How,Turn,Your,Customers,Into,E business, insurance How to Turn Your Customers Into Evangelists

Small offices have unique needs, and thatincludes document shredding. Designed with the smaller business inmind, the Dahle 20314 is a cross-cut shredder that offers Level 3security and brings you into compliance with federal regulations. The As we all know to live in this world we have to perform some activity by which we can earn money. There are many activities by which we can earn money and meet the standards to live in this society. And from one of them is franchise.  Franc

When we talk about customer loyalty, it usually meansthe customer being loyal to the company. That should bea great result to aim for, but it isn't the beginningof the story. Real customer loyalty comes from youbeing loyal to your customers.Exceeding expectations is a worn-out cliché these days,but like all clichés, it covers an important truth. Inan age of instant gratification and heightened publicawareness of consumer issues, your customers expect youto be good. Good is standard. Good is the averageagainst which you are judged.Good doesn't win you any prizes.Bad, on the other hand, ranges from outright awful, to'trying-hard-but-not-quite-there'. Any point on thislong line results in three things - none of which youwant: The immediate loss of a customer; the certainloss of their future trade; the probability that theywill bad-mouth you to everyone they know, ensuring thata number of potential customers are lost to you aswell.-------------------------------------------------------Aside: In writing this, I am deliberately personalizingit to you. You are the representative of your companywhether you are the boss or the messenger. Customersdon't care about your position; they care about theservice they receive. So whoever you are, whatever youdo, the customer service buck MUST stop with YOU.-------------------------------------------------------Let's get practical. How do you go beyond 'good'? Thereare three steps that every company should take, nomatter how big or small they are:1. Empowerment2. Think like your customers3. Find out who is the best in your field, copy them,and go a step further.Empowerment.------------This is a little-understood, but immensely powerfulconcept. Too many companies are frightened to implementempowerment because they fear loss of control. They areso wrong. If the idea is introduced correctly, withevery member of staff understanding what is expected ofthem, and the parameters under which they can operate,empowerment is the single most important action that acompany can take to improve its relationship with itscustomers.As a simple example, consider the famous hotel chainwhich discovered that it had a 'chain-of-command'problem:A guest would complain about a problem to the desk.The desk would fill in a form.The form would go through channels to a manager.The manager would, in time, read the report.If the manager felt the problem was sufficientlyimportant, it would be delegated to a operative to fix.The hotel felt that is was responding to its guestscomplaints. In reality, the problem may have beenfixed, but not for the guest who complained. That gueststayed disgruntled and probably took his businesselsewhere. Perhaps even telling his friends andcolleagues about the problem (which by now no longerexisted, but it did in their minds).Then the hotel learned about empowerment.Now when the guest complained to the desk, the clerk isempowered to think and act. It is now her job to find asolution, not to simply pass on the problem. She has amodest weekly budget to use at her discretion for justthese eventualities.So now, when she is told by the guest that the coffeein his room tastes bad, she can ask him which brand hewould prefer. Five minutes later, she calls in to thelocal grocery store, buys a jar of his favorite coffee,takes it to the guest's room and leaves the jar, with acard personally signed by her. The guest is delighted,and tells his colleagues what a fantastic place thehotel is. All it cost was a jar of coffee, a littlethought, and ten minutes.It even saved a heap of paperwork.Empower your staff to solve the little problems andmany of the big ones will vanish too.Think like your customers.--------------------------How can such an obvious statement be ignored by so manycompanies? If you were buying from you, would you buyfrom you again? If your mother walked through the doorof your store, would you treat her any differently toyour other customers? If the answer is yes, you arewrong. You should treat every customer like yourmother. Substitute the President, or the Queen ofEngland, if you like. You get the picture.If you are dealing with a customer who has a complaint,never try to rationalize it or justify it. Don't blamethe problem on 'company policy'. As far as thatcustomer is concerned, YOU are the company. YOU have tosolve the problem. So think like they think:Why is this a problem?How would I feel if it had happened to me?What solution would I want?Think that way, and you will quickly get the iratecustomer on your side. Irate customers expect to befobbed off with company rules and excuses. The best wayto defuse them is to give them immediate solutions,without argument.Over-copy your competitors.---------------------------Do some research. Ask around. Who is the best companyin the field? Why? What do they do that is so good?Now, here is the clever part: ask what they couldimprove, what even the best companies do wrong. Then,when you copy the good stuff, you improve on the badstuff as well.There is nothing wrong with copying good ideas. We alldo it all the time. The real trick is to put your ownslant on the idea and freshen it up to make it yourown.When you have identified the little niggling problemsthat even the best companies get wrong - go out andcelebrate! Once you have solved them, these become yourmost powerful benefit-laden selling points:"Of course we have great prices and people willing tohelp you pack your groceries. Who doesn't? But atBloggs Supermarket, you get our special double-reinforced carrying bags. We buy them specially so evenif a whole quart of milk leaks out, your groceries willnever fall through the bottom."It is often the small difference that makes the sale.Not because of the item itself, but because it showsyour customers that you care enough about them.That way, they will care about you too.Customers who care about the companies they deal withspend a lot of time telling their friends. Everyonelike to boast about the great service they received.They become your best promotional weapon: evangelists.