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What Kind of Client/Customer Are You, Mr./Ms. Entrepreneur?
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Sure Fire Ways To Drive Customers Away!
Call it a blind spot. Call it regimented thinking. Call it
the-way-we-have-always-done-it. But by any name, there are
actions and practices that far too many businesses engage in
that can unknowingly drive customers away.
When I observe such practices, I move from being angry to just
plain sad. Really sad. Because the truth of the matter is that
no one CONSCIOUSLY set out to ruin my day. No one sat in a board
room and dreamt up procedures that would have us leaving in
droves. No one woke up and said, "I can hardly wait to make you
miserable." It happened "because". Because the truth of the
matter is that it takes courage to stop and ask the critical
question: Does this serve our customer? Our member? Our
community?
We all "know" the rules of service. But sadly, sometimes we
don't take the time to think through just what our actions might
be do or say to the customer. Here are some actions guaranteed
to drive folks from the doors of an enterprise. It's time for
all of us to sit up and notice!
Over promise and under deliver.
Bring people to the conference with the promise of cutting edge
material. Lure attendees into thinking that the hotel is a
four-star marvel. Tell customers that they'll have all the
material they need in three days. Promise the meeting planner
that the press kit will go out overnight. Then sit back and
watch. Really watch. If it isn't true 100% of the time, it's a
bait and switch promise.
Take the idea of "cutting edge material". I've attended
conferences in which the only cutting edge was the serving knife
on a buffet table. Same ideas. Same methodology. Same format.
Get a clue! Shake it up. Be provocative. If we say it, we better
deliver.
How about that four-star hotel? Brochure looks great. The
conference walk through is stunning. But then, could that
ghastly-looking luncheon plate REALLY be the same chicken
marsala you were served in the tasting? And, how about the fact
that the hotel "forgot" to tell you that the major dining room
would be undergoing renovation. Yikes!
The three-day guarantee. If you can't deliver it all the time,
it's not true! Now, perhaps Three Day Blinds has reversed its
practices, but years ago, I ordered window coverings for our new
house. My mother was coming to visit us over Christmas and I
needed shades. Alas, the third day came and went. I discovered
that only "some" shades are three-day, not all. Beware of the
implied promise.
Never walk the talk.
The brochure for the conference said, "a celebration of
members", a "community that listens." Too bad it didn't play out
in reality.
The setting is New Orleans. A couple thousand folks have
gathered for the "celebration" and the "community". Alas, the
reality is another fact. I discover that people are invited to
parties based upon their status in the organization. The
luncheon session I am addressing has some 50 "important people"
file into the banquet hall and take their places on a stage that
is three tiers deep. Talk about a "we"/ "they" set up. I am
told, "This is the way we have always done it." The intent to
"honor" these 50 people was to have hundreds watch them eat and
to also set up the boundary between the "us" and the "them".
Come on. There are a few more creative ways to showcase the "us"
that is far more inclusive, educational, and community building
than a camera shot of folks eating. I end up addressing an
audience while have my back to 50 plus people. It's rude,
off-putting, and the exact opposite of what the organization, in
all good intentions, wishes to create.
Our lives had better mirror the words
we use and the beliefs we
profess to all. Otherwise, we're merely impersonators. I watched
a very well known speaker who specializes in relationship
building turn into a snarling, demanding customer who treated
the flight attendants like personal servants. How many
disbelievers were created on that day?
Make technology your primary form of communication.
Make sure there's a voice mail doom loop from which someone will
never emerge to actually speak with a live human. Conduct all
business via e-mail, assuming that a message sent is a message
received. And while you're at it, hit send as soon as a message
is written.
These three practices can doom any business relationship.
Amazing isn't it: having a person answer the phone can actually
be a competitive advantage! How easy do we make it for people to
do business with us via the telephone or even our web site? I
tried to book a reservation in a lovely hotel, only to be
treated to a lovely online tour of the property without ever
finding a contact number!
E-mail is great for data but not perfect for relationship
building or critical pieces of information. In fact, often the E
in e-mail stands for escalation and error. Two colleagues almost
became bitter enemies over rapid fire e-mails that had the sting
of a viper and the warmth of the Arctic. Neither thought to pick
up the phone and talk things out. Thus, the lop-sided "chats"
turned into internecine warfare. Talk about beating folks up!!
I discovered fascinating information about a client when we
talked through my normal pre-program survey rather than depend
upon an electronic transmission. I had thought my online survey
was a time saving device. Instead, what it became was a
gatekeeper, preventing me from digging deeper into an issue.
Likewise, multiple choice answers on written or online customer
service surveys will never result in information of substantive
depth.
Forget the wisdom of the outer circle.
In organizational life, there's always an "inner circle" of
power and control. Boards of Directors wield it. So do powerful
departments. When practices and policies come only from the
inner circle, the rank and file is not only unheard, but can
turn its back on the organization. Members leave associations
when they feel discounted and "not in the know". Never say
"thank you".
Mother was right when she made us kids write notes to relatives
after Christmas. It's a forgotten habit that can go a long way
to letting people feel appreciated. Likewise, pick up the phone
and call a client or member who has a complaint and THANK THEM
for making that complaint known. You'll discover a huge dividend
in goodwill after they recover from the shock of your call.
Three Practices to KEEP customers and members.
Common courtesy isn't common. Be uncommon.
Service is an unnatural act. It takes emphasis away from
ourselves and gives it to others. Be unnatural.
Time is the only non-renewal resource. Never waste people's time.
Hope I haven't wasted yours!
(c) 2005, McDargh Communications. Publication rights granted to
all venues so long as article and by-line are reprinted intact
and all links are made live.
About the author:
Named by Executive Excellence Magazine as one of the top 100
thought leaders in business, Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE authored
one of the first books on work/life balance. Eileen is an award
winning professional speaker, consultant and facilitator. Find
free articles, surveys, book reviews and more at her professional speaker
website.
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