CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT ASTONISHES focuses on the critical role of employee engagement and exceptional customer service as a competitive advantage in the business landscape.

Great customer service built on a foundation of high employee engagement isn't a revolutionary concept. More companies are recognizing just how important a deliberate and intentional customer-focused culture is, but few companies do it well.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

We have moved -- to a new blog location

Thank you visiting my blog Customer Service That Astonishes -- however the feed you are looking for has been moved.

To view this blog, please click here. For additional information please email: bill@billhogg.ca

Cheers!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Happy Holidays

I will not be posting until w/o January 5 so I can spend some well deserved time off with my family and friends during the holiday season.

But I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year. Til 2009 -- Best Wishes!

Cheers!

Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Are You Maximizing Your Benefits?

Most organizations have put considerable time and money into developing a benefits package that is a positive for their employees. Rightly, they expect that these benefits will contribute to a positive work environment and overall engagement.

However, Andy Philpott of Accor Services (one of the UK's leading providers of employee benefits, rewards and loyalty services), reports that in a recent study they conducted of rewards, benefits and employee engagement that only one-third of employers (33%) believed staff understand what benefits are available.

More concerning is that just one in five employees (21%) claim to have a good understanding of the value of the benefits available and one in 10 admit they have no clue about the value of these benefits.

Employees also seemed unsure whether their pay, benefits and incentives packages were competitive when compared with people doing similar jobs in similar organisations. Only 33% felt their company was competitive on pay, 25% on benefits and just 17% felt their organisation offered competitive incentives.

It is critical that we communicate the value of our benefits package effectively to staff. Successful communication is an foundational element in building employee engagement and the resulting performance, motivation and productivity benefits are not maximized if people are unaware of what the benefits are.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

Monday, December 15, 2008

Will price beat service?

Like many retailers Abercrombie & Fitch Co. suffered dismal November sales results. However, unlike many of their rivals they have made a fundamental decision not to aggressively lower prices -- deciding instead to try and maintain the equity of their brand.

So if they don't match on price, what will be the draw to the customer? Have they built enough equity to survive the downturn? Has their brand experience built enough customer loyalty to keep them coming back? Time will tell.

It will be interesting to see what A&F does as the recession continues. Will they be able to maintain the profitability based on less sales at higher prices or will they succumb to the price war? Stay tuned.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of employee engagement and a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

Friday, December 12, 2008

Direct Marketers

Direct marketers have long had the ability to test different messages and offers to determine what pulls the strongest and converts more purchases. More recently ecommerce has provided the same direct correlation between copy/offer and purchase. So who better to link financial gain to emotional connections?

A recent article in E-Commerce News speaks to exactly that point. Their focus is on the new technologies that are available to help companies get at the emotional drivers that affect purchase and loyalty. In the direct to consumer world, what works is easily tested, improved and refined. Their take on the power of an emotional connection or experience is summed up nicely in this quote.

"When you go beyond price, quality and service to focus on the heart or emotional aspect of customer relationships, you will create more engaged customers. When this happens, you will begin to enjoy all the rewards that engaged customers offer a business, including a greater share of their wallets, more positive referrals, less inclination to leave the business relationship, more useful feedback, etc."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/