Make customer feedback work for your business. Customers are speaking loud and clear through a miriad of mediums. Evidence shows that customers will no longer stand for the hurried and complacent service that has become the norm. They are looking for a positive, memorable experience.

Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Chapter 1 Pay Attention to Today’s Customers 1 The Power of Online Megaphones 3 A More Skeptical and Distrustful Customer 5 What Does This All Mean for Your Own Customer Service Strategy? 6 Rising Global Service Expectations 7 The Customer Experience Grid 11 Speed as a Competitive Advantage 14 E-Mail Versus Phone: Which Is Speedier? 15 More Educated Global Customers 16 Five Building Blocks of Service Quality 18 Reliability 18 Assurance 19 Tangibles 20 Empathy 21 Responsiveness 22 Chapter 2 Pay Attention to Your Marketing Message 25 Participating versus Observing 26 Fundamentals Are Still Key 27 Pay Attention to Who You Are 27 Pay Attention to Who Your Audience Is 30 The Power of Customer Stories 33 Pay Attention to Engaging Your Customers 37 Pay Attention to Walking Your Marketing Talk 44 Chapter 3 Pay Attention to Preparation 49 The Power of Vision and Purpose 50 Theory to Action: Creating Standards and Norms 53 Hiring Tactics: Select for Attitude, Train for Skill 55 Modeling Star Performers 56 Training and Coaching 58 Internal Social Networks: Cost-Effective Learning Tools 61 Pay Attention to What’s Rewarded and Measured 62 Chapter 4 Pay Attention to the Customer Experience 65 Make It Personal 66 Social Media Plays a Role at Comcast 70 Taking Problems Seriously 72 Be ETDBW: Easy to Do Business With 73 Being ETDBW Means Considering All Audiences 77 Payoffs of Being ETDBW 78 Responsiveness and Reliability: Keys to the Customer Experience 79 Chapter 5 Pay Attention to New Feedback Channels 85 Eleven Ways to Listen to Customers 86 Pay Attention to the Ways Customers Speak 93 Evaluating Feedback 103 Taking a Closer Look: Glossary of Terms 107 Business Analytics Are Vital 109 Managing the Moments of Truth 112 Ten Action Steps 114 Make Your Web Site ETDBW 116 Weighing the Pros and Cons 119 Chapter 6 Pay Attention to Your Reaction 121 Ignore at Your Peril 122 Tracking What They’re Saying 124 To Engage or Not to Engage? 125 Creating Integrated Response Systems 130 Traditional Listening Posts 131 Three Types of Listening 133 Reacting to Product vs. Service Feedback 135 Chapter 7 Pay Attention to Your Response 137 All Eyes on You 138 Creating Digital Embassies 139 Dell Computer: Engaging via Social Media Is “Everyone’s Job” 141 Rules of Engagement 143 Responding to Customer Reviews 146 Responding to Negative Reviews 148 Responding to Positive Reviews 152 Responding in Public versus Private 153 Responding to Customer Suggestions and Ideas 154 Customers Helping Other Customers 155 Chapter 8 Pay Attention to Recovery 157 The Dollar Impact of Service Breakdown 158 An Implied Covenant 159 What Is Service Recovery? 160 Five Axioms of Effective Service Recovery 161 Axiom 1: Customers Have Recovery Expectations 162 Axiom 2: Successful Recovery Is Psychological as Well as Physical: Fix the Person, Then the Problem 162 Axiom 3: Work in a Spirit of Partnership 166 Axiom 4: Customers React More Strongly to “Fairness” Failures Than to “Honest Mistakes” 169 Axiom 5: Effective Recovery Is a Planned Process 170 Seeing Complaints as a Gift 173 Fix the Process to Reduce Recovery Needs 174 Service Recovery Process 176 Acknowledge That the Customer Has Been Inconvenienced and Apologize for It 178 Listen, Empathize, and Ask Open-Ended Questions 178 Offer a Fair Fix to the Problem 178 Offer Some Value-Added Atonement for the Inconvenience or Injury 179 Keep Your Promises 180 Follow-Up 180 Key Service Recovery Skills 181 Notes 189 About the Authors 191 Index 193

Your customers are talking about you. Are you listening? Whether they use social networks, online tools, or a myriad of other media, your customers are reviewing you, rating you, and ranting about you to friends, peers, and perfect strangers. Disappoint your customers with poor service, and they won't take it quietly. Give them a great experience, and they will become powerful and loyal advocates, pointing others your way. Customer interaction today is a whole new ballgame; are you prepared to play and win? Pay Attention! enables you to successfully navigate today's customer feedback landscape and turn that feedback into your competitive edge. By outlining the complete Pay Attention system, this up-to-the-minute guide gives you a practical, step-by-step toolbox you can use immediately to achieve top-notch customer interactions. Get the keys to create winning customer experiences as you: Learn the demands of today's customerConnect with your audience by various online and social mediaShape your marketing messages and clearly identify your customerApply the RATER factors to your business (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, and Responsiveness)Hire and train excellent customer- contact peopleRespond effectively to customer reviews and feedbackExplore ways to "make it right" when something goes wrong The fundamental customer-business relationship is changing. The companies that understand and adapt to the new rules will beat the competition and gain market share. Pay Attention! offers a proven system you can use to revitalize the way you approach your customers and customer service while gaining major business insights in the process. The next level of customer interaction, acquisition, and retention awaits you; all you need is to Pay Attention!