Great customer service is marketing.

When I worked in broadcast television during my years in marketing consulting, I learned that most business owners, (or pastors or ministry directors) have a very high opinion of the customer service they provide.

I met with over one thousand business owners throughout my career. Not one time did an OWNER tell me they had a problem with customer satisfaction.

Based on customer satisfaction research for most of those clients, customer service was a BIG problem and owners were delusional!

When we shuffle-out poor service, we should stop all forms of advertising. We don’t need new customers to find us with our service down. I’ve told many store owners, “All advertising can do for you now is help you go out of business faster. You are running people out the back door faster than we can bring them in the front.”

Consider this often quoted line from a Seinfeld episode:

 

“NO SOUP FOR YOU.”

The deli owner had strict ordering procedures, and one day Elaine broke a rule and was banned from the deli for one year. Her response to her destiny set the “show about nothing” on a tangent to conquer the cranky chef. Did you know that the episode was based on a real-life soup vendor in Manhattan? They’ve succeeded at “strict” since 1984.

I can’t help but wonder how many customers they have chased away.

Maybe this is a sign of a wildly successful business. We’ve all met people at a service counter who seemed bothered to serve. We can share “no-service” stories that could be developed into Seinfeld scripts.

I’ve often told young entrepreneurs to find a business that enjoys high demand for their products or services. Then, pay close attention to their level of customer service. When you find a good business with bad customer service, perhaps you’ve found a good opportunity for a new business.

Compete with poor customer service. Find ways to over-serve at every opportunity. Do what others cannot or will not do.

When is the last time you surveyed your customers? The truth might set you free.

Soup for everyone!

 

Blessings,
Dr. Steve Greene
Executive Vice President – Charisma Media Group

P.S. Click here if you’d like us to ask your customers or prospects a few questions to measure satisfaction.  

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