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Gain some insight into what changes you could make to your business to improve customer satisfaction, retention and referrals.
I am an advocate of analyzing every step in the operation of a business through a prospect’s or customer’s eyes. If we did this more often as we set policies and designed our procedures, we would all be busier and more successful.
This management process is called “Moments of Truth” or “influence point analysis.” “Moments of Truth,” are all of the interactions a business has with its customers. There are major points and minor points, and if you listed them all on paper, it would be a long list. Some influence points are indirect, such as a recall postcard or a newsletter, and some points are negative, such as a customer or prospect that is unhappy and tells others about a poor experience at your business.
The influence points outlined here are a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you do those things, you will have those results. Great service leads to success. The success pattern in most businesses is a cycle. The core of the business model is simple and has worked for many successful companies, big and small. If you provide “truly great services,” you will attract a lot of customers and will be able to charge higher prices. And if you attract a lot of customers and collect higher prices, you will be able to offer “truly great services which will create “Raving Fan Customers” that will become advocates for your business!
The mystery is how an ambitious business owner without huge financial resources breaks into the success cycle. It’s somewhat of a chicken-or-the-egg deal—which comes first is the hard part.
Generally, you can’t become a huge success overnight; but, you can enter and grow into the success cycle. Be sure to offer the points of excellence listed below, which are completely free of charge. Develop a passion for these factors, and not only will they become part of your business culture, but your staff will adopt them as well:
- Great service.
- Caring about others.
- Being on time.
- Cleanliness.
- Friendliness.
- Thoroughness.
- Thoughtfulness.
- Respect.
- Fairness.
- Community service.
- Convenient hours.
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