Author: JoAnna Brandi

We are all learning anew what it takes to do business in the world today. I do believe the basics still apply - although they may need to show up in different combinations and different ways. For instance - more than ever we need to be listening to our customers...and we need to make sure that every one in the company is listening - with their ears and their eyes.

 

I was out in Chicago last week (love that city!) doing several CEO and executive meetings. My topic: Building Customer Loyalty - Sharpening Your Competitive Edge. In this half day workshop I share lots and lots of ideas from companies that are doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. The participants always go home with dozens of ideas they can put into place to "amp up" their potential for building stronger and more sustainable relationships with customers.

 

I say "potential" where I might have once dared to use the word "proven." We are all learning anew what it takes to do business in the world today. I do believe the basics still apply - although they may need to show up in different combinations and different ways. For instance - more than ever we need to be listening to our customers. We need to know what they want, what will make them happy, what will entice them to tell their friends about us. We need to know what they feel and what they want to feel as a result of doing business with us - and we need to make sure that every one in the company is listening - with their ears and their eyes.

I stayed at the Marriot hotel downtown. It's a lovely property and central to everywhere I needed to go. Comes check out time, I get my bill, the clerk, Terence asks me that ever uninspiring question "How was your stay?" and I said, "Fine" and proceeded to check my bill.

I didn't say anything else - with my words. Apparently the look on my face, and my body language indicated that I was indeed, unhappy with something on the bill. Bless his heart - he came around from the back of the counter, looked over my shoulder and told me that it "looked like" something was not right.

It was a room service bill - $30 for two eggs and coffee, no juice, potatoes or meat? (I was sure that in some Mariotts breakfast buffets in the concierge room were included with my "silver" status, a fact I had mentioned to the check in clerk, but not to him.) His response was perfect. He empathized, validated my feelings and then cut that breakfast check in half for me. I left feeling pretty happy.

A front desk clerk is a "listening post". That topic came up in my meetings - where are we listening to what matters to the customers? Where are we learning what matters today? How are we gathering information - everywhere in the organization - so we can be smarter about what our customers will need in the future?

Here are some ideas on formal and informal ways to gather intelligence on your customers

1. Reframe the word "complaint" so every one in the organization can see them for what they really are - gifts. Free consulting. A customer volunteering to tell you where there is a gap in your service. Embrace complaints as a form of "free" research. Keep a log of complaints that come in and review it often - you will be able to see patterns.  Stop saying "I don't want to hear any complaints around here."

2. Learn how to use internet survey tools (see the one we use on the side bar). You can use it to do a poll, a formal survey or just ask one single question that will help you gather insight. It's fun to put a question in your email signature "How can we make is easier for you to do business with us?" is a good one - and gather the info with your survey tool. You can change the question every month if you like. We use it to gather info on projects - take a look at www.FeelGoodAtWorkProject.com

3. Use the web - bulletin boards, forums, Twitter, blogs - keep your eyes out for what your customers are saying about you - what you sell - and what the competitors are doing.

4. Invite customers for breakfast. Do morning workshops that engage the customers in a learning experience. Feed them well, deliver great content that will help them in their business or life and the design some great questions to stimulate discussion. Zip your lip and listen.

5. Create better questions to use at point of contact. Instead of "How was your stay" Try " Was everything about your experience with us perfect?" or " What one thing would you like us to do differently?" or "Is there any way we could have made it easier (more pleasant, more enjoyable etc.) for you to do business with us? You can use these questions in person, in comment cards, or with your thank you email.

6. New Customer, Lost Customer surveys. At both ends of the spectrum there is a lot of info to be had. Why did you choose us? Why did you lose us? A courtesy call to all new customers (with a hearty "thank you" and some well constructed question will give info on how they are thinking and will help you add value to their experience). A lost customer survey will tell you if there was anything you could have done to save the relationship - and might even give you a chance to do it at that point. Just be sure to frame your conversation from a place of curiosity and not defensiveness - you are not there to defend your position.

7. Speaking of non-defensive behavior - try some Customer Dialogs. Open up to listening to your customers deeply, naively, and curiously. When we can silence the self interest in our own minds we can uncover what might just be the key to keeping that customer happy. You can do dialogs in small groups or one on one. You can send a list of questions ahead of time to get the customers thinking before you get there. It's not a survey - it's a conversation.

And you know what I have to say - the very first step in changing the culture - is changing the conversation. Lets' get started.  It's a whole new world - let's make up some new rules of doing business. 
 
JoAnna

 

Copyright 2008 by JoAnna Brandi. Used with permission.