Top Skills Your Training Isn’t Teaching Your Employees
You may have heard our team at McCauley Marketing Services say that we’re a full-service marketing agency. We take this one step further than most other marketing companies do, though.
Beyond helping you advertise your services and all the qualities that make you the bees’ knees compared to your competitors, we’re dedicated to helping your business run more profitably. That includes finding the holes in your current processes and retraining your staff with the skills that help your business retain clients or patients, build a positive reputation, and take advantage of opportunities.
While you probably provided on-the-job staff training for the essentials and your office protocols, you may not realize how much more effective your staff could be if they were trained on a few top skills.
Internal Marketing
Internal marketing is the practice of marketing your services and programs to your existing customers or patients. For example, you may have a patient at your dermatology clinic who’s coming for skin cancer screenings, but you could market your skin rejuvenation treatments to them too. This is one reason it’s so important to ensure that all your staff members understand each service or treatment you offer.
Some of the best “upsell” wins come from simple conversations or from a staff member handing a flyer to an existing patient. It can pay off quickly if you teach your staff how to know which customers to make recommendations to and how to make those recommendations without sounding pushy. Keep in mind that your team doesn’t need to try to “sell” services – they’re merely educating customers or patients about other opportunities that might benefit them.
Data Collection
Data is the lifeblood of marketing, and we aren’t exaggerating. You need to know how clients are hearing about you, what services or products they’ve purchased in the past, what you have and haven’t discussed with them in the past, and what services or options may be helpful for them. How do you get that data?
It starts with your staff. Train them on the right questions to ask and when, as well as how to record and track those details in a searchable, usable database or whatever format you choose. This tracking is one of the most critical ways to inform your marketing strategy moving forward, and it can quickly lead to a boost in your profits.
Reputation Management
Chances are that you’ve trained your employees who are in direct contact with customers on how to handle the run-of-the-mill interactions, but do they know what to do when there’s a problem? More often than not, employees aren’t trained in conflict resolution strategies. When a customer is upset, they get flustered and try to end the situation as quickly as possible, but the customer is still angry, and this leads to negative online reviews.
Instead, teaching your employees how to proactively handle these situations is key. Train them in how to diffuse tricky situations in a way that actually resolves the issue, and train them on when to hand it over to an administrator as well. This is when hands-on training is particularly helpful.
Organization
Staying organized and keeping track of essential tasks seems like a simple skill, but it can make a world of difference in your business. You may be shocked how much revenue you can lose if your staff is missing emails or voicemails, or if they forget about a conversation they’ve had with a client. Instead, set up consistent protocols and strategies to help your staff stay on top of each day.
Not all these skills will come naturally to every employee, but they can all be taught. Getting a handle on your staff training can give a strong boost to your marketing efforts and make those strategies more profitable for years to come. If you’re not sure where to start, let us help. Contact McCauley Marketing Services to discuss how you can optimize your business practices and train your staff with these lucrative skills. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more tips.