Gary McNeil
Vice President of Marketing
The Nordstrom Way to
Parature Customer Service
Robert Spector
International Best Selling
Excellence
Author and Trainer

THE COLLAPSE OF DEMAND
…customers are
Although there buying less –
may be signs of a demand is
recovery… recovering slowly

THE CUSTOMER HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT
• In light of sales teams selling
less - organizations are focused
on:
 Customer retention
 Customer upsell and cross
sell opportunities
 Lifetime value of a customer
 Overall revenue from the
customer base

THE SHIFTING FOCUS: FROM HUNTERS TO FARMERS
Falling Disproportionally on the Customer
Support Function
The focus has shifted to further
monetizing the customer base…
…placing new found responsibilities on the
support function

THE CHANGING PREFERENCES OF YOUR CUSTOMER
If You Build it They Will Come
The challenge isn’t driving customers to
leverage self-service…
… it’s keeping them there

THE IMPLICATIONS OF GETTING IT WRONG
Costing You Money Now and Later

SERVICE HAS BECOME A MAJOR DIFFERENTIATOR
• Improving the customer experience
 Multi-channel support
• Providing support in the manner by which the
customer wants it
• Reducing customer effort
 Delivering on the promise of first contact
resolution
• The result is reduced frustration
• Increasing customer loyalty
 By reducing customer effort you increase
customer loyalty
• Increased loyalty is a game changer

PARATURE
Parature is a global leader in on-
demand software (SaaS) for customer
service and support
Parature enables organizations to:
• Reduce the cost of supporting their
customers
• Have a 360 view of customer issues
• Retain their customers
• Improve customer loyalty
• Generate more revenue from their
base
• Deliver ―great‖ customer service

PARATURE: AN INTEGRATED SUPPORT SUITE
Customer Touch Points Service Desk
Delivering Multi-Channel Support For your CSR’s to Manage All Customer Interactions
Metrics & Deploy Feedback
Reports Surveys
Chat
Ticket
Forums ?
Downloads
Your Customer Your CSR
Mobile
E-Mail
Knowledge- 360º
Customer Intelligent
base and FAQ’s Workflow
History
Phone
Service Desk

800 CUSTOMERS ACROSS INDUSTRIES & MARKET SEGMENTS
Technology Business Services Gaming and Digital Media
Education Associations Healthcare

The Nordstrom
Way to Customer
Service Excellence

ASK YOURSELF 3 QUESTIONS:
1. Am I offering a better product or service than
my competitors?
2. Am I selling a less expensive product or
service than my competitors?
3. Am I offering customer service that is superior
to that of my competitors?

Customer service is
not a strategy.

Customer service is
a way of life.

―CONSUMERS ARE
STATISTICS.
CUSTOMERS ARE
PEOPLE.‖
-Stanley Marcus

The
Customer Service
Department

Each and Every one
of you
is in the
Customer Service
Department.

The Key:
Think like
the customer

“THE NORDSTROM OF…”
• Tanning Salons
• Hot tubs
• Collision repair
• Down payment assistance
• Tree farms
• Plumbers
• Dentists
• Real estate
• Garbage

―Eyes may be the
windows to the soul, but
shoes are the gateway to
the psyche.‖
-Linda O’Keefe, Shoes

PETE, BLAKE AND ERIK NORDSTROM

NINE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

PART I
Romancing Your Customer
1. Create an inviting place- in person, online and
on the phone.
2. Provide your customers with choices- of
products, services, and service channels.
3. Sell the relationship: Service your customers
through the products and services you offer.

PART II
Energizing Your Employees
4. Hire nice, motivated people.
5. Empower employees to take ownership.
6. Sustain the people on the frontlines
through a culture of support and
mentoring.

PART III
Building Your Customer Service Culture
7. Celebrate company heroes through
recognition and praise.
8. Advocate teamwork through internal
customer service.
9. Commit 100% to customer service.

1. Provide your customers with choices- of products, services, and service
channels.
2. Create an inviting place- in person, online and on the phone.
3. Sell the relationship: Service your customers through the products and services
you offer.
4. Hire nice, motivated people.
5. Empower employees to take ownership.
6. Sustain the people on the frontlines through a culture of support and
mentorship.
7. Celebrate company heroes through recognition and praise.
8. Advocate teamwork through internal customer service.
9. Commit 100% to customer service.

Part One-
Romancing Your
Customer

#1
Provide your customers
with choices-
of products, services, and
service channels.

#2
Create an
inviting place
in person, online,
and on the phone.

―The Nordstrom piano
doesn’t take up much
room. It’s a small idea,
but it’s a genius idea.‖
-Leonard Lauder, Retired Chairman, Estee
Lauder Cos.

“A PLACE TO REST”
I followed my wife while she shopped.
From store to store she went.
I, the great man, was spent.
The flesh pulled on my bones like two bags of cement.
At last I found a chair.
Heaven only could have been more fair.
Of all the stores, Nordstrom was best.
They gave a husband a place to rest.

Have you created an
inviting place for your
customers?

Have you created an
inviting,
easy-to-use
Web site
for your customers?

THE TELEPHONE

#3
Sell The Relationship
Service your customers
through the products
and services you offer.

MEASURE BOTH FEET

Nurture your relationship
(partnership) with your
vendors and suppliers.

Part II-
Energizing Your
Employees

#4
Hire
nice, motivated
people.

Hire the smile.
Train the skill.

#5
Empower employees
to take ownership.

―I like the freedom.
It’s like I have my
own little business-
my own men’s
store.‖
-Salesman,
Men’s Furnishings

―The minute you come up with a rule
you give an employee a reason to say
no to a customer. That’s the reason
we hate rules.‖
-James F. Nordstrom,
former co-chairman

It all starts with the
culture.

―The same principles that were here
before I got here will be in place after I
retire….
You can’t teach culture. You have to
live it, experience it and show it.‖
-Brent Harris,
Vice President and
Regional Manager

The Importance of
Values

―People always ask me, how do you
teach core values?
The answer is, you don’t. The goal is
not to convince people to share your
core values. It’s to hire people who
already share your core values.‖
-James Collins, Author,
“Built to Last”

#6
Sustain the people
on the frontlines through a
culture of
support and mentoring.

MENTORING EMPLOYEES
• Show videotaped interviews with top
salespeople who offer tips and advice.
• Use frequent staff meetings as workshops for
salespeople to compare, examine, and
discuss sales techniques.
• Act out skits in which employees play the
roles of salesperson and customer.
• Encourage top salespeople to talk to fellow
employees about goal-setting, marketing,
selling, using the phone, and customer
service.

CUSTOMERS
SALES & SUPPORT PEOPLE
DEPARTMENT MANAGERS
STORE MANAGERS, BUYERS, ETC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Part III-
Romancing Your
Customer

#7
Celebrate company
heroes through
recognition and
praise.

―Whatever their level of the
Inverted Pyramid, employees want
to feel needed and valued.
Recognition reinforces the areas
that we want to focus on all the
time, like service.‖
-A Nordstrom Store Manager

Recognition
Meetings

ELEMENTS OF GOOD RECOGNITION MEETINGS
Demonstrate sincere, authentic
appreciation for the people you are
honoring.
Emphasize team spirit.
Teach people something new.
Perpetuate the culture—What makes
your company unique?

#8
Advocate teamwork
through internal
customer service.

Teamwork creates a
sense of ownership.

What’s the key to internal
customer service and
teamwork?

Communication

―My customer service is to my
managers and my salespeople
because they are talking to the
customers. I need their feedback to
help shape my buy.‖
-Women’s Sportswear Buyer

#9
Commit 100%
to
customer service.

1. Provide your customers with choices- of products, services, and service
channels.
2. Create an inviting place- in person, online and on the phone.
3. Sell the relationship: Service your customers through the products and services
you offer.
4. Hire nice, motivated people.
5. Empower employees to take ownership.
6. Sustain the people on the frontlines through a culture of support and
mentorship.
7. Celebrate company heroes through recognition and praise.
8. Advocate teamwork through internal customer service.
9. Commit 100% to customer service.

Be nice.

Robert Spector
www.robertspector.com
ThinkLikeTheCustomer.com

QUESTIONS?
Follow Parature on:
blog.parature.com
www.facebook.com/parature
www.twitter.com/parature
www.youtube.com/paratureinc
www.slidesharenet.net/parature
www.parature.com/rss