Tag Archives: customer service

Permalink to 4 Reasons Why CMOs Still Think Social Media Engagement is Irrelevant

4 Reasons Why CMOs Still Think Social Media Engagement is Irrelevant

by Angie Sanders|on April 17, 2013 |in Social Media |tagged , , , , , , |Leave a comment

Lost and Confused SignpostBack in January, Louis Columbus, senior manager, enterprise marketing at Cincom Systems, wrote an article titled “B2B Marketers Need To Get Real About Social Media and Customer Engagement.” “One area I consistently see CMOs of B2B companies divided on in their efforts to compete is the value of social media,” he wrote.

“I think it is incredibly short-sighted of any CMO, whether in B2B or business-to-consumer (B2C) to discount its value and say it is irrelevant to their marketing efforts.  Social media is how the current and next generation of B2B customers are choosing to learn about new solutions and stay current on brands they are loyal to.”

Living in an area like Washington, D.C. that’s uber-connected and social and web-savvy, I often think that other professionals outside the region are as connected and realize the value of these tools as much as I do. But like Louis, I meet others who just aren’t as sold as I am.

Fortune 500 companies were quicker to adapt to social media initially, and they have the budgets to create strategy, execute and evaluate success. But if you’re a CMO of a smaller company, you may not be as enthusiastic about the value of engaging your customers socially. There are probably a few reasons for why this is so:

CMOs and other c-suite professionals still think that their companies’ target demographics don’t use social media to look for their type of product.
If your company sells fertilizer or laser printing paper or some equally non-sexy product, then it’s hard for you to imagine that your target customer would want to engage with you on social media or is using the space to research products like yours. But there are probably some creative tactics you can use to reach your customers, even if it means cross-marketing with a related but non-competing product or finding ways to humanize your company and make your product fun.

They don’t have a good understanding of how interacting with these customers on social media fits into their sales funnel.
It takes a bit of technological know-how and some sophisticated tools to truly track the impact social media has on sales. Sharing data among your company’s web analytics software, customer relationship management software, online marketing software, social media engagement platform(s) and reporting system/data warehouse might not be rocket science, but it can be tough to grasp and execute if you’re new to the idea.

Successes other companies experience doing this aren’t widely shared.
We hear a lot about the successes B2C companies experience while engaging their customers on social media. However, when B2B companies achieve some sort of success doing the same thing, they either guard this information closely or it’s not widely covered in the media for lack of sex appeal. As a CMO, if you’re not crystal clear on the successes others are seeing using social media—especially your competitors—then you’re less likely to spend the time and energy to be a pioneer (unless you’re truly a visionary).

These companies probably don’t have the talent in-house to sell the benefits of social customer engagement or create/execute a strategy.

Here’s the catch: because these CMOs and other c-suite professionals don’t see the value of social media, they most likely don’t have the staff internally who would be champions for digital strategy. As a CMO, where do you begin to understand the value of investing in social media and developing a team to execute a strategy when there’s no one in-house to sell you on the idea in the first place? How do you look to an outside team for help when you’re not even clear on what your company’s needs are?

Share with us: Are you still struggling to grasp the value of a social media investment for your company? Are you a staffer trying to sell social to the c-suite at your company?

Read Blindsided! Why the rapid pace of social media communication and measurement is leaving PR agencies behind

blindsidedIn his Forbes.com article, “PR Agencies’ Lost Year?”, Peter Himler of Flatiron Communications makes the argument that while PR agencies are fixated on the obvious rise of mobile technology and the visual web, they’re missing real opportunities to use creative hybrids of earned, paid and owned media tactics to broadcast client messages to already overloaded audiences. Himler’s article prompted aiellejai to produce this white paper. In it, we explore why the PR industry was blindsided by the emergence of new technology and the choices these professionals will have to make internally and externally to remain valuable players in the midst of the new accelerated pace of communication.

Permalink to Over Lunch: PR firm vs. Content Creation Consultancy

Over Lunch: PR firm vs. Content Creation Consultancy

by Angie Sanders|on January 24, 2013 |in Content marketing, Just good business |tagged , , , , , , , , , , |Leave a comment

orgin-of-aiellejaiStrong writing is at the core of every strategic communicator’s skill set.

In this episode of “Over Lunch,” aiellejai’s Chief Content Architect Angie Jennings Sanders explains why she decided to launch the company as a content creation consultancy instead of a public relations firm. “That way, we can serve our clients directly or we work with PR firms to lighten their load,” she said.

 

Permalink to How to Use Content to Build Thought Leadership in 6 Steps

How to Use Content to Build Thought Leadership in 6 Steps

by Angie Sanders|on January 21, 2013 |in Content marketing, Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |Leave a comment

thought leader credit damiencummingsdotblogspotdotcomAt a Washington Network Group entrepreneurs roundtable event last Wednesday night, speaker Angelique Rewers, also known as The Corporate AgentTM used two terms during her talk that caused some audience members to look at her like she’d sprouted eight arms: Content marketing and thought leader.

She explained that content marketing involves creating and distributing relevant and valuable information to attract, acquire, and engage your target audience and lead them to a desired action. “You want to be a thought leader,” she said.

“But the challenge is how do you provide good content without giving away all your strategy, right?” asked an audience member.

You may remember that I wrote a blog post a while back that reassured you that you can afford to give away some of your ideas without fearing that a potential client will run with them and never give you or your business a second thought.

The keys to content marketing and framing yourself and others in your company as thought leaders are to: 1. Give your audience simple information that they can either act on right now or that answers pressing questions and 2. Plant a seed in the audience’s mind that you and your company are the leading authorities on this subject.

Face it. If your audience doesn’t get this information from you, then they’ll perform a Google search and find someone else who’ll give them the answer.

Business owners think that being a thought leader means that you have spout Confucius-like, life-changing tidbits that no one else is close to even thinking about. If you can do this, then congratulations. But there’s not much new under the sun. It just has to be new to your audience.

So here are six steps toward establishing yourself and your team members as thought leaders online.

  1. Think about the pillars on which you operate your business.
    What are your company’s top business offerings? Why do you offer these services? Why should your audience come to you for these services?
  2. Define who you’re serving with those pillars.
    This is an important one. Who is your audience? Who usually buys the services you offer? Be very specific with this description. What do these people do for a living? What do they look like? What do they read? Even better, identify actual points of contact at your client organizations and use them to create a detailed profile of your target audience for each of your services.
  3. Determine what questions your audience asks.
    When potential clients approach you, or your ears perk up after meeting a potential client, what is it that they’re seeking? What problems do they tend to come to your company to solve before they become a client? What are their pain-points?
  4. Consider how you can help your audience answer these questions quickly and the best ways to present the information.
    Now that you’re familiar with your audience’s common questions and pain-points, how can you address these in succinct and interesting ways? Should your company start a blog? Which team members should contribute? Perhaps you should begin shooting short videos? Is there information that could be presented in infographics? Do you have PowerPoint presentations that you can upload to Slideshare?
  5. Create an editorial calendar.
    This step is tricky, but helpful. Determine all the channels through which you’d like to share content (blogging, video, e-books, etc.). Then create a calendar that details when these items will go live and be available to share. For example, you may decide that your company will publish four blog posts and create four short videos per month, release one e-book per quarter, and curate content via social media on a daily basis. Your editorial calendar should provide a brief description of subject matter for each piece of content, estimate when each will be completed/posted, and how all content will be shared.
  6. Be consistent.
    I realize that we live in an instant-results kind of society, but this process takes time. Be consistent with your content creation. Monitor what kinds of content resonate best with your audience and keep giving them what they want.

Share with us: How do you define thought leadership? How are you using content to raise your/your company’s professional profile in your field?


Read 6 Myths Blocking Your Social Media Engagement, our special report that addresses misconceptions that are keeping your company from investing time into tools that will can help increase two-way communication with your customers—current and potential. Print this report. Read it on the train ride home. Highlight key points. Share it with your colleagues. And please, jump in the social media marketing game and get started. 

 

Permalink to Forcing a Relationship Between Philanthropy and Marketing Might Not be a Good Idea

Forcing a Relationship Between Philanthropy and Marketing Might Not be a Good Idea

by Angie Sanders|on October 22, 2012 |in Just good business |tagged , , , , , , |2 Comments

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, has a fantasy that involves philanthropy and marketing. You thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?

Let me explain. As part of “The Social Media Roadmap” section in Fast Company’s September 2012 issue, the magazine assembled executives from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Zynga to discuss issues affecting not-for-profits’ and activists ‘marketing efforts, like passive activism—or “slacktivism”—and the “viral-hits mindset.”

Zynga Executive Director Ken Weber shared that following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Haiti and Japan respectively, Zynga’s gamers donated more than $3 million in a little over a week, just by buying items within the games they play.

“That speaks to one of my fantasies, which is that philanthropy is the future of marketing,” Stone said. “People who normally hadn’t given you their credit-card information were now doing it. You have their information, and they might become a paying customer. If people take their marketing budgets and use them for good, you’ll end up with something more.”

I appreciate Stone’s optimism for the transition from donor to customer, but there are two reasons why making this transition successful may remain a fantasy.

One, trying to get a passive donor to make the leap to a paying customer could make your philanthropy efforts seem disingenuous in the eyes of the individuals you’re trying to convert. For example, let’s say that after watching heart-wrenching footage of the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, you’re moved to give money to help support the victims of the natural disaster. You see that Coca-Cola is working with the American Red Cross to raise money and you immediately donate online to help. Then a few days later, you begin receiving Coca-Cola coupons or email marketing. Depending on your loyalty to the Coke brand, you might appreciate the coupons, or you might feel like Coca-Cola’s partnership with the American Red Cross was only a ploy to get email or mailing address information.

Two, these donors might feel duped or violated. Some people may have never given to charity before, but trusted the Coca-Cola brand enough to donate. When these donors are encouraged to become customers afterwards, it might not sit well with these donors. And, worst of all, they may be discouraged from giving money to other brands who engage in the same types of philanthropy efforts.

By moving philanthropy towards marketing, we’re moving away from the real strength brands provide activism. Potential and current customers want to see brands work with causes that speak to the heart of that brand and corral others to get involved. These customers want to see brands drawing attention to the cause, not the brand itself. This motiveless philanthropy is what gets these customers excited about supporting the cause and ultimately the brand.

We agree with Stone that company marketing budgets can be used for good. But this should be done only if the company truly believes in the cause, not to specifically target potential customers.

Share with us: How does your company give back? Does your company take interest in causes because you believe in them or it makes for a good public relations move?

This post is the fifth in a series of five posts discussing ideas presented in Fast Company’s “The Social Media Roadmap” section (September 2012 issue).

Permalink to For Businesses, Social Media Means Nothing Without These 3 Things

For Businesses, Social Media Means Nothing Without These 3 Things

by Angie Sanders|on September 26, 2012 |in Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |6 Comments

When I tell people about aiellejai and the services we provide, they’re often surprised to see me sitting in the audience at some social media panel discussion sessions. I like to attend these sessions to understand why people come, what they’re hoping to learn and to hear the questions asked. This helps us keep gauge the pulse of our market and develop products and services to best serve them.

I find that people who attend these sessions fall into three camps:

Do I need to set up a Facebook page?
These are the individuals or business owners who are new to social networking and how to use it to their advantages.

Why am I on Facebook or Twitter?
These are the people who are looking for strategy for participating in the social media space.

How do I measure success and how do I ensure results?
These are the people who are already maintaining social media presences in some sort of strategic way and are looking for ways to evaluate the success of their time and effort.

Most of the people I meet fall between camps two and three. But as they ask their questions and get good answers that still leave them scratching their heads, I suspect that these answers would be clearer to them if they had the following three elements in place:

A clear business model: Some of us business owners—especially those with service-based businesses—aren’t totally clear about the services we provide or the value of these services to our clients or customers. For example, aiellejai usually takes the standard, hourly-rate approach to our service offerings. We recently had to take an objective look at our business offerings, what services were most popular and how to create other products that will best serve the needs of our existing and future customers.

A laser-focused description of their ideal client or customer:  When I ask potential clients who their ideal client or customer is, they often say things like, “small businesses,” or “nonprofits.” It’s especially tricky to identify specific demographic information about your ideal client or customer if you run a business-to-business company. However, when you’re marketing your services, most likely there’s one type of person or one point of contact who you’re trying to attract. Work on identifying who that person is, what they look like, what their challenges are and any other information you can think of that will help you see your clients as individual people instead of whole companies. Visualizing your potential clients/customers this way will help you market to them specifically.

An overarching communications/marketing strategy: Some business owners are having a hard time wrapping their brains around social networking because they aren’t clear on how to reach their audiences outside of the social media space. Once you establish clear communications and marketing strategies and goals you’ll then be able to understand how to use social media engagement—along with other tactics—to reach these goals.

Share with us: How does your company’s communications/marketing strategy influence your social media engagement? How do you define and measure success?

 

 

Permalink to 4 Reasons Why You Can Trust a Consultant to be Productive

4 Reasons Why You Can Trust a Consultant to be Productive

by Angie Sanders|on September 17, 2012 |in Just good business |tagged , , , , , , , , , , |Leave a comment

In February 2010, a nor’easter dumped 2-3 feet of snow on the mid-Atlantic and crippled productivity for at least a week. In January 2011, an ice storm left thousands stranded on highways and roads in the Washington, DC area. They all left work early to avoid the impeding storm, but were caught right in the midst of it.

With each storm, the case for teleworking became that much stronger. However, it seems that employers are still slow to adopt this method of work.

The Harvard Business Review released the findings of a study supporting the idea that remote employees are more engaged than those who are in the office.  “The team members who were not in the same location with their leaders were more engaged and committed — and rated the same leader higher — than team members sitting right nearby,” said Scott Edinger, founder of Edinger Consulting Group.

Some employers reject employee requests to work from home, possibly because they believe these employees will somehow be more productive if they’re under the employer’s watchful eye. And even though these same employers may trust the advice of a consultant over their own employees, they still seem to reject the idea of working with a consultant. Perhaps they think she’ll inflate the working hours on her invoice.  Or, again, employers prefer to keep an eye on those who work for and with them. However, here are four reasons why that same consultant has every intention of completing projects on-time and to the best of her ability.

You’re not her only client. Time management is critical for a consultant, especially if she works on an hourly rate. All of her clients want what they want when they want it. And all their projects are urgent. Therefore, goof-off time is nonexistent.

She has less time to get to know you. You and the consultant have agreed on a project plan that dictates that the job will be completed in a finite amount of time. Unlike an employee, this consultant doesn’t get a 90-day trial period to get to know you and how you work. Instead, she probably only has a few billable hours. A good consultant is efficient enough to get the most out of these few hours to get her job done right.

Her reputation is on the line. And even if she had the wacky idea to goof-off on your project, not put her best foot forward, and exceed your expectations? What would that do to her business? What good would it serve her to jeopardize future work by performing shoddy work for you?

She’s a consultant because she works independently and doesn’t need constant supervision. Consultants excel at what they do because they’re able to multitask and identify problems and solutions quickly.  She wouldn’t do her job any better if you were there to look over her shoulder. Most likely, her performance would be worse. And that would be bad for her and you both.

Share with us: How does your company regard working with outside consultants? Consultants: do you sometimes have to work to overcome the misconceptions potential clients have about how you work?

Permalink to 4 Reasons Why Your Boss Listens to a Consultant Over You

4 Reasons Why Your Boss Listens to a Consultant Over You

by Angie Sanders|on September 10, 2012 |in Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , |4 Comments

My Twitter feed presents me with a number of articles and blog posts that advise readers on how to sell upper management on social media. One post in particular, “9 Ways to Sell Social Media to the Boss” from Social Media Examiner, suggests that sometimes it’s necessary to bring in an outside consultant to make this case more effectively.

The post says “external consultants seem to have more convincing power and more credibility” than company employees that may be social media savvy as well. “…Enlist the services of an external source to help management understand that the conversations are happening with or without them and that they don’t have a choice but to join in.”

In my early days as a W-2 employee, I witnessed my bosses being swayed more by what a consultant had to say than what internal employees did. Now that I’m working on the other side, I understand the influence someone on the outside looking in may have. I don’t think this is a reflection on the capabilities of a company’s employees. Rather, it’s a perception issue. Here are a few things your boss may be thinking that would lead her to trust a consultant over you.

Your boss sees you every day. Because you sit in front of your boss every day, she may take you for granted. Or in her mind, you may not be in the right position on the organizational chart to persuade her. This is where the neutrality of a consultant is valuable. He has no position on the org chart and he’s not clouded by office politics or how things used to be or should be done.  He’s hired to solve a problem and he’s able to see this problem for what it is.

The consultant is seen as a subject matter expert. Social media is new to us all. Chances are, handling social media is a job function that was added to your plate after you’d been working for the company for a while. Although your boss has charged you with this new task, she still sees you in the capacity under which she hired you. The consultant, in this case, is seen as someone whose sole job is develop social media tactics for his clients to reach their goals.

The consultant is costing your employer more money per hour than you are. Salaries are line items built into the company’s overhead budget. However, companies pay for consultants out of department budgets—an expense that isn’t always foreseen during annual budget planning. The difference? For some reason, companies are much more aware of the amount of money that’s shelled out for the consultant than they are of your salary that’s paid out every two weeks like clockwork. And every meeting that consultant shows up to and every phone call that’s made to him is a reminder of that money. Bottom line: your employer is paying good money for him to deliver.

You’re not the only company the consultant is servicing. Consulting is how this person makes a living. He obviously has enough clients that believe in his abilities that he can rely on their fees and not a full-time job. Therefore, your boss sees him as valuable or sought-after. This also contributes to the belief that he’s a subject matter expert. If other people are paying for his services, then maybe we should, too.

Share with us: Have you ever felt the need to reach out to an outside consultant to help argue your point to your bosses? As a consultant, are there other reasons that company directors or other leaders take your advice over their own employees—even if both your ideas match?

Permalink to Do These 5 Things to Ease Your Fear of Social Media Criticism

Do These 5 Things to Ease Your Fear of Social Media Criticism

by Angie Sanders|on August 22, 2012 |in Content marketing, Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , , |4 Comments

Rashida, a former graduate classmate of mine, tweeted the following just a week ago: “It’s sad sitting in a meeting about social/digital tools and hearing the antiquated: ‘What if the customers say bad things about us?’”

I replied: “Then you say: ‘They’re probably already saying bad things. You just can’t hear it yet.’”

If we can count on our publics for anything, we can count on them saying unfavorable things about our companies or organizations at some point—whether it’s to their peers or to others in the social space.  However, if you haven’t done the necessary work to manage your company’s or organization’s reputation outside the social media realm, then you have just cause for concern.

Which brings me to Tim Worstall’s Aug. 5 Forbes article, “Maybe Business Should Not Invest in Marketing in Social Media like Facebook and Twitter?” I respect his argument, but the case he makes for “not investing in advertising” on social media had less to do with the money and return on investment involved but more to do with companies’ fears of setting themselves up for a barrage of criticism.  And what types of companies does he use as examples? Banks.

“You can imagine that a bank trying to market a new mortgage offer is going to be less than happy when Twitter explodes into a storm of ‘What about Libor?’, ‘What about the billions we gave you?’” he writes.

This banking example is weak because the industry’s track record of protecting customers’ money and interests is deplorable. Customers and the general public are scorned and distrustful. So an honest and accessible medium like social media platforms must scare the daylights out of banking.

So how can companies and organizations with less volatile relationships with their publics engage with the public using social media but ease the sting of possible negative comments?

Decide who’s responsible for engagement. Decide the person(s) responsible for managing your social presences and engaging your communities. Keep communication with them constant and clear. They should be plugged into the key messages coming from your organization. In turn, they should be able to report what’s being said about your brand on social media.

Listen to the conversation. Pay attention to what your audience is saying about your brand or about industry issues that affect you. Is the sentiment growing enough to warrant a response?

Decide how to handle one-off insults. There are haters out there who spew random insults. This is no fault of your own. But you should have a plan for how to handle these random outbursts.

Have a plan for issues in the social space that escalate. There will be issues that arise in the field concerning your industry or your brand. Just a few years ago, someone would call or email your office to let you know what’s happened. Now you’re more likely to hear about it on social media first. Have a plan for determining when to escalate a situation and spring into crisis communication mode.

Use social media in a way that coincides with other public relations/marketing efforts. Be sure that the messages you convey in social media coincide with your overall public relations/marketing messages and goals. Be purposeful about your social activity as you are about your activity in other media.

Permalink to 4 Reasons Why Service Workers Think We’re Rude

4 Reasons Why Service Workers Think We’re Rude

by Angie Sanders|on August 1, 2012 |in Just good business |tagged , |1 Comment

We can quickly recall when a service worker has been rude to us. And what do we say? “Nobody told you to take this job. If you’re that unhappy, then you need to quit.” But on the flip side, do we think about how WE treat the people who handle our food or other goods/services?

Whether it’s the flight attendant who took care of me during my trip or the waiter who took care of me during my meal, I try to be a courteous as possible to the people providing me service.

However, Meghan Cox Gurdon {@MeghanGurdon}, columnist for The Washington Examiner, wrote an article last week explaining that people who work behind counters are hard-pressed to get a “please” or “thank you” from the customers they serve.

Her son tells her that as he works the counter of a neighborhood poolside snack bar, he gets the feeling that customers think he’s “an idiot, or a robot.”

“The worst ones come up to the window and don’t even look at me,” he says. “They just throw down a dollar or something and say ‘Coke.’”

What’s happened in our society that causes us to demand exceptional service without treating the people providing our service with common courtesy?  Well, a few things:

The phrase “The customer is always right,” has been blown way out of proportion. I know that catering to the customer is paramount but customers can do some crazy and petty things expecting others to bend over backwards in the name of service. An older, ornery gentlemen—who was already upset and grumbling behind me—blew up at a grocery store employee because I needed an ID check for the wine I was purchasing at self-check-out.  “Can you get over here and check her ID so she can buy her wine and I can get out of here?” he barked. “This place sucks! You need more cashiers.” Was this outburst really necessary? The cashier ended up moving my items to another machine and ringing me up herself.

The customer thinks that because she’s paying, she has all the control. I’ll admit that I’m a bit picky about my food. If I notice a mistake with my order or if I send food back to the kitchen at the restaurant, I try to be nice as possible about it. After all, I trust someone else to prepare food that I’ll be eating. If I piss them off, then who knows what will happen to my meal in that kitchen.

The value of a service is mistakenly transferred to the person providing it. Lots of us place little value on the acts of preparing fast food or ringing up clothing or other belongings. The rate of pay we know they receive reinforces this view. However, we make the mistake of thinking that just because these jobs seem simple, the people who perform them aren’t worthy of respect. That’s just not true.

We think less of jobs that we feel don’t require a degree or special skills. Again, society and pay rates have reinforced the idea that retail and other service jobs don’t require as much respect as other professions simply because no one needs higher education to perform them.

Regardless of what we think about people working in retail or any other service profession, they deserve to be treated with the Golden Rule in mind: do unto others as you would have them do to you.

Have you ever witnessed someone being rude or nasty to a service worker? How did this make you feel? How did you react? Have you ever felt the wrath of a disgruntled customer?

Permalink to Local Chick-fil-A’s 4 Lessons in Customer Service

Local Chick-fil-A’s 4 Lessons in Customer Service

by Angie Sanders|on June 18, 2012 |in Just good business |tagged , , , |3 Comments

Macy’s and Bath & Body Works are the only stores in Landmark Mall that I can readily name. The Alexandria, VA, mall is on life support, and its respirator is Chick-fil-A.

Check the parking lot. Aside from the new car dealership that exists on the top level of the parking structure—you can see this foolishness from I-95—most patrons park near the food court entrance because it’s the most direct route to Chick-fil-A. The restaurant is located on the third floor of the mall, along with a handful of small eateries that I’ve yet to see anyone patronizing.

But when I took my daughter Nailah there for lunch last week, the reasons why we all seem to follow Chick-fil-A to the ends of the earth became that much more apparent to me. After one hour, I left with four points that illustrate why their customer service soars above the competition.

Ensure the best value
Nailah is only thirteen months old. She’s eating solid foods, but I can’t order her a number one combo. However, I was surprised to see that Chick-fil-A had a kids’ meal that Nailah could actually eat. Instead of the milk or juice beverage choices, I asked the team member for a cup of water. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I can give you the juice or the milk.”

“No, I’ll just order water for her.”

“But you will pay for the drink regardless,” the team member said. “Choose one and I’ll give you the water anyway.”

I like it when a major brand cares that I get the most for my money. I knew the cup of water was complimentary and that I’d be charged for a beverage regardless. But I appreciated the team member making sure I knew it and that I got what I paid for.

Anticipate needs
The team member that took my order also noticed that I was pushing a stroller. As I waited for our food, I was pleasantly surprised to see her carrying the tray around the counter to where I was standing. “I’m coming with you,’” she said with a smile. She walked my tray of food to the table of my choosing. This service was something that I needed, but never would’ve asked for. But the team member anticipated this need and fulfilled it.

Exceed expectations
While Nailah and I ate, another team member walked around the food court area and greeted all the Chick-fil-A customers, offering them fresh ground pepper. When he got to our table, he asked if I needed anything. “More ketchup?” I said. And more ketchup is what I got. This single action was something that I wouldn’t expect at a fast food restaurant.

Stay consistent
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s enjoyed such a pleasant dining experience at Chick-fil-A, which explains why their side of the Landmark Mall food court is always full. Such consistency with customer service solidifies that warm and fuzzy feeling with the customer and ensures that they’ll return.

I anticipated a good meal at Chick-fil-A, but I never imagined I’d get a great lesson in customer service that I can apply to how aiellejai serves its clients. Have you had a great customer service experience lately that has influenced how you do business?