Excellence Is Always An Option.
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December 2006 Today's sermon, ladies and gentlemen, is on the customer/client, one of the absolutely essential elements of any successful business. Recognizing how essential the right customers or clients are to our success, we each need to take a look at our organizations and ask a series of questions:
If we make an honest effort to get solid answers to the above questions, we can learn a lot about how customers/clients perceive us. Many businesses unintentionally put up barriers that keep potential new business from wanting to establish a relationship. Obstacles can include:
What all of the above obstacles have in common is that they are easily solvable once they are noticed. How many businesses say the customer comes first and then exhibit some or all of the above behaviors? Especially in a commodity business, where price is not much of a factor, there must be differentiators between one business and the next. A competitive advantage has been defined as a value-creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors. Some of these could be:
Research shows that companies that treat their employees well usually have employees that treat customers well. These companies have strong values that permeate throughout the organization. They reside in the employees who exhibit behaviors consistent with these values. These employees understand the importance of every customer and of making and keeping that customer loyal. The flip side of this begs the question: Would an objective observer be able to ascertain company values and priorities by watching interactions between your employees and your customers? "The customer is always right" may not hold true in every instance. But being customer-centric cannot involve mere lip service. The value must be shared by all and must be lived and acted by all. In a medical practice, a patient can have contact with an appointment scheduler, a receptionist, a nurse, the clerk handling billing and the doctor. A contact with any of them can make or break a patient relationship. A doctor can have the best bedside manner, but some people may never find that out if they are turned off by a preliminary contact. A plumbing business can be very skilled, but if, on a service call, a plumber is sloppy, dirty, tracks in dirt and leaves a mess behind, he won't get a callback. Think about how we look at websites, or electronic gadgets. In order to attract us, keep our attention and be used on a regular basis, they must be user-friendly. If we demand that an iPod or a computer program be user-friendly, how can we expect less from our employees? We want the experience of working with us, from start to finish, to be as easy and as friendly as possible. Luxury car dealers have worked hard to make the chore of getting your car serviced as pleasant as possible. They provide loaner cars or will even pick up your car at home and deliver it back when the service is completed. They go out of their way to make sure you are happy because their service rating is an important measure to them. What are you doing in your business to ascertain whether your employees are making every contact with a customer, client or patient a pleasant experience? What changes might you need to make? When are you going to make them? Have you ever done a customer survey on your customer service? Have you ever done customer focus groups to find out what you are doing well and what needs improvement? Now would be a good time. Create an atmosphere in which your customers are looking forward to their next interaction with you. Know what is important to your customers and make it important to you. Change is a constant in our world. Needs, desires and demands will constantly evolve. Our goods and services, and our delivery of them need to evolve as well. Staying in touch with customers, listening to them and finding ways to keep them happy will ultimately determine the success of your business. Just saying "We are the best" and having our employees say it, doesn't make it so. There must be a vision of what it looks like to be the best, the vision must permeate the culture and translate into values and behaviors that support that vision. Attitudes and behaviors toward the customers can be a major determinant of achieving the vision and the long-term viability of an organization. The customer may not always be right, but the customer must feel as if the company cares about them and wants their business
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Management Mpowerment Associates - 610-783-5305 (phone) - 610-783-7063 (fax) - info@managementmpowerment.com
Management Mpowerment Associates - 610-783-5305 (phone) - 610-783-7063 (fax) - info@managementmpowerment.com