About The 24-Hour Customer: New Rules for Winning in a Time-Starved, Always-Connected Economy

The 24-Hour Customer argues that corporations need to pay more attention and strategize around the customer’s time and attention in the world today. Customers live in a world where time is tough to come by. Author Adrian Ott explores why customers can devour hours to social networks, but still feel they have no time to get things done. The book is filled with many case studies, including lessons from Amazon, and gives great tips on making the most of the time a company can hold a customer’s attention.

Why Cydcor recommends this to Future Leaders:

As the world continues to evolve, so does our time to do things that we love. Consumers are thrown brand new information on an hourly basis, and don’t have the patience to wait on anything that’s slowing them down. Ott offers a great amount of insights and recommendations to make an impact on consumers in our world today.

Our favorite part:

Adrian Ott has written an amazing guide that is efficient and cuts right to the chase of why time matters. She is one of the most sough-after strategists in Silicon Valley, and this book validates that prestigious standing. The book includes in-depth research and detailed findings that demonstrate how time has increasingly become valuable to consumers and has had a large effect on why consumers make the decisions they do. Our favorite part has got to be the great case studies, the standouts being Netflix and FreshDirect.

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“On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.”
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- White House Office of Consumer Affairs

In 2011, American Express conducted a survey of their customers, which revealed that 3 out of 5 customers are willing to walk away from their favorite brand if they received poor customer service. Many entrepreneurs and businesspeople struggle with various aspects of customer service, but it’s clear that customer service can certainly make or break a business. In addition to the American Express survey, another research report showed that 90% of Americans are willing to spend more if it means excellent service.

Fantastic customer service can help a business rise in the ranks, and the loyalty of a client base that appreciates you and what you have to offer is paramount. Loyal customers are familiar with you and your brand, and therefore are much more likely to check out new products or recommendations you make.

“Brand ambassadors” are popular, especially on social media, where Tweets, photo posts and hashtags make it easy for customers to share a great experience—or a bad one. Keeping your customers happy, with quick responses to their questions or concerns, gives them a positive experience they wish to share. If they love your service or product, they will speak up and share, and word-of-mouth marketing is an extremely powerful channel.

Having brand ambassadors can assist you in creating new customers, as they are taking a recommendation of a friend or family member who mentions your services. This is a much lower cost to acquire, as most business need to advertise and market, offering free product samples or discounts in order to attract new customers. By providing great customer service, you create an experience others will want to share. And as a reward, they will sell others on your business.

Cydcor is a leading outsourced sales company. We specialize in dealing with people and convincing them we have the right product or service for them. While Cydcor knows the best way to win customer loyalty is to always do the right thing for the customer, new prospects are often suspicious of sales representatives. Beginning new customer relationships takes effective communication to help your prospect feel comfortable around you. Here are some tips for building an effective customer relationship from the very beginning.

DO:

Be upfront about who you are representing. Start the conversation with “Hello, my name is _______ and I am here to tell you about ________ company, offering you a great service.” Also add in details about the service or product that will pique interest, such as money saving deals or upgraded features.

Take an active interest in the customer’s needs. Know why you are selling your product and why you customer should want it. Be sensitive to new customers’ current challenges and see if you have something that will make their lives easier.

Assure them that they are getting the best you can possibly offer. New customers like to feel like they are getting special treatment, that because of their interaction with you they are getting something no one else has access to. You can do that by offering exactly what they want, as long as it is within the boundaries of possibility.

DO NOT:

Be pushy. If someone says no it is okay to offer one or two more pieces of information that may change someone’s mind, but it is important not to push customers too hard, or not only will you lose them, but they may get annoyed and tell others.

Lie. Do not tell customers you can give them something that doesn’t exist, or twist the facts around so that they will be disappointed. There is a fine line between emphasizing the positive and just making things up.

Get emotional. Stressing too much or getting upset when someone says no will give you a reputation for being unprofessional. Always be kind, courteous and gracious.