Customer service constitutes one of the most important attributes of a truly successful business.
The unfortunate truth for consumers, however, is customer service is all too often lacking or nonexistent. When this is the case, customers take their business and favorable opinions elsewhere.
Take a moment and consider your recent experiences with businesses. Out of your last 10 experiences, how many stood out as exceptional? How many were mediocre or average? How many were downright poor? I suspect the majority of your experiences were mediocre or average, a few were poor, and even fewer exceptional.
Now, reflect on the qualities that defined each of these experiences.
- Did you feel welcomed and appreciated?
- Were you treated with dignity and respect?
- Did the products or services you purchased exceed your wants and needs?
- Will you buy from this business again?
- Did they provide a good value?
- Are you happy you did business with this establishment?
- Would you, without hesitation, refer your family and friends to do business with them, too?
In your honest answers to these and other questions you ask yourself lie the secret to greater professional success. By understanding what you value most in your experiences and duplicating them for customers, your business will stand out in a good way. You’ll benefit from more referrals and become more successful.
Consumers have a variety of businesses from which to choose in purchasing products or services, and they’re increasingly discerning with their hard-earned money. It’s crucial to consistently deliver high-quality products and services to stand out in a positive way.
Consistency in other key areas is equally vital to operating and building a standout business. It’s your steadfast commitment to consistency and excellence that enables you to maintain that position over time.
Here are some issues to consider:
- A CARING TEAM: When a company hires managers and team members who care, they create a team of people who hold themselves personally accountable to delivering exceptional customer experiences. But when team members don’t work with the intention of being their best and caring for customers — both in their attitudes and behaviors — customers feel it. Reputations are ruined and revenues are lost.
- EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE: Creating an exceptional customer service experience on a consistent basis begins with the owners. When those who brought the company into existence are integrity-based and endeavor to give their customers more reasons to say yes and fewer reasons to say no, the likelihood of becoming an extraordinary company increases.
- TRAINING & SKILL DEVELOPMENT: If your goal is to help your team members be their best on a consistent basis, it’s imperative to offer ongoing training and skills development in communication, customer service, leadership, listening, relationship-building, and sales. Effective training will position your company to operate at the highest standards and meet and even exceed the desires of your growing clientele. By instilling and supporting a positive mindset and then helping them develop the necessary skills, your caring team members will deliver exceptional experiences each and every time they interact with your valuable customers.
- MAKING IT RIGHT: Operating a standout company isn’t about being perfect. It is, however, about the pursuit of excellence and giving your absolute best day in and day out. When you or your team members drop the proverbial ball with a customer, your integrity must step in no matter what. You must make it right for the customer who makes operating your business possible in the first place.
Remember: Your business can consistently deliver high-quality products and services for years. But it only takes one paltry experience for a regular customer to stop doing business with you and then share that negative experience with countless others. It costs next to nothing to earn high-quality referrals from your customers. But it’s very costly to have consumers think poorly of you and your business.
Exceptional companies stand out in a positive way in the hearts and minds of their customers. They accomplish this feat by delivering high-quality customer service experiences on a consistent basis.
It is the quality of each customer experience that matters most.
The critical ingredients include exceptional people, exceptional products, and exceptional services. Get these right on a consistent basis, and your business will always stand out as one of the greats in the hearts and minds of your customers.
