Customer Service idea

Courtesy of Andrew Griffiths - www.andrewgriffiths.com.au

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A SUREFIRE WAY TO BUILD AN AMAZINGLY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS?

Last week a good friend and supplier of mine sent me an email that really made me stop and think. Nicky looks after my various websites and I keep her on her toes, as I can be a little demanding of my partners at times! Nicky was reviewing her businesses overall customer service and she asked me a very interesting question, “what could she do to make my life easier?” Now as simple as this question may sound, it is incredibly profound. Surely we should all be looking for ways to make our customers lives easier?

But how often do we actually ask them how could we can do this? Or how could we save them money? Or time? Or frustration? Unfortunately we spend too much of our time looking inside our business, doing things that make our life easier, even if it is at the expense of the customer. We make blanket policies to suit us, rules and procedures, without consulting our customers even when it affects them directly.

How many businesses do you go into where the systems don’t work, where you have to wait in lines with one person serving whilst five others stand around doing “other important stuff?”

Well I hate to break the bad news here, but there is nothing more important in any business than the customers. One thing that I know for certain is that in the coming years customers are not going to be as easy to find as they have been. But those businesses who are smart enough to actually take the time and initiative to find out what they could be doing to help their customers will certainly stand out from the crowd.

So how do you find out how you could better serve your customers? It’s pretty simple really, just ask them.

Nicky sent me a simple, but very personal email that I think made her question so much more meaningful. Don’t do a blanket email, or bulk letter drop, that doesn’t make anyone feel special or important. Pick up the phone and talk to your customers. Ask for their views, their opinions and their needs.

It has certainly made me rethink how I do business and I will be talking to each and every business that I work with to see how I can make their lives easier. Any business, large or small, that adopts this philosophy will be miles in front of any competitors. And the best part of this whole idea is that it costs nothing but time.