However, I believe that more than anything you, your product or service and your people have to be likeable. Too many organisations forget that their customers are humans and thing about humans is that they don't always make decisions logically. You may have a reliable product or service, reliable delivery time and competitive prices. But it's not enough. Customers are driven by their emotions and it helps a heck of a lot if they like you and feel good about your business and your people.

"Our customers do like us," I hear you say, "except maybe difficult ones, awkward people, ones who are never happy, miserable devils - need I go on? Have you ever heard saying "you only get customers you deserve"?

Run your eye down following list and see how many you can tick off.

*We always have a genuine smile for every customer. *We are warm and friendly to all customers. *We listen carefully and make it obvious that we are listening. *We use customers name and our name appropriately. *We give impression that we care. *We empathise with problems or complaints and respond quickly. *We occasionally do something to pleasantly surprise customer. *We always keep our promises. *We give impression that we are fun to deal with. *We treat customer way they want to be treated, not way we want to be treated.

How well did you do? If you've got a lot of ticks then you probably have lots of customers who like you. Just a word to managers and employers amongst you. Run your eyes down that list again and replace word "customer" with words "employee" or "staff colleague." How many ticks did you get this time? Lots of ticks mean your staff like you and it probably follows that your customers do as well.

Have you noticed how being likeable costs so little? A lot less than advertising or other promotional activity required to replace lost customers.

Maybe customer isn't always right, but if you want to keep them, make sure they like you.

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If you find that plan changes are inevitable, several aspects are very important to pay attention to when modifying your group health insurance coverage. Modify parts of your plan that provide a savings while having least impact on your employees. Make sure changes are fair to both employer and employee. Develop and execute a strategy that clearly communicates plan changes as well as reasons for changes.

When outlook for your business does improve, your organization’s ability to capitalize will greatly be dependent on your ability to attract and retain productive employees during difficult economic times.