Posted by Sarah Jordan
Co-authored by Mike Lebow, Business Development Manager for PaySimple

Regardless of the industry, everyone has had a challenging experience with customer service. Because the Internet has given businesses the opportunity to connect with more consumers, the focus on customer service quality has given way to customer service quantity.

This practice devalues the concept of customer service, which shifts emphasis to a negative, self-serving business pursuit: Breaking records by the number of customers “helped” in an hour. By taking the approach of providing unparalleled quality assistance, as opposed to only trying to increase quantity served, small businesses are guaranteed to have happier, more loyal customers.

Here are five key practices (starting with the easiest) to creating an exceptional customer experience:

1. Ask, Listen, Act and Sympathize! – Because your customer was already frustrated enough to pick up the phone and contact your customer service department, they are most likely foreseeing their experience to be a negative one. This is the chance to admit when you are wrong, and follow up by working your butt off to remedy their concerns.
2. Send an Update Email – Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. We’ve all been there, and you don’t like waiting in the dark either. By sending a simple note at the end of the day: “We’re still looking into the problem and hope to have a solution ASAP–Thank you for your patience.” you can prevent a handful of call-backs of customers just wondering what the situation is.
3. Create an FAQ Guide – To compliment direct support (whether on the phone or in person), your business can add a page that customers can go to find answers on their own. Many times, 80 percent of customer support issues are recurrent and could be addressed with a proactive answer. If you have a website, link to an FAQ or “Most Common Questions” page. Or, place copies of a Common Questions guide anywhere your customers frequent.
4. Implement Feedback Surveys – Not only is this a great customer support practice, but it’s a great selling tool, and doesn’t necessarily require a long list of questions. A Net Promoter Score survey asks one simple question, “Would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?” and is considered to be one of the most important indicators of a company’s success. The score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of “Detractors (scores of 0-6 out of 10) from Promoters (scores of 9 and 10).
5. Conduct Usability Testing – Usability Testing is an extremely useful way to see how a customer interacts with your product or website. There are firms for hire that can do this for you (more expensive) or you can put an ad on Craigslist or find acquaintances who can do it for a low price or even for free (less expensive.) For a few hundred dollars, you can find and prevent fallout points and customer roadblocks that can thwart hundreds of future customer service calls. Learn more about setting up effective usability testing here.

Share your own ideas: Is there something your customer service department does that sets you apart from your competition?

Popularity: 100% [?]

Posted by Chad Gardner

For many small businesses, the prospect of adding a new way to collect payments, with a possibly unfamiliar technology, can seem intimidating. Most small businesses want to offer their customers more flexible payment types, but they are wary of the costs, security, and requirements to set up such customer conveniences. 

The bottom line is, small businesses owners have questions, and aren’t sure who to ask.

Based on what we’ve learned from our customers, here are the Top 6 questions and concerns preventing businesses from setting up online payments:

1. “We are too small of a company.”As much as it may seem, the rule is not be big or go home.  By incorporating online payment processing functionality, such as email invoicing and recurring billing, at a lower cost than legacy billing processes, small businesses can actually leverage their collection process and compete with larger businesses in some facets.  
2. “Our customers won’t use online payments enough to justify the monthly fees.”
   On the contrary, consumers are driving the creation and adoption of such billing services.  Over 50% of all US households pay at least one monthly bill online and wish more businesses offered the convenience.*  Even non-profits like churches and fundraising organizations are adopting online payments, and realizing increased donations and sales.
3. “Do we need to have a website?”
   No.  Some online payment processing providers also provide a securely hosted online payment page that is even customizable to look like your business. 
4. “Do we need a tech person to setup and handle the system?”
   No.  As the technology in payment processing advances, setting up online payments is becoming easier and easier to do.  Not only do you not need a website, but you don’t need any technology experience.  When inquiring with a company, be sure to ask about the setup process. 
5. “Are online payments secure?”
   Yes.  Almost 85% of identity theft cases are due to offline transactions because consumers who pay bills electronically expose their information to fewer people. Additionally, using risk management features in a PCI compliant online payment solution, including adjustable fraud settings and user-based processing limits, protect both the merchant and customer.
6. “I don’t know if it will be advantageous for me to set up online payment processing.”
   Most of our customers experience faster collection cycles and increased sales or donations after setting up online payment processing.  In addition, they experience time and cost savings by drastically reducing the amount of paper invoices and checks they have to output and receive. I don’t know of a business that wouldn’t want to discover a service that enables it to follow the old mantra to “cut costs and increase efficiency.”
   

And if you’re still wary, check if the service you’re interested in offers a money back guarantee. Then you have nothing to lose by giving online payment processing a shot.

*Data from www.electronicpayments.org

Popularity: 54% [?]

Posted by Elissa Beckman

I was recently reading a magazine and came across an article about involving humor in the workplace. My eyes naturally gravitated toward the article, as I am all about incorporating fun into my workday. As I read through the article, I started laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was (not the laugh the author was looking for).

The article was, for lack of better words, lame. His points were stiff, structured, and focused on when and how to use humor in the workplace. Some of the “laughable” tips include avoiding intellectual humor and practicing your joke, yet looking for ways to make it appear spontaneous. I don’t know about you, but I am not practicing the joke I am going to crack in a meeting the night before, and definitely am not practicing ways to make it seem impulsive.

I am privileged to work in a growing, small business that encourages team members to be themselves and bring their own sense of humor to the table, very unlike the article that I read. PaySimple created its core values into the PaySimple PATH (which stands for Passion, Authenticity, Teamwork, and Happiness) and the PATH always begins and ends with Fun! As a small business, our team members are constantly working hard for our clients and continuously striving to contribute to the success of our company. Humor brings us together and creates a more enjoyable work environment. When you are working hard 9 hours a day, who doesn’t want to occasionally break for a laugh?

Having fun and involving humor also builds relationships among team members. When your company is growing at a fast pace, and you are constantly adding new people into your culture, humor is a great icebreaker and effective communication tool. Additionally, the small business environment can be stressful, and humor can be a valuable tool to relieve that stress. Use it often to lighten the mood, especially if the person next to you is having a rough day and needs a little pick-me-up.

Appreciate working in a small business environment, as you have the power to energize and empower your employees by creating an enjoyable and open place for them to work. And laugh and have fun along the way!

Popularity: 60% [?]