One happy customer plus another should equal three.
For every two customers you win, at least one should buy again or refer you to a friend. We all exist in a hyper-connected and transparent business world. If people aren’t sharing their positive experiences about you with others, something about what you do needs to change.
Although competition is vicious and margins in most markets are being eroded, customers still and always will pay for value and quality service. In fact, we crave it. Deep in our psyche we all have an innate need to be loved and included. Moreover, to be valued, appreciated and remembered. This is the essence of what I refer to as, RetroService.
The most ineffective businesses commonly lack repeat customers. These cultures are unaccommodating and the engagement processes are transactional at best. Conversely, those companies more successful than most employ methods to ensure they not only obtain customer’s trust, but the commitment transcends to loyalty and perpetual value.
Despite what many think, “standing out” in today’s market isn’t all that hard, given the bar is set so low! Meaningful interactions are too hard to find, so too are people willing to provide genuine service. In short, today, there’s a very real opportunity to get back to basics and move to the head of the game.
You can effectively differentiate by doing the simple things that matter most, not at all hard or expensive. Care about what you do and how you impact others. When you start caring and sharing value with customers you’ll find the market a lot more sympathetic to your demands.
Gross sales are often influenced by a spooked market or other external forces, catastrophes such as the GFC and natural disasters dont help either. But, who can predict these events with any accuracy? Don’t trust a three year plan, thinking that far ahead is speculative. Twelve months is long enough, just work to a plan and make the most of what is right in front of you.
When you stop seeing customers as faceless numbers and start treating them as valuable over an extended period, they will see value in you.
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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
