Customer Delight: The Gift That Never Stops Giving

           In an effort to build their businesses, many small companies strive to provide good customer service.  But new evidence suggests they would be more successful aiming for a higher level of customer service.  This level, which some term "customer delight," provides patrons with a degree of attentiveness they couldn't have anticipated.  Service "above the call of duty" not only satisfies the customers, but spurs them to talk about the experience with friends and relatives.

            And that's the key to outstanding repeat business, small business experts say.  Customers rarely have reason to recount their customer service experiences to others.  Only the very worst and very best experiences are ever discussed.  By offering attentive customer service, small businesses ensure those customers will be back, and will send other customers their way.

            Successful small businesspeople know customer service hinges on understanding customers and building relationships with them.  But no two customers are alike, so businesses have to be adaptable.  They can take a lesson from top performing salespeople, who recognize selling is a very personal matter.  Productive salespeople learn how to tailor their sales presentations to the individual needs and wants of each customer.  To be successful, small businesses must do the same, researching customer needs and tailoring their service to those individual needs.

            It's also essential to create an image for your business that's as warm and friendly as it is professional.  Customers develop impressions of businesses within the first five minutes of stepping through the door or meeting the proprietor, said Elizabeth Snyder, senior vice-president and chief compliance officer with Oak Brook, Ill.-based Leaders Bank.  "Small details really do make a difference," she observed.  "Your attitude and the appearance of the business matter."

            Small businesses also must master the art of forming new customer relationships and strengthening existing ones.  One way to do this is by providing coupons or samples.  Another is to follow-up with customers.

For instance, FedEx solidifies existing relationships by conducting "check-up calls" to determine if customers' needs are being met and whether they need additional supplies.  The calls reinforce customers' belief the company cares about providing top service.

            One more way relationships can be forged and solidified is by minimizing employee turnover.  That's a focus at Leaders Bank.  "Strong customer/employee relationships are a top priority for us," says the bank's chief financial officer Sara Mikuta.  "We know through our experience with privately held businesses, high turnover in bank personnel is a pet peeve for customers.  The fact we have low turnover really helps us maintain positive relationships with customers."

            To completely achieve customer delight, businesses must work toward generating an unrehearsed and genuinely personal connection with customers, while also providing solutions to their most vexing problems.  At Leaders Bank, for instance, banking professionals draw on years of experience to provide customers with the support and encouragement they require as they work to grow their companies.

            Of course, customer service must be measured as well as practiced.

Retailer Saks Fifth Avenue measured customer service and found casual shoppers didn't feel as appreciated as did long-standing customers.  This measurement allowed Saks to make adjustments in the way sales associates

worked with all customers.  The result was measurably significant sales gains.          

Finally, the importance of customer service must be instilled in employees through ongoing training.

            Managers and veteran employees can train employees just by setting examples in the way they greet and listen to customers, work to solve their problems and follow up with them to ensure their needs continue to be met.  They can also instill in staff the importance of treating customers and other employees like they would want to be treated.

              For example, Leaders Bank president Jim Lynch reminds his employees to treat their customers as leaders -- a message reinforced in the bank's ads, billboards, collateral material and through daily example.

            There's an old saying that when you give, you often find yourself getting back much more than you gave.  Nowhere is that more true than in customer service.  Ensuring your customers enjoy outstanding service often results in greater repeat business, increased referrals, higher employee morale and larger revenues.  Customer service truly is the gift that keeps on giving.