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Developing A Customer Service Team That Excels
GUEST BIO:
[Mike Hoffman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nycicon/) is the Head of Operations at popular women and children’s clothing brand, [Rainbow](https://www.rainbowshops.com/). At fourteen years old, Mike convinced his mother to let him get a fake ID so he could start working. His hustle continued through college, where he studied computer science and business. After graduating, Mike became a real estate agent and shortly after started his first company helping real estate agents utilize technology.
When the opportunity for Mike to open an online book company came, he took it. He began buying books and selling them online through [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/) and [eBay](https://www.ebay.com/) for three times the amount. During this time, Mike became one of Amazon’s first best sellers.
Mike fulfilled one of his dreams to travel through England for six months and after moved to New York City. He started to work as a strategist at the [GAP](https://www.gap.com/), learning the inner workings of a massive public company. Quickly he found that his voice couldn’t be heard unless he was in the C-Suite and chose to leap, leaving his job in hopes of finding a better opportunity.
His next endeavor was at [Paragon Sports](https://www.paragonsports.com/), where Mike created the foundation of his expertise in customer service. After ten years, he moved on and took on the title as Head of Operations at Rainbow.
SHOW SUMMARY:
Your business doesn’t revolve around anyone, or anything, but your customer.
Today’s guest is Mike Hoffman, the Head of Operations at Rainbow. Mike implemented and currently runs the operations and systems that drive Rainbow’s e-commerce and brick and mortar stores. His job boils down to one of the most important business practices, listening to his customers.
In this episode, Mike talks about how he built the Rainbow customer service team and the reason they rarely see a turnover of agents. He walks us through the wins and losses of his time as Head of Operations and showcases the blueprint of a successful product company.
This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.
TOPICS:
How did you end up as the Head of Operations for Rainbow?
2:45 Mike graduated college and initially became a real estate agent. This is where he started his first company, helping agents utilize technology to grow their business.
4:34 Mike talks about his second entrepreneurial venture of selling books online, which lead him to become one of Amazon’s first best sellers.
13:53 Individuals who find success are the ones who are willing to take the first step and leap off of the bridge. If you’re not willing to jump, you miss tremendous opportunity.
How important is customer service to e-commerce?
14:24 The voice of the customer is what is driving your e-commerce channel. Make sure all of the segments of your company (such as marketing, HR, engineers, etc.) work together so the customer voice is brought into every part of your company.
16:32 Mike built the Rainbow customer service team, creating a well recognized brand with customers who have become brand ambassadors. He explains how he built a happy and thriving team that has only seen one customer service agent leave in the last thirteen years.
20:30 Mike talks about a technical issue Rainbow encountered with customers adding products to cart on tablets and how it was initially discovered because of their strong focus on customer service.
What other tactical wins have you experienced by talking with customers?
22:07 Working with the various versions of Android, and working through the bugs of each version so customers can access and properly use the website regardless of what device they are using.
Do you use paid acquisition campaigns or use organic traffic to sell product?
26:40 Most product sales are driven from brick and mortar stores, although Rainbow does using paid acquisition campaigns. They also practice SEO and other avenues. As Mike explains, i
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By Lean CommerceGUEST BIO:
[Mike Hoffman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nycicon/) is the Head of Operations at popular women and children’s clothing brand, [Rainbow](https://www.rainbowshops.com/). At fourteen years old, Mike convinced his mother to let him get a fake ID so he could start working. His hustle continued through college, where he studied computer science and business. After graduating, Mike became a real estate agent and shortly after started his first company helping real estate agents utilize technology.
When the opportunity for Mike to open an online book company came, he took it. He began buying books and selling them online through [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/) and [eBay](https://www.ebay.com/) for three times the amount. During this time, Mike became one of Amazon’s first best sellers.
Mike fulfilled one of his dreams to travel through England for six months and after moved to New York City. He started to work as a strategist at the [GAP](https://www.gap.com/), learning the inner workings of a massive public company. Quickly he found that his voice couldn’t be heard unless he was in the C-Suite and chose to leap, leaving his job in hopes of finding a better opportunity.
His next endeavor was at [Paragon Sports](https://www.paragonsports.com/), where Mike created the foundation of his expertise in customer service. After ten years, he moved on and took on the title as Head of Operations at Rainbow.
SHOW SUMMARY:
Your business doesn’t revolve around anyone, or anything, but your customer.
Today’s guest is Mike Hoffman, the Head of Operations at Rainbow. Mike implemented and currently runs the operations and systems that drive Rainbow’s e-commerce and brick and mortar stores. His job boils down to one of the most important business practices, listening to his customers.
In this episode, Mike talks about how he built the Rainbow customer service team and the reason they rarely see a turnover of agents. He walks us through the wins and losses of his time as Head of Operations and showcases the blueprint of a successful product company.
This is the Lean Commerce Podcast.
TOPICS:
How did you end up as the Head of Operations for Rainbow?
2:45 Mike graduated college and initially became a real estate agent. This is where he started his first company, helping agents utilize technology to grow their business.
4:34 Mike talks about his second entrepreneurial venture of selling books online, which lead him to become one of Amazon’s first best sellers.
13:53 Individuals who find success are the ones who are willing to take the first step and leap off of the bridge. If you’re not willing to jump, you miss tremendous opportunity.
How important is customer service to e-commerce?
14:24 The voice of the customer is what is driving your e-commerce channel. Make sure all of the segments of your company (such as marketing, HR, engineers, etc.) work together so the customer voice is brought into every part of your company.
16:32 Mike built the Rainbow customer service team, creating a well recognized brand with customers who have become brand ambassadors. He explains how he built a happy and thriving team that has only seen one customer service agent leave in the last thirteen years.
20:30 Mike talks about a technical issue Rainbow encountered with customers adding products to cart on tablets and how it was initially discovered because of their strong focus on customer service.
What other tactical wins have you experienced by talking with customers?
22:07 Working with the various versions of Android, and working through the bugs of each version so customers can access and properly use the website regardless of what device they are using.
Do you use paid acquisition campaigns or use organic traffic to sell product?
26:40 Most product sales are driven from brick and mortar stores, although Rainbow does using paid acquisition campaigns. They also practice SEO and other avenues. As Mike explains, i