Customers need to know that you have their best interests at heart. As business owners or managers, we get too bogged down with the day-to-day machinations of business and forget the ultimate goal; to satisfy our customer’s needs. We forget what Peter Drucker famously said that the purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer.
We focus more on payroll than the proper staffing needed to service our customers. We focus more on lowering product costs than raising the value we offer to our customers. We focus more on customer acquisition costs versus the actual experience each will receive.
This is a mindset of “company first” versus “customer first”. That’s not the best way to build, grow, and transform loyal customers into brand advocates.
Make Your World Revolve Around The Customer
So how do we change this mindset? Good question. Here are 3 easy-to-implement suggestions.
- Host regular employee roundtable meetings where everyone can suggest a tactic that will enrich the customer experience. This is also an opportunity to point out any weak areas of service and make suggestions on how to fix them.
- Hire “secret shoppers” to evaluate the service you provide. Better yet, have ownership or senior management do it. I bet they’ll be surprised by what they find.
- Interview customers to determine their satisfaction level. Ask detailed questions of the specific customer journey points to see if their experience matches with the company’s plans.
What Do Great Businesses Do?
Great businesses find a customer need and develop a product or service that fills that need. They don’t bring their product to market then hope it resonates with the public enough to turn them into loyal customers. This is backward thinking that leads to much worry and stress.
How to Find Loyal Customers
Loyal customers are all around us. We just need to identify ways to feed their need for great products and even greater service. When we do this, they’ll be happy to sing our praises to their circle of friends and family. When you make your world revolve around the customer, you’ll be amazed at the outcome!
