” and if they only received second best.

Do your customers feel you are treating them fairly?

Customers need to be educated and informed about your products and services, and they don’t want you leaving anything out! They don’t want to waste their precious time doing homework on their own. They look to your business to be their walking, talking, information resource.

How are you doing when it comes to customer education?

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com  

The Right Customer Service Builds Trust

Walt Disney may have said it best, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Creating trust between your company and your customers can help balance positive word of mouth that’s absolutely priceless.

Nurturing relationships with your customers is a crucial part of growing your business. In this age of automation, communication and innovation, showing your customers you care has never been more important.

You must keep in mind an unhappy customer can share their opinion with the masses through social media and the web and negatively affect your business. That’s why it’s even more important than ever to create an excellent experience for your customers to help develop your company’s relationship with them and their trust in your brand.

People don't buy from businesses they don't trust. Unfortunately, most sales pundits (including some that are quite well known) define selling as "convincing," "persuading," and "winning", presumably with the customer being the convinced, persuaded loser.

No wonder so many potential customers put up a barrier the minute someone tries to SELL them something! Many sales people are taught to move the customer from what they want to buy into something the business wants to sell.

Sometimes you just don’t have the right solution at the right price. If that is the case, it is always best to be honest with the customer, instead of proposing something which you know will not fully deliver the outcome the customer is looking for.

Your customer will be drawn to those who show true interest in them. Curiosity about people is thus a crucial element of relationship building. Having a true unshakable curiosity about others gives you the opportunity to learn new things and make new friends. People always do business with their friends before they will do business with strangers.

If and when you must speak of your competition, be respectful at all times. Some sales people seem to think that “trash-talking” the competition will make their own products and services look better. Usually, it only makes them look petty and immature in the eyes of the potential customer.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Do Your Customers Really Trust Your Brand?

A major hurdle all small businesses have to face when they are just starting out is getting consumers to trust doing business with them. While curiosity can motivate some folks to try new businesses you need to remember that a new customer may be testing to see if you are better or perhaps cheaper than their current shopping source.

New restaurants rely on curiosity for many of their new customers. You can’t build word-of-mouth until you have customers talking about you.

If your business satisfies a customer they will tend to trust that your new offerings will also please them. Trust is a critical element for consumers, without it you can’t enter a consumer’s product consideration set. As an integral part of content marketing and social media, trust is the filter through which consumers evaluate brand and product information. This is even more important in light of the fact that consumers don’t trust any company source advertising!

In today’s social media savvy world, it’s critical for businesses to be open in their dealings with their customers. Is your business motives clear to consumers? Can they tell when you’re truly trying to help them, not just selling to them?

When your audience is overwhelmed with information, it’s critical to ensure that they can quickly find the facts they want and need. This translates to findability on search and the use of bolding and outlining. Don’t forget your target consumer may be getting the content on the go via a mobile device (smartphone or tablet.) Is your brand information and content easy to find and quick to understand?

As a seller, the best way to win consumers is to build trust through the use of content marketing and social media. Ideally, provide prospects with the information they want and need at every step of the purchase cycle including customer reviews, both the good and the bad.

Always offer customers different alternatives based on their needs. No one wants to feel forced into having only one option. Does your brand offer choices and different solutions? In other words, do you appreciate consumers’ purchase process?

According to a recent survey, when customers trust a brand, 83 percent will recommend a trusted company to others and 82 percent will continue to use that brand frequently. While hardly anyone talks about the time you went above and beyond for a customer, you’ll certainly hear from the disgruntled ones if you failed to make a deadline or delivered a product that didn’t do what you promised.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk Honors Our Heroes

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

What IT Service Management Software Is Best For You

There is no question that there are many choices of customer service software for you to choose from. But, like all categories of products they all aren’t created equally. One thing is for sure they have many different price points.

Another area that you have to consider is how much it costs to implement the solution. There are two other related factors.  How long it takes to implement the different products and how long it takes to train your staff (or new staff) to be able to successfully use the product.

There is a solution that is both robust and easy to implement and use. SMART Service Desk is that solution. It is scalable in cost so that no company is too small to benefit from our solutions.

Increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. Our SMART Service Desk solutions can be adapted very quickly, easily and economically to meet your exact business needs. Achieve faster implementation, successful change management, and lower total cost of ownership with our 100% configurable, intuitive and affordable solutions.

Here is what one of our customers said about SMART Service Desk; "We needed a tool with automated workflow and easy to use interface. SMART Service Desk’s built-in workflow has made big improvements in our Service Operations - especially having online approval."

Your company can benefit from improved customer satisfaction and life time value from initial contact to post-sales support. SMART Service Desk provides a detailed 360 degree view of your customer interactions. You can improve customer service and delivery operations, maximize revenue opportunities and delight your customers with our affordable and mobile solution.

SMART Customer relationship management (CRM) software, offered both on-premise and cloud-based CRM, help businesses reduce costs and increase profitability by organizing and automating business processes to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty in the sales, marketing, and customer service fields.

Through SMART CRM solutions we deliver outstanding ROI through automation in customer service, and sales force automation. We also offer mobile apps that allow you to manage your customer relationships on your mobile devices, and software integration adaptors that integrate data and reporting from social media directly into your CRM application.

With our solutions your business can foster employee engagement, retention and productivity. Your satisfied employees can help create more satisfied customers and Improve processes, products, and services, and ultimately your organizational profitability.

Is your company looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is your answer. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk Helps You Care About Your Customers

Before you start thinking that customer service is isolated to one department within your company, allow me broaden your view of customer service. 

If customer service is merely isolated to the people answering your calls, emails and chats, you will miss the mark you are striving for 100%. Caring customer service must permeate the entire organization, inside and out and from top to bottom.  Here are seven characteristics that are essential to caring customer service…

Never Let Red Tape Get in the Way
Never use a policy excuse to side step your customer’s needs or finding a true solution that corrects a problem.

Check in With Your Customers
Following up with new customers can be a great help for navigating the onboarding process.

Send Them a Thank You Note
A handwritten note makes it so memorable. Writing an amazing thank you note doesn’t take long at all, but the impact that it has is huge in today’s digital world.

Personalize Your Service
A local restaurant takes time to ask customers a little bit about themselves before serving them. They then prepare a custom dessert plate based off of the customer’s interests or anything notable about them.

Really Sweat the Small Stuff
Nordstrom’s stellar service reputation is one case study where the reality lives up to the hype. From their infamous employee handbook to the celebrated tales of the staff’s service overtures, it is clear that Nordstrom is a company that prides itself on loving customers.

Seize Unique Opportunities
This might seem like strange advice at first, but when it comes to building reciprocity with customers and a reputation for exceptional customer service around your business, the key element is surprise.


Always Make Things Right
The common theme in these memorable customer service stories is businesses that go above and beyond to make a difficult situation right for a customer.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software

Is your company looking for a real solution that solves your IT Service Management Software needs? Are your looking for IT Service Management Software that can be desktop or a cloud based solution?

Well our SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software meets your needs.  It can be installed quickly and easily.  With streamlined training your solution can be implemented with little to no downtime. It is a solution that fits different sized companies and even down to small businesses.

SMART Service Desk - IT Service Management Suite is a flexible and robust solution that can be deployed via Purchased On-Premise, Subscription On-Premise and Cloud Subscription, with the portability to switch. It is simple, yet comprehensive; highly configurable ITSM Suite developed in alignment with the ITIL best practice framework to manage the entire service life-cycle across. We offer an integrated and modular solution that is designed to support multiple languages.

SMART Service Level management facilitates monitoring of services and proactively generates alerts on pending SLA breaches and provides critical performance metrics. Easily track SLAs based on services, priorities, business units and customer class.

SMART SLA Management module allows documenting IT & Business Services that are designed to meet the Service Level Requirements (SLR's) at mutually agreed Service time targets.

SLA Management helps in enhancing stronger relationship between the service providers & customers, based upon common business goals & objectives.

Also available for Mobile Applications technology is the fastest growing area of software development. As per industry reports, globally enterprise mobile users are forecasted to exceed 500 million by 2015.

SMART Service Desk Application is now available on all major mobile phones like I-Phones and Androids Devices, which allows employees to maintain productivity regardless of their physical location and the type of device they own, ensuring 24/7 service delivery.

SMART Service Desk Mobile Apps, provides true mobility to employees and support staff to access data related to all key ITIL Processes such as incidents, service requests, problems, change and asset management. Ready to use real time reports within SMART Service Desk ensure management and support staff have up to date statistics.

SMART Service Desks built in search engine for tickets and knowledge solutions is fully accessible via the iPhones and all other SMART Phones.

You can download SMART Service Desk - Android App from Google Play by searching “SMART Service Desk” and SMART Service Desk IOS App from ITunes Apple store as well.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Customer Service in the Social Media Age

For services representatives, promoters, and content marketers, the next step in your online branding campaign may be to open up your social media channels for customer service.  This post will serve as a guide to optimizing your social media for high quality customer support.

According to figures from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS), the last 18 months has seen levels of overall customer satisfaction fall for the first time since their survey began in 2008. Long-suffering customers who previously felt powerless now feel a greater sense of entitlement, and that sense of entitlement can't be ignored because, as the old adage goes, the customer is always right.

Forging any kind of relationship amid the choppy, fast-moving waters of social media is tricky, and we're certainly well past the stage where a tweeted acknowledgement of our customer complaint is enough.

While the jury may still out as to whether social media provides an efficient customer service channel (according to ICS figures, 26.2 per cent of us have used it but only 6.7 per cent have ever received a reply), some brands use the social media channel to their advantage. At its office in Wythenshawe, Virgin Media employs 30 people working in shifts to provide customer care across Twitter and Facebook.

Did you know that... 95% of Millennials expect brands to have a Facebook presence? Also, 87% of Gen X’ers (30 to 44-year-olds) and even 70% of those ages 45 to 60 think brands should, at the very least, have a Facebook page. While consumers reduced expectations by about 10% for Twitter presence, they dropped expectations even further for Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and Google+. Only about 50% of those polled expect brands to have a presence on all these social media platforms.

Social channels are a sign of a company’s dedication to transparency, accountability and even customer service! Customers recognize this and expect to see a brand engaging with customers on Facebook. Even though “silent” customers may not add comments or likes (basically, VALUE) to a brand’s Facebook page, still... they’re watching.

Brands’ social media channels leave them open to consumer criticism. American consumers know this and therefore have more respect for companies that encourage feedback and respond in a timely and thorough manner.

What do customers want from companies on Facebook? If customers expect a brand to be active on Facebook and possibly two or three other social channels, the next question is, what do they want from companies there?

When brands deliver enrichment on social media, they are rewarded with brand advocates and consumer goodwill. In this era when brands must skip direct selling and rely on brand advocates to market for them, social media channels should only tangentially touch upon a brand’s products and services; instead focusing on customers’ needs.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Ask Your Customers Important Questions

SMART Customer relationship management (CRM) software, offered both on-premise and cloud-based CRM, help businesses reduce costs and increase profitability by organizing and automating business processes to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty in the sales, marketing, and customer service fields.

With SMART CRM solutions we deliver ROI through automation in customer service, and sales force automation. We also offer mobile apps that allow you to manage your customer relationships on your mobile devices, and software integration adaptors that integrate data and reporting from social media directly into your CRM application.

SMART Service Desk - IT Service Management Suite is a flexible and robust solution that can be deployed via Purchased On-Premise, Subscription On-Premise and Cloud Subscription, with the portability to switch. It is simple, yet comprehensive; highly configurable ITSM Suite developed in alignment with the ITIL best practice framework to manage the entire service life-cycle across. We offer an integrated and modular solution that is designed to support multiple languages.

Learn to ask your customer what they really want. SMART Survey Management solution is complete functionally rich software, which can be can used for :

Surveys for Service Support Delivery: Get Support Feedback, after completion of Incident or service Request Tickets. You can integrate employee or customer feedback with your existing business processes.

Surveys for Employee Feedbacks: Get periodic employee surveys, since satisfied and motivated employees create more satisfied customers.

Surveys for Training Feedback: Get end of course, student satisfaction feedback.

Surveys for Customer Feedback: Measure and evaluate customer satisfaction, every time a customer interacts with your company. You can take actions and solve customer issues based on real-time feedback

SMART Survey Management Solution, can be integrated with your existing Human Recourses, ERP Systems and your websites.

Customer design your own brand based surveys.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Why You Need ITIL Compliant Solutions

According to an August 2013 Markets and Markets report, using MSPs can reduce the recurring in-house IT costs by 30-40% and increase efficiency 50-60%. MSPs enable organizations to bring in capabilities that they lack so they can focus on their core competencies. There is a clear value proposition for businesses to use MSPs.

An IT MSP can provide technology support for production, HR and Staffing, marketing and sales, and maintenance. While MSP often provide offer vendor specific services, there is an increasing demand for expertise in vendor-neutral services.

By improving the client’s processes around IT, MSPs can:

    Provide comprehensive services for the business, user, and customer
    Improve execution and delivery
    Provide meaningful performance indicators
    Justify the cost of service quality
    Decrease mistakes and rework
    Better manage resources
    Eliminate redundant work
    Apply lessons learned from previous experiences

1. Show value as a strategic business partner

While clients expect MSPs to meet agreed to service levels, MSPs who adopt ITIL have the foundation to exceed expectations. For example, a service request for a new laptop may have an agreed to SLA of five business days. A MSP following ITIL request management best practices would deliver the laptop within five days and would have also captured the laptop configuration and warranty as an asset, and then send a survey to the laptop user for feedback on satisfaction with the request process, delivery and laptop. Being able to consistently deliver services efficiently with high customer satisfaction allows clients to be more productive and highly productive workforce is a strategic advantage.

2. Create and manage a better customer experience

Good MSPs strive to provide great customer service using ITIL. Designing IT processes with the customer (end user) experience in mind is an integral part of the implementation. ITIL not only minimizes inefficiencies due to recreating the wheel but also ensures that the processes will be used versus circumvented.

3. Run more efficiently and effectively

Like all other quality management standards, one of the core elements of ITIL is continual improvement. Customer feedback, corrective/preventative action, and quality audits provide rich data on how to improve. Continual improvement will lean out inefficient processes. IT service management tools help to enable consistent process, execution, data quality and continuous improvement.

4. Clients won’t outgrow you

Many businesses realize that IT is not a core competency that their organization should focus on. That is primary factor in their decisions to outsource their IT to a MSP. However if the MSP has not effectively invested in providing a comprehensive catalog of ITIL services, then they run a significant risk of not having needed capabilities for their clients as they grow . Adopting ITIL equips a MSP to be a long term partner because their support can scale to the client’s needs.

5. Market to larger companies

Larger companies have higher expectations of the MSPs. They select MSPs that can make them better, faster, and cheaper. That means the MSP must have systems and processes in place that can meet demanding customer needs. The ITIL provides the framework for establishing the right systems, processes and best practices.

Effectively implementing ITIL can be a game changer for MSPs. ITIL processes are critical which will help improve productivity without increasing the resources. When combined with other IT frameworks such as COBIT for governance, a MSP can become a valued long term strategic partner for clients.

Your business needs customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Do You Give Your Customers A Voice?

SMART Voice of Customer – VoC Software Solution, helps organizations to maximize customer satisfaction and increase revenue while minimizing the cost of delivering an outstanding customer experience. SMART VoC provides a customer can have variety of channels to communicate with you about your business, including web portal, email, mobile apps, SMS and social media posts. Your Customer Relationship Managers can have access to Customer feedback analytics, which summarize information captured across multiple channels, so that they can analyze it efficiently, and share it across your enterprise for quick decision making to ensure high degree of customer satisfaction.

With SMART VoC Solution you can foster employee engagement, retention and productivity. Your satisfied employees can create more satisfied customers and Improve processes, products, and services, and ultimately your organizational profitability.

Do you remember the line “If you build it they will come.”? Here is a variation that will help you build your brand… “If you ask them they will answer.” Ask your customers about their wants and needs and they will give you the answers you can apply to your products and services. That is what SMART Service Desk’s Voice of the Customers brings to the table.

VoC programs emerged from the market research environment. This describes the in-depth process of capturing a customer's expectations, preferences and aversions. Specifically, VoC systems produce a detailed set of customer wants and needs and prioritizes them in terms of relative importance and satisfaction with current alternatives. Highly evolved VOC programs also analyze and act upon free form customer comments from multiple sources, including call centers, salespeople and social media.

Customer feedback is a goldmine! Know you need to implement an internal processes to track complaints and go about fixing them. And from that learn to prevent them in the future. Also, do everything in your power to make it really easy for customers to give feedback and tell you about problems they are having. It takes time to sift through feedback, but the value added to your business is worth it!

When business listen to their customers share their stories, they’re not just sharing pain points. They’re actually teaching you how to make your product, service, and business better. Your customer service organization should be designed to efficiently communicate those issues.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk

600 West Ray Road

Suite D-3

Chandler Arizona 85225

602-235-0975

info@smartservicedesk.com

http://smartservicedesk.com

How Does Your Business React To Customer Complaints?

In today’s Internet-driven market place, customers exercise more power than ever before. A satisfied customer may share their good experience with a few friends, whereas an angry customer has the potential to reach thousands of contacts in social networks and communities.  And for each customer that complains, there are anywhere from tens to thousands of people that don’t complain. 

Unfortunately they silently stop doing business with your firm.

Complaints happen every day. When a customer complains, it is usually for a good reason or genuine concern. They usually have made a purchase that did not meet their expectation, a product, service, or maybe a combination of the two. In the customer service industry, we cannot avoid complaints. 

We must take care of the customer by listening to the complaint, and resolving it, to ensure a happy customer. Fewer than half of unhappy customers will bring a complaint to your attention. 

Those who never say anything will directly tell an average of 11 other people about their bad experience. It is important that we recognize complaints as opportunities, so we can sway these averages, one resolved complaint at a time.

Customers want to know someone is listening and they are understood, and they are hoping you are willing to take care of the problem to their satisfaction. No matter what the situation is, when a customer brings a complaint to your attention, even if they do it in a less-than-desirable way, be thankful. As the old saying goes, “You can’t fix it, if you don’t know it’s broken.” Moreover, we must realize that improper handling of a customer complaint can be costly to the business.

Keep in mind when you’re facing negative word of mouth, time is not on your side. The longer you wait to respond, the angrier the customer will get, and the more likely others will pick up on the issue and spread of the negative buzz.

The only thing worse than ignoring upset customers is to respond with a canned corporate response. If you thought they were mad before, wait until you see how they react to an excerpt of your policy terms and fine print.

Show empathy, communicate in a friendly tone and use your real name. And if the forum supports it, it helps to include your actual photo.

It’s easy to yell and scream at an anonymous company. But when someone shows up and says, “Hi, this is Emily and I’m so sorry for the trouble…” it changes everything.

The critic now realizes he wasn’t yelling at a giant, faceless company. He was yelling at Emily. Quickly, the anger fades, and you’ll often get an apology.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Know Your Best Customers and How To Keep Them

Properly managing and retaining customers form the real backbone of business success. Everyone, from the sales staff to the front-line customer service representatives to the CEO, should concern themselves with customer satisfaction and customer management. All employees, regardless of their primary job duties, are responsible for promoting and representing the business. Therefore, employees often are the most effective, and inexpensive, sales tools.

The inability to satisfy customers quickly results in the loss of a customer base for a business and soon after that, the loss of the business. First of all, make sure you have a quality product or service. Next, ensure your business and employees are easy to deal with and polite. The words, "thank you," go a long way. Empower your customers and ask them questions to make sure their needs are met and they are fully satisfied. After all, dissatisfied customers tell seven to ten people, while satisfied customers only tell an average of one person.

Do you know who your most profitable customers are? Odds are they're your low-profile customers. Great customers often fly under the radar because they quietly make big purchases and drive a substantial portion of your profits.

They aren't the ones making demands or complaining. They may not even be your most frequent buyers. In fact, frequent customers often cost businesses money because they require discounts or other incentives to buy.

Despite what we often say, most people like things that resemble them in some way. This cognitive bias is called implicit egotism, and is an important thing to keep in mind when communicating with customers. In order to attract the sort of customers you want, you need to identify your target customers down to the last detail and then craft a brand message that perfectly matches their pains, goals and aspirations. It’s easier to fill this existing demand than to create one.

If customers don’t enjoy your selling process, they’ll likely never do business with you again. Thus, selling to customers the “correct” way is an integral part of creating customer loyalty. Below are a few studies to help you improve the process.

Outstanding customer service is a real no-brainer: You can’t create a tribe of loyal customers without an exceptional customer service experience that keeps them coming back. In this section, we’re going to bust a few customer service myths wide open, as well as tackle some important things you need to keep in mind when offering support online.

Are you looking for customer service solutions to help you deal with customer interaction? SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software should be your solutions. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

Turn Angry Customers Into Your Brands Biggest Fans

Do some customers seem like they are just spoiling for a fight? Do you find that no matter what you say it doesn’t solve their grievance?

In these circumstances you need a special set of skills.  The good news is that they can be learned.

These skills are ones that are more likely to be tested with practical exercises. At an assessment center it might be one of the competencies that are tested when you are working on a group exercise. For example, you may be asked to solve a theoretical problem with a client. By incorporating customer care into your plan you will be able to show the assessors that you are thinking of the long-term, not just the immediate challenge.

Alternatively, it might be measured in an interview. For example you might be asked to sell something – like a paperclip – to the assessor. In such tests you have to identify a reason why the other person needs a particular product. You are also likely to be asked what you would do if a client has a complaint, or returns goods, claiming they are faulty.

Clear communication is essential in customer service – you need to know what the customer wants, and be able to articulate what you can do for the customer. Enunciating, speaking loudly enough, and employing an upbeat tone, will help you communicate clearly and positively with your customers. These skills are essential in phone communication as well. If you write or email with customers, be sure to use proper grammar and spelling, and choose words and phrases that convey a similarly upbeat attitude.

People that work in customer service need to be able to calmly handle all customers, even the most negative ones. You must strive to remain calm and cool, even when your customer is not. Patience and self-control will keep you from getting upset and saying something inappropriate.

In customer service, you deal with many customers who have a problem that needs to be solved. It is important for you to be a creative problem solver. Always make sure you understand the problem clearly, and offer them possible solutions. Think creatively; often you will need to think of solutions that fit the needs of a specific customer. If you cannot find a solution that works for the customer, help them locate additional help. Follow up with the customer to make sure the issue has been resolved. Customers will appreciate your interest in their problem, and your willingness to help, in whatever way possible.

When dealing with a customer, you want to be able to take control of the situation and do what you need to do in an efficient manner. If you are meek or passive, the customer may not have faith in you. However, you also don’t want to be aggressive or demanding, which can offend customers. By speaking in a strong, steady voice, asking direct questions of the customers, and keeping track of what you need to do, you will convey confidence without being aggressive.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk Wishes You Happy Mother’s Day

We pray to the Lord

That God will bless your day

And that you'd find happiness

When to Him, you come to pray

I pray you'd know how much you've meant

To us through all these years,

For you have been there on your knees,

Sometimes with bitter tears

God has seen your Mother's heart

And answered your heart pleas

And Mom, because of your strong faith,

We also now believe.

This very special holiday is honored on the second Sunday in May and goes back more than 100 years as a U.S. celebration.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

4 Questions To Ask About IT Service Desk Software

What types of on-site services are included in the purchase? Many programs that are higher in price should include some amount of on-site services or support. If it does not, ensure that both (service & support) are built into your contract before purchasing. But, beware that this is the area where companies make most of their profit. Some companies count on you returning with requests for customizations of the software. Now that you have the software and have spent significant time purchasing hardware and dedicating resources, they know you are already, “half way in the pool”; they also know that you will have trouble refusing to pay extra money to get what you want. These services can include anything from training classes, customizations, or help with installation issues. In the case of local software companies, keep in mind, they should automatically provide some sort of on-site services (at a minimum) before purchasing. This can only help to streamline your implementation process and increase the likelihood of your success, with the added benefit of a higher return on investment (ROI), who wouldn’t like to have that.

What is the turnaround time for getting “bugs” fixed? Some companies will say that they will fix software issues as soon as you find one. There are others that will compile the list of “bug” fixes and release it on a scheduled basis convenient for them. This can happen either monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or yearly. Neither path is better or worse, as long as you are dealing with a reputable software company that stays true to their word. Knowing this before purchasing the software allows you to better handle your software end-users and enables you to provide a more accurate time frame of when your users will see changes or have their issues resolved.

How often do program updates go out and do they notify customers? This is another widely overlooked key item. There are two lines of thought that companies can use for updating customers. The company might decide not to notify its customers at all when updates rollout. They may think that if the customer has a problem they will contact them. At that time would they inform the user of an available update? Beware of this method of service, or lack there-of. Steer clear of companies that do not provide this as an option to their clients. The second line of thought would be for the company to notify its customers regularly about updates. They may also offer and option of including the customer on a mailing list. In this case be sure that they have multiple contacts that are on the email distribution list so that everyone who should know will not be left out of communications loop. If the software company does not offer either one of this options, you might want to reconsider your decision.

Is the proposed software scalable in design? Software that is scalable in design simply means that it can easily grow with your business, at minimal cost to you. Factors include end user customizations, current database structure, and inputs and outputs like reports, and connectivity to your other database systems. Scalability is very important for small businesses, because they are dynamic in growth. No one wants to jump through hoops of testing, development, customizations, and training, to purchase software only to find out a year later that you have outgrown it and you need to replace it. With proper planning at the time of purchase only you can increase your chances for a successful software experience.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com

SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices Part 2

As the title indicates this is Part Two of SMART Service Desk IT Service Desk Best Practices and we continue with the list of areas that your staff can focus on to help customers and users reach their goals.

Know When To Escalate A Case
All too often, pride and ego keep staff from sending a case up the escalation chain when they should; we tend to be too proud to admit that we are stumped and pass it along to someone who knows better than us. This doesn't help anyone. The customer isn't getting the problem fixed, you look resistant to trying to get a fix, and the organization as a whole comes off as incompetent. While there might not be strict guidelines for when to escalate a case in your organization, it's as they say: "Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em."

Know Your Market
Callers will sometimes be looking to get technical information to help them decide whether the item they are thinking about buying is right for them. It is helpful to be familiar not only with your own product line, but that of competitors as well. Then, if someone calls in to get this kind of pre-sales information, you can be fully informed to help them -- so long as your policy isn't to redirect those questions to a different department.

Open Direct Lines Of Communications
Do you keep stumbling across help desks that can't directly work with the next level of support? At best, they can leave a note in a ticket begging the next level to call the customer. To me, this is patently absurd. When a situation is blowing up for a customer, do they really want to hear, "I've left a note in the ticket requesting a callback" when the previous three notes haven't produced the needed call? Of course not.

Take Ownership Of Cases
There are two major reasons why you have angry customers: Either your product has made them absolutely miserable or your organization has bungled the response to their problems. In the case of the latter, the best strategy I have found is to reaffirm that while other technicians may have made mistakes or that the product in question is giving them problems, you are personally going to try your best to find a resolution. If you can't, you need to take ownership of the case and ensure that a resolution will be found. Then you need to actually deliver on that promise.

Understand Current Policies
It is hard to stay on top of policies in any organization. But it can really frustrate a caller to get inconsistent service from the help desk. For example, if Bob is willing to RMA a unit after one failure, but Pam insists on three failures, a caller can get pretty upset when Pam doesn't give the same quick fix that Bob will. The problem is that people are usually taught policies once during their training and rarely brought up to speed after that. This isn't the technicians' fault. But if they see that different policies are being applied to the same situation, they should ask a supervisor for clarification and alert them that there seem to be different understandings of the policy within the department.

SMART Service Desk IT Service Management Software is a great start to creating your very own customer service legends. We know that your satisfied customers will return again and again. Let us help you increase productivity, reduce operations cost and improve customer experience with our ITIL compliant solutions. No matter the size of your business we have your customer retention solutions.

SMART Service Desk
600 West Ray Road
Suite D-3
Chandler Arizona 85225
602-235-0975
info@smartservicedesk.com
http://smartservicedesk.com