Time for the BLOG!

Hello everyone,

It is winter time and we need to start keeping an eye on the weather.   If you see the flakes you may check here 1st.  I will post any delays/closures/updates on this site.    Nashville is known for panicking during any type of snow storm, give youself extra time.  Driving in snow isn't much of an issue.   Stopping and turning are.  :)    So, give yourself extra time and space to stop and to take turns.


Check back often, if you have a blog link it up so you can see updates.

Thank you,

Goals

goal

 

noun

1.

the result or achievement toward which effort is directed;aim; end.

2.

the terminal point in a race.

3.

a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.

Do you have a goal?   Do you have many goals?  In the acclaimed book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People the 2nd habit is "Begin with the end in mind."   You should constantly strive to be better, better today than you were yesterday.  Better next year than you are today.  

How often do you get in your car and just start driving having no idea where you were going?  Unless you are just getting out of the house for a joy ride I would imagine you almost never get into your car without 1st knowing a destination.   To and from work, going to friends, out to eat.   You have a goal in mind.  Why go through life by just hopping in the car with no destination?   

The great thing about goals is that they are yours.  Yours to choose and yours to change so it can really be anything, there is no wrong goal.  Goals give you direction and purpose.  Goals help you establish your priorities.  Goals can be a benchmark to determine whether you are focusing your energy and effort in the right place.

A goal is basically a road map of where you want to end up in 1 year, 5 years or at the end of your life.

Talk to someone who is successful and you will find out that they had goals.   It may be one of the single most important things you can do for yourself.

Quotes on Empowerment

Try not to become a man of success but a man of value. – Albert Einstein

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. – Arthur C. Clarke

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. – George S. Patton

Fortune favors the brave. – Publius Terence

He who hesitates is lost. – Prover

Constant dripping hollows out a stone. – Lucretius

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We are still masters of our fate. We are still captains of our souls. – Winston Churchill

Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose–a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. – Mary Shelley

Net Promoter Score

NPS for short.   What is it?    NPS is a Score calculated off survey's that customers take.  It basically puts people into 3 groups.  Promoters!   Passives.  Detractors  :(.    The more promoters you get the higher your score.   A promoter who is someone who will actively go out and tell people about Magazines.com.

In December Magazines.com received a score of 24.  A typical company receives a score of 5-10.  So yay for Magaiznes.com!!

Let's break this down a bit more......

Order Acknowledgement - People who took the survey after receiving an order confirmation resulted in a 26 in the month of December, so people who order from us are pretty happy.

Subscription Manager -  People who took the survey after coming out of the subscription manager ended at a rate of 16.   Still better than the average company.    I am wanting to drive more people to the subscription manager.

Auto Renew -  hmmmm, oddly enough our AR resulted in a score of -12.    Keep in mind that most people choosing to do a survey after a renew are probably the ones we caught off guard, just like the ones that call in.   We never speak to the happy customers who know how the service works.


What about us?   There were 367 people in December that filled out the Magazines/123 survey that we give out in our emails, live chats and over the phones.    What did we score?    How about a 55?    That is OUTSTANDING!     Here is a list of some of the top companies in the country....

USAA -  82
Harley-Davidson - 81
Costco - 79
Ebay - 71
Southwest Airline - 51   (yes, we offer better service than Southwest Airline!!!)
Dell - 50
Adobe - 48

This is what I love to see.  This is why I spend so much time talking about service, and not only service but Legendary Service.


This was a great report, these numbers reflect the month of December.   Let's keep this up!


Keep asking people to fill out these surveys.

FACTS ABOUT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

The top three drivers for investing in customer experience management are: 1. Improve customer retention – (42 %), 2. Improve customer satisfaction – (33 %), 3. Increase cross-selling and up-selling (32 %).

NOTE – All 3 of these items are in our control. 

Improve Customer Retention - Do you explain the AR to people?   Over this week I’ve done a lot of listening and I have to tell you, I’m not hearing a lot of explanations.  Be proactive!   When customers call to cancel the AR, make sure they understand what happened.   I DON’T want customers to see our logo and think “those were the guys who charged my card again.”   I DO want them to think “those guys charged my card but that nice lady told me they could turn it off if I called in or emailed.”

If you feel like you are constantly defending what we do you may be approaching it wrong.  These calls should not come off as if we are defensive.  I believe in what we do here, the numbers are clear and the overwhelming majority of people who are our customers like the AR.   We are very good at it and our explanations should reflect that.  Really listen to the words you choose.

Here are some 2011 numbers.

• We had over 32 million in sales for 2011.   (13% more than 2010)
• At roughly $25 (our average order) the equals 1.28 million orders in 2011.
• I have 35 people to handle the 1.28 million orders.   That means we do a LOT of stuff right.
• Out of all our phone calls....10-15% are sales.   20-25% are wrong numbers.  5% address change.  5-10% questions about existing orders.   So not all of our calls are negative.

This company has had some crazy growth.   Not something you should feel like you are "defending".    Sure, not every customer likes what we do.    But AR is what we do, it is our core business practice and you have all talked to people who love it.

Now let's take those facts and add a lot of understanding.    Understand that no matter how hard we try we cannot always communicate effectively to every customer.  These people get caught off guard and are understandably irritated.  Get them calmed down by refunding them, then try to walk them through the process.

Improve Customer Satisfaction - You have a direct impact on this.   Your job is to give Legendary Service.   In a nutshell we should give the customer (almost) everything they want.   I heard a couple of publisher calls this week where we offered no sympathy or empathy for a legitimate issue.   Should a customer have to wait beyond the 4-6 or 6-8 weeks?   No, they shouldn't.   So why don't we tell people that?   "Mrs. Customer, you are right, this is certainly outside of the start up time and we are going to find out what is going on!   Let me verify a bit of information here and we'll get in touch with the publisher."  So easy. When they are right, tell them they are right and we are going to fix it.   You want to make someone happy, tell them they are right.  Even something small.    

Walk people through the subscription manager.   We know from our survey's that people who use the subscription manager are much happier customers.   As I said the other day, Amazon has no way to manager subscriptions.  The publishers do not have a way.  The girl scouts who go door to door don't have a way.  We are the industry leader in this area!    Celebrate it.

Increase cross-selling and up-selling - Again, we have a direct impact on this.   On sales calls it is a requirement, on every other call it should just be there.    If you are taking just a little bit more time with the customers to learn something about them, explain the subscription manager and take a peek at their current subscriptions you give yourself more openings to mention a good, worth while cross sell.  The average household has 7 magazine subscriptions.  7!   Have you heard a customer or co-worker say something good about People?  Good Housekeeping?  ESPN?  SI?  Real Simple?  Family Handyman?    Tell customers about it.    If a customer has Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping why not say "you know, I've heard a lot of great things about Real Simple, have you ever taken a look at that?"

We are a HUGE part of the customers overall experience with Magazines.com.   We are the #1 line of communications when customers don't like something about what we do here.   Make the most of every call and try to save 1 more customer.   Cross sell 1 more customer.   Explain the system to 1 more customer.  Convert 1 more non-customer to be a customer.

Friday One for business

We did get some snow last night, I have been watching channel 2 and 4 since about 5am. Looks like there are some slick parts still on the side roads but the main roads should be ok. They have been driving around Joelton where I live and the reason Davidson county is closed is because of the road I take. Fun stuff!

drive safe.
Take your time on the on/off ramps and overpasses.