Author Archives: Jennifer Killian

Managing Customer Experience – When Customers Give you Lemons…

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Effective Twitter BrandingTV actor Charlie Sheen, on a tirade against his (now former) employer, blitzed every major media outlet and amassed a Twitter following of 2 million people in about 2 days venting about how he had been wronged by the network executive.

Thanks to Sheen and Twitter, angry people everywhere now have the wherewithal to launch a full-scale brand attack on any service, product or boss that rubs them the wrong way. Businesses have an opportunity to make brand ambassadors out of their most difficult or dissatisfied customers, yet so few fail to do so – why?

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Prank Calls May be GOOD for Business

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How to Answer a PhoneLast week, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had a very candid phone conversation with right-wing billionaire David Koch – or so he thought. The journalist responsible for the prank call shared a recording of the chat and pundits didn’t hesitate to scrutinize Walker’s every word.

Lucky for Walker’s press team, the Governor seemed to share the same opinions in private as he had in public regarding the state budget, unions and the legislature. But they are politicians – masters of public relations. But for everyone who has ever hired someone to answer the phone – how do you train your sales and support staff to stay ‘on message’?

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School Districts Take to the Cloud over Snow Days

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Bus Under SnowLocals are anxiously waiting for what could be the first city snowfall in 35 years in San Francisco. Fortunately the weekend weather isn’t forecast to disrupt commuters or school, but I thought I would share this post just in case the weather turns early.

Most parents east of the Mississippi can attest to the chaos involved in contingency planning for unexpected school closures – with nobody at the school to confirm/deny a snow day at 5am, what else can people do besides plan for the best and expect the worst?

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Hosted IVR Systems Finally Allow Small Businesses to Make Money From Their Phones

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IVRAll growing business experiences the following scenario at some point:

  1. A new advertisement or marketing has started generating attention,
  2. Potential customers start calling to learn more, and
  3. The current business owner/staff start spending more time on the phone than on other critical business functions.

The deluge of phone calls can often overwhelm small- and mid-sized businesses as they try to qualify new leads, or answer general inquiries while still trying to maintain service quality elsewhere.  Some hire additional staff, while others rely on the phone company to provide additional lines to manage the workload – but these options carry significantly greater cost than automating inbound calls.

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