We do Windows - Full Service is the Only Service
By Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC
Many companies impose restrictions on their levels of service. They only consider doing certain things and that is enough. This economy is mostly service industry businesses which means our service level is also a competitive advantage or disadvantage. Now is not the time to say we don’t do windows. In this age full service means doing windows and whatever else is necessary to help a customer not only get what they want or need, but to consistently do the remarkable to be remembered.
Loyal customers are the lifeline of any business. One of the greatest impediments to companies is that employees feel their role is to help employees become satisfied. Satisfied customers do not necessarily come back; they do not take an aggressive stand to become your raving fan and market your business for you. They nod when you get right the things you are supposed to get right. They don’t necessarily remember shopping or dealing with you because you did not leave any impression.
Face it, in this age of information blur and continual distraction, customers are overwhelmed with choices and information. What is needed is a formula for businesses to develop loyal customers. To help customers not only get what they need but to do it in such a way that they are remembered. This loyalty formula is supported by the statement “we do windows” – we do it all. And doing it requires us to first get it right every time, and then wow the customer as often as possible.
So let’s talk formula. Getting it right for a customer at best encourages a satisfied customer. Satisfied customers are not loyal and that means that we cannot rely on them to return or to tell their friends about us. When we get it right for a customer, we do as they expect. Say I go into a restaurant and order a steak cooked medium. When it comes out cooked medium (as I requested) I am satisfied but not impressed…it is the role of the restaurant to get it as I ask. This event, though fine at the moment, has done nothing to insure that I come back. Getting it right is the ticket to the service game; only those who get it right get considered. So what takes a satisfied customer up a level to loyal?
Let’s look back at our loyalty formula:
Get it right + do something more.
We have gotten it right; now it is time to do something more. This may be something extraordinary or something simple. What it needs to be is remarkable and remarkable means (according to author Seth Godin) that people are going to talk about it. If people do not talk about what you do or what you sell, you have not left an impression and you have not moved them to loyal.
Blending in today is the same as being invisible in the market. If we do not offer something completely distinct or different in our service or product, we look like everyone else and we blend. Extraordinary companies do not blend; they stand out. Extraordinary companies like to do unusual things because it gets people talking. Unususal does not have to be weird or bizarre…all it needs to be is different and meaningful for customers. It may be delivering at an hour that does not interrupt a customer’s business. It may be sharing success tips or ideas with others and not insist on a fee. It may be remembering that a customer prefers a window table and seats them there without asking. It could be little – it could be extreme. It just needs to be different. It needs to be a little bit more…it needs to drive loyalty.
If you have a cleaning service and they do a good job but don’t do (your) windows, you are at best a satisfied customer. But if they also do things others don’t – like doing windows, there is the potential that you will become a loyal customer.
How do you always get it right for your customer? And once you do, how do you do the extra to stand out, become remarkable and move your customer to loyal? Ask your employees – they generally know. And with their input, invent your loyalty formula and watch its impact in your bottom line.
Humanetrics LLC. All rights reserved 2007.