The Secret to Great Repeat Business and More Referrals
By Paul Tholen
How do you feel when you approach the reception desk of a hotel, having only checked in earlier that day, to be greeted politely and enthusiastically by name?
What about when you enter a shop and the sales assistant welcomes you by name and then engages you in conversation about your last purchase at the shop, does it make you feel special?
Or what if tomorrow's mail brings a note from your car dealer, reminding you that it's about time for your next service….. and offering a couple of dates and times that fit in well with your normal schedule….. would you think, again, that you'd made a good decision when buying the car?
All of these are examples of great customer service. Customer service is often the key to business success. In most businesses it's the best way in which one business can differentiate itself from all the others; especially if the business is in a highly competitive sector and doesn't have unique products. And knowing as much as you can about your customers is the secret to delivering great customer service.
I worked with a chap years ago who was probably the most accomplished salesman I've ever seen. His performance outshone that of his entire team and, in an industry that was extremely competitive, he regularly achieved more profitable sales than anyone else. He wasn't the best negotiator, nor did he know more about our products than the next person. He didn't have the best 'patch' to sell to. Nor did he enjoy only the best accounts….. he dealt with the good, the bad….. and the ugly.
What he did do exceptionally well was to manage the relationship with our customers in such a way that they wanted to come back to us again and again. He knew what the customers had bought from us before; he knew what they had been offered but hadn't bought; he knew what of our competitors' products they had bought; he knew what was happening in the overall marketplace and knew how each of our customers fitted into and affected that marketplace.
In fact, what he didn't know about his customers probably wasn't worth knowing… All of this helped him to meet the needs of our customers in such a way that made them feel like they were being listened to and that they were important to us - in other words, that they were special.
This was all in the days before the widespread use of laptop computers equipped with Sales history databases and powerful Customer Relationship Management software. My colleague did it all on 3x5 inch cards! But the principle of truly knowing your customer doesn't depend on technology….. it just requires the commitment, the organization and the discipline to record details of every contact with the customer. From the first time you get a simple name and address, to making notes of that last telephone conversation. Every interaction with a customer builds the knowledge that will allow you to offer that greatest of all business winners - outstanding customer service. And outstanding customer service is the secret to great Repeat Business and More Referrals.
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