Light House Studio - Light House Studio - Seeing the world in a different light

Good Customer Service. Is It An Oxymoron?

We have all been there. You are at the drive through at you favorite fast food restaurant. You place your order and then pull up to the first window. Here, you are greeted by a person who says nothing more to you than the amount you owe. You hand them the money. They hand you the change and close the window.

So, you pull on up to the next window where, after a long wait, you are handed a bag containing your order. Again, the window is closed without so much as a “Thank you. Come again”. As you pull off, you notice that your order is wrong. You look back at the line waiting at the window and decide you did not need those fries anyway and you drive on.

This happens all too often, these days and in more and more places. Whether it is the endless cycle of pressing numbers on your phone to try to connect with someone who can help you with your problem or just the overall lack of response to your phone message from the Doctor's office, it just tends to make us frustrated. Actually, it is worse than that. We are getting so accustomed to it happening that we accept it as the way it should be.

I understand that things have changed since the days when you could pull into a gas station and have someone pump you gas, check your oil and make sure your tire pressure is correct. However, that does not rule out the fact that good customer service is important to any business endeavor.

Over the years, I have occasionally failed to provide the service to my customers that they deserved. (notice I aid deserved) Sometimes I lost that client and their business as a result. I have also, had clients who have come to me because of the poor communication and service they had received from a competitor.

Today, I have several clients who have been working with me for many years. What I have found about these clients is that they stay with me because I take care of them. I return their emails and phone calls. I show up for appointments when I say that I will. I meet the deadlines that we have agreed on. And, I treat them with respect.

I have also learned to look at the big picture, so to speak. When a client calls me for a small request, I do not always treat it as a way to make a few more dollars. Often, I will provide them with what they asked for at little or no cost. Especially, if it cost me nothing more than a few minutes of my time. Of course, I do make sure to tell them that I am giving them this service or item at a reduced cost, since they are such a good client. Helping them look good to their boss, creates loyalty. This loyalty will generally equate to more business in the future.

I know that this may sound like a foreign concept in today's culture, but this is as much a truth today as it always has been. Treat people right and they will do the same to you. Does this always happen? No. But, in the long run, you will develop a reputation for good customer service and this will make for happier clients. Happy clients will give you business. Plus, they just might refer other people to you as well.

It is a known fact in business, that it is easier to get work from your current clients than it is to go out and find new ones. Hopefully, if you can keep current customers happy, they will help you find the new customers, also. It can't hurt to try. And in the end, you will be proud that your company is known for having great customer service and a good reputation.

The Title Tag: Unused and Under-used

I am sure we can all agree, the Internet is still growing by leaps and bounds. Yet, there still seems to be very little attention paid to Search Engine Optimization or SEO. I do work for a variety of clients. Some of my clients are small team operations and some are huge corporations. Some of my work is revamping an old outdated web site, and sometimes I am building a new, first time site for a company. Also, through social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, I communicate with an even greater number of companies. These days, when most businesses tend to already have a web site for their company, I do a lot of re-design work.

I am still amazed at how many businesses have given very little, if any, thought to basic SEO practices on their web sites. The most common mistake I find is the failure to use a Title Tag, or at least a proper Title Tag. I even see this issue on web sites from companies that promote themselves as Internet Marketing firms. ( I ran into this issue today). The Title Tag is one of the key things most search engines such as Google look for when indexing a page.

Where is the Title Tag and What Does it Do?

The Title Tag is a little snippet of code that is included in the Header information of a web page. To see what the Title Tag on a particular web page is, just look up at the top bar of your browser. It is usually included in the bar where your browser tells you it's name. (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc).

Many times I see a title that says nothing more than the company name, the same tag on every page or even worse, one that says nothing but "Home" of "About Us". These titles are very nondescript and virtually useless. A proper page title would give the search engine a bit of a description of what your organization does and include some key words that someone who is looking for your site might use to "Google" that information. For example a page title of "XYZ Inc. - Building Quality Widgets, and Thingamabobs in Knoxville, TN" would go a long way toward helping people find your company if they were looking to buy a Widget in Knoxville.

I have said in the past that having a site with no SEO is like having a new car and no gas. It may be shiny and new on the outside, but it certainly isn't going anywhere. It is amazing what a bit of Search Engine Optimization techniques can have on your site's performance. If you have never thought about SEO or don't know where to start, contact us today and let us show you how we can help you.