Vasudha Deming

When you think of coach­ing, what comes to mind? Most likely, you auto­mat­i­cally think of some­one lead­ing their sports team to a cham­pi­onship, right? Now, while a coach is some­one we often asso­ciate with sports, coaches are also man­agers and men­tors in the work­place, guid­ing us to our own pro­fes­sional victory.

Coach­ing is one of the great­est things a man­ager can do for his or her employ­ees, yet it’s often over­looked. The rea­son for this is that many man­agers may feel like they do not have time to coach, or that their employ­ees are doing fine, so there’s no need to coach. While this may seem log­i­cal, the truth is that there is always a need for coaching.

To put it into per­spec­tive, think about your favorite sports team for a minute. Where would that team be if they did not have their coach? What would they do if they didn’t have their coach encour­ag­ing and direct­ing them? For starters, the team, even though each mem­ber is tal­ented, would...

Some time ago, I wrote a blog post about the elusive nature of “value.” The post told the true story of a man who started with a red paperclip and, through a series of improbable bartering trades, ended up in possession of a house.

I was reminded of this story when a recent episode of the NBC television show “The Office” explored a similar theme—at a company garage sale Dwight begins with a trivial item and keeps “trading up” until at last he’s attained a telescope (which in predictable sitcom fashion then gets traded for a packet of magic legumes).

It’s the eternal question for advertisers, marketers, developers, sales professionals and customer service strategists: Why do people buy and how do they perceive value? The more companies explore the question, however, the more layered the answer becomes.

Why do people buy?

Two key factors...

This issue is highlighted in a great new article by James Surowiecki in The New Yorker. The entire article can be found here, but the excerpt that really got my attention is this one:

The real problem may be that companies have a roving eye: they’re always more interested in the customers they don’t have. So they pour money into sales and marketing to lure new customers while giving their existing ones short shrift, in an effort to minimize costs and maximize revenue. . . . Economically, this makes little sense; it’s more expensive to acquire a new customer than to hold on to an old one, and, these days, annoyed customers are quick to take their business elsewhere. But, because most companies are set up to focus on the first sale rather than on all the ones that might follow...

Over the past 15 years, Impact Learning Systems has worked with many organizations to help establish a culture of world-class service. The principles outlined here are key to that endeavor, regardless of industry.

Of course, it’s difficult to pare down to only five principles — certainly there are more that could be considered. But this should provide a good starting point for anyone trying to build and maintain a strong customer care culture in their own organization.

Skills vs. Principles

Before addressing some core principles of customer care, I just want to distinguish them from the concept of skills. There are some essential skills that should be demonstrated by anyone in a front-line customer care position, but for now let’s focus on some key principles that are relevant to anyone who manages or trains a customer care team as well as to the customer care representatives themselves.

Customer Care Principle #1...