Get to Know Your Customers

Let's face it - you should!

Businesses often operate in ignorance of what their customers like or dislike, ignore and abhor. To ensure retention, pay attention!

The Basics: What Customers Love

- When you know them, remember them by name and remember their preferences.
- To be treated with respect
- To feel special
- To know you're accountable when problems arise
- The ability to reach a live voice or person when problems arise
- To receive lagniappe — a little something extra, for their money's worth

The Basics: What Customers Hate

- The run-around — and having to repeat one's predicament repeatedly
- Labyrinthine voice mail systems
- Ignorant salespeople
- Apathetic employees
- Being put on hold
- Being left on hold
- Being disconnected after holding
- Poor routing of their phone call to the incorrect person
- Repeatedly hearing how important their patronage is while on hold indefinitely
- Canned e-mail responses that are unresponsive or miss the particulars of the problem
- Sales reps with surly or superior attitudes who are condescending
- Lack of empathy
- Taking customers for granted
- Being nickel and dimed!
- Adhering to the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law

How We Can Win Points With Customers

- Exceed their expectations!
- Anticipate client needs even before they do
- Proactively head off problems before they occur
- Advocate for your customers with management
- Provide full service — offering one-stop shopping for myriad client needs
- Make doing business with you fun and easy
- Don't make charge-backs, returns and problems problematic to address
- Grow with your customers
- Treat them like royalty and employ a touch of class in your interactions

Your Next Steps

- Audit your sales and customer service process; look for ways to streamline both for your customers' convenience.
- Make sure your sales reps know your product lines inside and out.
- Poll your customers to uncover new ways to better serve them.
- Create a marketing plan for keeping in front of your customers: e-zines, ads, invites, demos, sales and courtesy calls, focus groups and other mechanisms.
- Review your returns; look for patterns and trends. Fix systemic flaws in your systems.
- Seek to reward devoted, long-term customers for their loyalty.
- To the extent possible, meet and better acquaint yourself with your customers so they're more than a customer number or account name.

Don't treat customers like strangers. Treat them like beloved family!

About the Author

San Francisco Bay Area-based Professional speaker Craig Harrison's Expressions of Excellence!™ provides sales and service solutions through speaking. For information on keynotes, training, coaching, curriculum for licensing and more, call (888) 450-0664, visit www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com or E-mail excellence@craigspeaks.com.