Producer Program Business Training

Customer Service

OPENING INQUIRY :

What is your vision of great service? Describe a moment when you received great service that made an

impression on you.

Where does customer service show up in your business: when does it happen, and to whom?

What does great service look like when it’s happening in Format: napkin, post-it notes, big poster on the wall,

1 page, many pages…

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Customer Service

WHAT, WHY & WHO of SERVICE3

• Why have a Seminar? Customer service is one of the only elements in our business that is basically FREE and that we can totally control.

• What is Service? “Assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services”…or…. Interaction + The Experience = Your Brand

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Why & What is Service?

• Businesses who measure success in terms of profit, people, planet and purpose:

• The actual act of giving service often helps us to illuminate our purpose, connect with the meaning behind what we are doing and its effect on those around us.

• Strong service ethic infused in your business operations communicates a spirit of generosity.

• This generosity is in line with the values you’ve already chosen that are behind your choice of craft, your materials sourcing, your sustainability, your localization.

• Your work acknowledges the world around you through your production and process choices, let your service reflect the same attention to the context of your work -- the people! -- and how you give back to them, even when inside of a sale transaction.

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Quadruple Bottom Line Business

• Outward Facing Service – this is the interaction with your customers and/or guests and what sets you apart from the competition.

• Internal Service – this is the service that you provide each other as a set of partners, employee team, family within the business. The values that guide you as you grow and learn together. May or may not apply to you but even sole prop operators have stakeholders of some kind: you can give good service internally to their vendors - their accountants, tax prep people, cleaners, web developers, delivery drivers, kid's teachers, spouses - anyone who supports your business (or your ability to run your business) without purchasing their product.

• Community Service - The business’ role in our the greater fiber economy and community, and what we offer to the community at large. An easy lens to use here is the Fibershed community

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Core Values & Types of Service

TARGET AUDIENCES

DTC - special event booths, pop-ups, farmers markets, in shop or on farm visitors, class participants

DTC - online shoppers

Retailers

Wholesale buyers, commodity brokers

Vendors and suppliers

Colleagues, community members

Media, press, bloggers, social media community

Who else???

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Who You Give Service To

SERVICE TOOLS

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• Figure out what the customer wants: read customers and gauge interest. Listen well. Ask questions and pay attention to responses. Pick up on their vibes. Match what you receive from them in your choice of language, tone, body language and communicate as they do. Provide detail, your own depth of knowledge. Achieving an up-sell can only happen when these communication basics have been met.

• Get it for them: accuracy precipitates more sales and is key to a retail transaction. Speed is important, but accuracy and follow-through is more important. Answer their request politely and try and achieve it enthusiastically. Do what you say you will do, but always create a positive experience even if you cannot meet their exact needs.

• Go the extra mile: the extra mile can take many shapes – an extra phone call, a harder look in the cooler for an item, an explanation of a recipe, an explanation of the how and why of the product and its uniqueness, a special drop when a wholesale buyer is in a bind, even an ending smile. Seal the deal with that last bit of attention. Although easy to forget sometimes, it is just as important as steps 1 and 2. The “extra mile” mentality is key tin higher value/higher price point businesses, especially those with a lot of (perceived)

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Three Steps to Great Service

• Acknowledge the complaint. Sincerely listen and apologize. Figure out what the customer really wants. Don’t argue, or justify why something happen, simply acknowledge their feelings and response.

• Take action to make it right and try to get them what they want. If in doubt about how you can fix it for them, or what they really want, simply ask them. Say, "How can I make this right for you?”

• Recognize each complaint as an opportunity to secure a new customer. Establish consistent norms -- even if just for yourself, but also for your team if you have one -- for how issues are handled: they should be treated the same way, every time.

• Thank them for being honest and giving feedback. You are bringing positive energy back into the conversation.

• Document it. Keep a record of how you handled the situation and address it to the whole team. Create history to notice patterns and correct. Record in a single “Service Record” document or spreadsheet and communicate at staff meetings and discuss changes and reflections.

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Five Steps to Handling a Customer Complaint

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Sources & Resources

• Ari Weinzweig, Building a Great Business and Being a Better Leader

• Zingtrain online resources, articles, webinars, in person seminars, email newsletters

• Allison Ball Consulting - food industry retail sales and brand development specialist. fantastic freebie : The Retail Roadmap, which is my 9 step process for launching a brand that flies off the retail shelf - great for producers! August 1 podcast launch: Food Biz Wiz

THANKS Y’ALL