Our rules may be simple, but it sure helps to have an idea on how to begin applying them on your own! Below are some models and exercises you can use, tips for working with them, and downloadable files to help you get started. You can apply our simple rules today! A glossary of customer service terms is also included.
New resource! An overview of the consumer decision process has just been added. Understanding this process can help you enhance your design of marketing tactics and communication to help meet your customers’ and prospective customers’ needs. Training your employees on the process can help them create more value for customers. Look for it and the accompanying video below!
For the full background on many of these models and exercises, see our book, Better Customer Service: Simple Rules You Can Apply Today. It is available in paperback or e-book from Amazon (click here), e-book from Barnes and Noble (link), and in paperback from Books a Million (link). It is also available as a Google Play e-book here.
The Fishbein Model
The Fishbein Model is a simple but powerful tool you can use in many different contexts. Similar to a weighted average model, the concept behind this model is that the overall rating of some thing can be calculated by ratings for the components that comprise it. Use the template below with data for your own organization (or you yourself) and change the weights, ratings, and entities as needed for the situation you are analyzing. (We also provide a pdf version of the template for ease in printing and using in meetings or in training sessions.) More specific tips about how to interpret and use the results in improving customer service are in Chapter 1 of our book.
Click the link below to access a zip file with the template.
Fishbein Template (Excel file).
Fishbein Template (pdf file). Easily printable version.
The Gaps Model
Chapter 7 in our book features a well-known model designed to focus efforts on improving customer service. The most useful aspect of this model is the description of four key areas where service failures are most often found. These “gaps” can be examined and strategies and tactics formulated to shrink them, thus improving overall customer service. In the template below the seven simple rules we explain in the book are arranged in a table opposite the four gaps. We think you will find this template useful as you examine your own situation; you can record ideas for improving service as you interpret data you collect from customer surveys, comments, and other sources. Use it to brainstorm ideas with your staff and to focus everybody on the most likely areas for immediate impact in customer service operations.
Click the link below to access the zip file.
Template: Apply the Seven Rules via the Gaps Model (PowerPoint file).
Template: Apply the Seven Rules via the Gaps Model (pdf file). Easily printable version.
Active Listening Exercise
Communication Exercise
Selective Attention Exercise
THE ANSOFF MATRIX
THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS
THE MARKETING CONCEPT
NEW PRODUCT SUCCESS AND FAILURE FACTORS
MARKET SEGMENTATION
THE CONSUMER DECISION PROCESS
Glossary
Relatable definitions and descriptions of customer service and associated terms.