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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Think about the last business you entered, retail specifically. Were you greeted upon entrance? If you received a warm welcome, did it leave an impression on you? Likely so as a warm welcome is no longer the norm when it comes to customer service. That’s why today’s tip is to train your employees in customer service.
One of the best examples of excellent customer service is the Apple Store. A Forbes article outlined the five steps of service that Apple Store employees are trained to follow for each customer interaction:
Approach customers with a personalized, warm welcome.
Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs (ask closed and open-ended questions).
Present a solution for the customer to take home today.
Listen for and resolve any issues or concerns.
End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.
How are your employees doing at each of these steps? Oftentimes we assume that employees understand the basics of customer service, but it’s up to you as the business owner/manager to train them.
Remember, 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated (salesforce.com). So start preparing your employee training today!
P.S. The Opening General Session at the RCI Annual Convention & Industry Expo this June will provide more insight from industry expert Phil Bruno on building great customer experiences. Register online by May 16 and save $100 on full registration!
Tags:
Customer Service
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Is the technology at your company helping or hindering productivity? This week’s tip is to take some time to perform a technology audit to determine how it is working and also how it can be improved.
Not sure where to start? Unless you have a skilled IT professional on your staff, you will likely need to hire someone to help you through the process and make recommendations that best fit your company size and goals. The following points are from the SCORE website as items to be sure you consider during a technology audit:
· Information Security
· Training your staff so that they’re using technology as efficiently and securely as possible
· Your future needs and what current/developing technologies will help meet them.
· What is not working right now or what could work better?
Be sure to include your staff in the process as they are in the trenches and can provide some great insight as to what is and is not working in terms of technology and processes. While a technology audit is an investment, it has the potential to provide a large return if you take the time to do it well.
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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We’ve all heard of the annual employee performance review. You may even currently implement one in your own candy company. This week’s tip, though, is to move past only meeting with your employees to review their performance annually and instead check in with them on a quarterly basis.
It’s been said about annual performance reviews that if there is anything within the review that surprises the employee then it’s the fault of the manager for not communicating throughout the year. Therefore, how are you doing at communicating your level of satisfaction with your employees’ performance throughout the year? This week’s tip will help with that!
Rather than having a quarterly review, consider a more light-hearted or casual meeting where you check in with the employee. Consider using this time to review the goals you laid out together for the employee at the past annual review. In addition to providing your feedback, this is a great time to ask open-ended questions of the employee and provide an opportunity to provide feedback on his or her level of job satisfaction.
By checking in with employees throughout the year, you are keeping the lines of communication open which has been shown to increase employee satisfaction. And happy employees means happy customers!
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, control and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. As a business owner and/or manager, your level of emotional intelligence (EI) can mean the difference between having happy, productive employees who respect your leadership and having employees who feel uncomfortable with your management style.
The good news is that EI is something that can be developed; therefore, this week’s tip is to improve your EI quotient. To help you get started, here are 10 strategies to improve your emotional intelligence:
- Learn to Listen
- Adapt to Situations
- Never Give Up
- Communicate
- Empathize
- Setting Priorities
- Go the Extra Mile
- Forgive
- Show Courage in Difference
- Be Optimistic, Smile
Pick one strategy at a time from the list above to work on and before you know it, you’ll have enhanced relationships in both your professional and personal life.
This week’s tip was inspired by an education session presented by Geri Grossman at our 2013 Fall Regional. Save the date for the 2014 RCI Fall Regional Conference this August 25 - 27 in Las Vegas!
Tags:
Customer Service
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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This week’s tip is to make caring for your community part of your company culture. As a business you have a great opportunity to give back to the community that supports you and to provide opportunities for your staff to give back as well.
Volunteer together as a staff The options for volunteering as a group are endless - serving a meal at a soup kitchen, preparing a meal for the families at the local Ronald McDonald House or doing yard work for a senior citizen are just a few ideas to get you started.
Make product donations to local charities Most candy and chocolate stores are asked for product donations on a regular basis. Are you giving? While donating to every single request may not be financially feasible, consider creating a policy for these requests such as a set number per month on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Provide paid volunteer hours for staff By providing paid hours for your staff to volunteer, you are solidifying that this is an important part of your company culture. Consider providing two hours per month for your employees to give back to your community. Best practice would be to require a form be signed by a supervisor where they are volunteering to ensure accountability.
It has been shown that individuals who volunteer have higher life satisfaction. And satisfied employees often are going to be better workers. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get out and give back!
P.S. Kettle Talk, RCI’s quarterly publication, had a feature story and interview with Kriston Dean of Purdy’s Chocolates in the Jul/Aug/Sep 2012 issue. She discussed how they give back as a company. RCI members may access past issues of Kettle Talk by signing in on the RCI website.
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Now that the holiday season has passed, and before you begin forging ahead preparing for Valentine’s Day, this week our tip is to be sure you take time to thank your hard-working staff. Remember that your staff has different personalities. Some may feel appreciated with a verbal thank you; some may appreciate a card while others might enjoy a cup of coffee or other treat. Use a variety of methods to be sure your employees know they are valued and appreciated for the hard work and extra effort they put into making sure your business had a successful holiday season.
Need proof that it works? Check out this great infographic that illustrates the value of appreciating and thanking your employees:
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.
Happy New Year!!
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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You may have more customers in your store this month than a typical month. Therefore, it’s imperative they have a great experience so that they return. That’s why this week’s tip is to remind your employees of the importance and value of great customer service. Below are a few items from a 2012 blog tip about customer service to consider reviewing with your employees:
- Don’t just greet customers – greet them with a smile.
- Thank customers for their business and invite them to come back again.
- Be proactive – go to the customer in the store to offer assistance.
- Ask customers who call the store if they may be placed on hold rather than assuming and saying “Hold, please.”
By providing exceptional customer service, you just may turn that customer who walked in by chance into a new regular who visits your store for treats throughout the year.
Tags:
Customer Service
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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This week’s tip is to take the time to implement a system to back up your company files in more than one location. For example, many companies think that having their files on a server in their facility is secure enough. However, if your office is destroyed by a fire or natural disaster, you will have lost all of that important information. Instead, be sure your files are securely backed up in another location so you can quickly access them in case of emergency.
A number of options are available for backing up your company files. From remote data backup services to storing files on the numerous cloud services available, you will need to find what works best for your company. You may find that it is a combination or hybrid of more than one of the options in order to best meet your information security and data storage needs. Regardless of what you choose, no company should take the risk of having no off-site back up of their files.
Tags:
Employee Management
Organizing
Owning a Business
Technology
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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At each of our events, we take attendees on behind-the-scenes visit of area candy stores and suppliers. It’s one of the most anticipated parts of the event week as it’s a great time for attendees to find ideas to take back to their own stores.
During our Canadian Chocolate Tour in September 2012 and recent Annual Convention & Industry Expo in June we visited confectionery retail stores that had designated gift designers. Attendees were consistently “wowed” by the beautiful displays and merchandising in these stores so this week’s tip is for you to hire a gift designer for your own retail candy store.
Gift designers are focused solely on the presentation of the products and displays in your store. Their job is to take your delicious candy products and turn them into beautiful gifts that your customers can’t resist buying. It’s about more than just wrapping paper – it is creating a theme, designing a shopping experience for your customers.
If hiring someone solely for the purpose of designing gifts isn’t something you can do, then consider making it a seasonal position or incorporating it into an existing position. You’ll be surprised at the difference having an individual focused on designing your items will make when it comes to the presentation of your products.
One other tip: once you hire someone, be sure to give him or her freedom to be creative and come up with new and original ideas. Share your vision and brand strategy and then step out of the way and be amazed at what is created and the exquisiteness it adds to your displays.
Tags:
Colors
Employee Management
Merchandising
Organizing
Owning a Business
Packaging
Photos
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Posted By RCI,
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2020
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Succession planning is one of those business items that no one wants to attack but no business can afford not to. Many owners and managers don’t want to face the fact that they will not always be there to lead the organization. Others are afraid of the inherent confrontation and decisions to be made in the succession planning process. Regardless of the reason, succession planning is too important to your business to leave unaddressed. To help you get started, this week’s tip is four in one: Four Tips for Succession Planning Success.
- Take time to make a plan. This may sound obvious but so many businesses just coast onward in hopes that they will have someone in place when the time comes, or worse they assume the leader in place will always be there. Get out your calendar and make time for succession planning.
- Expect emotions. Whether you’re in a family business or not, you can safely expect to encounter emotions when moving through the succession planning process. If you expect emotions, you can pre-empt them and focus on communicating through them.
- Utilize objective third parties. Because you expect emotions, it’s valuable to have an objective third party as part of the process. He or she can help you think of things in a new, different way and hopefully come to the best conclusions for the company, not just one or two subjective and outspoken individuals.
- Make it ongoing. Don’t just develop a plan and then not touch it until the moment comes to name a successor. Continue to revisit the plan and make adjustments. The plan should be referred to along the way as you select a successor and prepare that person to take your place.
Additional succession planning resources may be found on the International Succession Planning Association (ISPA) website. A representative from ISPA presented at our 2012 Spring Regional in Jacksonville, Florida and shared additional resources just for RCI members. (Members of RCI may access these worksheets and resources as part of past education session links by signing in to the RCI website.)
Has your business been through a succession planning process? If you have additional tips to share from your experiences, leave them in the comments below.
RCI Members: Each 2012 issue of Kettle Talk, our quarterly membership publication, included a series on succession planning. RCI members may view digital copies of the publication by signing in to the RCI website. Then navigate to Member Resources, Publications and click on Kettle Talk.
Tags:
Employee Management
Owning a Business
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