What is customer service?

1. What is customer service?

2. Who is your most important customer?

3. Everyone matters!Hey, it could be Dale!

4. 10 “Secrets” of Profitability

5. How important is profitability?? • By focusing on revenue, you will not automatically receive profits • What?!? Hasn’t this been our focus Dr. K? • Maximizing revenues does not mean that you are maximizing profits. • Happiness is a profitable business with a positive cash flow!!!!!!

6. 1. Focus on costs, to increase profits • Improving profits by $10,000 is the same as increasing sales by $200,000 or reducing costs by $10,000 • What are some areas to look at to reduce costs • Advertising • Communications • Benefits

7. Other areas to examine • Insurance • Overtime • Every expense needs to be gone over

8. 2. Focus on customer service • Always, always try to exceed your customers expectations! • Do a customer satisfaction survey. • Customer service starts to when the customer calls in till the product is delivered. • How to deal with an irate customer.

9. 3. Get great employees • Employees are the key to any business • Forget about training and hire for character, motivation, and people skills • If an employee or a customer gives you a headache, then get rid of them. • Great employees will make your job easier and better. • Pay employees as much as you can, within reason.

10. 4. “Incentivize” each and every worker • People work harder with incentives • You get congruence with goals of business and worker • Less management • Work is more fun with incentives • Incentives do not have to be money

11. 5. Work smarter, not harder • Burnout happens to business owner who think they can work harder and harder • Economic reward system is not for labor but for smart work. • Use your mind to figure out how to work smarter. • Definition of insanity… • Make sure you work more on your business rather than in your business

12. 6. Watch your marketing expenses • More money is wasted here than anywhere else. • Develop a marketing plan • Set goals that you need to make with sales • Limit advertising expenses to between 3 to 5% of your revenue. • Make advertising, outcome driven. • Be proactive with advertising. • Watch yellow page expenses • Ask your customers if there is anything additional that you can provide them(chicken example).

13. 7. Find a mentor • Mentors do work- why? • How do you find a mentor? • Most people are honored to be a mentor! • Only cost is an occasional meal • If you try this, I guarantee that you will love this.

14. 8. Do not compete on price • If you can avoid competing on price, you are better off (but this is hard) • Compete on quality • Compete on service • How to price your product

15. 9. Understand financial statements • What is the purpose of these things? • How important are these statements? • How to read the statements? • You can master this!!!

17. 10. Take vacations!! • Avoid burnout • Examples of entrepreneurs who did not take time off... • Take long vacations • When you forget what day it is, this is a fine vacation...

18. Quick Review • Focus on costs • Customer Service • Find great employees • Incentives for workers • Work smarter, not harder • Marketing direction • Find a mentor • Do not compete on price if can • Understand financial statements • Take vacation

19. Any Questions???

20. Entrepreneurs are the people that make our country great!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for letting me be your professor this semester!!