How to Keep Your Customers Happy

Avoid Customer Conflict

Customer satisfaction can be managed. Discontent is frequently caused by a breakdown in your system, or an inconsistency in the way you provide your product or service. These principles will help you generate happy customers.

1. <b>Pre-Established Expectations</b> - Imagine one of your customers answering 4 uncomplicated questions before you make the transaction. Questions such as:

- Why are you buying from us?

- What do you desire to experience by purchasing from us?

- What would have to occur for you to conclude you had a high quality experience purchasing from us?

- What actions might we do that would keep you from being dissatisfied with your purchase from us?

2. <b>The Power of Expertise</b> � What are you doing to be the absolute best at within your field? Consumers desire the best product, since they yearn for an excellent result.

But, even above an outstanding result, customers would like a predictable and consistant result. Why do you think McDonalds sells more hamburgers than any other restaurant? It's because people know exactly what to expect. People don't want to spend time anticipating what kind of hamburger they will receive. There are many places that make better tasting hamburgers than McDonalds, but no one is better at "making" hamburgers than McDonalds.

3. <b>People are only aware of what you tell them</b> � Keeping an open line of communication with customers is vital. As soon as a difficulty appears, handle it as quickly as possible and don't choose the Ostrich Management (Stick your head in the dirt and wait for it to go away). Give them direct and immediate attention. Are your phone lines always open? Do you have enough people to respond to email inquiries? Do you keep your word by doing what you said you would when you said you would do it? A response in the affirmative to the previous questions will create customer confidence; a negative answer to the above questions will erode confidence in your company.

4. <b>Create successful performance patterns</b> � what habits, or procedures, or actions do you have that are distracting your customers from having a consistently good experience? Are you often late, or don't make an effort to show up to meetings? Do your phones have annoying call hold music? Is your customer's point of contact with your company cooperative and friendly, or is it brash, cold and impersonal? Is your work careless and unorganized? Your customers may see distractions that are keeping them from seeing the real value you bring to them. Ask a few of your customers how they feel about doing business with you. You may get some real positive reinforcement, or get some valuable insight on how to improve.

5. <b>People respond to directness and clarity</b> � Your customers are busy people. Making assumptions, being roundabout, and miscommunicating wastes time. Be clear in communicating. Ask the customer to restate what they heard you say. Do not leave understanding to the customer's imagination.

No one wants enemies�especially enemies that used to be paying customers. Keep customer dissatisfaction at bay through following the principles we have previously stated and build consistency in your organization so that you achieve a predictable outcome each time. You and your customers will be much happier!

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