Towards the end of last year we decided to get some work done in our garden. Ensuring we got the right business in to do the work, we did our due diligence, well we thought we had, by chatting with a number of companies. All potential options were incredibly forthcoming with their ideas and were all very attentive in the beginning. They all created an excellent first impression and to be honest, based on that, it was very hard to choose the right company to do the work.
We finally made the decision, confirmed the appointment and dutifully paid the deposit. Then everything changed. It felt like someone had turned the lights off, cut the telephone signal and posted an out of office sign! Eventually one of the owners arrived to get started on the job. When questioned about the lack of contact and communication – the excuse was “Oh, we had an emergency job on and had to rectify it.” No thought whatsoever was put into letting us know!
This is a beautiful example of over-promising and under-delivering. As a customer how many times has this happened to you, were you are promised the world and the outcome falls short. Probably more than you would like to admit? Now, think about your own business. Are you concerned about this taking place on your watch?
Businesses are so incredibly focused on getting the business, they spend thousands of dollars on marketing, advertising and sales that they forget that they actually need to provide the service they initially promised. By over-promising and under-delivering a win-lose situation is created, with the customer ending up with the short straw, and unfortunately a negative brand image develops. Why would a business put themselves into such a risky position?
Here are some key points to think about when creating that win-win situation.
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Ensure you have a well structured and user-friendly customer relation management system (CRM). Place as much emphasis on all key stages of the customer relationship, not just the prospecting stage.
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Communicate, communicate, communicate – keeping your customers informed and updated is paramount. They cannot read your thoughts or mind – so never assume they know what’s going on. Also, never assume that they will understand. They have paid money for your product/service – they want what they paid for, they want results.
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Clarify the process, give them a clear idea of what to expect. Verbally and in writing.
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Request customer feedback and take on board their comments and suggestions.
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Provide a contact person for them. If there is more than one person interacting with them during the onboarding process, ensure they have one person they can communicate with – one contact point.
You have worked so hard to win the business, with marketing and advertising campaigns don’t duff it up by not delivering. Rather be known as the business that under-promises and over-delivers.
Nicole is a certified professional coach as well as a certified trainer, advanced assessor and coach mentor. Based in Auckland, she provides a range of coaching options, from individual business owner and management coaching, group and team coaching workshops to personal coaching. Her coaching practice is aligned to the ICF ethos and ethics. Need to hire a professional coach? Contact Nicole [email protected]
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