|
If
sales
are the engine that drives your
business, then
customer satisfaction is the fuel. Your ability to satisfy
your customers is the critical
determinant of your success in
driving sales and growing your
business. There are four levels of
customer satisfaction, all based on
the degree to which you meet
customer expectations. The higher
the level you achieve, the more you
will build customer loyalty and the
greater will be your success.
Meet Customer Expectations
The minimum
requirement to simply stay in business
–
to survive –
is to meet the expectations of your customers. At this level,
your customers have no complaints. They are satisfied for the
moment. But they are not loyal. If a
competitor
demonstrates that it can and will do more than merely meet their
expectations, your customer will very quickly become
ex-customers. Moreover, if you fail to meet their expectations,
perhaps only one time, they will leave and find someone else who
will. It can be instructive to observe your local merchants
–
true entrepreneurs.
Exceed Customer Expectations
This higher level of customer
satisfaction is reached by
surprising
your customers, going beyond what they expected. Fast, friendly
service, followed up by a phone call to make sure everything is
all right, might put you into this category. So does a product
or service that is a cut above that of your competitors. The
second level of
customer service moves you beyond mere survival, building a
measure of customer loyalty and giving you an edge over your
competitors. It can also increase
your profitability. Customers who experience the kind of
service that exceeds their expectations are often willing to pay
for it, enabling the supplier to raise prices and thus improve
profit margins.
Delight Your Customers
Have you ever experienced a level of service
that not only exceeded your expectations, but actually brought a smile to
your face? A customer served at this level is truly delighted. Not only have
the customers' basic needs been met, or even exceeded, but they have truly
been touched on an emotional level. And once customers have enjoyed this
experience, it will be very difficult for a competitor to pry them away.
When you delight your customers, you are on the way to creating an
exceptional and highly profitable business.
There are countless cost effective ways to delight your customers. Consider
the difference between first-class and coach service on most airlines. To
delight your customer is to show that you
care-about them. No wonder it brings a smile to their face! The greater
your success in delighting your customers, the greater success you will
enjoy in your business.
Amaze Your Customers
This fourth level of customer
satisfaction is what will propel your business into the
stratosphere. It requires you to, not just meet or exceed your
customer's expectations, nor to simply delight them, but to
truly amaze them. When you are able to accomplish this on a
regular basis, you will be in a position to dominate the
marketplace and achieve remarkable rates of revenue growth and
profitability. Examine your business. How might you amaze your
customers? The only limit is your own imagination.
3
Strategies of Market Leaders
Action
Exercises
Ask yourself, what do your
customers expect when they purchase your products or services?
|
