Building Company Culture and Wowing Clients with Your Customer Service with Jake & Becca Berg of Dubsado
Episode 479: Show Notes
Prepare yourselves for one of the best episodes! Why? Because we are interviewing two of our favorite people, Jake and Becca Berg, the founders of Dubsado. Not only have they done amazing things for us in our business but they have helped many other service-based babes get a grip on things. We have loved watching them continue to grow over the last five years and admire them for building a software service while also leading one of the best customer service teams out there, making a huge impact on small business owners. They are now five years in and have expanded to 45 employees!
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In today’s episode, we are touching on some of those unique aspects that make Dubsado tick and pick their brains about what they are doing that we can all apply to our businesses. Jake and Becca share the lessons they have learned as a SaaS company, how their business has evolved and changed in 2020, and how they have kept customer service a priority throughout. Be sure to tune in for a super fun interview!
The Biggest Changes They’ve had to Make In Their Company
In the beginning, when it was just Jake and Becca, they didn’t have to rely on systems and processes as much as they do now being a team of 45. One of their biggest hurdles in growing has been developing these systems from scratch, and because no one else could execute exactly what they had in mind, they read some books and educated themselves on these systems to implement it in their business. So, they began setting up the systems, following them, and ensuring that the procedures go as planned. And as many might agree, this year has been the biggest curveball of all, and being accustomed to their team working together in one office in Los Angeles, the adjustment of now working from home was huge. Consequently, they had to take a hard look at the systems they thought were awesome and had to reevaluate whether it would work for them when the team was separated. Because systems need to work whether you are together or apart. This year they did an entire audit on their company, including figuring out people’s roles and how things work, and did extensive interviews with their employees which led them to restructure their teams. This allowed them to function happier, even though they miss being with their team and having face-to-face communication.
How They Managed to Create Such A Strong Company Culture
Since day one of hiring, Jake and Becca have been creating a culture where employees enjoy each other’s company and hang out outside of work. They do a lot of things together as a team and the company is family-oriented, with new team members and customers being welcomed in as part of the family. Long-life friendships have been forged as people share their lives with one another, so much so that they have just had their first Dubsado marriage between two employees! Creating a strong family culture is difficult when you don’t see each other face-to-face, however. So how do they manage to keep the culture alive in pandemic times? They have a party planning committee that is responsible for organizing all the parties, birthdays, and other celebrations. Every Friday they stop working at 4 pm and do Happy Hour in which they play a game or do other fun activities, and they managed to take it virtual during the quarantine. They have had games and challenges over Slack, ensuring that they touch base with everyone regularly.
Strategies for Keeping Customer Service A Top Priority
Jake and Becca like to encourage their employees to be independent and resourceful from the start since they are too busy to walk everyone through all the procedures and things. So, the culture they wanted to create was one that was principle and value-based so they didn’t have to get into every detail but rather let each team member use their discretion while sticking to the core values of the company. In the beginning, Becca handled customer service but when she had to find someone to take over that role, she sat them down and talked to them like a friend and someone who was going to support them in fulfilling the role. For them, it is not about having regimented rules they have to follow but treating people like human beings and family members, and this value is passed down as new people come on board.
When you are dealing with customers, it is important to create a good experience for them and to solve whatever problem they are facing in an effective, on-brand manner. It is about not taking criticism or complaints personally and knowing when it is best to delegate customer service tasks. It is about empowering your employees to make decisions and uphold your values in their unique way. Dubsado also stays away from giving their customers canned or structured responses to questions and gives customers the opportunity to speak to real humans who walk them through their issues on calls. They also offer their customers three types of calls. You can book a technical support call where they call you back within an hour. They also have a demo call for those who just want to get a one-on-one walk through the software, and then they have education calls if you need help with strategies or processes you have in mind and want to translate into Dubsado. You can have two free calls a month and then a paid one if you need more of their time. And it often is much easier and quicker than you might think: a 30-minute call will cut it in the majority of cases.
Implementing Dubsado’s Customer Service Strategies in Any Business
Whether you have a big or small business, there are some key strategies you can take from Dubsado and implement in your business with great success. Jake and Becca believe in the power of good customer experiences. A lot of people just put offerings and services out there without considering the journey it takes for their customers to get there. You want to make it easy for customers to ask questions and get information, and this has to be reflected on your website and whenever you engage with them. Your customers’ experience is going to make or break your business, so you have to craft a great experience for them whenever they contact you. They should enjoy interacting with you and you should make them feel like they are your only customer. They want to feel heard, loved, and taken care of. And this also requires you to respond to their inquiries in a timely manner. Don’t let them wait two days before replying! Do not wait for them to follow up with you; get back to them quickly – whatever that looks like for you. When you are new or when customer service doesn’t come naturally to you, there is a tendency to want to avoid inquiries and questions from customers but be careful of that. When you are responsive and willing to go above and beyond, you will no longer be haunted by your inbox either!
Quote This
Your customers’ experience is going to make or break your business.
Highlights
The Biggest Changes They’ve Had to Make In Their Company. [0:06:47.1]
How They Managed to Create Such A Strong Company Culture. [0:12:08.1]
Strategies for Keeping Customer Service A Top Priority. [0:18:06.1]
Implementing Dubsado’s Customer Service Strategies in Any Business. [0:31:55.1]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:40:42.1]
Answer the emails.
Add your personal touch to things.
Create a company culture that you would want.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Jake and Becca Berg
Dubsado
Five years ago Jake and Becca founded Dubsado together. For the first couple of years, it was just the two of them. Now a team of over 40, Dubsado is helping 20,000+ and counting business owners streamline their businesses.
KEY TOPICS
Dubsado, Systems, Audits, Employees, Company culture, Customer service, Calls, Customer experience, Timely responses
