South Africa’s Buy Local Campaign with the uplifting ethos – Proudly South African – has expressed its appreciation towards all proud South Africans who are taking the well-being of vulnerable persons, especially women and children, to heart. The Campaign, which fundamentally supports the social and economic empowerment of all South Africans through the promotion of “local” urges South Africans of all races, cultures and social standings to take a firm stance against women and children abuse.
“We commend the tireless efforts of government and its stakeholders to instill a caring culture amongst all South Africans, accompanied by the necessary action to safeguard the interests of vulnerable persons. In the tenth year of the No Violence against Women and Children Campaign, Proudly South African would like to urge all South Africans to play their part in restoring the social fibre of society by heeding government’s call not to look away, but to act against abuse”, says Dalene du Preez, Proudly SA’s Marketing and Communications Executive.
Consumer support for homegrown products and services is acknowledged as a powerful tool in bringing about positive change. “Likewise, every South African can make a significant contribution towards eradicating abuse, by not turning a blind eye. Let’s speak out against this scourge and do something practical, however small it may seem, to assist women and children affected by violence and abuse. We can only be a truly proud and dignified society when all citizens enjoy quality of life and feel safe in their own homes. So let’s focus on local and be proud South Africans who want to make a difference and help to safeguard the social and economic interests of our country and all its citizens”, urges du Preez.
Why not show your allegiance to the effort to rid the world, and South Africa, of abuse against women and children by wearing a white ribbon between 25 November and 10 December. “Similar to large-scale consumer support of Buy Local, it will ultimately be the united voices and actions of all caring and concerned Proud South Africans which will help to instill positive social values and the appropriate behaviour”, says du Preez.
For more information on the Proudly South African Campaign, its empowering values, and the positive work of member companies, visit http://www.proudlysa.co.za/, or call 011 327 7778
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Effective complaints resolution leads to customer retention
Following on an earlier article by getclosure, explaining how to harness the power of feedback, we have put together some handy pointers to keep in mind when dealing with your customers’ complaints and an example to show how effective this strategy can be.
1. Respond to your customers’ complaints as soon as possible.
Results from a recent Nielsen survey indicate that reports of bad experiences outnumber good customer service reports by as much as 5:1. Couple that with the increasing proliferation and popularity of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and you’ll have an idea of the potential damage that negative comments from your disgruntled customers may cause.
2. Ask for any necessary information on the first point of contact, such as account number, date and time of incident.
Make sure that you keep a record of all relevant details so that you can refer back to them at a later date.
3. Remain calm, polite and professional.
This is essential to win back your customers’ respect and restore their faith in your brand. Another thing to keep in mind is that in some sectors, it costs up to five times more to win a new client than to retain an existing one, so it is definitely worth making an effort the first time around!
4. Apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Remember that regardless of the situation, a sincere apology will go along way towards making amends.
5. Manage your customer’s expectations – give them a realistic estimate of when you will respond/ resolve the situation.
getclosure sales and marketing manager, Richard Wright says, “The effectiveness of the getclosure complaints management system can largely be attributed to the fact that we provide our users with regular and informative updates. This ensures that consumers are kept up to speed on the progress of their complaints, and suppliers have the opportunity to respond as soon as their customers submit feedback.”
6. If the matter needs to be investigated and takes longer than initially anticipated, keep the customer continuously informed by providing the necessary feedback.
Here is an example to demonstrate some of these points. Paul submitted a complaint about his cell phone service provider on getclosure and gave the following feedback once the problem had been resolved: “Thanks for your quick and speedy response. You've done a lot to improve my impression of your company - I told the whole office about how great it was to have a company actually call and care about service like that. I was really impressed by the phone call I got. Oddly enough how you handled my complaint has actually improved my opinion of your company tremendously. Thanks for the call and the information on how and why it happened.”
Contact richard@getclosure.co.za to find out more about the getclosure service and how it can be used to track, manage and respond to your customers’ complaints in a discreet environment.
(Source: Guest blogger, Proudly South African member company, getclosure)
1. Respond to your customers’ complaints as soon as possible.
Results from a recent Nielsen survey indicate that reports of bad experiences outnumber good customer service reports by as much as 5:1. Couple that with the increasing proliferation and popularity of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and you’ll have an idea of the potential damage that negative comments from your disgruntled customers may cause.
2. Ask for any necessary information on the first point of contact, such as account number, date and time of incident.
Make sure that you keep a record of all relevant details so that you can refer back to them at a later date.
3. Remain calm, polite and professional.
This is essential to win back your customers’ respect and restore their faith in your brand. Another thing to keep in mind is that in some sectors, it costs up to five times more to win a new client than to retain an existing one, so it is definitely worth making an effort the first time around!
4. Apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Remember that regardless of the situation, a sincere apology will go along way towards making amends.
5. Manage your customer’s expectations – give them a realistic estimate of when you will respond/ resolve the situation.
getclosure sales and marketing manager, Richard Wright says, “The effectiveness of the getclosure complaints management system can largely be attributed to the fact that we provide our users with regular and informative updates. This ensures that consumers are kept up to speed on the progress of their complaints, and suppliers have the opportunity to respond as soon as their customers submit feedback.”
6. If the matter needs to be investigated and takes longer than initially anticipated, keep the customer continuously informed by providing the necessary feedback.
Here is an example to demonstrate some of these points. Paul submitted a complaint about his cell phone service provider on getclosure and gave the following feedback once the problem had been resolved: “Thanks for your quick and speedy response. You've done a lot to improve my impression of your company - I told the whole office about how great it was to have a company actually call and care about service like that. I was really impressed by the phone call I got. Oddly enough how you handled my complaint has actually improved my opinion of your company tremendously. Thanks for the call and the information on how and why it happened.”
Contact richard@getclosure.co.za to find out more about the getclosure service and how it can be used to track, manage and respond to your customers’ complaints in a discreet environment.
(Source: Guest blogger, Proudly South African member company, getclosure)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Misuse of intellectual property tantamount to theft, fraud
South Africa’s Buy Local campaign – Proudly South African – has strongly condemned the fraudulent use of its logo as part of an illegal lottery relating to the unauthorized sale of 2010 Fifa World Cup tickets.
In a media release, Dalene du Preez, Proudly SA’s, Marketing and Communications Executive confirmed that the 2010 FIFA World Cup is intended to help build a positive social and economic legacy for South Africa and the continent of Africa. “It is truly deplorable that criminals would try to mislead unsuspecting soccer-loving citizens through the misuse of the trusted Proudly South African logo and brand”, she said.
Products and services that carry the Proudly South African logo reflect the character and the good reputation of South Africa’s Buy Local brand. It signifies to consumers that the logo-bearing product (or service) originates from a homegrown company which is committed to good quality, employment creation and the empowerment of staff.
These companies source at least half of their production materials in South Africa and set a high standard in terms of good governance, including meeting, and often exceeding environmental standards. It therefore makes sense that when consumers Buy Local they are in fact helping to build the sustainability of local businesses, and their capacity to create jobs; to employ more local people and grow the South African economy in a way which is sustainable.
Regrettably, the criminal element, too, clearly understands the value of the Proudly South African brand association.
Hopefully all proud and law-abiding citizens will take a positive message from this incident – and Buy Local – to help build a positive legacy for 2010 and beyond!
The Campaign will take legal action to help prevent the misrepresentation of its intellectual property. The public is advised to always verify the credentials of anyone they intend doing business with, especially when a claim is made that the individual is associated with South Africa's national Buy Local Campaign.
For more information on Proudly South African, or to report any suspected illegal use of the logo contact Leisle Timol, Brand Manager on 011 327 7778 or email: leislet@psanet.co.za.
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Proudly South African Campaign is encouraging the nation at large to support the Buy Local drive, with messages such as:
• We support local products, to help create jobs for our children.
Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• I wear local – so that I can help create jobs.
Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• I choose to help create employment. I wear local.
Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• Supporting local grows industries. Start today!
Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• Local support helps industries grow. Start today!
Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• Invest in our future. Buy Local for 2010 and beyond!
• Creating jobs in South Africa starts with you! Buy
Local for 2010 and beyond!
• Create employment – Buy Local for 2010 and
beyond!
• Give poverty the boot. Buy Local for 2010 and
beyond!
We believe Buy Local is a sustainable, empowering tool for social and economic growth, especially given the global economic crisis.
Proudly SA focus week is from 21 to 26 September 2009, but we believe that every day should be Buy Local day to support local businesses, and especially sectors in distress, such as the clothing and textiles sector.
What do you think about Buy Local? Can it benefit our country, and its people?
We’d love to hear your opinion on the value of Buy Local, and hope that you, too, will choose to Buy Local and be an ambassador for the Buy Local initiative.
BUY LOCAL – A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
Conceptually, socially and economically Buy Local represents a process to build a sustainable future for the next generation. The Proudly South African Campaign, which champions Buy Local focuses on three strategies tailored specifically to address current social and economic challenges:
How this self-sustaining mechanism works:
• At the core we find the uplifting and empowering criteria and values that good corporate citizens (including Campaign members) commit to – basically it represents a “promise” of compliance with ethical practices that are essential for any business to become sustainable and grow – the Proudly South African logo is the signifier which makes it easy for consumers to identify those products/services/companies that meet the “promise”.
• By strengthening the core (through continuous improvement and stimulating increased consumer demand, especially through local support) local businesses become more competitive and sustainable. They are better able to penetrate domestic and global markets and when they grow this increases their capacity to employ more people, generate FDI or contribute to our country’s GDP growth. The Campaign assists in this process through optimising linkages with its strategic stakeholders and the four constituencies (organised labour, organised business, community organisations, all spheres of government, together with their development/specialist agencies).
• The elements in the blue-shaded area indicate the broader societal and economic spin-offs
• The elements in the outermost, yellow circle are the external factors that are critical to the success of the virtuous circle – Buy Local, Procure Local – the desired consumer purchase behaviour, with the Campaign fulfilling its Buy Local activism role.
- Strategy to change consumer purchase behaviour – Buy Local activism
- Strategy to promote global competitiveness in the context of the global economic meltdown – i.t.o. the Campaign criteria
- Strategy to contribute to promotion of social cohesion and national pride
“Self-propagating advantageous situation in which a successful solutions leads to more of a desired result or another success which generates still more desired results or successes…” (http://www.businessdictionary.com)
How this self-sustaining mechanism works:
• At the core we find the uplifting and empowering criteria and values that good corporate citizens (including Campaign members) commit to – basically it represents a “promise” of compliance with ethical practices that are essential for any business to become sustainable and grow – the Proudly South African logo is the signifier which makes it easy for consumers to identify those products/services/companies that meet the “promise”.
• By strengthening the core (through continuous improvement and stimulating increased consumer demand, especially through local support) local businesses become more competitive and sustainable. They are better able to penetrate domestic and global markets and when they grow this increases their capacity to employ more people, generate FDI or contribute to our country’s GDP growth. The Campaign assists in this process through optimising linkages with its strategic stakeholders and the four constituencies (organised labour, organised business, community organisations, all spheres of government, together with their development/specialist agencies).
• The elements in the blue-shaded area indicate the broader societal and economic spin-offs
• The elements in the outermost, yellow circle are the external factors that are critical to the success of the virtuous circle – Buy Local, Procure Local – the desired consumer purchase behaviour, with the Campaign fulfilling its Buy Local activism role.
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