The only sure way I know to stay ahead of the competition and to grow a successful business is through customer care and innovation.  In the past I have spoken often about innovation and how important it is to business growth. I will spend more time on the term “innovation” in the near future, but today I want to talk about the subject of customer care.

In today’s marketplace, satisfying a customer is no longer enough.  If all your customers are merely satisfied, they will shop anywhere for similar products or service. We all expect to be satisfied when we purchase something.  When shopping at a department store, I expect satisfying service. That does not mean that I will only shop at that one department store, nor does it mean that I will tell everyone I know about how great the service was. In most cases, the service provided meets the buyer’s expectations (which are not usually very high).

There is another type of customer care, one that results in a loyal customer instead of a satisfied customer. Loyal customers will “fight before they switch” and they will work hard, on your behalf, to send you new buyers. Tom  Peters  wrote ( in The Pursuit of WOW)  that 70% of lost customers hit the road not because of price or quality issues but  because they didn’t like the human side of doing business with the prior provider of the product or service.”

Jeffry Gitomer said that the three factors needed to create loyal customers are:

• Get Real includes: putting yourself in your customers’ shoes; dropping the fake mask of “professionalism” and speaking from the “heart”.
• Get Friendly, starting with the smile on the face that answers the phone or greets a customer.  Having a desire to serve and really care about others by doing more listening instead of talking.
• Create a WOW: A few of the  words that best describe a WOW: manners, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, real, compelling, truthful, helpful, funny, understanding, confident, patient, and friendly.
• I add a fourth; communication and follow up: is your follow up carefully planned and does it show that you care? Does it encompass  the first three points above?

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.

Og Mandino

Nick Petra             Let’s  get together and work on creating Loyal Customers

Make it a Successful Today!