Small businesses will save the economy and the American business model. Our economy has undergone several changes in recent years and the customer demographic has followed suit. One game-changer has emerged among all levels – service is the differentiator among successful businesses. Consumers even state that they are willing to pay up to 14% […] Read more… Read More»
I hate when I start to sound like a scratched record. It’s exhausting for me and I’m sure for those who have to listen to me. However, I recently found myself saying this a lot: If you’re merely providing a mediocre customer experience, then you may be better off providing a bad customer experience. Because […] Read more… Read More»
We can easily blame the lack of executive support, high turnover and under-skilled, poorly-trained employees for less-than-stellar customer service; certainly these issues are notorious contributors to failure. Truth is, however, outdated business views of customer service – and how that front-facing service is delivered – lurk menacingly in business processes and procedures. Sacrosanct are the […] Read more… Read More»
The belief that management knows best is outdated. It’s a remnant from the scientific management era that brought factory work to prominence in the U.S. We’ve believed in this view for so long we hardly realize it dominates our perspective. The truth is this belief cripples a team and ultimately an organization’s ability to compete […] Read more… Read More»
A few years ago, I read a business book that made a lasting impression on me: DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel Pink. How big an impression? When Shawn and I created the Business Heretic’s Bookstore last year, we listed this book first. And it still holds that spot today, […] Read more… Read More»
As a kid growing up in the less-than-opulent lumber towns of central Oregon, I understood early that I possessed a “customer service” mentality. My first venture? Door-to-door sales; a publication called Grit – “Celebrating Rural America Since 1882”. I made a nickel for each sale. In my mind, though, I knew each customer had to […] Read more… Read More»
One of the terms that gets thrown about a lot today in discussions of hiring strategies is ‘‘fit,’’ as in, ‘‘How well will this candidate ‘fit’ into the culture of our organization/company and exemplify our brand and our mission?’’ It’s not so easy to directly and definitively answer this question. Nevertheless, there are ways companies […] Read more… Read More»
Your brand is now what your customers say it is. Companies can no longer hide behind big marketing campaigns. Ornate words and “marketing speak” can no longer mask mediocre products. Today’s customer is an educated and empowered consumer. And access to your competition is now only a click, tap or swipe away. Ornate words […] Read more… Read More»
ExchangeGain is dedicated to sharing one undeniable business principle: in our uber-connected, modern world, the human side of business is not just “nice” or “the right thing to do”. Even more than either of those considerations, a relentless focus on people – inside the company and out – is absolutely essential to a […] Read more… Read More»
Respect all. Admire Some. Idolize none. That is one of the most important lessons Ted Coine has ever learned. Be assured, Ted learned it through experience. As a youngster, Ted was sometimes guilty of two extremes common to the inexperienced: he did not respect all people as well as he should, and was sometimes […] Read more… Read More»
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