- Start within – embrace the concept of every one is a customer whether they are a colleague or an external customer, whenever you are asked to deliver be sure you fully understand the brief and you deliver that little bit extra each and every time.
- Everyone in the organisation should be an ambassador, delivering positive messages about the organisation everywhere they go, with everyone they are with. If they don’t find out why and fix it, positive people are the way forward, negative people will bring the business down.
- Team stability, customers like to know who they are speaking with and like to build a relationship with them, it is a two way street and the customers vote with their feet
- Focus on delivering value, businesses that focus on profit are not listening to their customers needs and try to push. Have a pull and push strategy that is in line with real customer needs – that creates value.
- Never take you customers for granted, if you do you will loose them to your competitors
- Say ‘Thank you’, one of the manners most of us have drummed into us, say thank you often and it will be noticed and appreciated
- Ask customers what they think about your business, they will tell you the truth and people like to be asked about their thoughts.
- Communicate with your customers in the way they want to be not how you want to do it.
- Understand your customers business as well as you do your own, that way you will truly be able to add value.
- Focus on retaining customers not gaining new ones – it is certainly cheaper and more effective
- Learn to love complaints – how you manage complaints can turn unhappy customers into raving fans.
Paula Finch runs seminars and workshops on this important subject above are just a few of her golden rules to building a business that has the customer as it’s pinnacle. Businesses that adopt this strategy are more robust, able to charge more and are more likely to have a sustainable business longer term.
