It’s just another day that I go to the barber. Nothing new, going on time so nobody take my place and reading some magazines which all of them talk about Kim Kardashian!

The cleaner at the barber bought Perfect Pushup and he was trying to make some push-ups while all the barbers are making fun of him! Here is what happened:

1 – All barbers did a push-up.

2 – All customers did a push-up (including me).

3 – All customers decided to order Perfect Pushup (including me).

4 – Everyone was HAPPY, period.

Happy customers > strength relationship > build trust   > story telling  > word of mouth > $$$

Here is what the barber can do to keep or bring more customers or to make new business:

1 – Make a show case for Perfect Pushup or any other tool that the barbers can experience in front of the customers. They will buy because I did.

2 – Make it competitive for the customer by offering free haircut, hair color, etc.

3 – Make a record table for the winners to build emotional connection with the brand (barber shop) and to make other customers ask about that table.

4 – Share some pictures on the barber Facebook page or Twitter. Other customers will like to have that experience.

The customers are coming to have their haircut done but if you have it done with a remarkable experience, they will come back again and again. BTW, I did not notice my new haircut until I get back home and my mother told me about it. I was enjoying the experience during the haircut.

If you are looking for instant customer experience for your hotel, restaurant, hospital, etc.

1 – Provide a computer with a camera at the reception desk connected to the Internet (home page http://YouTube.com) and the customer experience is about one click from reaching the world.

2 – Offer 5%  discount at the checkout if the customer follow you on Twitter or like you on Facebook.

3 – Live steaming of the brand’s social media mentions right at the lobby, fitness center, rooms TV and bathrooms : )

4 – Offer free Brownie if the customer check-in on Foursquare/Gowalla and write something about the brand.

5 – Offer free lunch if one of your customers shot you a Twitter #FollowFriday 3 times.

6 – Write the brand or customer care  Twitter handle on the room key/card with a note.

7 – Empower your customers by welcoming them with a tweet, text message or email. Make instant impression.

8 – Offer free night or 50% discount if the customer blog about his/her experience. Let’s hope it’s positive!

Very soon, we will never hear these boring messages:

All of our customer care representatives are busy. Your expected wait time is 42 minutes!

This call may be monitored and recorded for training and quality purposes!

You can expect to receive our response in 2-3 business days!

Today’s customer service is a real-time which means we hate to wait until company’s representative come back from lunch to answer our queries. Even most people don’t have real-time mindset yet but they will soon as the social media tools increases and the companies integrating these tools in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) are hugely increasing.

From Wikipedia, Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect. Telepresence has been described as the human experience of being fully present at a live real-world location remote from one’s own physical location.

Even it’s very expensive for these tools to be in the hands of everyone but very soon, all of us can have it and calling a customer service will not be boring anymore.

Imagine you call your bank for a question and you have ex: Cisco Telepresence technology, the customer service representative appears in your house answering your questions in real-time. He/she will not be a robot but a human being standing in front of you. Humanize the customer service finally after years of speaking to walls and wasting our time waiting for emails and phone calls!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcfNC_x0VvE

All companies are serving others by somehow so not having a real-time mindset or not testing each new media tool with your audience or may be waiting your competitors research about Telepresence while your representatives are reading the script will send your company to hell!

You have two things to prepare: as someone who has influencer role in the company, you need to make sure that the company is ready to change and your manager or CEO has the capability to understand that real-time customer care is not an option. Today  as Tony Hsieh said “Customer service shouldn’t just be a department–it should be the entire company.” It means that whatever title or role you are serving in the company, you can influence or change the customer experience.

The other thing to do is to make sure that your customer service first line is the most qualified line in the company. Supply them with tools, training and freedom because your company’s brand is what your customers being treated by the first line. Monitor your lines via “Continual Service Improvement” all the time.

Telepresence is here already and it’s matter of time to see this vision reality, who knows, we could select the sex, age and voice of the person who serve us

Last month we brought you 100 Social Media tips that you need to carry with you to 2011; this month it’s all about Personal Branding. 50 of those are quotes and tips from branding experts and the rest are based on our experience. So without further adieu, let the countdown begin:

100 – Accept people for who they are. Accept yourself, without judgment, as you are.

99 – Set your vision as “BE THE BEST!”

98 – Be consistently delivered.

97 – Upgrade yourself to a new version of YOU but don’t upgrade to another person.

96 – Treat others the way you want to be treated.

95 – Pay no attention to those who say it can’t be done.

94 – Surround yourself by self-disciplined people who’ll encourage not destroy you.

93 – People respect individuals who are original.

92 – Be a role model for everyone who follows you.

91 – Don’t compare yourself with others, let’s others do that.

90 – The first step in personal branding is self-discovery.

89 – If you want to earn more, you must increase your worth, your value to others.

88 – Never discount the value of the smallest connection.

87 – Listen to yourself. Trust your inner voice. Go with the flow of your own personality.

86 – REMEMBER: Having a social media presence doesn’t necessarily mean your brand will flourish overnight.

85 – Invest in human relationships and not in $$$ transactions.

84 – Don’t hide what makes you different. You know, It takes courage to be different.

83 – Do not denigrate your competitors.

82 – An excellent way to build your personal brand is to become known as a problem solver.

81 – Carve your niche, and then own it.

80 – Careful what you post on your social networks, nothing goes unseen.

79 – Whatever you are doing online, be HUMAN. Technology tools are just a tools.

78 – BE “OF SERVICE.” ALWAYS.

77 – Stories are the basic fundamentals of every brand. Have you created your story? Have you developed your emotional connection? ~ @KylePLacy

76 – You must be the best for you before you can be your best for others. ~ @WalterAkana

75 – Make sure you take time out to replenish yourself. ~ @DarrenHardy

74 – The closer you can get to the true you, the happier and richer you will be. ~ @nancerosen

73 – Just be yourself. To pretend to be something (or someone) you’re not increases the chances that you will not be happy and/or successful in your career. ~ @TheJobQuest

72 – Take control of your future and position yourself and your personal brand for growth and the opportunities you want before others do it for you! ~ @CareerRocketeer

71 – Don’t reinvent without help and support. Build connections, solicit support, and find mentors. ~ @myreinventure

70 – Be the you that you are most proud of — that’s the authentic you. ~ @MalcolmLevene

69 – Be yourself – being anyone else will fit you like a bad suit. ~ @pdejager

68 – You do not excel through wishing, you must discover, craft and continually fuel your personal brand’ ~ @pathfindernig

67 – To stand out, not to fit in. To make connections, not to be an invisible cog. To do otherwise is a loss. ~ Seth Godin

66 – ‎Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead. ~ @tom_peters

65 – It’s critical to keep your community in mind and develop your online presence in a way that demonstrates your relevance and brand value to the people you serve. ~ @WalterAkana

64 – The content you create influences your perceived value. ~ @ChadALevitt

63 – Consistency is key, for the more consistent all of your own marketing efforts are both online and offline, the more powerful and memorable your personal brand impression will be on all current and prospective stakeholders in your career. ~ @HajjFlemings

62 – Act like a company. Companies have to act like people in order to communicate to customers online. As personal brands, we need to think like companies and have a clear position and brand strategy. ~ @DanSchawbel

61 – There is no greater gift your personal brand can receive than a recommendation, referral, or testimonial. ~ @HeatherHuhman

60 – The best legacy is one that can be lived before it is left behind. ~ @mikemyatt

59 – Each one of us needs to assume personal responsibility by becoming the CEO of our own roles and leaders within current positions. ~ @_Robin_Sharma

58 – Your personal brand should be authentic—it should reflect your true character. It should be built on your dreams, purpose, values, uniqueness, genius, passion, specialization, characteristics, and favorite activities. ~ Hubert Rampersad

57 – The energy you spend trying to make sure your adversary does not get ahead is energy you could be spending to strengthen your own skills, enhance your learning and advancing your own career by providing value. Holding another person back does not provide any value. ~ @MargaretMeloni

56 – Remember to do something for your brand that is offline. It’s not all about building an online brand. ~ @PaulCopcutt

55 – Be consistent. Communicate your message clearly and frequently. When it is crystal clear, those around you will be able to communicate it on your behalf. ~ @WilliamArruda

54 – Next time you have a success experience, instruct your subconscious to park it by the front door for easy access later. ~ @SandersSays

53 – A relationship – and a brand – isn’t created overnight. Work to cultivate these relationships for the better part of your life, and you’ll be amazed at what kind of doors open. ~ @DanSchawbel

52 – Every day ask yourself: How can I communicate my unique value message today?  ~ @MegGuiseppi

51 – It’s never too early to start building your brand, and it’s never too late. You need to come up with a brand strategy and development plan if you want to be successful. ~ @DanSchawbel

I know you’re expecting 50 more, but @JohnAntonios stole them from me… don’t worry, I got you the link, but please don’t tell him I gave it to you! It’s our little secret

You can follow the personal branding experts on Twitter just with one click from my most followed list.

Before few days, I tweeted the following:

The tweet got a massive number of retweets. That’s made me think to blog clarifying my vision with the new department and hope that one tweet could be the change for some companies’ customer experience. Let’s start with the basic (I love that).

A service is a means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks.

A simple example of a customer outcome that could be facilitated by a New Media department might be: “sales people spending more time interacting with customers” facilitated by “a listening station via online social networks available 24 hours.”

The outcomes that customers want to achieve are the reason why they purchase or use your service. The outcomes of your service or product create the “promise” that makes your customers trust your brand and spread the Word Of Mouth faster than any marketing campaign. Remember, customers expectations determine your outcomes

Customer service according to Wikipedia is “a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.“

Customer satisfaction is ultimate responsibility of each employee in the company and some companies like Zappos and HCL put their employees first to achieve that goal.

HCL CEO Vineet Nayar, author of “Employees First, Customers Second” said: “If you do not have motivated employees, no amount of investment in other resources can overcome this gap.”

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, author of “Delivering Happiness” said:

“At Zappos, our belief is that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff – like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers – will happen naturally on its own.”

Tom Peters who need no title to introduce him explained in the following video how important to treat your employees like customers.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpVpRLrq8Jg

All companies want to increase the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), the amount of revenue a customer will bring to your company over the course of their lifetime with your brand but how can you achieve that? Well, that’s where the “Continual Service Improvement” department comes in place. “Continual Service Improvement” department will work to keep your customers satisfied while keeping them interested in the brand.

1 – Study customer expectations from the brand’s promise. For example, they contact you not because they want to know “what’s up” but because they saw another friend who lives a great customer service experience. They want the same, they want to feel important, they don’t want to switch the service but rather to have a new experience and you can’t achieve that just by offering the same level of treatments and solutions. A lifetime customer is a lifetime excellence service.

2 – Don’t just be automatic problem solver; most companies have FAQ that easy to access by anyone. Customers want to feel the humanity of the brand. That’s why they like you on Facebook, share testimonial video on youtube, etc. You didn’t request that but your promise of delivering WoW service made satisfied and let them do that. You can double that promise by continuously listen, engage and appreciate your customers.

3 – The new way to run excellent customer service provider is to make the first line the most experience, educated and patient. I hate when I talk to a customer service who says: “We are sorry; we are unable to help you.” Who want to stay with that brand? The first line should be the most creative and helpful line. Did you hear about online retail shoes help you buy Pizza?

4 – Expand your medium listening station to include most if not all new media tools. Use your customer’s favorite communication tool. Give them what they need without wasting their time. Customer time is more valuable than anything else. Don’t use any medium tool that you think you are not capable of satisfying your customers. Also, follow back to check the status, I never get a follow-up back call or email  for a problem I issued, how sad?

Today, customers are adapting a real-time mindset where me or you want quick answers, interesting promotion and feeling how important we are to the brand and continuously along CLV. Nothing can keep us loyal to the brand without Continual Service Improvement, that needs to be a unit in the organization structure.

It was just 140 characters but it’s a discussion now. Do you have similar department? How do you handle customers expectations while providing WoW service? How do you handle a customer who wants to switch to a competitive brand? What are you preparing for real-time mindset customers?