Passion in Service

Performance. Growth. Profitability. These key words appear regularly in strategic plans and annual reports, at staff training events and meetings. Then there are words like Passion, Creativity and Innovation often spotted in mission statements and on motivational posters around the office. So what do these terms mean to you, your managers and your service staff? And how do the terms translate into service delivery at your frontline? This is what your customers the people who ultimately have the biggest hand in your business success really care about. Your customers are mainly concerned with how they will be treated by your frontline staff your ultimate brand ambassadors who have the power to strengthen or destroy your brand image, to delight or disappoint your customers and to determine whether or not they
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will come through your doors again. As the expression goes, the frontline makes the bottom line. And while skills and product training may equip your frontline staff to hit sales targets, it takes passion, creativity and dedication to transform practical knowledge into exceptional service that befits your brand as well as your future growth.

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At AQ, we ask the right questions so that we can provide

meaningful solutions. Knowledge is power; yet we need to ensure that this knowledge reaches the right people in the right way and at the right time, to improve your business performance both operationally and financially.
Jeroen de Koning, Managing Director, Asia

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Because its Personal

It may begin with a smile thats so genuine it lights up the eyes, followed by a sincere, How are you today? or Nice bag youve got there! Soon, staff and customer are chatting away like old friends, and the conversation continues long after the sale has been made. Whats right with this picture? Both customer and staff are happy and satisfied with this interaction. No forced and awkward sales pitch here, just good old-fashioned personal connection. Between your brand and the consumer, its all personal. All customers feel that. And they are able to discern the difference 4
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After all, a product is just a product but when complemented with personalised service thats fuelled by passion, the customer is in for a unique experience thats worth telling many more potential customers about. We at AQ believe that each and every one of your frontline staff is able to make that crucial personal connection. That they, in fact, want to build long-term relationships with your customers. To help unlock the full potential of your staff, weve created programs with a structured approach and with tactical tools to ensure a continuous pulse of service improvement. Like a heartbeat strong and sure guiding your frontline ambassadors to tap into their passion, deliver their very best constantly and consistently, and create magic in the process.

between a good sale which may only happen once and a great service experience which guarantees multiple sales.

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Whether its a simple cup of coffee or a luxury car with a 6-figure price tag, the frontline ambassador should focus on you and not the product.
Hans Wevers, Director, The Netherlands

Rhythm in Action
Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do. This paraphrased quote by Aristotle reveals how a rhythm of constant development and improvement leads to distinction and delighted customers. Rhythm is what AQ brings to your organisation in a structured and creative way, so no one gets left out on this journey to excellence. Getting a good rhythm going starts with asking the right questions. For example, what are the challenges that your frontline staff are facing and how are they being addressed and measured? How are your business initiatives being aligned throughout your organisation? And how do you turn these challenges and initiatives into frontline success? At a tactical level, the key question is what standard operating procedures need to be put in place to ultimately serve as an ongoing reminder of what is expected from each member of your frontline staff? Such standards provide your staff with tangible direction on how to connect with your customers, how to discover and fulfil their needs, and even how to bid them farewell. Essentially, its about transforming your desired branding messages into actionable steps that can easily be measured, evaluated and optimised. Interspersed within this constant rhythm of communication are motivational pulses in the form of coaching sessions, master class sessions as well as incentive programs that reward both personal and team achievements and create fun inspiration along the way. Once your frontline ambassadors are engaged in the right way, with the right tools in place to manage their performance, they can in turn engage meaningfully with your customers and keep them coming back to you.

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Rhythm fills the gaps between your brand promise and the actual
service performance, establishing a process of constant feedback and improvement to make your brand promise measurable and actionable. Ultimately, frontline ambassadors just want to know what to do, how to do it and to be recognised for doing it well.
Shereen Hooi, Business Manager, Malaysia

Magic in the Mix

At AQ, we believe in magic. It takes skill and experience to develop and execute research programs AQ has over 10 years worth under our belt and the end results speak for themselves. We take pride in the fact that our clients report an uptrend in sales figures, improving and more consistent frontline performances, lower staff turnover and simply more delighted customers. For us, magic is in the littlest details. Its in the way we phrase and score questions in the surveys and reports that we customise for you, its in the action plans that we implement strategically at corporate and store levels, and its how our 8
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As a multicultural company with global reach and local roots, we have the right mix of expertise and tools to customise any performance solution for your business. But you will find from our very first meeting with you that we are much more than just a service provider. In us youll find willing partners who will be with you at every step of the way in achieving your business and service performance goals. We love and believe in our work, and practise what we advocate. We believe in building strong personal relationships with everyone we work with in your company from your CEO to your cashier. Thats because we are as deeply passionate about your business, products and services, and your customers, as you are. And thats magic.

business manager assigned to your program responds to your requests or needs sometimes, even before youve thought of them.

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With the right mix of tools, customised to your brand and continuously adjusted to your brands situation, we prove return on investment.
Atsuko Honda, Senior Business Manager, Japan

Our Solutions
Measurement & Analysis Getting the right data starts with asking the right questions. We measure the pulse of your organisation and brands with the aid of these tools: Mystery shopping and focus visits provide insight into how you are performing against your own set standards and reveal potential growth areas. Our locally based mystery shoppers are specially trained to show you whats really happening at your frontline in an objective and actionable way. Satisfaction surveys and exit interviews show exactly how your employees and customers feel about your brand, your company and your offerings, and reveal their needs and expectations so you can take action to build stronger relationships with these key stakeholders. Audits provide important feedback on the efficacy of your POS materials, store layout and product presentation, and whether they are compliant with your set standards.

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Frequent coaching of your store and area managers on their daily performance is a powerful way to affect change. Our coaches assist them in leading their teams and managing their progress, using our collected data to create focused action plans in order to ensure continual encouragement and improvement. Master classes take place in your store environment and are brief yet powerful sessions that are especially useful in addressing up-selling or cross-selling tactics, identifying and acting on buying signals and providing pointers on approaching customers. Extensive use of role-play provides your frontline staff with the skills and confidence they need to be able to engage your customers. Communication & Change To engage your customers, your employees must first be engaged. In order to affect change, create magic and nurture passion, we reach out to all your stakeholders through frontline communication: using email, the Internet, text and print messaging, or face-to-face sessions. Our specially created online motivational platforms allow us to share data and conduct e-learning to guide and motivate your staff. Incentive and reward programs are effectively used to recognise top performers and top improvers. Our programs dont just focus on extrinsic motivators, but take a close look at intrinsic impulses as well. Individual and team performance will excel once we know what drives them. For more information, visit www.aq-services.com

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