How easy are you to do business with? When looking at your organization through the Strategic Planning process, it is essential to do an internal assessment of this very question.
Every business has competition. Your cable TV provider may have cable TV for the area locked up, but there are other providers offering the same thing just a different way like satellite, antennas with that provider.and if desperate bunny ears. This is essential to remember since a significant reason why people don't start doing or changing their business is because they felt it was difficult to do business
Have you ever left a message with someone to give you a call back and they didn't? What was your response? Did you doggedly pursue them or say, "forget it, if I'm not important to them, One hitter pipe move on to their competition"?
If a customer or potential customer has to jump through hoops to get to you, guess what, they won't. Even worse, it becomes emotional. You've just taken a potential customer, made it difficult for them to do business with you and you irritated them, if not made them mad. Could they still do business with you? Sure but you now have to dig yourself out of a hole and work harder to get or keep that business because of simple mistakes.
Below are 10 simple questions you need to ask yourself.
If they don't have your business card, how easy is it to find you? Let's keep this simple. Have business cards. Always have business cards. They don't have to be super fancy, but they need to be professional looking and accurate.
What do you have for contact info? Do you have alternatives? Don't just have one means of contacting you. Internet addresses are a must in today's world. If you are the only person in the company and the only contact number is the office line which you are never near, how are you dealing with that?
If you're not available, how quickly will they get a response? People usually don't mind going into voice mail or dropping an email that doesn't get an immediate response. They DON'T accept too long of delays. How long is acceptable? It depends on your business and your competition. If you are in a really competitive business such as real estate or banking, do you want them left hanging too long?
Are you're hours of operation normal and if not, do they know it? I had a cruise consultant that worked 2 ½ days of the week and different hours during those days. It made me crazy. In her case, a simple solution would be to send me a note with a card that I could keep by my phone with her business hours and oh, by the way, this person or that person could help you also.
Just remember if your hours are too much out of whack with theirs, that could be a deciding factor and not in your favor.
If you have a website, is it easy to use and easy to contact you? Another simple question. Everyone in any business should have a website. Even if you are working for someone, for a couple of bucks a month have a website with your name in it. Put a picture, contact information and a link to your company's website and you're done. If it's your business, you can still keep it simple with hours of operation and what you do and why you are different.
Even if you have a lot of information, each page should be easy to look at, not too laden with text and simple to move around in. Remember that the website is you. So if the potential customer is having a difficult timing getting around or understanding your website, they are having a difficult time with you.
If you have marketing material, is it easy to understand and clear on how to contact you? Like the website, you need to judge how much information is needed. If the purpose of the material is to get them to call you, then look at providing the minimum needed to capture their interest that will make them want to contact you. You want enough information to hook them, but not too much that they just toss it in the round file.
If you're on vacation or out of the office, does your voice/e mail reflect that? Simple (and frequent) mistake. Think about the client that emails you with a question and it goes into a black hole. Very frustrating, even if they do find out two weeks later you were on vacation. What you need to do is relevant again to your industry. It may be acceptable just for a bounce back that states" you are out until such and such a date, and if it's an emergency (always have that line) they can contact Alice Associate at xxx-xxxx or you on your cell at xxx-xxxx". You may need or want someone to check both your phone and email frequently.
Bottom line is NEVER leave a customer or potential customer without an alternative, because THEIR alternative is your competition.
If they have a problem with your services, do you confront the issue or try to avoid it? You are allowed to make mistakes. You really are. You WILL however be judged on how you DEAL with that mistake. Acknowledge the issue, apologize for their inconvenience, RESOLVE the issue, take steps to ensure that it won't happen again and then move on. Believe it or not, taking those 5 steps will take less effort and consequence then trying to avoid the issue.
If you "sense" an issue/problem, do you confront the perception or avoid it? This is the "before the stuff hits the fan" moment. You see a mistake before the customer does or you sense the customer is displeased with something but you don't know what it is.
Deal with it. If it's the customer out of sorts, ask them if there is an issue. If you are the proactive one, it shows you care about your relationship and it's important to you that everything is good between you. The customer will eat it up!
Do you ensure you are "on time" to every scheduled meeting and if not, do you do anything to make up for it? It doesn't matter whether this is a phone call scheduled or face to face. If you are late you are telling them their time is not that important to you. A very bad place to be.
Always make sure you have their number handy, so if you are running late, you can late them know as quickly as possible. If it's going to be significantly late, let them control the situation by acknowledging the importance of their time and if THEY want to reschedule. Abject apologies when you do arrive are always appropriate.
These are 10 basic questions looking at areas how your customer (or potential customer) does business with you. It should never ever be a challenge or chore for someone that uses or wants to use your product or services. By ensuring smooth access and service for your customer, you continue to create a positive, professional environment where people want to do business with you.
Terry Bass, of CHADONS Resources is a business coach in the ChicagoLand area. He speaks, coaches and facilitates focusing on helping the individual and business succeed. If you can use help for yourself or your organization in identifying, understanding and achieving your goals, then you should contact Terry at 773-769-1992 and begin the conversation. You can also visit http://www.chadons.com to learn more.
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