For most businesses, growing top line revenue is the first financial goal. Without sales, there is no profit and no way to cover operating expenses. So sales teams are incented to sell more to existing customers and to capture new ones. But how do we keep those sales from becoming returns, disputed items, or credit memos?
Whether you are in the business of selling products or services, you need to meet and exceed customer expectations regularly so that you can consistently grow your customer base. The goal is to turn every customer into a “Raving Fan” (as explained by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles in their book by that name) who can’t wait to spread the news about your business. Organizational success in meeting this goal depends entirely on the individual actions of your employees. Every person in your organization must be aligned with your goal of exceptional service and empowered to make the kinds of decisions that support it. For many companies, this means first alignment with the reason they exist – or the WHY (Based on Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why). Next employees must understand How and What the organization does as articulated in the Core Values and Mission Statement. Only then can you turn your focus towards your customers.
Raving fans are created when motivated, caring employees make the effort to understand customer needs and seek ways to meet them.
If you have ever experienced the service at the Ritz- Carlton Hotel, you know what it feels like to be greeted by someone who cares. (Even when you are just a diner in their restaurant.) The organization allows each employee to spend up to $2,000 to make a single guest satisfied. Imagine the thrill for an employee when he or she is able to step in and solve a problem for a guest. And then imagine how it feels to be the recipient of special assistance from a Ritz-Carlton team member when you need it.
As the work force continues to shrink in businesses of all kinds, declining levels of service are the norm. It is easier than ever to be the exception to the rule – you can choose to be the company that delivers goods on time, or sends service professionals out on time, or offers special financing options, or promises lenient return policies. Even having a live person answer the phone is a differentiator these days – it eliminates the need to correct the automated voice who fails miserably at guiding you through the phone tree or worse, the automated chat bot.
How can you deliver the kind of customer experience that turns customers into raving fans? What sets you apart from other businesses like yours? And as accountants we have to ask, what can you count or measure to track your progress towards creating more raving fans of your business?
