Service delivery first

Service delivery is a very important asset for your business. At a time companies are fighting over prices and reward mechanisms, many businesses are ignoring what the customer really wants. According to business consulting firm Lee Resources, 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with you again. The number one reason for their unhappiness is service delivery.

Service delivery has become a hotly debated topic in South Africa, and we have seen frequent examples where customers have taken to airing their frustrations on public forums. There are numerous reasons why companies fail to meet their agreements. It has a lot to do with the principles of the business in question. Many SMMEs are often under pressure and driven to find money to pay the bills – and service usually falls down the priority list in the process.

Customer Service center (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even larger corporates sometimes lack effective customer experience management systems to find out where their processes are failing and what the customer’s needs really are. Competitiveness isn’t a battle that is fought in the price and product offering realms anymore. The real differentiator is quickly becoming customer-centricity. Businesses that are wowing with superior service levels are finding their customers are more likely to return over and over again.

Keep the discount, give me the service

There is a common tendency to focus on discounts and rewards as a way to appease customers, when the solution should be to improve the customer service, in his view. Companies need to begin investing in their service delivery processes, such as service desks and call centres, and being able to address and attend to all customer concerns and questions.

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Advertising: What you have to know

Advertising is a significant investment for any company. If approached correctly, it can yield great results, but in the same way, if it fails, it can be an expensive mistake. There is a perception that the effectiveness of advertising is impossible to track, but there are seven key areas of advertising that will help give insight into getting it right:

Clear strategy
The first step when considering an advertising campaign is to have a clear strategy. Important decision points include who the advertising is intended to influence, what action points they should follow and how they are going to be encouraged to take action.

Simplicity
Keeping adverts as simple as possible helps people understand the message being portrayed. If something looks too complex, people will shy away from it or get overwhelmed and confused by the detail. Even when a company has many products or services to sell, it is best to cover one key product or aspect of service in an advert.

Differentiating value
Customers have no incentive to choose a company over its competitors unless it has a distinguishing selling point. Value to the customer doesn’t necessarily need to cost money, but it can be existing services that aren’t yet well known.

An advert banner of an electric installation  company. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Local is lekker
People are generally loyal when it comes to their local communities. Where appropriate, it is important for companies to tap into these elements in their advertising strategies with communication that is relevant to the community.

Stories
People like a good story, and this translates into advertising too. There are very few people who are interested in straight facts, figures and statistics. Many people don’t like to be sold to, but they do like to buy things. The advert shows to potential customer that the product or service solves a problem, adds value to their lives or fills a need that they may have.

Over deliver on expectations
Placing an advert should be done with the intention of making sales. Advertising draws people to a business, but once there, they need to be assured that the promised offer will be delivered on. Once they engage, companies that go beyond delivery to surprise and delight the customer will have an added advantage and will more likely receive positive referrals.

Measure everything
It is important not to fall into the trap of assuming that advertising is automatically guaranteed to have the desired results. Adverts should be tested, with different ads being run until the one that works is found. If ads are not working, don’t continue running them hoping for a different result and similarly if they are working, rerun them.

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Investment Bill: Why it matters for SMMEs

The draft “Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill” is a hot topic for SMMEs. Looking on the heading of the draft bill this might not be obvious. As it stands, it will affect any business and any citizen – and yet there is not much noise about it.

Why is that? The Department of Trade and Industry managed very well to uncouple heading and content. I am not saying that the bill is not dealing with investment issues – it does – but it goes beyond that. If you run, let’s say, a small window cleaning business, would you paying attention to a draft bill on investments? Presumably, you wouldn’t because you think there is no link to the draft bill and your small business. Unfortunately, you better do. The draft bill is catching you!

Who’s an investor?

As usual the devil is in the details. First thing a small business owner should know is that the draft bill does not distinguish between foreign and domestic investors. The definition of “investors” includes investments of South African business owners in South Africa. It does not matter if a small window cleaning business buys a new bakkie and appliances for window cleaning or a corporate is investing in mines – everything is regarded as an investment in terms of the draft bill. The draft bill targets “any person who holds an investment in the Republic…” This includes each resident and each business in any sector, independently of size of the business, including movable and immovable assets.

Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry (source: the dti)

Who owns business assets?

Please continue reading as the cherry on the cake is just about to come. Having clarified that the bakkie of the small South African owned window cleaning business is an investment, the bill suggests that government officials can expropriate this bakkie from the business if the state action is justified by “public interest”. As neither the constitution nor the draft bill defines what “public interest” is, those businesses with spare money will go the legal route. What about the owner of the small window cleaning business who will lose a bakkie to the state without funds for a court fight?

Custodianship: No compensation for business assets

Unfortunately, the story is not finished yet. In 2013, the Constitutional court ruled that no expropriation takes place if the state “only” deprives property and acts as custodian without getting ownership. Coming back to the bakkie, this means if the state deprives the bakkie of the small window cleaning business without claiming legal ownership, this will not be regarded as expropriation.

Even though only the state authorities will be using the bakkie which, from a legal perspective, still belongs to the small window cleaning business, it will not be serving the business. That’s like an expropriation without compensation.

Isn’t the heading of the draft “Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill” cleverly disguising some proposals and definitions? Thus, do you still think the draft bill does not affect your business?

The draft bill is in final stage of discussion at NEDLAC and is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the first half of 2015.

[Details and the draft bill]

Will the business card survive?

Will the business card survive or has it become obsolete? The emergence of electronic communication like email and contact social media like LinkedIn and Facebook have had a marked impact on how people obtain one another’s contact details for business purposes. However, when attending networking events like conferences, the business card is still a ubiquitous presence.

As in the past, the cards are as much about a person’s status as a representative of their company as they are a vessel for relaying basic information. It is indicative of the “personal touch” that is needed in high-end corporate networking.

Business cards still vital

For this reason, corporate trainers maintain the quality of a person’s business card is of vital importance. Although a lot of business does occur online nowadays, the traditional 90x50mm business card has definitely not lost its purpose in the business world. When conducting meetings, business proposals or interviews with potential clients, it is important that all your necessary contact details and business name is conveyed to the client. This easiest way without having to write it all down is by the use of a business card.

A Japanese business card containing name, address, logo, etc. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tips for a business card

To this end, there are a number of tips a business person should heed in respect of their business cards.

The first, is to know your audience. If you are dealing with a high-end corporate executive, the card should have classic traits like raised lettering and traditional colours like blue or black. However, if you are dealing with younger clientele then it is advisable to use louder, funkier colours.

Another consideration is to maintain brand consistency, that is, your business card should not be greatly different to the styling and branding of your website or company signage. Should you do this, the potential client will become confused and may not take your business seriously.

Finally, it is important that you understand how to use your business card. You should carry your cards with you at all times, and always give a potential contact your client more than one card so as that they may pass on the “extra” to their own contacts, who may very well require your services in the future.

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