A Client Satisfaction Story
Recently I contacted one of our vendors with some questions about billing and increasing their deliverables. We had been doing business with them for years without much in the way of communication. We had a contract with them, they quietly delivered and over the years the costs had increased without any question on our part. I researched the market for the competitive costs for what they had been delivering and for the new service we wished to add. I contacted the vendor and explained we were looking to upgrade and, “oh, by the way, it looks like you have been charging us above market rate”. I invited the sales rep to visit with us here at the office, go over our contract and submit a quote for our new product needs as well as the previous service they had been providing. I also let him know we were sending out to bid our business to his competitors. Unfortunately, I found that the sales representative was not particularly motivated to retain and grow his account with us and fell off the map. After his initial visit, he failed to follow up and when it came time for us to choose our service provider we saw that we didn't have anything from him. Out of curiosity, I checked and found the company had a page on Facebook. I left a posting indicating that I was impressed with company's fortunes that allowed them to let a long standing client leave to a competitor without an attempt to keep the business. Let me tell you, the response was phenomenal! Within the hour I had an email asking me to contact the Client Relationship Manager directly to discuss the issue. After the call to the corporate office in which I gave them the details of my dissatisfaction, the local regional general manager contacted me and asked if he could have a shot at retaining our business. Needless to say, he came in with the best quote. Based on the excellent quote, the personal phone call from the CEO who asked for our forgiveness of their mistake, we chose to retain this vendor. While I truly appreciated the new pricing, I was more favorably impressed with the company's willingness to accept blame for their failings. Our contract with them would not be a make it or break it for their company, but their desire to place customer service so high on their list of priorities truly impressed me.
With this customer satisfaction experience in mind, I reviewed my own philosophy on creating and maintaing a high level of client satisfaction.
Here are six universal points that will apply to any type of business.
1. Don't ever forget to say THANKS! It can be face to face, over the phone or via written thank you notes. Customers like to feel appreciated. Recently I bought some clothes from a well known men's clothing store. Just a few days later I opened my mail and found a thank you note from my salesman. Was I impressed? You bet. Will I go back? You bet. And, when I do, I will be looking for my salesman. I loved the way they followed up!
2. Find out if you are doing a good job, and if there are problems react quickly. By the way, your customers will not likely tell you if there are problems. Numerous studies have shown that unhappy customers don't complain. The White House Office of Consumer Affairs created a customer satisfaction survey and found that an average business only hears from 4% of unhappy customers. The other 96% don't complain - at least not to the places they did business. While the study was conducted a number of years ago, current independent studies still show similar findings. Your ultimate goal should be to try and find any problems before the customer complains. The best way is for you to simply ask how you are doing.
3. Make sure the customer knows they made the right decision to do business with you. Educate and reinforce that they have made a good choice. If you do something different than the competition, make sure the customer knows about it.
4. Personally, stand behind everything you do. A customer doesn't do business with a company. They do business with the people who represent the company. And, make sure the customer knows you mean it. If there is a problem, don't just push it off to someone else, better referred to as the “It's Not My Department” reaction. If a customer has a problem, and you are the person that received it, it is your responsibility to see it through. You may not make the final decision, but you are there at the end when it is made.
5. Recognize that there may be others in the “buying process” that should be made to feel appreciated. These people might also be involved in the buying process, such as an assistant, or even a committee, but may not be the person or people you are dealing with day-to-day. Even if the assistant is not involved in the buying decision, they are still part of the team.
Don't forget to show appreciation for these people as well.
6. Create a demanding customer. Now, here is an interesting concept! Creating a demanding customer means that if your customer were to go to your competition, they would not just expect, but demand, the same level of service that they get from you. Anything less from the competition reinforces that the customer made the right choice to do business with you. In other words, you have spoiled your customer. What may be standard for you is better than the competition. The competition will find your customer to be not just demanding, but perhaps a bit unreasonable.
Based on my own personal experience, don't forget to follow upon your presence on the internet. If you have a Facebook page for your company, check it consistently. Follow up on any posts, good or bad. Check to see if any blogs have been created about your company; follow up on those as well. The advent of social media requires all business owners to be vigilant about what is being dais about their company, good and bad. It also gives us an unprecedented opportunity to create an atmosphere of total client satisfaction.
Studies have also proven that it is much more expensive to attract a new customer to a business than to keep an existing one. Deliver to your clients the best you have to offer. Don't be afraid to respond to constructive criticism or complaints. It will benefit your company and all of your customers.
And don't be afraid to answer our eternal question here at InConcert Financial Group: How are we doing? We really want to know, we really want to have the most satisfied clients in our industry.
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By: Richard “Phil” Philbrook
If your business needs our expertise help or advice, we are always there for you. You are always welcome to call our business consultants at (510) 235 1044. |
