Have you ever thought about systemizing customer appreciation in your business? With the following in mind, I think you should!
I’ve gotten some great blog material from Webinars I’ve done with business owners all over the country, lately!
Last week, during a three-hour Webinar, I told “Walter,” a very attentive prospect, about the owner of a water restoration company who had incorporated his ongoing marketing ideas into his systems.
Walter was rapt, as I showed him step-by-step examples of how the restoration owner had done that. In fact, the more I showed him about systemizing every aspect of his company, the more excited he became. He finally blurted out, “Wow! You can even systemize the warm and fuzzies!”
I LOVE IT when people GET IT!!
I’ll tell you later, how the owner of that water restoration company did it. It’s simple enough, if you believe that control systems (like checklists) can make your ideas happen. It doesn’t matter whether they are marketing-related, or just a way to ensure there are paper towels in the company restrooms.
How To Get People to Follow Your Systems
You may be one of the skeptics who says, “I’ve put systems in place and I can’t get my people to follow them.” That’s a problem. I feel for you, if you can’t give an employee a reasonable task, pay them to do it, and, moreover, feel confident expecting that it be done!
What if an employee told you he/she wasn’t going to perform one of the main job duties of the position for which they were hired ? Would you really NOT insist, if what you want is an organized business? It’s just plain old insubordination for someone NOT to follow the plan that’s been set by management, in order to grow the business for everyone’s benefit.
That’s especially true when the request is something that would create goodwill in the mind of your customer. You know, that “warm and fuzzy” feeling about your company, as Walter would say!
Implementing Your Marketing Plan
So, how did the owner of the restoration company implement his marketing plan? He developed a seven-page checklist for his lead techs who go into the field to help customers restore their water-damaged homes and businesses.
• The detailed checklist has prompts (written reminders) that include even “small” details like laying down a mat with the company logo on it for people to wipe their feet. This ensures everyone respects the customer’s home upon entering.
• Other prompts on the checklist remind techs to place plastic coverings on furniture and stairways while the work is in progress.
• There’s even a prompt to ask customers where they would like the company trucks to be parked, to avoid inconveniencing anyone
The list of prompts covers all necessary aspects of the work to be done. As each one is completed and checked off, nothing is left to memory or chance. No important detail, that can be helpful for systemizing customer appreciation, is forgotten!
Customer Praise or Condemnation?
Can you see how that owner was systematically creating the “warm and fuzzies” for his customers? Praise comes easy from satisfied customers; just as does condemnation from those who feel the work is sloppy!
That business owner was not going to leave his ideas, OR his customer’s satisfaction, to chance. Therefore, he incorporated great service, right into his checklists. He required his lead techs to follow them and check off the action items, prompt-by-prompt. In fact, he has even implemented systems for those who answer the phones, estimators, production managers; everyone in his company.
Sound simple? Actually, it is!
I love it, when people GET IT! That gives ME the warm and fuzzies!
Have I mentioned? Great systems work!
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