The Importance of Unlocking Customer Non-Verbal Cues

Customers are the lifeblood to any business. If the customer walks away unhappy you may not only lose their lifetime patronage but also deter their friends from frequenting your business as well. The type of interaction between the company and the customer will often determine whether or not they will have a positive impression of your business. According to an article in the Journal of Marketing the ability of company employees to read the non-verbal cues of customers will influence customer affect (Puccinelli, et. al. 2013).

Most of us have experienced poor interaction with company employees from time-to-time. It isn’t always the big things a business does that makes or breaks our impressions. Most businesses know how to avoid these large issues through processes and procedures.. It is the small actions and interactions that can hurt or damage customer perception.

Poor customer interaction often is a result of under trained employees that don’t read the customers needs and don’t know how to respond to those needs appropriate. For example, an agitated customer won’t be happy if you try and sell them another product versus solving their problem. A single mistake in judgement can lose that customer forever and leave a bitter taste in their mouth.

Non-verbal communication is also reciprocal. A customer who is reading the company representative non-verbal cues and picks up on lack of interest, condescending behavior, or annoyance will likely apply that impression to the entire business. They will interpret such behavior as an indication of the amount of value the company places on their customers.

When customers think and reflect on the business there are two aspects that may come to mind. On one hand, they could consider the service itself and whether or not they need that service. On the other hand, they may think of the interactions they have with people who work for the company and whether or not their patronage is appreciated. If either of these interactions are negative there is a chance the customer will find another business to requent.

The study highlights the need to train customer facing employees with the ability to read and understand customer cues and respond to them appropriately. This may occur through scenarios, examples and role playing. When representatives can interpret signals appropriately they will be much better able to respond to the customers needs. When they give off the right signals they can prompt customers to their value leaving them with a higher affect.

Puccinelli, M., et. al. (2013). The value of knowing what customers really want: the impact of salesperson ability to read non-verbal cues of affect on service quality. Journal of Marketing Management, 29 (34).

The Economy Moves from Unemployment to Increasing Wages

As the economy speeds up  Federal Resereve Chair Janet Yellen discusses the growing need to increase interest rates. For now the idea will be reevaluated on a meeting-by-meeting basis to determine when that might happen. Her discussion with the Senate Banking Committee eludes to the idea that her annual target rate will be somewhere around 2% depending on the strength of the economy. For the near future the economy is expected to continue growing. 

The market forces related to the speed of the economy will determine these rates. Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money and is primarily based on demand and supply. As money is soaked up in the economy it becomes less liquid and shortages begin to raise the cost of borrowing that money to mitigate risks.

For example what you pay for a car today would cost you more tomorrow as the product price rises. You wouldn't get that money for free without paying some type of interest on it as the lender takes risks. Getting money today without having to save it yourself must have some cost in case it isn't paid back.

The government sets these rates through manipulating the federal fund rate that large institutions use to charge each other when borrowing money. When government buys securities they flood banks with money and when they sell securities they take money away from the market. The value of that money is impacted by its availability and fluidity.

The government considers adjusting the interest to make sure that inflation doesn't rise too rapidly and choke off employment. However, with unemployment at low levels rising inflation will help push wages upwards better balancing growth income and economic growth. For the moment it appears that unemployment has been solved for many people in society and government is no longer worried about it as much as they were in the past.

Call for Papers: Forum for Interdisciplinary Dialogue: Ethics and Development

Date: 10th to 11th April 2015 Location: Charlottesville, VA, United States of America

Organized by: Jefferson Scholars Foundation
Deadline for abstracts/proposals: 30th November 2014
Website: http://www.jsfconference.org/
 
The Jefferson Scholars Foundation and the Jefferson Society of Fellows at the University of Virginia present the fourth biannual Forum for Interdisciplinary Dialogue (FID) to be held on 22-23 September 2015 at the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia. The FID is an interdisciplinary conference for students, faculty, and community members from around the world. The theme for 2015 is Ethics and Development

Setting Goals and the Steps to Get There

Achieving goals is important part of one's career and keeps us moving forward in new directions. Those who set goals have a higher chance of being more successful than others who might muddle through life aimlessly. Setting appropriate goals and ensure that these goals are achievable requires a little planning and reflection to get where you want to go.

Clearly Defined: 

Goals should be specific and obtainable. People sometimes make goals that are broad, murky, or ill defined. It is hard for them to know whether or not they achieved a particular goal if there is no easy start or stop position. A clearly defined goal might be "complete a training class on basic accounting in the next 6 months" while an ill defined goal would look more like "understand more about accounting".

In the first example you know exactly when you achieved that goal while in the second case you will need to guess. Having a clearly defined goal will let you know when it is time to adjust that goal and move onto a new one. Each accomplished goal provides new experiences and opportunities for growth.

Plan of Action:

No goal will be achieved unless you put energy into it. The effort you put forward should not be haphazard and wasted. It is much better to focus on some specific plan of action. That plan can be broken into steps that help you get where you want to go.

Think of how graduating from a basic accounting class will need effort in enrollment, completing assignments, writing, etc... Knowing what will need to be accomplished on a daily basis will help in ensuring that you meet those goals. It may be as simple as spending an hour a day working on your project until it is completed or finding some other combination of effort.

Assess Your Progress:

It is beneficial every once in a while to assess your progress. Take a few moments to look at where you are and what additional effort or adjustments are needed to achieve that objective. Sometimes you will need to put additional effort in while at other times your current progress will be fine. Try and understand what is needed and when it is needed

The Health and Neighborhood Benefits of San Diego Bike Lanes

San Diego bike lanes can be an enhancement to the city and the lives of residents. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention over a third of Americans are obese (1) and this number may not be slowing.  Most people don’t get enough exercise and healthy food on a daily basis to keep the weight off and fight diseases. Ensuring that bike lanes are included in city planning helps to improve neighborhoods and encourage healthier lifestyle choices. 

New bike lanes encourage people to pull their bikes out of the garage and use them. A study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that bike riding increased on streets that offered bike lanes (Parker, et. al. 2013). When safe lanes were available more people considered pulling their bikes out of storage and using them to get around. 

If you have ever biked a busy street you might be well aware that cars don’t always give adequate protective space. The little space they do provide isn’t enough if they are zooming past at 40 miles an hour and the bike is moving at 15 miles an hour.  Installing lanes lets drivers know that the cyclist has the right-a-way and has full use of all the space in the lane.

San Diego is an excellent candidate for more bike lanes. A study of 90 cities found that safer cycling, students, less sprawl, high gas prices, and lower car ownership led to an increase in cycling (Buehler & Pucher, 2012). Getting more people to use their bikes helps save on the congestion and create safer neighborhoods. 

Cycling is an excellent sport that leads to higher forms of health. It is also a better way to get around the city when bike lanes are available.  San Diego has warm weather, congestion, infrastructure construction, and public transit that make cycling a viable alternative for city residents. Encouraging the building of bike lanes may improve lifestyles, encourage stronger neighborhoods and cut down on obesity.

Buehler, R. & Pucher, J. (2012). Cycling to work in 90 large American cities: new evidence on the role of bike paths and lanes. Transportation, 39 (2). 

Parker, K. et. al. (2013). Effect of bike lane infrastructure improvements on riders in one New Orleans neighborhood. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 45.

Is the Internet Forming Collective Intelligence?

Society is changing and higher education is in a process of adapting to that change. The Internet has been a major catalyst in that change as new forms of collective intelligence is being created. Higher education is in a transitional period moving from traditional to virtual models to keep up with that change. An article on collective intelligence discusses the possibilities of greater change as different forms of intelligence find their way onto the Net (Medeiros,et. al., 2014).

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences helps us realize that intelligence can’t be measured by simple IQ alone. A single measurement of intelligence as a basis of our education system is subjective by nature. The knowledge accepted, scrubbed and published by higher education limited innovative development. Multiple forms of intelligence are forming new knowledge outside of traditional systems. 

These intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and natural. Each intelligence taps into a different human capacity to perceive and understand the environment. Higher education predominately focuses on a couple of different types of intelligences but the Internet is forming its own collective form of knowledge through the expression of multiple intelligences.

The Internet is offering opportunities to create collective intelligence based upon these multiple ways of understanding through the adaptation and integration of knowledge. People can now be co-creators in the knowledge generation process and are no longer forced to think about issues from a singular vantage point. The Internet has cracked open the vault of expression.

As information continues to spread through the use of modern technology it will generate new forms of collective intelligence. Multitudes of people will form around specific interests and begin to build new forms of knowledge as they share their interest and understandings. The faster this process occurs the quicker the development of societies.  

The information will also challenge existing institutions in higher education, government and civic arenas much like the printing press challenged previous forms. As scientific knowledge spread, church teachings were questioned, and governments adapted to new systems because knowledge led to higher levels of collective intelligence. An era of enlightenment ensued that led to the scientific advantages we still use today. The Internet is the next great printing press that will change all that it touches. 

Medeiros, V. et. al. (2014). Connecting multiple intelligences through open and distance learning: going towards a collective intelligence? European Journal of Open Distance & E-Learning, 17 (1).

Sunday Morning Sunrise and Sunset in San Diego

By Murad Abel

San Diego has been considered a beach goers paradise for a long time and attracts a motivated crew of followers. With its warm beaches and surf friendly waves few can deny the tropical benefits of living locally. Above all the positive things one could say about San Diego one cannot argue with the beauty of the rocky hills, cliffs, oceans, beaches, and mountains. Almost no place on earth can beat the sunrises and sunsets.

If you have ever sat on the beach in the early evening after frequenting one of the many restaurants you will know what I mean. The weather will be in the mid 60's as the sun makes it way past the horizon. The smell of the ocean seaweed and the sound of the gulls will be apparent as the sun pulls its cover for one more night.

To commemorate the event I like to write poems or paint pictures. I believe it is important to keep in touch with one's artistic side and expression of life to ensure that we stay grounded to some of the more important things in life. All too often we get stuck in a routine of making money, accomplishing some business goal, or chasing some prestige building event but forget the simple things.

Those simple things are all around us; the sunrise and sunset being just some of those things. Perhaps you might enjoy hiking in the mountains or taking a canoe trip. For others it may be throwing a fishing line in the water at the end or sitting on the patio of one of their favorite restaurants.

Sunday Morning Sunrise

Sunday morning sunrise,

bright lights through hazy fog.

A day of whistling disposition,

A happy song of renewal.

Marking the start of a day,

A sunny season of starlight streams.

Colored fingers that stretch to night.

Overcome by a lack of sight.

The fog rolls and tucks in,

The same as the day before.

Find out when your sunset happens HERE