Tag: small business advice

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10 things we are doing differently in 2022 to improve customer experience

Business Owners – 10 things we are doing differently in 2022 to improve customer experience in our businesses:

  1. Welcoming customers appropriately adopting 3 simple steps: Smile/ politeness / talking in the right tone.
  2. Listening to customers more.
  3. Always saying please and thank you.
  4. Dealing with complaints in a timely manner.
  5. Answering all phone calls and returning unanswered calls when missed.
  6. Responding to messages promptly.
  7. Always being on time and consistent with timing as this is important to customers.
  8. Always keeping customers informed; customers will never know what we are thinking if we don’t keep them informed.
  9. Never overpromising ; keeping to our words and never letting customers down with failed promises.
  10. Always following-up and checking back on customers post-sale; a very important key for improving customer relationships.

Are you ready to join these successful business owners and start making these changes too?

Please share what new things you have started doing in 2022 with us.

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Advice for Companies: How to Identify Racial Bias in Customer Service

racial bias

According to studies conducted by Harvard Business Review, minority customers – specifically black and Asian people – generally receive worse customer service than their white counterparts in ways that are indicative of racial bias.

In one study, email enquiries were sent to 6000 hotels across America, from fictitious email accounts with names that signaled race and gender. Researchers then reviewed responses to these emails, examining aspects such as language and tone, and found that hotel employees were less responsive, less helpful and less friendly to those belonging to minority groups, when compared to how they related to white people.

Unlike racism, which can be more explicit and systematic, racial bias is implicit. In other words, racial bias often plays out in ways that are unconscious and unintentional, and are based on attitudes and stereotypes about certain racial groups. People who are racially bias are often not aware of their discriminatory attitudes and can act on those biases without meaning to or knowing that they are doing so. Harbouring stereotypes about certain racial groups that are unfavourable, can lead to those groups being treated unfairly or in a way that suggests that they are inferior. As the Harvard Business Review demonstrated, these biases are particularly evident in the realm of customer service. That reality says a lot about the society we live in today. Outwardly, society is democratic and just, but the everyday behaviour of people is underpinned by a current of intolerance and a tendency towards making assumptions, often leveled at members of minority groups.

The challenge for BAME business owners is how to tackle the issue of bias in their businesses, because ultimately, it is a phenomenon that can lead to poor customer service, which will negatively impact customer retention and ultimately affect the bottomline.

Identifying racial bias in customer service is not a clear-cut process, simply because most people are unaware that it affects their behaviour, but as a business owner there are subtle signs you can look out for with regards to how your employees treat your customers. You may observe employee-customer interactions and ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does the tone of your employee’s voice change when they address different race groups? For example, do they seem agitated or impatient?
  • Does the language used by your employees change when they address different race groups? Do they “talk down” to minority groups or change their language in a way that suggests that they believe minority groups cannot understand what they are saying?
  • What does their body language say about their attitude towards different race groups? For example, do they stand at a distance or lean into the conversation? Do they maintain eye contact with the customer or are they distracted and indifferent?
  • Do your employees seem more willing to help certain race groups as opposed to others? Are they more attentive to white customers, for example? Do they automatically assume that white customers are willing and able to spend more and are therefore better customers? Do your employees overlook certain customers because of the way they are dressed or their accent?
  • If your business conducts its affairs online, does your level of customer service change as soon as customers reveal their identities in a way that signals which racial group they belong to? Are your employees more likely to dismiss certain racial groups when they have a complaint or need assistance?

Brick-and-mortar businesses could also employ a mystery shopper system, where individuals posed as shoppers enter a store and write about their customer experience based on a questionnaire that could feature some of the aspects that the above questions identify. This would however, require an investment in terms of time and resources. Time would need to be taken to collate the results and watch out for instances where business owners themselves may have stereotypes and assumptions that get in the way of looking at the evidence objectively.

There are a number of tests, verified by academic bodies, that monitor and measure racial bias, but as experience continues to show, it is unlikely that one test can be conclusive. A multi-pronged approach that requires active listening, observation, discussion and debate and testing in some form is often more effective.

The interest of companies in facilitating implicit bias workshops, seminars and training sessions is increasing, with business owners becoming succinctly aware that racial bias is actively affecting client relations and in the long term, profitability. This kind of training can go a long way in helping employees to self-examine, and identify mentalities and underlying beliefs that may be getting in the way of them treating all customers the same.

Ultimately, it is each individual’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to challenge stereotypes, question generalisations and behave in a way that treats all customers with respect and a sense of equality. It is the business owner’s responsibility to put policies and measures in place that will standardise customer service in line with strong values and principles. These values need to be clearly communicated with employees and upheld through regular self appraisal and implicit bias “audits” where business owners pay close attention to how their customers are treated so that any decline can be addressed on an individual or collective level.

Have you as a BAME business owner, experienced racial bias in customer service? We’d like to collate your responses around how you identified racial bias in an upcoming feature article. Please share your thoughts and comments with us on social media.

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How Can BAME-Owned Businesses Survive Beyond COVID?

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on the majority of businesses in the UK. We wondered whether the pandemic had specific, exclusive consequences for businesses in the BAME sector. Researchers at Staffordshire Business School are particularly interested in this subject, and have recently secured funding to investigate the specific challenges that BAME business owners faced during COVID-19, as well as the strategies they employed to combat the effects of the pandemic.

A number of key observations have led researchers to believe that BAME-owned businesses faced a unique set of challenges during COVID-19. For example, BBC reported that in the UK, the mortality rate among people belonging to ethnic minorities during COVID-19 was greater than that among white ethnic groups. Research suggests that due to this overwhelming disparity, BAME business owners lost more customers and employees to the pandemic and that this loss posed a greater threat to their businesses when compared to white-run ventures. We cannot ignore the impact that loss of life had on BAME-owned businesses, but we were also interested in getting practical examples from black entrepreneurs on the nature of their biggest challenges during this worldwide period of economic instability.

We Chatted to Black Entrepreneurs on the Ground

We spoke to Gambian-born entrepreneur and business owner, Eliza Jones, who runs Chosan, a brand that sells vegan-friendly, gluten-free, organic food and drink products. When asked about the main challenges she faced as a result of COVID-19, and she responded:

“As a food business owner, COVID-19 resulted in a huge drop in the sales of my products, Hibiscus sorbets and Baobab jams. Also, the conference venue that was lined up to include Chosan hibiscus sorbet on the menu, was not able to open for business. Similarly, other existing café, garden centres, restaurants and other customers were not in a position to make orders for summer due to uncertainty around lock down.

Chosan Baobab Jam was launched during lockdown. But the reduced footfall in retail stockists as well as not being able to do in-store sampling meant that there was considerable hesitancy around stocking a new product.

We also faced supply challenges. We experienced a long wait for some of the Baobab jam ingredients to become available. I would also say that reduced consumer spending power affected the sales of our products in our regular retail outlets.”

Angelica Louise Bagot of Tribal Unicorn experienced similar difficulties:

“The main challenge was having to pivot my business structure so that I could operate solely in an online space. Although Tribal Unicorn does not operate as a brick and mortar, we do attend a lot of exhibitions throughout the year and used to allow local pickups for customers. With COVID that was no longer a possibility.”

Are BAME Business Issues Unique?

Loss of sales. Supply chain issues. Reduced demand. At face value, these challenges do not seem specific to BAME businesses when viewed through the lens of a COVID-affected economy. However, BAME-specific issues such as lack of funding, lack of governmental support and the concentration of black businesses in harder-hit sectors such as retail, are indicative of the fact that COVID-19 “exacerbated pre-existing disadvantages in the business sector.”

Funding Remains a Central Issue in the BAME Business Space

In a very transient, post-COVID world, the survival of BAME-owned businesses depends on a range of factors. The one factor that stands out is funding. Before the onset of the pandemic, research showed that BAME-owned businesses were less likely than their white counterparts to secure funding in the form of business loans, angel investing and government grants.

Exploring the Government’s Role in Supporting BAME Business

Now, as we face a business sector that has changed beyond recognition, The Conversation identifies the UK government as a possible source of relief for BAME-owned businesses.

“State-backed grants and loans should be made more accessible as an incentive to business owners who have incurred additional costs to protect customers and staff. Crucially, the process to obtain them should not be too onerous, which risks putting people off applying. Regional governments should also take care to plug BAME businesses into the supply chains of local projects in response to the pandemic.
As a community, we need businesses to get through this pandemic in one piece, and we must help protect those who are most at risk. That means working specifically with BAME business owners in creative ways to help ensure their survival.”

How Has Your Business Survived COVID?

Beyond access to funding there are a myriad other approaches that BAME-owned businesses can explore as solutions to weathering the post-COVID storm. Among them are an increased focus on customer retention through loyalty programs, after-sales service, incentives for repeat customers and the building of loyal online databases.

We’d like to chat to BAME-owned businesses in the UK, to find out which strategies you have employed to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Share your stories with us on social media and we’ll connect with you.

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Etiquette Rules for Exceptional Customer Experience

In this post, we will be sharing our top 8 Etiquette Rules for offering Exceptional Customer Experience.

1. The Welcome: 

  • Smile – Did you know that your smile comes across through the phone? 
  • Be polite – Greet your customers appropriately
  • Master the right tone – Pitch your communication at the right tone. Your tone can either have a positive or negative effect on your customers 

2. Answer your phone: But if you are unavailable, check your customer’s messages and return their calls.

3. Respond to messages promptly: It’s best to have an initial auto-response system in place to   acknowledge your customer’s message. A full response should then follow within a reasonable time frame.

4. Always say “Please” and “Thank you”: Customers love to be respected – Make  your customers feel like kings – like the saying goes – ”Customer is King”.

5. Be on Time: Adhering to a consistent opening and closing time is important to your customers.  

6. Keep customers informed: Your customers will never know what you are thinking if you don’t tell them and keep them updated.

7. Don’t Over-promise: Always keep your word –  There is nothing as off-putting to a customer as being let down by failed promises.

8. Follow up: Always check on your customers. Business does not have to end after a sale. 

 

Which of these Etiquette Rules do you find the most useful? We’d love to get your thoughts in the comment section below, or on our socials.

To discuss specific customer experience training needs, please submit a form on the Training page of our website. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Here’s What We Think About Bad Customer Service in the BAME Sector

bad service

Brands that invest resources into fostering positive customer experiences are almost 6 times more profitable than brands who do not prioritise customer service.

It’s a compelling statistic; and it speaks to the correlation between customer service and a business’s bottom line.

A recent study showed that businesses in the UK lose around £12 billion every year as a direct result of poor customer service. And times have changed. Previously bad customer service was something that could be swept under the proverbial rug, but with the proliferation of social media, companies simply can no longer get away with bad levels of service. Bad reviews and complaints on social media can have serious consequences in terms of reputational damage, and at start-up stage, reputation can quite literally be a make-or-break factor.

Time to Apply Some Long-Term Thinking

In the business sector, customer experience is one of the keys to longevity, especially in competitive environments like retail, hospitality and digital services. Black entrepreneur and business owner, Aysha Bell agrees strongly with this sentiment:

“Customer service is key, especially in face-to-face business like hospitality, but all businesses need good person-to-person communication. As humans we need to feel seen and have our needs met in a gentle; almost nurturing, respectful way. Having worked in hospitality as a barber and now a yoga teacher, I know the impact good customer service has on the client. It’s not just business, it’s kindness and care that make a lasting impression on your customer. If you’re selling a service or product, you want your customers to feel seen and uplifted. Consistently good service doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Is Bad Customer Service a BAME Problem?

Jamii raises an important perspective – there is an existing stereotype that customer service is particularly bad in the BAME sector. Let’s take a closer look at some practical examples – the BAME grocery store that has below-average hygiene levels, the retail shop owner who reprimands his employees in front of customers, the takeaway service that takes incredibly long to deliver. Over time these archetypes have been associated with BAME-owned businesses, but let us be clear – bad customer experience is not exclusive to BAME-owned businesses. It is a countrywide challenge for businesses across the board. However, prevailing stereotypes mean that BAME business owners need to work that much harder to make serving their customers a priority.

Angelica Louise Bagot, owner of the Tribal Unicorn candle bar explained that, “customers are the heart of a business. I rely on their honest feedback to ensure that I am providing a quality service and product. Good customer service to me means building a thriving community around your brand. Customers must feel like they can approach us when they’re not happy as well as when they are. To date, our customer service score is around 98% satisfaction, based on feedback from recent customers. It means everything to me and it is the cornerstone of my business.”

Find a Way to Keep Them Coming Back

We believe that good customer service is an investment, and the end-goal is customer retention. Business owners can sometimes become so caught up with new customer acquisitions, that they lose sight of the value of a returning customer. For a number of reasons, a returning customer is almost more valuable to a business than a new one.

Repeat customers spend more, according to a statistic by Annex Cloud (Statistics reveal that returning loyal customers spend an average of 33% more per order as compared to others).

Repeat customers who feel a positive affinity towards a brand will tell other people about it. In a rather noisy advertising climate, word-of-mouth marketing is still the most effective way of establishing a brand.

Acquiring a new customer costs more in terms of marketing investment than a repeat customer.

There is a Bigger Picture

When we talk about good customer service, it’s important to remember that the term encompasses the entire journey, from how you speak to new customers, to how they are treated in-store and online, and finally, to how they are communicated with after a sale has been made.

The good news is that improving your customer experience doesn’t require an entire brand overhaul. It can be accomplished by employing a few simple strategies – a topic that we will be exploring in more detail in the coming weeks.

We’d love to get your input. What does your business do to go the extra mile in terms of customer service? Pop us a message on social media and give us your opinion – if you make us smile, we promise to feature your business in our next feature.

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4 Reasons Why BAME-Owned Businesses Don’t Pass the Test of Time After Launching

There is a large body of evidence that suggests that up to 90% of start-ups fail within the first two years. And as BAME-owned businesses, that statistic is substantially higher due to lack of access to funding, systemic disadvantages and a general uneven playing field.

A study conducted by the British Business Bank and consultancy Oliver Wyman, involving 3700 people, reported that BAME business owners are likely to bring in lower revenue and have less success in general, than their white counterparts. Furthermore, as Bloomberg reports: “Business owners from Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds make up around 3.5% of business owners but account for more than 8% of business failures.”

Reasons Why BAME-Owned Businesses Are Highly Likely To Fail Within The First Few Years

Lack of Mutual Support: When asked for her opinion on why BAME-owned businesses fail, yoga brand owner and entrepreneur, Aysha Bell commented: As BAME business owners, we need to start supporting each other more rather than cutting corners and asking friends and family for favours. Saying this, in more recent times I have seen a rise in support from the community and a newfound understanding of business and the customer. As a community we need to work together and allow everyone in by sharing our gifts and talents. We need to start ‘thinking big,’ and believing that what we have is good enough for the whole world.”

Lack of Capital: Securing finance to start a business can be tricky, especially for BAME business owners who may be less “connected” in social and economic circles than white business owners. While there is no concrete evidence to suggest that BAME business owners are discriminated against by money lenders and banks on racial grounds, the fact is that white business owners enjoy privileges that extend beyond just the financial realm. White business owners are on average, more likely to have closer contact with financial networks, people who are able to provide loans and companies who are willing to provide financial backing. For BAME-owned businesses starting from scratch, the matter of building a business begins from the ground up, with little to no connections that are able to give them a “leg up,” or any kind of financial head-start.

Failure to Pivot with the Times: In the Age of Technology or what we have come to understand as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, resources are not equally distributed. The gap between classes continues to grow and this has been proven to affect BAME-owned businesses disproportionately. BAME-owned business owners historically, have less access to new technology and the level of education that is required to leverage technology as a business tool. As a result, they may lag behind when it comes to being able to pivot as fast as white-owned businesses when drastic changes are needed to survive. In the pandemic, many BAME-owned businesses were unable to get their businesses up and running online in time to continue to make profits and sustain their business expenses. The underlying reason for this is the lack of access to resources, particularly technological ones.

Inequalities Related to Access and Opportunities: As Angelica Louise Bagot, owner of Tribal Unicorn suggests: “There are disproportionate avenues of funding for black businesses and black founders. Women, in particular, are less likely to receive funding to help build their businesses. It’s important to note that not all businesses seek venture-capitalist funding. Bootstrapping is also an option, however again if we haven’t first identified the root cause of a problem, for example, if larger brands don’t source makers and brands outside of their usual supply chains, market share cannot be equally distributed. If black founders and change-makers do not have a ‘seat at the table,’ it’s unlikely that a problem will even be identified and opportunities will cease to be created. I don’t believe in placing barriers on any particular group,however I do think it’s important for the research to be done, for the problem and pain points to be identified and for structures to be put in place to help rectify the disparities.”

Another Perspective on the Subject

When asked to provide comment on this topic, Eliza Jones, owner of Chosan explained that:

“Not all BAME-owned businesses in the UK struggle to survive after the 2 year mark. There are significant differences between the experiences of black business owners and Asian business owners. Black business owners may find it hard to survive for example, in the convenience food sector as the main players in this sector have extensive community support behind them, considerable experience within the sector as well as group buying power. A lot depends on what their product is, which sector they are operating in and who their target audience is. Essentially, black business owners have less access to finance or knowledge/information networks as well as less support from their own immediate and wider communities. Research shows that one pound circulates for 28 days in Asian communities but only 6 hours in black communities.”

Her comment raises important issues around the nuanced experiences of the various minorities within BAME business as a sector. We will be exploring some of these hard-hitting issues in the coming weeks. We’d like to get your opinion. Comment on this article below or connect with us on social media.