Influence

The importance of customer dissatisfaction surveys

Why do some dissatisfied consumers fail to complain? This is crucial because as many as two thirds of dissatisfied customers don't complain. The propensity to complain is linked to assertiveness which is a broader area that includes requesting help and information and resisting attempts at compliance. Central to the propensity to complain is a weighting that compares the cost of complaining with the benefits. The higher the Seeking Redress Propensity (SRP) the higher the likelihood of complaining. The study found that the emotion of anger is the main driver of complaining and resignation is the main driver of non complaining behavior. It seems most dissatisfied customers feel that complaining is pointless. A useful strategy to improve customer service is to encourage customers to complain or at least tell you what they are unhappy with. In some ways a 'customer dissatisfaction survey' is more valuable than a 'customer satisfaction survey.'

How to build enlightened hospitality

You can learn a lot about rapport from the hospitality business because it's often the way the business makes you feel that will bring you back. Danny Meyer launched the groundbreaking Union Square Café in New York twenty five years ago, now he is CEO of one of the world's largest restaurant organisations. His business philosophy revolves around enlightened hospitality, as Danny puts it:

"Hospitability is the foundation of my business philosophy. Virtually nothing else is as important as how one is made to feel in any business transaction. Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on your side. The converse is just as true. Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple propositions – for and to – express it all."

For enlightened hospitality to work it must be expressed to each of five key stakeholders - to each other, then to guests, community, suppliers and investors. He makes no excuses for his staff first approach because the only way he can ensure superior customer service is to ensure they are served by happy staff.

Meyer also draws a useful distinction between service and hospitality. Service is the technical delivery of the product; this is necessary but not enough. Hospitality for Meyer is "how the delivery of that product makes the recipient feel" and is more like a dialogue that involves listening and responding. To reach the top requires excellence in service and hospitality.

Have you ever wondered why a technically perfect restaurant leaves you feeling cold? Meyer uses analogy of a light bulb that gives off both heat and light. Imagine if every business was a light bulb with the primary goal of attracting as many moths as possible. In Meyer's world 49 per cent of the attraction is the light and 51 per cent of the bulb's attraction is the warmth.

To find out more about Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group visit http://www.ushgnyc.com/ or read his excellent book Setting the Table, (Harper, New York 2008).

How to find out more about coaching

Two  years ago I started a weblog for people I coach, its full of useful resources and ideas to maximise your performance. Why not have a look at the weblog by visiting http://peteranthony.typepad.com/coaching/

Negotiating Myth #3 Always make the first offer

One great myth of negotiating is to never make an offer until they have made an offer first. This false theory suggests that you give away too much if you make the first offer. In practice the opposite is true. You are better off making the first offer in a negotiation for three reasons:

1. It acts as an anchor around which the rest of the negotiation revolves.
2. It's much easier to be bargained down than to bargain the other side up.
3. When you are making concessions you can always ask the other person for a concession too.

So next time you are negotiating be sure to make the first offers.

Negotiation Myth #2

Where there is a single issue negotiation such as at a market where you might haggle over the price of a carving, there is a fixed pie. A fixed pie means there is no chance of exploring ways of both getting more – there are only so many slices of the pie to divide. In most commercial negotiations there are three characteristics which make the pie elastic in size and desirability:

1. More than one issue
2. Each party values each issue differently
3. Interests may be complementary

An outcome can be reached by both people which is better for both than if they assumed there was a fixed pie. Many negotiators don't reach these types of agreement because they assume their interests are conflicting. The assumption of conflicting interests may also lead to devaluing concessions made by the other party since we think that "If they are conceding it to us then it can't be too valuable to them".

So make your first approach one where you attempt to work with the other person to expand your outcomes and the number of alternative ways of getting them. You will then both end up better off.

Download the Metta Negotiation Planner

Effective Strategy is key to successful negotiating, since most good deals are won in planning as much as in execution. Strategy means we must arrive at a series of potential bundles of outcomes that leave us better off than not reaching agreement. You can download the Metta approach to planning negotiations below:

Download SalesNegotiationPlanner.pdf

Negotiation Myth #1

Be careful what you start. Situations worthwhile entering may not be worthwhile pursuing. Continuing a course of action beyond what is rational is common in negotiation – the initial goal may remain despite new information that changes the value of the outcome. Be aware of persistence and consistency in this regard. We must recognise that time; money and effort already expended are sunk costs that cannot be recovered. The reference for whether a bargain is of value is whether it is of present value. When looking at options consider:

Present (costs + benefits) + Future (costs + benefits)

So why do we stay committed to a sometimes irrational course of action?

• To justify prior decisions and offers
• Perception often filters in what confirms the decision and filters out what goes against it.
• Consistency is valued – we like to act consistent with our prior actions because we assume that if we did it before it must be a good idea.

Sometimes winners quit because to keep negotiating will give them a deal that leaves them worse off than no deal at all.

How to market professional services

One of the most vital issues in marketing professional services is building client satisfaction and loyalty. In many of the firms I work with the same results are reflected year after year. Clients seem to be happy about technical competence of firms but are looking for more. An interesting question here was studied by Professor Chebat from HEC Montreal. He studied the client's decision making processes when appointing consulting engineers. His findings are very interesting. For example, when appointing a firm which is the most important to the satisfaction of clients?

A. Quality, that is competence, reliability and communication; or,
B. Value, that is fairness of price, acceptable time and reasonable effort?

Chebat found that clients are more interested in value than quality. Their perception of value is based on the positive perception of the sacrifice or “give” component in the relationship because they are so involved in the project development. It seems in this case technical quality is not irrelevant its just assumed to be at a high level as a price of consideration.

What is negotiating?

I will not tell you how to negotiate - you already know how - you have been negotiating since you were a child, negotiating with your parents before you could speak and with everyone else since.

What I will teach you is how to negotiate better.

Whether you realise it or not you are a negotiator, and you must be negotiating at a high level to be performing in your role.

Negotiation is a part of life – whether you negotiate with your partner over what movie to see, with your boss about pay rise, with a car dealer about your trade in price – you are always negotiating.

Negotiating is a basic means of getting what you want from other people.

It's important for you to examine very closely what your negotiation style is and introduce you to mastery skills – so you get more of what you want personally and professionally.

It’s on the tip of my tongue

I've often had the experience of feeling like I know a word but it gets stuck on the tip of my tongue. And the harder I try to get the word out the harder it gets. Hyun Choi, a researcher in psychology at Texas A&M, says too much concentration may hinder progress. That's because the tip-of-the-tongue state tends to occur when a similar-sounding, though incorrect, word is blocking the correct answer. As long as you keep trying hard this wrong word remains lodged in your brain, keeping the answer at bay, Choi says. The next time a word is just out of reach, and the first few attempts don't pan out, distract yourself with an unrelated activity for about 15 minutes, Choi recommends. The brain is then free to allow the right word to pop through the space created when the wrong word slides away. For more details see Psychology Today Magazine, Jul/Aug 2006 Article ID: 4115 or online at http://www.psychologytoday.com/.