Cover story, continued ... Now that there’s no doubting just how valuable an exceptional customer experience is for your company, you need to figure out how to go about delivering one. 3 WAYS TO DELIVER A STELLAR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 1. Resolve Issues in a Timely Manner We live in an on-demand world. Streaming services are replacing traditional TV. Ride-sharing has taken a huge bite out of the taxi industry. The list goes on. With customers prioritizing convenience and instantaneous feedback, being prompt with resolutions will benefit you tremendously. No company knocks it out of the park on 100 percent of their transactions. Mistakes happen, but how you handle those mistakes will go a long way toward defining how customers feel about you. Don’t make your customers jump through a million hoops to have an issue settled. Empower your problem-solvers to deal with customers without approval from supervisors. Another way to cut down on resolution time is to give customers multiple avenues for support. If a confused customer can get an answer via text message, they won’t have to spend a second on hold.
2. Personalize the Experience Every customer wants to feel special. The surest way to ensure unhappy customers is to treat them like nameless dollar signs. You should take every step you can to personalize your customer experience. Even small details like addressing people by name canmake a big difference. Proactive contact is another great tool in this regard. If you reach out to customers, they’ll feel recognized. Even better, provide recommendations based on previous purchases and experiences. Not only will this make customers feel like you know them, but it will encourage them to purchase more. You can achieve the same goal by creating a loyalty program that rewards consistent customers with perks. Amazon Prime is a great example of how this can work. Customers who sign up for Prime get free shipping, streaming services, and digital photo storage. They also spendmore money than non-Prime customers. It’s a win-win situation. 3. Take Feedback Seriously Getting feedback from customers is a foolproof way to improve their experience with your company. That is, if you actually receive their
feedback with an openmind and act on it. Too many companies offer surveys without any intention of using them. Unless feedback actually changes the way you do business, it’s just lip service. As Bill Gates once said,“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Imagine a customer points out an area where you could do better. The next time that customer comes around, they’re going to be mindful of their request. If you deliver, they’ll walk away impressed. If you don’t, they’ll probably just walk away. A GREAT EXPERIENCE CREATES FANS FOR LIFE Keeping your eye on customer experience will reap rewards for your business. After all, a business that makes customers happy is a business built to last. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, a man who knows a thing or two about customer experience, puts it best:“If you do build a great customer experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.”
How Young Minds Absorb a 2nd Language And the Benefits of Learning Early
your little one to different sounds in their first year, the more they’ll pick up those sounds as their brain creates new neural circuits. If you speak a second language and have a child at home, now is a great time to share it with them. Your child is especially ready to pick up new sounds and words, with the added benefit of learning their heritage. If you’re ready to teach your child a second language, here are a few ways to incorporate new words. 1. Take time to talk with your child in a second language during playtime. Research shows babies need personal interaction to learn, so switching on the TV in another language won’t suffice. 2. Increase vocabulary by giving options in a second language. Try questions like “Do you want juice or milk?”or “Do you want to play on the swings or by the tree?” 3. Find a language exchange group or bilingual daycare to increase your child’s exposure to a second language. If you don’t know a second language but want to give your child a head start, you can begin by learning new words together. How fun would it be if you become bilingual as a family?
If you speak a second language, you have the unique ability to set your child up for a lifetime of advantages. Not only does a second language benefit your child in adulthood, but learning another language also strengthens multiple parts of their developing brain, according to Michigan State University. You may not want to overload your kids with two lexicons, but this is really not the case. Children quickly adapt to dual languages. The brain is a muscle, and like any other muscle in our body, the more it’s exercised, the stronger it becomes. With all the research floating around about how beneficial it is to teach your child a second language, you might wonder why youngsters pick up languages so easily. According to NBC News, the answer lies in their flexible minds. Children’s brains develop in response to external stimulants. Did you know that babies are born with the ability to distinguish the sounds of all languages? As they get older, even before their first birthday, they lose that ability. Kids are able to take in sounds, intonation, and language structure more easily than adults who have to painstakingly memorize verb structures and grammar. Children under 8 are especially primed to pick up a new language thanks to flexible ear and speech muscles. As they take in new words, it increases their ability to focus on one thing or change their responses, a skill called cognitive flexibility. The more you can expose
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