Peter George, CEM consultant, has a great article that I found on another blog that did not seem to belong to Peter and had some quirky pop-up advertising. So I decided the best way to let you all read this was to post his article below. While I agree with a lot of Peter's comments about fixing the leaky bucket, I disagree with his implication that we need to focus on current customers at the exclusion of seeking new customers. My response is at the end of his article, which I now share with you:
Sitting on the edge of a counter is a bucket. Only partially filled, it continues to let water escape -- drip by drip -- from a hole at the bottom. Scurrying back and forth is a team of people, trying in vain to add enough water to fill the bucket ... or at least keep it level. But the water leaks out faster than the people can add to it. So they work even harder, but again to no avail. Realizing that there is a problem, they call a meeting to discuss possible tactics for successfully adding even more water. Decisions are made -- add more people in the water-filling process, spend more money, work even harder and for longer hours. In the past, similar approaches proved to be futile, but they would be tried again. Surprisingly, it never occurs to anyone that it would make more sense to either stop the leak or at least slow the drip as much as possible.
This scenario takes place every day. Companies -- large and small -- often fail to realize how and why their customers are leaking out of their buckets; they just know that they are indeed leaking out. So they decide to spend more money and man-hours on sales, marketing, and advertising, thinking that they can outpace the loss. These costly methods occasionally look like they succeed. However, many companies, seeing their apparent success, ignore their lack of profitability.
Always get more customers
Why is getting more customers usually first in our minds? To simplify the answer a bit, it is what we have been taught over the years -- get more customers ... always get more customers! Whether the theory has been put forth by college professors, business books, or what appears to be good old common sense, it is only part of a truly successful equation. Getting more customers is a very worthwhile endeavor, indeed, but not before being absolutely certain that you can retain the vast majority of the customers you attract.
Jim Collins begins his bestselling book Good to Great?by saying that good is the enemy of great -- that settling for good conveniently offers most of us the reason (excuse) for not striving to be great. In the same way that being good often disguises the need or opportunity to be great, successfully attracting new customers often disguises the loss of the ones you already had.
But only when youre ready
Before you begin your next advertising campaign or marketing push, take the time to review the interactions you have with your customers. Examine each and every touchpoint where you come in contact with them. This includes your web site. Is it easy to navigate? Can people who have never seen it before easily and quickly find what they are looking for? Does it lead them to do more business with you or cause them to look for someone else?
Are your salespeople treating your customers as if they are guests in their homes? Do they engage customers in ways that make them happy that they are doing business with you? Do your policies and procedures appear to defend you against the customers, putting a wall between the two of you? If so, you should take action to change them immediately.
If you arent certain how your customers feel about each and every aspect of your business that affects them, ask them. Even if you think you know how they feel, ask them. Many of us avoid this simple process because we are afraid of what the answers might be. And that is a clue to how you believe your customers feel about you. If you are nervous about how the vast majority of your customers are going to answer you, then you probably already know that you are not going to like what they have to say.
Do not make the mistake of asking now and then believing that once you have made adjustments that everything is fine. Running a business and interacting with customers is a fluid process. It changes from day to day, month to month, and year to year. Keep asking them for their input, and when you need to make changes, do so immediately.
Constant contact
Do you stay in contact with your customers on a regular basis? If not, you are missing one of the greatest opportunities a businessperson could have. By the way, once a year or once every six months may be on a regular basis, but it is not frequent enough. Depending on your business, you should be in touch with them at least once every three months and, in many cases, as often as once a month.
You think your customers might get sick of hearing from you? Not if you do it right. Not every contact should be a sales offer. In fact, the majority of them should be made with content that is merely of interest to them. For instance, if your clients are car dealers and you see a report that discusses the latest trends in used car sales, make copies and send one to each customer. If you help retailers and you read an article that gives ideas on how to make long lines during the holiday rush appear to move more quickly, be sure to send it to them. Once they realize that the majority of your contacts are designed to help them, they will actually look forward to hearing from you.
From this point on, to have the greatest opportunity for the success that you are striving for, look at your business from your customers?viewpoints, and never forget, your customers are the reason you are in business. Without enough of them, your bucket is going to continue to leak until the point where your business kicks it.
Peter George is the president of TouchPoints, the Rhode Island-based customer experience management firm. As a consultant, speaker, trainer, and coach known for his engaging speaking style and his notable approach to customer experience management. An expert in the field, he imparts successful customer experience management strategies and tactics, giving companies powerful advantages over their competition. For more information about TouchPoints and Peter, visit TouchPoints or 1-800-959-1614
And Now for My Response to Peter's Article:
Peter,
No argument from me on fixing the leaky bucket. The old adage "around here, the quickest way to be forgotten is to become a customer" is sadly so true that we joke about it. No joking matter. So yes, fix the leaky bucket before you do anything else.
At Cincom Systems where I work, we have an entire sales team dedicated to serve as the advocate to our current customers. This team was formed several years ago when management discovered many customers had not been called upon for years ... their Cincom software worked so smoothly that there were never any calls for support, and when the calls did come in, they were resolved without fuss. Our customer advocacy team is charged with knowing every customer and with informing them how we can help them resolve issues.
But that does not for one second diminish the need to seek new customers. This is where I find some fault with your reasoning. To love and serve your existing customers does not mean you should ignore the responsibility to win over new customers.
From my perspective, the word "customers" means "current and prospective customers" -- treat them all the same. Learn what they need, work to help them with their issues, show them how your offering helps them, teach them how to buy smarter from you ... do everything possible to make sure every current and prospective customer is treated to a great customer experience.
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