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Flavio Martins

Flavio Martins

Win the Customer!
Flavio is the VP of Customer Support at an award-winning technology start-up. He's a featured blogger, customer service presenter and customer loyalty fanatic. Flavio blogs abodut the leveraging social media and technology for customer service, managing service teams, and customer loyalty at Win the Customer!
  • 5 Hospitality Tips for Achieving Top Rated Customer Satisfaction
    0 comments 244 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-17

    Even during a global recession, the hotel industry can thrive and often continue to grow by improving their customer satisfaction and customer service.

    People are still traveling for business or pleasure and looking for the best values for their money. Competition for new customers in the hotel industry worldwide is high and repeat business is always desired. Gone are the days where folks hop in their automobiles and drive along exploring and then stop at a roadside hotel that looks decent and clean.

    Customer satisfaction has to be one everyone’s mind as they begin the work day. These days, customers start their hotel searches online and...

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  • Customer Service is How You Show Customers You Care
    0 comments 254 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-15

    Customer service is how a business shows how much it cares about its customers.

    Sounds pretty basic and something that everyone should already know right? Well, unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen. Actually, most of the time organizations fall short, way short in the execution of the customer service experience.

    There’s a clear difference between wanting to offer great customer service and actually delivering an exceptional customer service experience. It’s something that too often is taken for granted and customer service goals and customer experience mission statements pass as being customer focused, when in reality the same mediocre bad customer service is peddled again and again with customer loyalty scraping along the bottom of the barrel. Customer is service is how every business shows how much it cares about its customers.

    Great customer service can help keep customers through tough times

    During difficult economic times or whenever a...

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  • Random vs Planned Customer Service Experience
    0 comments 184 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-13

    Every customer service experience action should serve a purpose in the overall customer service experience you want to deliver.

    The idea that your customer service experience actions should have a purpose suggests that it requires real planning in order to deliver the type of customer experience that makes a difference to your customers.

    Many people are often surprised to learn that I often recommend creating enough freedom in your customer service experience plan to allow for random acts of service to take place. Most often it’s these random moments of customer service that makes the biggest impact in creating overwhelming customer loyalty.

    What is a Random Customer Service Experience?

    Random customer service happens when our customer service people just do what comes to mind when working with customers. No scripts are followed, there’s no plan for following any set procedure...

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  • Avoid Charging Your Customers New Card Processing Fees
    0 comments 190 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-09

    Customers don’t take well to change—particularly price change.

    Credit card processing companies in January assigned merchants a new transaction fee after previous restrictions resulting from a 2012 lawsuit had lifted. Large retailers won a $7.25 billion settlement over credit card companies Visa and Mastercard and several large banks, according to CNN.com, forcing them to reduce “swipe fees.” That grace period has lifted, however, and swipe fees are back.

    Credit card companies can now charge merchants 1.5 to 4 percent fee for each transaction. As part of the agreement, merchants can legally pass this fee along to consumers. How excited are you to announce a new fee to your customers? Businesses don’t have to take these new regulations lying down. With proper communication and a little cash, merchants can avoid raising costs for their customers.

    Encourage Cash, Debit...

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  • Making Your Website More Customer-Friendly
    0 comments 219 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-06

    Your business’ website is one of, if not the, main ways that customers interact with your business, so making your website customer-friendly is critically important for your business to succeed.

    Some of the fundamental principles on web usability, or user experience, as it is called involve making things easy to find, using clear navigation, and being consistent. Here are some handy tips for satisfying your online customers.

    Better Web site navigation customer experience

    Navigation is probably the most important part of making your site customer-friendly. If you’re creating a new website, take the time to lay out each section of the site and think about how each part should link together (one technique is to use post it notes to represent each page and rearrange them while you think).

    Good navigation allows users to decide which parts of the site to visit, rather than forcing them to go where you want them to go. The site’s navigation...

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  • You May Not Be As Customer Service Focused As You Think
    0 comments 209 reads
    Posted on 2013-05-01

    The natural human tendency to think we are more than what we actually are is dangerous when it comes to being customer service focused.

    You may not be as customer service focused as you think you are. Everyone knows the importance of customer service. We may preach customer service and think that our people, our team, and our organizations are customer centric, but there’s a natural human tendency to think ourselves more than what we truly are.

    • Just because you can shoot a basketball, doesn’t make you a basketball player.
    • Just because you can cook a meal, doesn’t make you chef.
    • Just because you keep a budget, doesn’t make you a financial wizard.

    Just because you think customer service, does’t make you customer service focused.

    Much of our daily customer service work is distributed across a number of projects and focused on complete many different tasks. Each one...

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  • Value in Customer Service Creates Lasting Customer Loyalty
    0 comments 494 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-30

    April is International Customer Loyalty Month, and what have you done to show your customers your appreciation for keeping you in business?

    It’s not too late, if you haven’t done so, tell one of your customers you appreciate them today. Start with picking out just one customer interaction and doing something different to show your appreciation. It will change your day, and chances are, it’ll make a difference to your customer too.

    Going out of your way each day to make a special phone call, send a specific email or just taking a few extra seconds to tell your customers you appreciate them goes a long way in changing the mindset of what customer service means to your organization. As this idea begins to spread within you, your team, and your organization, a new fire for customer service experiences will ignite and the result often is a greater level of customer loyalty between your customers and your organization.

    Loyalty = Great Service + Confidence

    ...

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  • HP Forums, Where The Real Customer Experience Happens
    0 comments 197 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-29

    More than 90% of customer service discussions about brands, services, and products are taking place on forums. What’s your strategy for enhancing these customer service experiences?

    When you think customer service, what do you think?  Do you think long lines waiting to speak with a “customer service representative”?  Do you think about automated phone systems that take forever to navigate and run you in circles?  Do you think of obnoxious support tickets that make you feel like a number, rather than a human being?  Or – and this would definitely be interesting – do you think about forums?  Maybe you should, since more than 90% of discussions about brands, services, and products are taking place on forums.

    HP Customer Support Forum

    Ask yourself, who cares about having a great customer experience more than anybody...

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  • How To Create a Winning Customer Service for Your Business
    0 comments 359 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-27

    A winning customer service is the most important tribute to the success of any business. If your customers are left with a bad taste in their mouths, your business is going to suffer in a big way.

    Ask any corporation or small/medium size business how important customer service is, they’ll tell you it’s everything.

    So, how do you create a winning customer service and make sure customers come back time and time again? Using some really simple strategies and remembering to “do unto others as you want done unto you” are good places to start.

    Am I Doing a Great Job for My Customers?

    As a general rule, if a customer is not happy with the service they have received from you, they aren’t going to complain, they’re just going to walk away.  Staying on top of your products and business services will help you find problems and correct them before your customers start complaining. Contact your customers and ask them how you are doing!  Ask if they are pleased...

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  • Identify Service Methods to Win Every Type of Customer
    0 comments 330 reads
    Posted on 2013-04-26

    Not every customer will respond to the same type of customer service. But it’s possible to win every type of customer with a win the customer strategy.

    If your company wants to win the customer over to the ranks of loyalty, it needs to identify the service methods that will be most effective for the individual.

    Winning customer service methods facilitate long-term relationships between the company and the consumer.  Learning to be flexible when dealing with customers and clients who present problems will greatly increase profit margins.

    Winning the Hands-Off Customer

    Like people in retail stores who invariably say “No thanks, just looking” when approached by a salesperson, hands off customers would prefer to solve problems through automated methods.  Phone answering programs, online service tickets and extensive FAQ sections on web sites can help win these customers over.  There are limitations to the service you can provide these people through...

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