As I boarded the plane, one of the in-flight crew members asked me where my seat was. I responded “18E.”  She gave me a funny look that I didn’t quite understand; I think she was actually trying to get my attention to tell me something.  However, being the socially inept person that I am, I kept walking.  When I arrived at my seat, I realized why she might have been trying to get my attention. My seat was a middle seat and next to me was a very large man.

Conservatively, he was sitting on about a third of my seat.  Since I’m a very small guy, I really didn’t mind. I got nestled into my seat and was ready for the flight.  I struck up a conversation with my seatmate and he was an excellent guy. I was about to ask him if I could put my head on his shoulder during the flight. It looked so comfy. (Ok, don’t think I’m a weirdo–  I genuinely liked the guy and figured he wouldn’t mind since we were practically sharing my seat.)

As I was about to ask him, another one of the in-flight crewmembers, Henry, asked me to come see him. I made a snide remark about getting in trouble and being sent to the principal’s office. I got up and followed him a few rows back. I already liked Henry because earlier he had carried my bag for me and stowed it in the overhead bin. Henry proceeded to tell me that they had another seat for me in the front if I wanted to be more comfortable — I gratefully accepted. I was moved to the second row known as an, “Even More Leg Room” type of seat. It was great.

The story doesn’t stop there. A few minutes before take-off, an in-flight crewmember came and talked to the young girl sitting next to me. It turns out she was flying alone for the first time. The crewmember spent a few minutes with her telling her exactly how things were going to happen.  She told her where the bathroom was, how to use it, that a crewmember would accompany her off the plane, and a bunch of other assurances to calm her and help her enjoy the flight.

What happened with ME during that conversation is what I want to talk discuss in this entry. A few minutes later, as we were moments from takeoff, I noticed that the girl was extremely nervous. She was tapping her feet and wringing her hands nervously. She rocked back and forth in her chair and looked out the window every few seconds. Normally I wouldn’t have noticed.  But, since I had heard the conversation with the crewmember, I was aware and I knew why she was nervous. I stepped out of my normal comfort zone (usually I ignore everyone and read or work on my laptop) and I struck up a conversation with her to distract her. I learned why she was traveling and who she was going to see. She was totally distracted during takeoff and her nervousness went away. I encouraged to do this because of the experience that I had with Henry and the experience I saw happen with the girl.

I believe Henry was the crewmember captain (or manager or whatever they call crewmember leaders). His staff was awesome. And, the story is not over yet!  Henry is not just a customer service expert; he understands business. Check this out.

As soon as we were in the air, Henry announced they were having reception trouble with the satellite TV signal. As a result, he offered all the movies free for everyone on the flight. By doing that, he instantly created some customer loyalty and probably some repeat customers.

Later, as we approached New York, Henry made this announcement (paraphrased):

“We’re now in our final descent to New York City.  Please take a minute to help our in-flight crew by handing us all trash. Please open up the seat-back pocket and grab all those gum wrappers, napkins, and anything else that shouldn’t be in there. As a side note, we’re arriving 30 minutes early.  So, next time JetBlue gets you somewhere 30 minutes late, let’s just call it even.”

He accomplished two very important objectives for the JetBlue business in those statements.

1. He improved JetBlue’s crew efficiency by having customers pick up their own trash. He did it in a tactful way that encouraged everyone to participate. I looked around and saw everyone digging deep into those seat-back pockets and pulling out all kinds of trash.
2. He also set appropriate expectations to maintain customer loyalty. He knows that occasionally, despite all efforts, JetBlue flights may become delayed. So, he took advantage of the fact that we were early to prevent bad feelings and increase loyalty the next time a JetBlue plane is late. Very smooth and helpful to earn tolerance from customers in the event they’re late.

Here’s what I learned from Henry:

• Be Aware Of Every Customer – You can’t help customers be happy if you don’t know they’re not. Put yourself in their shoes so you can empathize.
• Act – Do everything in your power to make customers happy.
• Set Expectations – Customers are more likely to be happy and remain happy if you set the right expectations.
• Happy Customers Help Breed More Happy Customers – I helped the girl next to me continue to have a good JetBlue experience because of what I experienced.

If anyone at JetBlue reads this, please give Henry a raise. (Flight #178 from PHX to JFK on 6/10/10).  Better yet, please put Henry in charge of in-flight crew staff training. He gets it.

For the rest of you, where’s your Henry?

Are you aware of your customers? If you don’t interact with them face-to-face like the JetBlue crew does, what are you doing to be aware of them? Are you leveraging the power of Infusionsoft to track your customer’s behavior, preferences and experiences so that you know better how to help them? Are you putting yourself in your customers’ shoes so you can empathize with them? Are you taking advantage of good experiences to guard against adverse experiences? Learning from Henry would do us all some good.  I hope you have a chance to meet him.

I need to point out a couple things: the “transactional” part of the experience good, but the the “relationship” experience was lacking. Also, worth mentioning is the importance in properly delivering difficult news to people. Some airliners choose to be direct, some choose to be passive and apologetic when unexpected circumstances come up. I have a vice with this.

I flew with US Airways, and overall I found them to result in a “typical” experience. Certainly no Southwest or JetBlue, but nothing wow-ed me about them. Throughout their marketing literature, they frequently state, “sorry for … sorry if–” statements for situations that are understandably out of control by the airline. Now is the time companies should have a backbone and be realistic with their customers. Small businesses can declare themselves differently — they don’t have branding “committees” that vote on stuff like that. Small businesses have people who care: You.

Stop saying sorry. It doesn’t help the customer; it doesn’t improve your brand. Do what you do well, and do it with conviction. When you are truly regretful of a situation, or have made an honest mistake, then apologize. People will take your statements and actions seriously.

Save the apologies for a time when a person can see your smile, be empowered and participate in a solution. I feel (as a passenger) that saying sorry in advance is just a bit pretentious and insincere. Say sorry when you feel sorry; not in the event of reasonably expected events – like turbulence or running out of “snack boxes.” It’s just more effective that way, even if it’s said by an ominous pilot from the part of the plane no one is permitted to enter.

Transparency goes a long way to comfort concerned (read: caring) customers. During the taxiing of the plane on the runway, we were advised from the pilot over the intercom that we made a return to the terminal for “law enforcement reasons.” I’ve never heard that before, and especially with this current state of security concerns throughout US airports, many passengers grew concerned. This viral, communal panic began to set in and really gave the perception that the airliner doesn’t know what the heck is going on.

Pay close attention to how your actions (or inactions) will be perceived so you can address them proactively. It turns out, they questioned a couple people for a few minutes and exited the plane. I tweeted about it (as expected) — from the moment it began to during the situation and to the conclusion thereafter just in case it escalated further. Turns out, it resulted in two police officers questioning a few people, taking notes and exiting the aircraft.

A brief explanation could go a long way to ease the anxiety of passengers for who were being held up an additional 45 minutes. Perception is everything and just wait until Wifi/Internet becomes standard on airplanes and people Tweet this stuff naturally and the FAA won’t regulate it. It will happen, it’s happening now. Advocating for customers with swift, strong information and saying it with a smile will more often than not, result in a better perception — guaranteed.

So, from this slowly descending aircraft into JFK Airport, I wanted to connect my experience to improving customer relations and messaging for your small business. Here are my suggestions on how entrepreneurs can provide great service to their customers –

1. Empower People
2. Educate Everyone
3. Guide Them
4. Provide Alternatives
5. Smile!

Some parts the airline industry ‘get it’, and some miss it entirely. At the end of the day, we all need to consider that people are sitting in a 5X4 cubic space for several hours, we get cranky and need to have our inner concerns addressed proactively by companies we depend on throughout our lives.

That’s really it for now. I’m interested in your thoughts on it. Are these lessons detrimental or helpful? Dish it in the comments.

We understand the economy is tough. We know it costs a lot to support people around the clock, but we also know what it takes to support the needs of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs don’t tolerate being told to pay up when they need help or guidance.

In a post that is heating up in the blogosphere by loyal 1ShoppingCart customers, they are fuming over the company’s switch to a paid support model with little or no communication from the company. So if you need help or have a problem, prepare to pay $34 per incident or $379 a year. We’re rescuing small businesses who need help. Help is a valuable asset that doesn’t go unnoticed by customers.

In order to support entrepreneurs who need to sell online, we have a very clear offer we stand behind if you switch to Infusionsoft.

Special Offer:

• Receive Unlimited free support
• 1-Hour Consultation with a Small Business Coach
  
• Call 1-866-800-0004 extension 1 and mention special code “FREE SUPPORT” to learn more.

We also cater to busy entrepreneurs and small businesses who don’t use the phone. We offer Twitter-based support [free], Community Support via the Fusebox [free] and Web-based tickets [free].

Small businesses can’t lose support when they are growing their business. We won’t let it happen. With Infusionsoft, you get live support at no charge and you even get a guarantee to double your sales.

[Photo credit Caitlinator on Flickr]

But why all the buzz around social media when it comes to Technical Support?  Before I answer this question, let me take you back to what Technical Support used to be like (be advised this could be painful).

Many years ago, you called into Support and waited on hold, listening to the worst elevator music you could imagine. Sometimes I pondered if it was just a ploy to get people to hang up.  But we were tough and stayed on the line, most of the time for 15 minutes or more. How could companies make you wait that long? Don’t they know you have a job to do?  Of course they do, but remember this … you paid a fee for entitlement to call support and wait. Amazing that customers had to deal with this type of service and even more amazing is that customers began to accept this type of service.  The old caveat applies, expect less and accept less. Oh but it didn’t stop there. You finally get through and you are all ready to explain the issue when the person answering the phone informs you that they are only here to validate your support entitlement. Okay, you are entitled so now you will get right through to the support rep right?  Wrong! You are placed on hold again, same music, same wait. It pains me to say that in my 23 years in building out Technical Support organizations, these were exactly the type of centers that were considered top-notch. *hangs my head* It’s just shameful.

But in today’s world, with today’s economy and more companies vying to stay in the game and cross the chasm of success, the Support centers of yester-year are no longer acceptable. The rules of the game have changed from “bring in revenue” to “WOWing customers” which in turn will bring in revenue and create the customer loyalty needed to gain market share. Today’s customers are pragmatic. They want to know that they will see their return on their investment through, in our case, doubling their sales. But once they make the investment, they want to know that the company will partner with them to make it happen. That they won’t be lost in the proverbial black-hole of nothingness known as “Support.”  And how do you ensure that this won’t happen? I introduce my new buzz word, Social Support!

Now I could go into all the great reasons why this is the new wave of today and the future. Starting with the fact it is driven and created by the customer for the customer; or the great ROI any company wanting to “get lean” in today’s economy will receive, but I will let our case study from Forrester speak for itself.

Soon, Infusionsoft will be launching a new networking portal that is industry specific so guru’s and/or the guy down the street can help each other by sharing idea’s about how they have grown their business with Infusionsoft, known to us as Double Your Sales. You will be able to share ideas, content or even follow someone on the site.  At InfusionCon last year, we asked what was most beneficial to you about the conference and we heard loud and clear, “networking with others in my industry.” Well hold on to your seat, because very soon, you will be socializing in our Fusebox, meeting others in your industry and getting help from our company using, yep there’s that word again, Social Support.

If you have any suggestions or comments, let me know. I’m interested to learn how we can improve your experience with Infusionsoft and deliver top-notch support to all customers and empower them to double their sales.

[Photo: InfusionCon, taken by Jerry Garns]

–JoAnne

This is not a surprise to us — our product has gone  under a lot of progress recently which includes big strides in reliability and ease of use in using the software. We’ve also substantially improved our customer communications and a detailed awareness of software updates are made when product changes are made. Along with that, our support and consulting teams deliver solutions for entrepreneurs that work.

Customers responded on the survey with which features matter most to their Infusionsoft experiences. Answers include the ability to quickly segment marketing lists, manage and run multi-faceted campaigns (email, phone, direct mail, fax), organize and automate sales and “manage the chaos” of running a small business.

To be able to provide more than nine out of ten small business users value to grow their business during the recession, is quite amazing. I don’t know of any software company out there that is as focused on customer service and satisfaction as we are. Not only that, 90% of respondents stated they would purchase more Infusionsoft products and services in the future if presented to them. This is a true reflection that underscores the importance customer satisfaction — it’s connected to revenue, and thus we had our best quarter ever in Q2, 2009.

Results from the survey have been throughly reviewed by the team at Infusionsoft across marketing, sales, customer service and the executive team. We found it very insightful to gather this feedback and learn more about our awesome customers. Additional questions included their social media usage, small business demographics, a few statistics, and a general pulse check on what they use the software for. The feedback tells us we’re doing the right thing for small business, entrepreneurs and our customers!

We’re very proud to have delivered this level of service to the small business community. Customers of Infusionsoft can expect more stellar support from the only company that guarantees to double sales. Thanks again for making Infusionsoft number one for marketing automation software for small business. We can’t do it without you!

[Photo credit: richkidsunite on Flickr]