Published: 15 December 2011

What Kind of Gift is Your Business?

Christine Hepburn

How often do you walk away from any business feeling WOW, that was amazing? Your real competitive edge is in how your customers are treated, with every call, visit, email or view of your website a unique opportunity to differentiate yourself.

Consider your business the same way you would a gift you are giving someone you care about. What details are included for your customers, how much effort goes into preparation, how is it presented?

How often do you walk away from any business feeling, ‘WOW that was amazing!’
On the other hand, how many times do you leave experiencing annoyance or frustration?

Also, there is simply satisfied, not consciously thinking of that business again. In fact, we often experience these extremes across one day.

Word of mouth is the most inexpensive and powerful form of marketing

Use it to your advantage. People don’t talk about satisfaction, just poor or exceptional, with the ability to share experiences when emotions are high through instant communication such as twitter, Facebook and smart phones.

Although competition is strong, research shows consumers will pay for exceptional service, even in difficult economic periods. We have an innate need to be respected, valued and appreciated.

It’s also clear that in the absence of an exceptional experience, consumers will choose price.

My research has identified that from a customer’s perspective, the main reasons for businesses not providing an exceptional experience are:

Staff attitude
Lack of training (knowledge and service)
Lack of interest in the customer
Lack of consistency

Regardless of what we think, it’s what the customer thinks that becomes reality. Good or satisfied isn’t enough. Our customers should expect satisfaction when paying for any product or service.

Every interaction with a business is an experience

What that experience is makes the difference to how hard the business has to work attracting or retaining customers.

We can’t expect consumers to support local businesses without being prepared to invest in creating a service culture, continually striving to do better in order to earn their custom.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

Customer Service is not a sign, counter or department, it’s an attitude, a culture.

Be clear on your core values, mission, vision, customer retention and service experience, which make up your business culture.

More than ever, it’s time to focus on the importance of providing memorable experiences in every business, regardless of size or type. This is valuable to your bottom line.

Several factors affect service standards

One is an aura of complacency. Another is staff lacking awareness of what is required to deliver exceptional service, with yet another being an approach where inconsistency in service delivery creates its own problem. A number of excellent experiences can be undone in a moment with one poor one, losing even loyal customers.�

Also, a lack of commitment, an ‘I don’t care’ approach, often resulting from the attitude of staff to the business they work in affects service.

Service is the key element, completely within our control. How we treat our customers and the overall experience they receive ultimately dictates our success or failure. Not only is service within our control, research shows that it’s the one thing that will set us apart - for better or worse.

Your real competitive edge is in how your customers are treated, with every call, visit, email or view of your website a unique opportunity to differentiate yourself.

Even if they're good, don't settle for the results you're getting; always seek greater results and be exceptional. Develop loyal clients who will market your business for you by focusing on ‘being of service’ rather than ‘just delivering a service or product’.

Your experience is how people remember you, so what kind of gift is your business?

Christine Hepburn is a Director and Principal Trainer for The Defining Edge Training and Development, where their ethos is 'Training is our Focus Service is our Passion'. Christine has extensive experience in building successful small businesses from no more than just a concept, through to working in large corporations developing, training and mentoring staff. Drawing on this experience, she inspires her clients to discover what their customers really want and how to create an exceptional experience they can't get anywhere else. The results her clients achieve speak for themselves.

With a passion and commitment to excellence shining through, this ensures she is a highly sought after presenter, speaker, a recognised specialist in Exceptional Customer Experience as well as an author of two books.