Quality versus Price – the Art of Growing Business

Big Box or independent? Does it have to be one or the other? Alan J. Katz, The Loyalty Coach, points out that small stores are redefining themselves and this redefinition is beginning to take its toll on Wal-Mart. I reviewed his newsletter on the subject at the AIBA (Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance) forum.

I'd offer the following points as thought-starters for any retail business considering how to more effectively service clientele. The six pieces (with a second tip of the hat to Alan J. Katz) that any retailer can make their own include better selection, freshness, choices, personalized service, convenience and information.

Better selection

• Brands that the box stores don’t carry
• Local/regional brands

Freshness

• Local produce or local growers
• Fresh, new displays
• Frequent display changes

Choices

• Customer requests honored
• Expand the fringes of a line

Personalized service

• Calling customers by name
• Personalized emails and private sales
• Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable salespeople

Convenience

• Super serve the immediate trade area
• Make it easy for customers to do business with you

Information

• Customized seminars for prospects
• Develop and distribute ezines, “how-tos” and other info items

ProfitMeister salutes James R. Merrigan

My last post, October 10th mentioned that my Dad was ill. He died suddenly that day; there had been no warning.

James R. Merrigan, 86, the father of seven, valued God and family. He supported his community, believed in his children and loved his wife of 57 years. My Dad was uncomplicated; he was a great role model and an inspiration for me. He will be missed terribly.

Authenticity - It's as Simple as What's Real

Michelle Morgan, Publicist for Harvard Business School Press, reached out to me this week as a result of my comments about customer loyalty. She sent a copy of “Authenticity,” by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II, authors of The Experience Economy. I’m intrigued for a number of reasons.

I love reading and my desk is stacked high with fiction and non-fiction. While I enjoy marketing to no end, customer service and loyalty gets a huge percentage of my time because without that, marketing is worthless.

My blog postings on authenticity are part of my business theme. As I leafed through “Authenticity” I was struck by the number of times the word fake jumped out at me. It’s not my favorite word. “Walk your talk” gets closer to my sense of reality.

As a small business owner, I face the same considerations for my own loyalty programs, customer service promotions, and collateral materials. Building loyalty is an everyday, everyway thing. In fact, it’s more the little things that you don’t think about doing than the big planned gestures.

I’ll look forward to discussing Authenticity in more detail. My Dad, the most authentic person I know, is suddenly seriously ill. I’m traveling to see him.

Loyalty. How do you earn it?

I spoke with an entrepreneur who’d purchased an existing business last week. He trained with the previous owner for six weeks and expressed surprise that the flurry of orders died down after that. His question: “What should I do?”

This is loyalty 101. No customer list existed (more on small businesses using databases later). Yet, the sale had included the previous transactions and goodwill of this business. I suggested contacting previous customers.

What’s the first thing you would do?

Customer Service Tolerations Equal Customer Loss

In honor of Customer Service Week here’s a short list of prevalent service tolerations that I’ve recently experienced and the solutions that I might suggest.

• My tax guy doesn’t return calls – EVER. Sometimes his voice mailbox is full and you can’t even leave a message. I’m forced to recommend training "Please Return My Phone Call."
  
• Some professionals (like dentists) seem to think it’s okay to keep you waiting with no update. It’s not that I never expect to wait. I expect to know why the schedule is off. My rule is 15 minutes. If the schedule is running behind 15 minutes or more, the patient/customer should be alerted. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a tip sheet on general management. Please enjoy.
  
• Have you ever discovered a problem that the company refused to acknowledge? I picked up cleaning on Monday. When I went to wear the pants on Friday the zippers had melted shut. In spite of the receipt, the cleaners maintained that they couldn’t be sure the problem was theirs. This business could benefit from other business owner experiences and I’d recommend “Avoid-my-mistakes.”


• In a world of GPS, mobile phones, and dispatch central I’m amazed that the window for delivery or service is still “morning” or “afternoon.” What happened to an appointment? Obviously, the company needs to look at ongoing training. This resource can help.


• Then there are the voice mails that fall into never-never land. C’mon people. Return your calls. Here’s a 10-step compilation of voice mail tips from Desk Demon.


• NOTE: For some reason during renewal, one of my subscriptions got doubled up. I received the weekly at home and at the post office. Since there was no subscription service available on the web, I called and left a message. The next week I did it again. The third week I called the switchboard and requested a live voice. No such luck. The fourth week I gave up. The fifth week I got a return call. OK. They had my money. But really, is this service? Are we really that busy?

It’s customer service week, people! The little service tolerations add up to big service implications: customers move and fail to return. It costs five times more to get a new customer. Maximize your dollars by servicing well and keeping your current customers.

Customer Service Week

This week, October 1 - 5, 2007, is customer service week. Not that I've heard much about it. Customer service, although never out of style, seldom earns top discussion honors unless service is bad.


All the more reason to study companies resolved to make every service experience memorable. In what ways do you expand your service delivery?

• Mystery shopper reports
• Customer feedback - both freely given and solicited
• Personal experience (call your own business and check responses)
• Employee involvement
• Stakeholder/stockholder comments
• Media response

Take the time to reflect on those things - positive as well as negative that impact you and upgrade your company's service accordingly. After all, it's customer service week.

Customer Communication: Walk the Talk

At last week’s Economic Summit trade show I saw Quality New Mexico in action. Their purpose at the show: outreach to communities and companies about Quality New Mexico and discussion of how the NM Quality Awards program can support organizations in achieving the next level.

Calwyn Gullick, Business Unit Owner Advertising & Public Relations introduced herself to me with a comment about my website. Calwyn had been researching sites mentioned in an e-blast; naturally, I was pleased to be on the radar and impressed with the fact that she was prepared for a decision.

The Quality booth featured client giveaways such as a unique highlighter from The Gap as well as a promotion product (a tiny radio) touting Director Julia Gabeldon’s Radio Show, 5:00 – 6:00pm Sundays on KKOB 770 AM. Both were appropriate giveaways.

Members of the Quality NM contingency commented about John Vinyard, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of GENITECT, LLC; Vinyard addresses “Creating an Environment for Peak Performance using the Malcolm Baldridge Model” at the upcoming annual conference event for the local chapter of American Society of Training and Development (ASTD-NM).

This experience illustrates the power of connection, the importance of finding commonalities with potential customers, and the experience of brand. I say experience of brand because it’s the compilation of all that you do to promote your product or service. The nuances carry far more importance that one might expect. I suspect for Quality New Mexico, it’s one more way to walk the talk.