Member Profile Brings New Opportunities to Burlington Chamber of Commerce

This article is based on an interview with Executive Director, Scott McCammon of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce by Editor George Appleton, Appleton Communications and accurately relates her comments and sentiments. Printed in Business Bits'N'Pieces Magazine October 1995

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce had a problem earlier this year. It realized some of its programs were not meeting the needs of its more than nine hundred members.

It hired The Cassels Corporation to find out exactly out what the members expected in return for their annual fees. The Chamber received its report several months ago.

Executive Director Scott McCammon says, "The Cassels Opinionnaire, www.opinionnaire.ca, has allowed the Chamber to reflect on everything we're doing for our membership. The survey allows the Chamber to really look at every single program and decide should it be done tomorrow? Just because we did it yesterday does that really mean its something that is valid for the future."

McCammon says the Chamber has sought so much information before. He says, "For any organization to be truly successful, any member based organization, it has to take time to understand the needs of its membership just as any business needs of its clientele."

The survey is being used to create a formal marketing plan for the Chamber. It is the first time the Chamber will have had such a plan on paper.

Bruce McDougall is the chairman of the Chamber's Program and Marketing Committee. He says the Chamber has had to face a new business reality. "Business in general has changed. Customers and clients are looking for more value added. The membership is looking for more ways on how to conduct business and network within the Chamber itself."

The data raised by the membership survey has been used to create the Burlington Chamber's first set of formal goals and objectives. They focus on the Chamber playing a larger role in the community. McDougall says they want to increase the Chamber's revenues. "The goal is to increase membership 10% this year."

McCammon says he is very happy with the Cassels membership opinionnaire survey. "It has given us an opportunity to look long and hard on every aspect of our operation and make sure that it is clearly focused on what the members want. We've made some changes and that's going to allow the Chamber to be more member focused, more customer focused and more efficient."

McCammon says the Cassels Corporation was not the only company they considered hiring. However, he says, he like the way they did business. "I was really impressed with literature I saw coming across my desk originally and I was impressed with the follow-up calls just to see if I received the literature and what I thought about it. They answered my questions concisely and intelligently. I also checked on some of the companies they had done business with and everyone was thoroughly impressed. I was also encouraged by the work they had done with non-profit associations."

McCammon has only praise for the man who runs The Cassels Corporation, Bob Cassels. "Bob is not only a true professional that lives up to his word. For us, he went beyond all expectations. Bob has not only delivered the type of results we wanted from the survey, he has helped us with the analysis of results and to our surprise and delight Bob has helped us with the implementation phrase." www.opinionnaire.ca

A Well-Designed Customer Survey Can Improve Your Business

'Mr. Bob' Cassels has a unique and valuable service to offer small businesses: surveying.

About 5 years ago, Mr. Bob, which had previously owned a research company, decided to provide a more hands-on service.

His firm will plan and conduct survey/response programs at the customer, employee, and management levels.Each is a very powerful tool, with powerful results. www.opinionnaire.ca

A business can benefit from one, or a combination of the three.

"Recently, we did a customer survey by mail for a specialty printing company with over 1,500 customers," Bob explained.

"There had been a change of management and they were not sure how customers reacted. There was an incredible response to the first mailing, 10%. We obtained a great deal of valuable information which, in turn, led to improvements in both service and products."

"More importantly, the very fact of an organized survey being run by an impartial third party generated a lot of renewed interest in the company from customers who had slacked off previously. The Client estimated that the business generated as a direct result of the survey 'event' more than paid for the cost of the program!"

In the example cited, the client learned that it was actually serving a number of widely differing markets with differing needs. As a result, it decided to segment its marketing and communications so that each market got exactly what it needed, and no more. This in turn led to even greater overall sales.

Bob emphasizes that his techniques and methods are unique to his firm, and they are 'proven to perform'. He has purposely set his business to fill the market niche at the affordable spectrum because he is aware that small and medium-sized enterprises could not possibly afford the fees charged by large research firms catering to the mega companies.

Keep that Competitive Edge

Thoughts of Mr. Bob

The marketplace is changing - and customer service must keep in step. We are now in a market-driven economy, where the customer dictates what is needed. Companies must respond or get left behind.

The world is getting smaller as the global economy grows.

l The new technologies (fax, 1- 800 lines, Internet) have, to a large degree, eliminated the borders to competition. This is the beginning of a trend that will affect our ability to compete.

l Products are manufactured in countries, which offer skilled labor at low wages. There are no real differences in products. A golf ball is a golf ball, a valve is a valve, and a TV is a TV. Companies realize that to compete, they must keep their costs down and quality high.

The Bottom Line: products are interchangeable, everything is the same and the customer chooses among them. Customer service is the key to attracting and keeping your customers.

Focus on increasing Customer Share rather than Market Share by improving customer relationship - one customer at a time. Your ability to communicate the uniqueness of your product or service to your customer is vital to your company's success.

The first step toward open communications is to eliminate emotions. You need to diffuse a customer's fear and anxiety before meaningful communications can begin. So listen to your customer and read the emotions between the lines. The most successful method is to let the customer talk, freely. Create an atmosphere where the customer is comfortable and believes he or she is in control. Demonstrate your responsiveness by acknowledging your customer's concerns, as well as promising to meet his/her needs. Now the foundation has been laid. Communicating should be a simple task.

Based on the data gathered from our confidential customer perception profiles, it appears that only a few Customer Service Representatives respond to the real needs of their customers. Representatives tend to stop listening and make assumptions of what the customers want. They then steer them to solutions, which only partially address the customers' concerns.

Communication is like good manners. Be polite and invite your customers to discuss their needs. Customers want respect. They believe that they have paid for it. They want to tell you what their special situation is. Please don't assume that you know what the customer wants - avoid jumping to conclusions.

Customers rarely state their real needs and fears. This requires probing and repeating their responses back to them to obtain confirmation. What you are really doing is building a trusting relationship with each individual - one customer at a time.

For example, if your customers are seniors, how does your service address their needs? In many cases you are providing them the opportunity to communicate (talk) with another person about a particular topic. They may be just lonely. What has this got to do with your product? Everything and nothing! But if seniors are your market, then you need to understand their needs.

If you are dealing in technical products, and your customers are first-time buyers, the service you provide becomes even more vital. Take your typical VCR, and realize that only the engineers know how to operate it. What is the customer's biggest fear and need, typically, not to be embarrassed, and to walk away with simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to run the VCR?

In both cases the need is not the obvious product or service. It is the more subtle understanding of where the customer is coming from. Let go the attitude of "let me show you how much I know " and change it to "how can I make this experience be a pleasant and productive one for both of us."

Competition is everywhere, so you need a way to stand out from the crowd. Your imagination, knowledge, ability to identify customer needs, and offer solutions will give you the competitive edge.

www.opinionnaire.ca

Customers Views Helps Firm Find New Revenue!

Taylor Enterprises sells business management services to associations. When its President, Joan Milne wanted to evaluate how those services were being received, she did not go to her own staff. She hired Bob Cassels of The Cassels Corporation.

Milne says, "You get better feedback if somebody feels they can be totally honest with the answers. Perhaps, to us, they might hold back a bit." www.opinionnaire.ca

Milne describes Taylor Enterprises' services as everything needed to make a non-profit organization run smoothly.

She says the results of Cassels' www.opinionnaire.ca showed the company was already doing a good job. Milne says the survey provided an opportunity to sit down with board members from the 20 associations Taylor has on contact.

Milne says, "We brought all of our clients together. They all sat around a table and talked about what they do, what their association is all about. Then we had a think-tank on how you attract new members. It was very interesting to see the directors actually helping each other. They actually came up with ideas that Taylor could use to help them more, which would ultimately give more fees as well."

Milne says the exercise yielded very positive results. "I think what came out of it, more than anything, is that the associations want us to be more proactive and that's the one single thing I found out about the survey. A lot of times we are reactive because of the business we are in. We are dealing with volunteers. We are having to pick up a lot of things that have been allowed to fall through the cracks by the volunteers. We put everything together so it seems like everything ran very smoothly"

She says she had some concerns going into the think-tank but adds they didn't last long. "I don't need to be afraid of bringing our clients together in one room. It is a positive thing. It is good for the clients to speak to each other and get a better feeling that Taylor is the focal point of success for their organization."

When asked if the same results could be reached without the Cassels survey, Milne replies, "I have to honestly say I don't think so. If I hadn't had the survey, I would never have brought the associations' board members together under one roof to have the think-tank session. All the reports I received from them were that it was dynamite."

She says Bob Cassels brought a great deal of valuable experience to this project. "Bob has worked as a volunteer in a lot of associations. I think that Bob's background within the volunteer sector made him able within the volunteer sector made him able to come up with the sensitivity needed and the right questions to ask."

Milne says she is very happy with the results of the Cassels opinionnaire.ca. "It was very beneficial. It was certainly a worthwhile exercise to go through and it is something I will probably do again in a few years."

The Cassels Corporation helps organizations grow and prosper by meeting their needs in an affordable and efficient manner.

Cassels Profile Can Help Improve Your Bottom Line!

The Cassels Profile^® works www.opinionnaire.ca. Those who have used the services of Bob Cassels and The Cassels Corporation are happy to talk about how the Cassels Profile^® increased their business and their revenues.

“We have expanded our business,” says Cathy Crosbie of Best Message Centre. “We have installed the voice mail equipment and we are already making money on it.”

Scott McCammon is Executive Director of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. He Says, “It has given us an opportunity to look long and hard on every aspect of our operation and make sure that it is clearly focused on what the members want.”

Joan Milne, President of Harold Taylor Enterprises hired Bob to find out how the company’s clients felt about the services her company provides. “We brought all of our clients together, (as suggested in the report)… They actually came up with ideas that could use to help them more, which would ultimately give us more fees as well.”

The Cassels Profile^® will provide you with a marketing tool that will help you answer key questions about where you want your business to go.

Cassels says, “Most businesses believe that their customers know all the products and services they offer. In fact the majority only know about their favorite product or service, thus depriving you of easy additional sales.” He says that changes when the Cassels team goes to work for you!

Bob reports that “I produce a management report to each client. The Cassels Profile^® is based on the needs of the needs of customers surveyed.” www.opinionnaire.ca

“The results show where their time and advertising money can be best spent. We create a large public awareness of the products and services for our clients. We are in the business of working with organizations to help gain more business and give them a competitive edge.”

When you hire The Cassels Corporation, you are telling your existing and potential customers that you value their opinion. In return, they will show you how to improve your business and reward you with increased sales.

The Cassels Corporation works with business, organizations and individuals to position their products and services to increase sales by meeting market and customer needs.

Cassels Opinionnare's:

Find out how your customers rate your products or service

List all your offerings in a unique format so potential and existing customers can easily select what they need

Help to identify new customers, revive old ones and open new markets

Expose them to your full offerings and increase sales in areas they were not aware of

Target advertising and marketing programs to meet the demands of each market niche

Improve performance of advertising dollar by focusing your efforts