By Kirsten Robinson

(This post was originally written for the Sales Challenger blog, which focuses on critical topics for sales professionals.  We think, however, that there is relevance here for our B2B customer support readers, particularly on the topic of segmentation strategy.)

It’s hard to get key account programs right. First, companies must figure out which customers to elevate to key account status (a challenging task in and of itself)—but most organizations stop there. Key account selection is often a ‘once-and-done’ event, and customers that have been designated as key accounts remain in that position for years.

Despite changing markets and performance, most companies treat key accounts as tenured positions. There are a variety of reasons for this—a fear of jeopardizing relationships and revenue. Account Manager loyalty that skews their relationship assessment. The feeling that they just can’t “give up.”

The reality is that keeping low-performing customers in your key account program wastes more time and profit than it brings in.

What’s the solution? Firing, or de-selecting key accounts.

Though it sounds like a risky strategy, there are ways to accomplish key account de-selection without putting revenue at risk. Read More »

By Matt Hoffman

Propelled by websites like Instructables and magazines like Make, the do it yourself (DIY) community has recently morphed from a fringe group of counterculturists into a mainstream group of self-branded lifehackers.  As the DIY movement has grown, it has slowly shifted its focus from home improvement and knitting to technological areas like open-source software and solar-powered audio graffiti.

Overwhelmed by the flurry of digital communication in their lives, a few intrepid DIYers recently created their own DIY contact centers.  These innovators believe that miniature contact centers offer one route to restoring balance to their busy lives.

To learn about the realities of a DIY contact center, we interviewed Rob and Christy Greene, newlyweds from Minnesota who created a contact center to handle communication about their recent wedding.

Read More »

By Corey Stout

As CCC’s Spanish-Speaking Customer Support Guidelines illustrates, contact centers are increasingly faced with the challenge of providing a high-quality service to the growing Spanish-speaking contingent.

Not only is Spanish the primary language spoken at home by more than 35.5 million people aged 5 or older in the US, but the population of Spanish speakers in the U.S. is rising – and fast. It is predicted that the U.S. Spanish-speaking population, which currently constitutes 15.8% of the total U.S. population, or 48.5 million people, will triple by 2050.

In addition, there are currently 2.2 million Latin Americans in Europe and that number is expected to rise.

And there’s more. Spanish speakers are emerging as a key consumer segment. Read More »

How many times have you deflected the inevitable approach of a salesperson in a fill-in-the-blank (clothing, furniture, electronics) store with the simple reply of “No”?  Hundreds?  Thousands, maybe?  And the issue here isn’t that you’re rude or that you’re not interested in buying something in said store.  The real issue is that the salesperson tried to learn something about you by asking the age-old opening question, “May I help you?”.

And you, not wanting to be bothered or not wanting to engage with this person, replied with the simplest of responses, “No”.

Read More »

(This is a guest post by Victoria Koval of the Sales Executive Council, our sister program for sales  leaders and their teams. It builds on Jacob’s popular post that discusses ways to eliminate the word ‘no’ from your rep’s vocabulary.)

Think about how many times and ways a customer says “no”… There is the “matter-of-fact no” ( I am not interested in this offer); there is the “no-without-no” (I’ll contact you myself when I am ready to make a decision);   there is the “passing-the-buck no”  (The decision is out of my hands now); there is the “maybe-yes no” (I’ll have to check my calendar) and the “restraining-order no” (For the last time, no).

While searching for more examples (and for my own amusement), I Googled “how to say no.” As I looked through the more than 206,000,000 results, I learned how to say NO in over 520 languages and how to come up with 100 Excuses to Say No (my favorite one: “because my subconscious says no”).

The all-mighty Internet taught me how to say no to bosses, relatives, friends, co-workers and pushy sales people, but it had little to say about how to push back on customers.  Is that because we’ve been brainwashed that the customer is always right?

Maybe…But, unless you’re running a charitable foundation, saying no is a critical skill, especially now. In the current economy, customers feel entitled to more discounts, more customization and less risk, and they don’t hesitate to ask for more.     Read More »

Niche branding and segmentation—differentiating customers based on distinctive characteristics—are, of course, the bread and butter of the marketing world.  But we’re increasingly seeing a greater focus on this in the service and support world as well.

Segmentation isn’t a new concept for many service and support organizations.  In fact, many organizations use a segmentation structure that often comes directly from the sales and marketing side of the company.  But in an environment where many companies are looking to service and support as a “competitive differentiator,” companies are rethinking their strategies, and in many cases, seeking to expand them.

The problem is that many companies are going about this typically based on visible customer characteristics or behaviors: like where the customer resides or how much the customer spends.

Such segmentation strategies can be helpful for other parts of the business, but they offer limited insight into where the best service and support opportunities lie.  Indeed, using a segmentation strategy based solely on visible customer characteristics can lead companies to misplace service investments specifically.

Read More »