Be Totally Responsive to Customer Wants

To survive the growing pains of the tidal wave of change, developing and growing in the 21st Century as a viable business- a winner – requires that you become 110% responsive to the wants of your customers and of prospective new customers. The bottom-line prescription for business survival is being able to make sales, from having an image based on QUALITY.

You must constantly deliver superior and customised products and services that can create new market niches. To do this you must:

• Get close to your customers (take the initiative and listen to them);
• Be flexible in meeting their wants;
• Specialise (become flexible specialists) and get known for what you do well;
• Differentiate (make your product/service unique by continually adding value);
• Innovate to improve all your products and services, and service;
• Add value (through better quality, reliability and service – QRS); and
• Focus on market creation rather than on market share.

Other prescriptions (not suggestions) are:

Work hard at achieving customer loyalty (it costs seven times more to get a new customer than to keep the one you already have);

Treat quality not as an end-result, but a never-ending journey to beat competitors;

Never think of customers as a ‘nuisance’ who make ‘unreasonable demands’ such as expecting courtesy, getting free advice and actually having your product work satisfactorily;

Treat every customer as an appreciating asset with potential for repeat business and new business referrals [What is a loyal customer worth to your enterprise over 10 years?]

Work hard at never creating a dissatisfied customer – always under-promise and over-deliver, and never promise what you can’t deliver;

Measure customer satisfaction, and find out why any customer has left;

Fix complaints promptly, properly and without causing fuss or embarrassment;

Realise that good service pays, but poor service costs – and costs dearly;

Realise that quality only exists in the ‘eye of the customer’ (the ‘delight factor), and is the single most important component in the recipe for business success;

Realise that over 90% of dissatisfied customers will not come back – ever!

Realise that at least 25% of mal-contents will tell at least 20 other people; and

Realise that your customers are your firm’s most essential resources/assets.

YSP’s Rule No. 1: The customer is always right!
Rule No.2: If the customer is wrong, see Rule No. 1