Within the realm of social media, there is a lot of talk about EVERYONE in the organization being a part of sales and marketing efforts. Long before the advent of Facebook, Twitter, or even email, companies were operating under this strategy.
This isn’t a new concept. The tools we use to engage the customer have changed over the years, but the strategy is the same. All great companies strive to exceed customer expectations. That’s how they become great companies.
The process has to start somewhere. I believe it starts with customer service. Our sales efforts have always focused around offering exceptional customer service and customer engagement.
In a sales organization you can either sell on price or on quality/service. If you are going to be the lowest priced commodity out there, customers don’t expect to receive high quality or great service. You are also not going to build any brand loyalty, since your customers are only interested in low price.
As an example, book a trip on a “discount” airline and your expectations are minimal. Hopefully the airline will get you to your destination. Hopefully your bag will go on the same flight as you do. Hopefully the flights will take off and arrive close to the scheduled times.
Now compare that to buying a first class ticket on a full service airline. Where are your expectations now? You expect to be treated a little differently, right?
Well anyone who knows me, or has done business with one of my companies, should expect to receive “first class” service. I expect my employees to treat their clients as if they worked for them and not me. No matter how prepared an organization is, problems come up. How your company/staff handle these problems will either build brand loyalty or brand distrust.
My sales staff will usually handle these hiccups by asking for more concessions than the actual clients would expect.
Since the sales people have the most direct interaction with the customer, we normally go with their suggestions. This level of customer service costs us more money than if we just did the minimum, but, it builds customer loyalty.
It’s not just my direct employees that I expect this level of effort from…I expect it from everyone in the supply chain who “touches” any component of our products. Take for instance our label supplier (Mike @ Labels and Systems). Mike makes ALL our labels and decals. His pricing is competitive, but not necessarily the lowest around. HOWEVER, Mike has bailed me out on numerous occasions…running and shipping labels within 24hours to make sure we didn’t miss a production deadline.
How much is that level of service worth to me? It’s priceless. It’s also one of the reasons I would never think about switching label suppliers.
It’s that extra effort, the things you can’t put a price on, that differentiates between a good company and a great company.
What kind of company would you rather do business with…a good company, or a great one?
Bonus Question:
The title, while also a vague reference towards customer service, is a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie TOTAL RECALL. Sharon Stone had a very brief part playing his "wife" in the movie. What was her character's name? (Can't remember...click here for the easy answer.)
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