One of the best ways to keep customers coming back more often is by living the old Boy Scout motto:

Be Prepared

Be prepared to take care of them better than anyone else can or will take care of them. If every customer you work with is impressed at how knowledgeable you are, they’ll tell others. If you are able to help them get what they want every time without fail and without hesitation, they’ll come back.

When I first meet with a client organization’s executives to discuss a planned customer service initiative, it’s not uncommon for the group to be overwhelmed with the scope of work to be done. I often see the “deer in the headlights” looks on their faces as the leaders wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Here is a great question: “Are you easy to do business with?”

That may sound like a simple question, and you may immediately want to say, “Yes!” However, I urge you to take a close look at how you are perceived by your customers and fellow employees.

Certain companies create an image that they are extremely easy to do business with. Their sales people are friendly. They bend over backwards to take care of you. They provide a “hassle-free” experience. They never question a return. Most people (especially me) love doing business with a place like this.

(By Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson)

It made business headlines. The most popular brand in the world focused on the experience, not just their long-famous product.

Coca-Cola introduced their “Freestyle” vending machine. Their ad copy described it as “all packaged in an innovative and interactive fountain experience.” It was designed with help from Ferrari! Step one, pick your favorite Coke beverage: Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid lemonade, CokeZero, etc. Step two, pick your favorite flavoring. Want a raspberry Coke, a peach Fanta or a coconut flavored lemonade? There are over 100 combinations. A plastic cup is filled with ice and your special concoction.

Today’s new buzz words in the world of customer service are “customer engagement” and “customer centric”. The concepts are very valid and important to create a relationship with the customer. But as I read the articles I can’t help but think these are just new phrases for the same old stuff that has been around forever. It is all a reminder that we are in business for one reason – to service and sell the customer. The customer holds all the cards and the customer rules. Seems pretty basic.

I’m working on a project right now. It’s a big project. I’m excited about it. And I think it has great potential.

But you wouldn’t know about it. I haven’t mentioned it. That’s the lesson of this post:  if I don’t tell you I’m working on something, you have no idea what I’m doing.

Recently, my husband, Cliff, was the motivational keynote speaker for a large association. He drove two hours to the event with a car full of books, handouts and props for his speech. While unpacking, he could have kicked himself. He forgot his most important prop—a tall, lidded garbage can.

The first rule of stellar service delivery is: Service is all about expectations. You buy a product; you expect it to work the first time. You go to a discount supplier, you expect the quality to be less than the high end dealer, but you still expect what you buy to work, first time every time. When it comes to products, expectations are pretty clear.

Has this ever happened to you? You’re in a hurry. You want to complete your business and the person serving you is preoccupied with something other than serving you. Then when you are served, you might get an insincere apology for the delay followed by the completion of your transaction. If asked to describe this experience you would likely respond “That’s typical” or “It’s nothing more and probably a little less than I expected.”

As we left the Cracker Barrel that night, I asked my wife how she would rate our customer experience as we paid for our meal. “Two thumbs down” she replied in microseconds. We were on the same page. It was a horrible experience.

While the food and overall experience in Cracker Barrels are frighteningly consistent, the interaction with the employees offers more variety than their breakfast menu. This most recent experience left us slightly stunned at how blatantly bad it was.

I wanted to call this article “Sharpen Your Customer Focus or You Will Lose Customers!” but a few of my colleagues thought this was a bit too blunt. Absolutely true mind you, but blunt.

Then I thought why not make the headline a question; “How Many Customers Are You Willing To Lose Today Because of a Lack of Customer Focus?” Again, true but too direct. So in the end I went with what you see above.