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Posts for February 2012
How to create a customer service guide for your business
February 29, 2012
Company manuals and guidelines are not on the agenda when you’re starting a business – because usually it’s just you who works for the business.
However, once you start employing people it’s wise to set some “ground rules”. For example, a customer service guide will help with training new staff, providing them with a reference point for any issues they encounter in their early days on the job.
Here are a few simple tips on creating an effective customer service guide. I have focused on an online business, but it’s similar for an offline operation.
Introduce your business
Though it’s your business and you know the standards and quality you expect, new employees may not. It won’t be long until your customer service team is the main contact point for your customers and they need to know how your business operates and what it promises. Otherwise they can’t adequately answer people’s queries.
The key points to cover are:
- Shipping costs and delivery times.
- Returns policy – any shop or online company needs to make clear both the law and their own attitude to unhappy customers.
- Key details about your product/service (eg if you sell printer ink cartridges, the differences between original manufacturers’ items and compatibles from a third party are important for staff to know).
- Employee “power” – how far a customer service person can go to appease a situation and when management must be consulted.
It often helps to create a short list of, say, five key points, ideas or practices that you feel are essential to your team. This could include things such as politeness and tone of voice. At my company, we have crucial targets, such as responding to all email enquires within 24 hours.
Tailor it to the role – don’t over-inform
Starting a new job is overwhelming, so make sure you clearly explain the tasks relevant to the role you want that employee to perform.
If you have a sales team, as well as product knowledge, you’ll need details such as how to handle different payments, any limitations of the system (eg can’t accept American Express) or how account and new customers are dealt with.
For roles with more of a focus on service and support, product familiarity is also vital but in-depth knowledge of the sales process may not be necessary (though the ability to do a basic job can help cover staff absences or busy periods). Focus more on relevant factors such as knowledge of your suppliers or product training and troubleshooting.
Proper use of equipment
For any piece of hardware and software, it’s essential that anyone working for your business understands its purpose and how to use it properly from both safety and efficiency viewpoints.
This doesn’t mean you need to copy out every user manual available, but some bullet points with tips can make the employee feel more comfortable and get them up to speed quickly.
Taking screenshots can often save time and effort when trying to describe a series of on-screen tasks. They are great, not only to complement instructions, but also to serve as verification that the correct stages have been followed.
Who ya gonna call?
It’s inevitable, your new customer service employee will need to be able to turn to someone with more experience or authority for help. This makes a quick-fire contact list of all employees (and their jobs) essential, and helps get problems resolved faster by streamlining issues that arise. Plus, you’d be amazed by the added confidence an employee can get from just knowing there is someone to turn to.
This area could also cover where to refer customers who’re looking for services you don’t provide. Draw up a shortlist of companies that don’t impinge on your market but are in a related niche. This can not only encourage customers to see you as being helpful, but also build relationships with those businesses. If you’re sending business to them they’ll be much more likely to send it back to you.
Produce a cheat sheet
If you can distil some of the more essential information onto a single page that your team can pin up for quick reference, you’ll save time.
This can be anything from a flow chart for taking a payment by cheque to how to handle ‘difficult to scan’ barcodes (I’m looking at you and your eggs, Mr Cadbury). In non-retail situations this can be how to document an issue properly, or the correct series of questions to ask when troubleshooting a problem.
Updating your guide
If it’s good, employees will refer to your manual and follow it, which is great, as long as the guidance is correct. It’s definitely worth re-evaluating this document periodically, as well as updating sections when new business practices, equipment or services become available.
I hope these tips help you streamline your processes and your new recruits are still smiling after settling-in! Have you got any tips that you’ve found really helped you to integrate a new team member?
Time for government to show its teeth on lending
February 27, 2012
It's time for the government to force the banks' hands on small business lending
It has just been announced that the five biggest UK banks have missed have their small business lending targets - yet again.
Under Project Merlin, last year’s much-vaunted banking agreement, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Santander were all expected to make it easier for small firms to secure credit – and yet lending to small firms fell during every quarter of 2011.
According to the banks, the targets are being missed because small businesses have no appetite for debt. They claim that SMEs simply aren’t coming forward, preferring instead to hunker down and make do with what they have.
Our own research suggests that this is only half the story. The most recent Simply Business SME trends survey found that banks rejected applications from a third of the small firms that sought credit over the past 12 months. These knock-backs have had a significant impact on entrepreneurs’ confidence in the banks – so much so, in fact, that only 9 per cent of the business owners we surveyed were planning to apply for a loan during 2012.
So in one sense the banks are right: appetite for credit does seem to be waning amongst small firms. But whose fault is this? Is it small business owners, who are struggling to keep the economy moving in these increasingly uncertain times? Or is it the banks, who so often seem to go out of their way to make the process of borrowing as difficult and as expensive as possible?
Project Merlin has failed. The scheme was intended to provide small businesses with much-needed credit – the lifeblood they require if they are to kick-start the country’s ailing economy. But Merlin had no teeth. Even now, after taxpayer-owned RBS missed its targets again, the government has refused to take any action against the banks. Instead, we have another round of quantitative easing – a scheme from which small firms are yet to derive any tangible benefit.
The banks are attempting to shift onto small firms the blame for their own failure. Yes, SMEs are reticent about applying for credit – but this is because of an increasingly ingrained assumption that the banks will refuse to help. It is small businesses that will lead the UK back to growth, but they will only be able to achieve this if the credit system functions properly. Project Merlin has now been replaced with the so-called ‘credit easing’ scheme, which will provide loan guarantees for small, credit-worthy firms. Few will mourn the loss of Merlin. But the banks must now take responsibility for their own lending – and the government must show that it is prepared to take decisive action to ensure small firms get the help they need.
Source: SME trend survey Simply Business 2011
By Jason Stockwood, CEO of Simply Business
Boost profits by giving your people the tools they need
February 23, 2012
One of my favourite expressions is: “You need to spend a quarter to make a dollar”. This is very true when it comes to equipping your employees to be productive. Here are some real life situations I have experienced as a small-business advisor:
Problem #1 Two work crews, but only one saw
Every morning before each crew went in different directions there was a pow-wow to determine who needed the saw most. One crew had lost the second saw and the owner didn’t want to pay for another. In fact, there were quite a few tools and basic equipment that were lost. From a financial standpoint the payroll for the two crews was about £200 per hour. The new saw cost less than £200.
The solution – I convinced the owner to restock the crews with everything they needed at a cost of around £1,000. We then set up a £500 tool fund. If the crew lost or broke a tool it was replaced and paid for from the tool fund cash. If at the end of the season they didn’t spend all of the money, the crew got to keep the remainder of the tool fund cash.
Problem #2 Employees sharing computers
The version of the software program that three employees used was only licensed for one user and wasn’t set up to run on a network. The employees took turns using the computer, which was located in an inconvenient place for two of them. From a financial standpoint, the three employees produced a total revenue of £210 per hour when productive.
The solution – We determined productivity would increase at least an hour a day with two new computers added. On an annual basis that’s £52,500 more revenue! That is a good return for roughly a £3,000 investment in two computers networked together and two more users on the license. (We didn’t even calculate the uplift from much happier employees!)
In both of the above examples, by spending a quarter, the business made far more than a dollar!
My suggestion is to talk to your teams about what tools they need to be more productive. When you evaluate the investment, calculate the value of the lost revenues from downtime and the payroll costs of unproductive employees, I suspect every business has an opportunity to spend a quarter to make a dollar.
'Paul Foster, The Business Therapist, is a business advisor and coach for personal and professional growth, practising in the UK, Canada and USA.
- Get more advice about how to manage employees.
A peep into freelancing
February 08, 2012
At the end of last year we supported National Freelancers Day by running our very own survey.
We now have the results and we’ve created a rather awesome infographic called ‘A peep into freelancing’. You can read more on our recent blog piece here.
The infographic covers the how, what, who and where and when of freelancing and gives valuable insight into the pros and cons of starting up on your own.
Infographic by PolicyBee insurance
Catching the slipstream of eBay and Amazon
February 06, 2012
The last few years have seen the rise of “online marketplaces” such as eBay and Amazon with them taking an ever larger share of the lucrative online shopper traffic. This provides both a threat and opportunity for smaller online retailers. Catch the slipstream of the big guys and it can be great, but be on the motorway as they thunder over you and it’s not so enjoyable.
Why there’s an opportunity
According to Forbes magazine, eBay has 97 million active users worldwide, approximately 200 million live product listings and more than 10 million new and deleted items daily. In the UK it has 16 million visitors a month. Impressive!
The result for entrepreneurs has in some cases been outstanding. According to eBay, in 2010, five businesses achieved turnover in excess of £1m in their first year of trading. They have also stated that they expect one in ten businesses to achieve a turnover of at least £3m.
Exports have been key to this growth. According to the figures, 98% of the millionaire businesses boost their takings through overseas sales. Over £446m were achieved by eBay’s UK-based small businesses during the whole of 2010, with expectations that around 11 of the millionaire businesses will see over £500,000 of turnover come from exports.
On Amazon, third-party sales (i.e. merchants other than Amazon itself) represents 29% of all sales and the company is growing at around 50% year on year.
Be aware though that setting up an eBay or Amazon store is akin to taking on a franchise. A lot of support is provided, but you must remember that you have to play by the franchise rules and the spoils will be shared with the franchiser.
A big opportunity exists to build and expand your business, but it’s critical not to be trapped in a way that reduces the longer term value of your company. To help this many merchants have their own ecommerce website to get the benefit of multi-channel selling.
One challenge is often associated with managing stock and processing orders when they are coming from multiple places. This is easy if your ecommerce platform lets you synchronise stock and process orders in one central location.
The benefits of marketplaces
For most start-ups marketing their products is often the challenge and this is where marketplaces come into their own. Tens of millions of people search on eBay and Amazon for products. Therefore if you can source the right products at the right price and deliver them promptly you should have a successful business.
Reasons for using eBay and Amazon include the following:
- Low start-up costs as there is no investment in technology or marketing required
- Captive market – prospective buyers are already searching on the platform
- Payment options are already available
- You can choose the most appropriate business model between auctioning products and making them available at a fixed price [eBay only]
- There is additional support such as printed leaflets to go with orders and emails to encourage repeat business [eBay only]
- Fraud protection is included
- There is a helpful community of other merchants
- Warehousing, picking and delivery service can be provided [Amazon only].
If you use Amazon or eBay, or a combination of your own site and a marketplace it would be good to know how you’ve fared.
This is an extract from Actinic‘s white paper which can be downloaded for free.
Chris Barling is chairman of Actinic.
The 2012 Olympics - opportunity or threat to small businesses?
February 01, 2012
Recently, I read that 55 per cent of small-business owners in London do not think the Olympics will pose any disruption to their sales or operations. Only 14 per cent were concerned about transport issues and less than one in 10 business owners were worried about staff availability (according to research carried out for Deloitte).
This prompted me to investigate whether they are right not to be concerned, or whether contingency planning is advisable, by weighing up the opportunities and threats that the games may pose.
Opportunities
- 11 million spectators are expected to flock to Olympic and Paralympic events in the city, generating a huge source of potential customers and spending, particularly for the tourist, leisure and catering industries.
- 500,000 visitors are expected to arrive from abroad, creating an opportunity for small businesses to raise their profile among a brand new pool of customers and potentially unlock the door to a global market.
- The Olympics are expected to create a positive mood among consumers, driving them to spend more, which would open up a wealth of opportunities for innovative small businesses to increase their revenues.
Threats
- An additional three million journeys are forecast to take place in London over the seven-week games period, putting pressure on the tube and bus network and potentially making access difficult for small business staff and supply/distribution networks.
- Diversions, traffic and parking restrictions may also hinder accessibility to small business premises.
- Should the Olympic Games not run smoothly or generate negative publicity, small business revenue could drop (as in the case of the 2004 Greece games).
Overall, the opportunities and threats are roughly balanced, but they will vary from business to business. Therefore, to tip the scales towards ‘Opportunity’, I would advise each business to assess the risks in advance and devise a management plan, based on their location in relation to event venues and individual operational dependencies. Putting aside time now to prepare will minimise the threats and increase the chances to successfully reap the many rewards that will be available.
John Davis, managing director of Business Centric Services Group
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