FRAM SYSTEMS ^blog

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that people buy the results of the product and not the product itself. An example I’ve often heard is that a drill is bought because the need was for the hole, not the drill itself. Businesses acquire inventory systems not because they want to buy software but because they need to know what they have to sell, where it is located, how much it costs etc.

Let’s take a look at another aspect of the result: what happens when the desired effect or outcome of the purchase is not what the buyer expected? What happens when it all goes wrong? How you handle that can be more important than just about anything else you do. Even though your company may have invested massively in engineering or design creating a product that is the best of it’s kind or a service without peer in the marketplace doesn’t automatically mean you will be successful.

Remember the old adage about building a better mousetrap. That goes a long way toward teaching us that we need to market and advertise our product or service if we want people to know about and buy it. However, when things go wrong with it, who will be blamed? Who will be perceived as at fault? Without going too deeply into the discussion about why people like to blame instead of solving problems themselves, it will probably you the manufacturer or seller of the product or service that will receive the blame. It’s how you handle it that counts.

Are you only selling half?

So you have a killer product. You’ve also done your job letting the world know about it. Sales are good and are growing. Then it happens. Your product falls down on the job. It doesn’t matter how or why, it just fails. What happens to you customer then? If the product is inexpensive or trivial they may just trash it and buy another. Will the next one they buy be your’s or your competitor’s? How can you be assured that they will: turn to you first and buy from you again?

That’s called customer service. In a survey of over 1,000 Canadian retail, banking and telco customers, Acumen Research Group determined of customers that that were considered loyal, 73 percent actually defected from the companies they were loyal to. 43 left because of a negative experience with a staff person, 30 percent because they felt that they were not being treated as valued customers. How do your costumers stand up?

So your great product or service is maybe only half of what you sell. The other half is how you relate to your customers after the sale, especially when there is a problem and there will always be problems. What can you do to avoid losing more than 70 percent of your loyal customers?

Human relationships

I’ll say this again and again, all business is done between people. It is how you treat people that makes the difference. H. Ross Perot was right on target when he said “Business is a cobweb of human relationships.” What can you do to ensure that the great majority of relationship your business has are strong and enduring? Here are some questions to ask.

What do my customers want? What are they actually paying for?

Results. Do they want the hole? What problem are they solving by giving you money? What other expectations do they have about your product? For example, if you sell cell phone service, do they expect all their calls to go through? Do they expect calls not to be dropped? Do they expect to have voicemail? The ability to have easily send and receive text messages? Do they appreciate dealing with unresponsive or clueless service reps? What about waiting on hold for more than 10 minutes to speak with someone?

Have you ever asked your customers what they want and they expect from your product or service or did you ‘build a better mousetrap’ and wait for them to come knocking? They only way to know is by asking. Talk to your customers and prospects about what they want, need, desire and expect. You are free to also envision what you can do to make their experience with you special. What can you do to set your product or service apart after the sale? What can you do that competition does not?

Take your ideas and your customer’s ideas and study which will be of the most value. Which are feasible and which are not and why? Take those ideas that you can make work 100 percent of the time, in a systematic fashion, and incorporate them in your business.

Do your employees know who they are?

Everyone in your business, from you, if your are the CEO or President, down to the janitor or truck driver is the personification of your business. How they appear and behave? Have they been trained in your systems? Do they know how to do the right thing every time or where to turn for help? Do you have systems in place that help them know and understand their role goes beyond their job? Are you serious about acknowledging and rewarding their behavior toward the business and more importantly toward your customers? Remember why over 70 percent of ‘loyal’ customer’s defected: a poor interaction with an employee.

Your ambassadors

Your employees are your ambassadors. Have you empowered them with the ability to make reasonable commitments on behalf of your company when it comes to keeping your customers satisfied? When employees know not only what the right thing to do is, but that they are empowered to make it happen, they are free to act in way that will build your business. When they are limited and perceive that the only people they need satisfy are their superiors they are severely handicapped and devalued. When they are empowered how do you think they will feel about your customers? When they feel mistreated or devalued, how do you think they will feel toward your customers?

Engineering

When your commitment to customer service is as strong as your commitment to engineering, marketing and sales, then your product is complete. Engineer your business and your product to build customer service into everything and watch how the world perceives of your business. Watch also as your competitor’s customers become aware of it. They will be the more than 70 percent that are looking for a new relationship.