Customers = Sales = Profit – Take Care of Them
Take a leap back in history to the industrial unrest of the 1970’s. Firstly forget the where’s, why’s and who’s and the political background and whose ‘side’ you might lean on, but think on one thing – who suffered? Yes, the warring miners suffered from the pain of striking but in other industries it was the end customer of those industries where unrest was rife.
They suffered from poor service, from poor quality and in many instances were the last thing on the minds of the battling industry leaders and employees. The classic example of how failing to put the customer first destroys business was illustrated in the motor vehicle industry. This was an industry where we in the UK once led the world in terms of innovation and quality and as a result, across a number of regions in the UK, benefited from its buoyancy with healthy pay packets and plenty of work and happy customers.
Amidst the unrest and disputes (without blaming either side) going on, something started to suffer – the quality of the product. Great names like Austin and Morris were spewing out cars that just didn’t cut it and gave poor value to their customers. In the meantime, newcomers like Datsun and Nissan from Japan (a country whose products worldwide had once been perceived as poor in quality) and BMW from Germany were making inroads in terms of customer service and product performance and pleasing any customer who bought their products. The result was very predictable – the customer left British made cars behind and dropped them in big numbers moving over to these ‘newcomers’ as the UK vehicle manufacturing base and component parts businesses fell apart.
So, why do we write this? Because we see some similarities as we emerge from the pandemic although the cause is admittedly different. As we see it, as a result of the pandemic, many businesses and professions have become disengaged with their customers and have more interest in focusing inwardly – thinking simply ‘what is in it for us?’ They are just not thinking about what experience their customers get as a result of what they do and the practices they follow. Thinking about their world as opposed to the world their customer is experiencing.
As the age of pandemic driven government assistance comes to a close (as indicated by the Chancellor in his October 2021 budget) businesses must stand on their own feet. As loans need to be repaid, as staff come back from furlough, as the taxman chases what they are due, businesses will be very hard pressed unless they are able to grow their top lines profitably.
On that point one thing is for sure – if you don’t satisfy your customers 100% of the time, they will find someone else who does and your top line will inevitably decline and the downward pressure on your business will increase.
But if you take our advice, if you walk in your customer’s and prospective customer’s shoes, if you see your business as they see your business and if you make product quality and customer service excellence the Number 1 priority for you and your people at all times, you can grow your business and your reputation while many competitors fall apart.
Need some help on establishing a customer service excellence process that leads your market? Get in touch with us at ignite@tinderboxbusinessdevelopment.co.uk. or call us on 01162325231 for a free/ no obligation discussion.
The Tinderbox Team
