I’m crazy for great customer service. It’s what I promise anyone who does business with me and it’s an important factor for me in choosing where I spend my money.

I know one of my pet peeves is shared by a lot of people – crappy customer service. Spending your hard earned dollars and being treated with indifference. People who act surprised when you expect them to do what they said they would, when they promised. I mean, how hard is it really? You’re committed or you’re not.

How can you give your customers a great experience? How do you make them feel valued and important? How can you tie that into your business and your unique selling proposition (USP)? Is it something you care about? Could you use that to set yourself apart? If it is something you care about – it’s a killer USP because so many people just flat-out don’t get it or don’t care, or both!

Recently I needed some new people to outsource web and graphic design to. I put an ad on Craigslist and was promptly flooded with resumes, websites and samples. My first pass was for the style I was looking for; my second pass was for customer service. In this case I was looking for people who could commit to a deadline and stick to it and who really cared about doing it with a great attitude and were easy-going. Finding great style was easy –great customer service was much harder to find.

I didn’t end up choosing the people whose work was the least expensive, although many people put that front and center as their USP – they would get the job done for less. I tried one of those for-less guys –his customer service was great – for about a week. After the first job he suddenly lost his interest in being diligent and had a real attitude. Another ‘price guy’ disappeared. Apparently he was cheap for a reason.

The people I ultimately chose and am working with and will continue to bring my business to are the ones who deliver great quality when they say they will with a great attitude in the bargain.

OK – I admit it – I deeply value doing what I say I will and others who do the same – it’s hard for me to work with people who don’t. People who don’t drive me nuts. Even people I really like. Even if they’re friends. It’s become a USP for me – my clients know they can count on me to deliver great marketing copy – on time and with no prima donna attitude. Ultimately, they’re always right. Reminds me of a question we ask a lot around here: Would you rather be right or be happy? For me, it’s happy.

If killer customer service is something you value, think about using it as part of your marketing platform – you’ll really make yourself stand out and get more business from the kinds of people you want as clients. It’s win-win.

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Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending the Seattle Women Presidents Organization evening with Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, co-sponsored by American Express OPEN Forum Program. Dr. Bendapudi is engaging and funny and just plain smart and practical. I love when people are passionate about their topic – they’d be happy to stay and talk about it all night and they have ready answers and top-of-the-mind cases studies they can use for examples. She was a kick and I learned a ton.

Here are some quick high points. Dr. Bendapudi spoke about branding and emphasized that your brand is a living entity. It’s the experience your customers and clients have when they interact with you, the people your employ, anyone that represents your company in any way. Bottom line: your brand is a promise. It’s something that you need to work on constantly. A brand isn’t an idea you create and call it good. You have to live up to the promise your brand makes. Every day; with every interaction.

Consumers have a certain experience of your company and they expect to have that experience consistently, time and again. When you’ve done your branding right, your brand occupies a place in your consumers mind (arguably the most valuable business real estate in existence). Ask yourself every day what you’ve done to build your brand – remember – it’s a dynamic entity, just like your company is. If you’re not building your brand, you’re remaining static. Know what defines your brand and be ‘about it’ in everything you and everyone associated with your company does and says.

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LinkedIn is a great place for making business connections. It’s decidedly less social than Facebook, and for some people that makes it easier and more straightforward. Like any other social networking site – approach it like a new neighborhood you’ve just moved to. Ask some questions to find your way around and the best place to ‘do business’. In your brick and mortar neighborhood that means learning how to move around and get the products and services you need. Same applies here.

Keeping that in mind, here are some key points:

Build your profile and make sure it’s 100% complete – LinkedIn will walk you through the completion process and suggest what you need to do to finish your profile. A profile that isn’t complete isn’t looked upon favorably by those in the know.

Get Recommendations. At least three is standard. These have to be from people you know who are also on LinkedIn. There’s a simple form you can send to request a recommendation. Be sure to add a personal note and tell the person you are asking what you want them to focus on. Expect to write them a recommendation in return and offering to do so in your inquiry email is a nice touch.

Search for and join groups of interest to you and start to participate. Think of the brick and mortar community analogy and imagine its like showing up at a networking event – only more quickly and more often. Be courteous, pay attention, ask questions, get to be known like you would in any situation where you’re new and want to make a good impression.

Link to your blog (if you have one) through the WordPress widget – it’ll keep your blog posted on your page automatically, it even updates when you make changes through your dashboard – pretty cool.

Use the The Reading List by Amazon widget to comment on what you’re reading – it’s a great way to share info, showcase your interests and your personality in a simple, straightforward way.

Decide whether you want to connect with as many people as possible (be a LION) or whether you want to restrict your contacts to people you know and eventually broaden out to people you meet, and the contacts of your contacts. There are differing philosophies on each strategy.

Some believe the more people you can connect with the better, and those people tend to be power networkers offline as well as on. Some people think LIONs and dilute their efforts – because no one KNOWS that many people, so they view those connections as less valuable overall. Generally, some solid contacts and serious recommendations will stand you in good stead and are enough for most people. Decide what suits your personality.

Participate in the conversation by going to the ‘answers’ found under the more tab. Here you can participate in conversations, network, get answers to your questions. Lurk here a bit and get the feel of the etiquette. Before you post a question, check to see whether this question has been recently asked and adequately answered. Share what’s working for you.

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Tell Your Clients They're Important

Can you think of a company, private practice or business that you deal with that you feel really good about? Why? What makes it stand out?

How do you choose who you do business with?

General wisdom has it that bad news spreads ten times as fast as good news does. When people are dissatisfied they tell the immediate world. When they’re happy, they tend to be a bit quieter. That’s human nature, but as business owners, we need to work with that.

Call me old-fashioned, (or a geek – hey I DVR Jeopardy) but I think having customers, clients and patients that feel thrilled about the conscientious and quality service they get is really important. I value it with the people I do business with and I aim to provide that for my clients. What can you do to set yourself apart? To really provide great service and be sure that the people who do business with you know you value them? Here are a couple of simple suggestions: 1. Killer Follow Up. Be in touch with people regularly and thoughtfully. Look for articles or bits of information relevant to their business and send it their way. Someone I work with did this for me last week; sent me an article completely relevant to a project I’m working on and one I hadn’t seen. Not only was it a really nice touch, but I admired her business savvy AND it made me feel she was really dialed into my needs. I was already impressed with her, but this served to further just cement our relationship and my intention to send more biz her way.

2. Send a personal, hand-written note. To thank someone for their business. To send a clipping of an article instead of sending it by email. We get so little ‘real’ mail anymore that it’s a great way to stand out and get someone’s attention. It takes some effort, but that effort counts and is valued. You can even send a birthday card – a lot of people have their birth date as part of their social media profiles. I got one of those last month too (an unexpected birthday card in the mail) and it made me feel really good – simple, I know, but well, I guess I’m easy that way, what can I say.

3. Send a small gift. If someone does significant volume or ongoing business with you, or is considering doing business with you and you’ve met with them, either in person or on the phone – send them something. Send regional stuff: candy, jams, spices, lavender – we have some great things to send here in the Pacific Northwest – it doesn’t cost much, but it’s thoughtful and people remember it and it’s more impressive than some pre-packaged candy box. Although, I’ll admit I’ve gotten “corporate pre-packaged candy” and enjoyed it – but I’m a fan of candy – mostly good candy, but every now and again… Don’t go overboard, and you don’t have to do it every time for everyone, but it will make you stand out and that’s what you’re after.

4. I have clients in professional practice who give a Starbucks or Barnes and Noble gift card – $5, $10, even for someone coming in for a consult. If there’s some great local place that’s easy access – get a gift card from there. The others are ubiquitous and easy, so if your clients aren’t local, they can still partake….And, people are impressed by them. Send them in a greeting card to thank them; to tell them their business means a lot to you and here’s a token of your appreciation for considering you, or better yet, choosing you. It’s not the amount, it the level of thoughtfulness and detail that impresses clients. The note should be handwritten, but for the 10 minutes it takes to do this and the $10 it costs you can create a lot of goodwill cement a lot of business and make you and them, feel good in the bargain.

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I promise you I’m not crying despite the look on my face!

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Branding.  You hear the term all over the place lately. Corporate Brand. Business Brand. Your Personal Brand. So, why all the buzz about branding and what does it mean for your future and your business?

Brands are part of our everyday lives. Many brands cross cultures and continents, some are unique to certain countries or even regions. For us here in the U.S., what comes to mind when I say tissue? How about “Just Do It” or adhesive bandage?  Kleenex. Nike. Band-Aid.

That’s corporate branding and it’s mostly been brought to us through television, backed up by every kind of media – print, radio, billboards, you name it. I bet if you start thinking about it, you know slogans and jingles for corporate brands as well as you know some of your favorite songs or the national anthem. That’s branding. Burning an identity into our collective consciousness so that the brand has credibility, personality, and the power to make us want it, buy it, use it, buy it again – and best of all: recommend it.

Branding is the visual, emotional, rational, and cultural image that you associate with a company or a product.  Your business has a brand. It’s the sum of everything your organization is, says, and does. You have a brand. It’s your personality, your beliefs, the way you move in the world and present yourself to others. You’ll be reading and hearing more and more about your personal brand this year – how to create it, how to market it, how to use it to identify yourself now and into the future. It’s no longer just for the rich and famous. And, that’s good news for the rest of us!

Branding and brand consistency are critical. Branding is how you become known and identified. Social media has changed the branding game. You can build your own empire based on your branding and your brand can be whatever you choose. Maybe it’s your personality or your humor combined with your product or service offering and how it stands out. If you don’t know what makes you stand out, work on your Unique Selling Proposition – read my article: http://amyposner.com/your-unique-selling-propostion.html

Maybe it’s the quality of service or product you deliver. Maybe you stand for being on time at the best price. Maybe you’re about being on time and charging a premium for it – but you’re worth it and people pay for your reliability and consistency.

Here’s a branding example. The CEO of the online shoe store Zappos is committed to killer customer service. That’s what their brand is built on. It translates into everything they do and the experience you have with their company. Shipping? Free. Return shipping? Free. Have a problem? Call their customer service department and you speak with people empowered to help you, to get the problem solved – not just a phone jockey whose goal is to get off the phone as soon as they possibly can. Their brand speaks volumes – it represents their corporate culture.

Gary Vaynerchuck, renowned entrepreneur (find him at winelibrary.com) is a great example of a personal brand. He’s funny, he’s charismatic, his personality is bigger than life. He’s a straight shooter – he tells it likes it is – some people would call him in-your-face. Some people don’t like him, or follow him because his personality style turns them off. A lot of us like him and trust and respect him. He’s fun, he’s entertaining, he doesn’t pull any punches. He’s the real deal and he’s built a personal brand so strong that now part of what he does is teaches people how to build their personal brand. And, his store Wine Library is in my home town – I’m just sayin’…..

What is your brand? What could it be? How can it set you apart? What would you really love it to be? However you engineer it and position yourself, you want this to be something you’re going to enjoy building and developing. It should be fun and really express who you are. You might feel intimidated – uncertain if you have something to say that’s unique and authentic. You do. Your DNA is yours alone, and we all have something worth saying and worth listening to. Read Gary Vaynerchuck’s book Crush It! to really drill down on your personal brand. It’s a great book, and unlike some others of its’genre, this one motivates and inspires and makes you certain you’ve got what it takes. Build your brand, and look for some great resources coming your way soon.

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