The Fastest Way to Lose a Member

Bad customer service!

Let there be no mistake about the business we're in, and that's the relationship business.

Have you heard the phrase, "take care of your members and they'll take care of you?"

It's so true!

As human beings, we all want to belong to something.  Make your chamber that home for the business community and your business members.

And customer service is where it starts.  Do you have a live voice answer the phone?  In my experience this is critical.  We used to have a rule at my old employer that you would answer the phone on the first ring.

That's the beginning of good customer service.

When calling a main line of a chamber, I don't want to go directly into voice mail without speaking to a person first, or worse, be sent around the organization through what I call the "type the last three digits of the last name" syndrome.

Remember, as stated earlier, we're in the relationship business and that means having real conversations, with real people, in real time.

And what a great opportunity for your staff to say "thank you for being a member."  It just might improve your retention rate along the way.

Just a thought!

3 Ways to Say Thank You to Your Staff

Yes, there are many articles written on the subject and from my standpoint one size does not fit all.

Your staff are unique and will respond differently to praise.

The first order of business is to find out what motivates each of your staff members.  You might just be surprised at the answers you get.

The key to finding out what each team member values, ask them!

I will mention three ways I say thank you since that's the title of this blog.

Empowerment - one of the easiest ways to say thank you is to let them know that you trust them.  Don't micro manage your staff.  Tell them what you want, give them a timeline, and let them deliver.

Recognition - everyone likes to be recognized.  When a staff member does something great, share it with other staff and with your volunteers. Give them the credit.  Make sure it's something worth recognizing.

Thank you - and it's also just saying the words thank you!  It's as simple as that.

What three things are you doing to thank your staff?

For a great blog post titled Top 10 Easy, No or Low Cost Ways to Tell Employees “Thank You” go HERE.