So what's problem?

I contend that companies generally do not pro-actively think about customer. Ask yourself how easy is it for your customers to do business with you? Better yet, ask your customer. Organizations don't begin to think about customer service until a customer complains. And truth is most customers don't complain they vote with their feet by going elsewhere. What I call their silent vote.

You might be surprised to find that:

64% of customers feel companies with which they frequently interface by telephone are not respectful of their time 70% of customers will change suppliers due to poor service - today's competitive environment makes this choice easier. It takes between 2-4 times cost to find a new customer as to retain a customer Reducing these customer defections by 5% could increase profits, as much as 50%

It seems clear where I would spend my time if I were senior management of any organization. I would aggressively develop a passionate attitude throughout my organization to ensure every experience that every customer has is more than they expect - in other words seek Customer Delight in everything we do.

Believe it or not, most organization don't know how to start, let alone, deploy an effective customer oriented attitude and support system. It's more than one or two individuals trying their best. Or latest piece of technology. It's starts with CEO. His or her deeds, and action towards customer represent standard. The CEO must believe that always doing best for each customer will contribute significantly towards increasing financial health of company. Then trickle-down magic begins. Everyone else within organization now clearly understands that customer's not only matter, but are reason for being in business.

Let me provide a simple, but powerful example.

Sophisticated buyers are well-informed consumers, accustomed to reaching a decision only after research and deliberation. They are much less likely to succumb to pseudo-logic found in many scripted sales pitches. Sophisticated buyers look behind logic of these claims and what they find amounts to sales sledgehammers—blunt, heavy instruments not well-suited to job at hand. Their first impulse is to get away from them by disengaging. If you want to be successful with this type of buyer, you’ll need to avoid swinging following sledgehammers.

“We have over 100 years combined experience in this area.” The “combined experience” phrase is a dead giveaway you’re stretching your credibility. Here are some ways sophisticated buyer interprets combined experience. “We have 20 people in firm, each with about 5 year’s experience. So we are spread extremely thin and not very deep.” “The reason we don’t have any one person with 20 year’s experience is that no one wants to stay here that long.” Using this phrase in a relatively young field, such as technology, is downright silly. Besides, most people don’t care about experience nearly as much as results.

Sales people often tell prospects “That’s a great question!” It’s a decidedly clumsy attempt to compliment prospect. Sophisticated buyers see through it immediately. Granted, some can use it with more finesse than others, but like most techniques, it is ineffective once recognized. If you insist on keeping it in your sales repertoire, here are three guidelines to use it more effectively. First, use it only once. By third or fourth time people hear they’ve asked a great question, they become suspect. Second, don’t use it in a group of people. When everyone is asking great questions, no one feels special. Third, don’t plug it in automatically as part of a script. I’ve seen salespeople look for opportunity to use this phrase, no matter how mundane question.