Competitive Advantage In Customer Service
Learning winning lessons from your customers
You may not be able to compete with global supermarket chains on pricing and range of products but you can compete on the quality of personal service. This advice holds true for all businesses ranging from a local retail store to a chain of stores worldwide.
The big stores tend to focus on business efficiency in order to deliver based on a template for response to generalized customer demographics. This allows smaller businesses focusing on delivering to individual customer needs to have an edge that allows them to turn a profit.
Learn from feed back given free by unhappy customers. These customers provide a real-life case study that allows you to learn and improve service. Very often the customer who is complaining will also provide the solution.
Recently I drove into a tropical beachfront resort in South East Asia. It was part of a chain of hotels worldwide. The beautifully landscaped garden leading to the sandy beach was so inviting. A walk on the beach rewarded me with one of natures’ wonders. Hundreds of tiny crabs appeared from little holes in the sand by the waters’ edge where waves gently lapped onto the beach. The sudden click of my camera scared these little creatures that at the blink of an eye disappeared into the little holes on the beach in unison.
A couple of drinks at the beach front bar and we were ready to head up to the hotel room for a shower before dinner. The room was well designed and pleasant. After the shower the spell of a relaxing evening in our tropical paradise retreat ended when upon pulling off the covers on the bed I discovered the bed sheet was stained and had strangers hair all over. It was obvious that the sheets were old and unclean. Housekeeping had to go through about six sheets to find one that was clean enough to sleep on. The next morning as a customer I complained that if only they had provided fresh clean bed sheets I would have ranked this hotel as having world class service.
Unfortunately several hours after checking out all I got was a call from a manager saying they would upgrade me to a bigger room next time. The point had been missed. The hotel management had failed to learn from this experience. All they had to do was to focus on cleanliness and hygiene immediately providing clean new bed sheets. Now all that a small bed and breakfast nearby has to do is to provide rooms that are spotless with clean bed sheets and they would succeed in gaining customers at the expense of this beachfront resort.
It is not the size of your store but the quality of service that gives an edge to the small and medium sized businesses worldwide. With the advice of a business consultant you can prepare a business plan and a marketing strategy that carves out a profitable niche for your business within the community you serve.
A little boutique Inn in Winnipeg comes to mind where the restaurant has a chef who takes it as a challenge to use only fresh ingredients to satisfy the needs of customers with allergies to artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives in foods. He succeeds every time in creating a delicious gourmet experience that makes this Inn an attractive place to stay on your travel across the North American prairies.
Business success always comes from satisfying your customers needs. These are the people who pay your bills and make your business profitable. Treat them well always.
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant
www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com
Your connection to global markets!
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America
The geographical centre of the world’s largest market.
Learning winning lessons from your customers
You may not be able to compete with global supermarket chains on pricing and range of products but you can compete on the quality of personal service. This advice holds true for all businesses ranging from a local retail store to a chain of stores worldwide.
The big stores tend to focus on business efficiency in order to deliver based on a template for response to generalized customer demographics. This allows smaller businesses focusing on delivering to individual customer needs to have an edge that allows them to turn a profit.
Learn from feed back given free by unhappy customers. These customers provide a real-life case study that allows you to learn and improve service. Very often the customer who is complaining will also provide the solution.
Recently I drove into a tropical beachfront resort in South East Asia. It was part of a chain of hotels worldwide. The beautifully landscaped garden leading to the sandy beach was so inviting. A walk on the beach rewarded me with one of natures’ wonders. Hundreds of tiny crabs appeared from little holes in the sand by the waters’ edge where waves gently lapped onto the beach. The sudden click of my camera scared these little creatures that at the blink of an eye disappeared into the little holes on the beach in unison.
A couple of drinks at the beach front bar and we were ready to head up to the hotel room for a shower before dinner. The room was well designed and pleasant. After the shower the spell of a relaxing evening in our tropical paradise retreat ended when upon pulling off the covers on the bed I discovered the bed sheet was stained and had strangers hair all over. It was obvious that the sheets were old and unclean. Housekeeping had to go through about six sheets to find one that was clean enough to sleep on. The next morning as a customer I complained that if only they had provided fresh clean bed sheets I would have ranked this hotel as having world class service.
Unfortunately several hours after checking out all I got was a call from a manager saying they would upgrade me to a bigger room next time. The point had been missed. The hotel management had failed to learn from this experience. All they had to do was to focus on cleanliness and hygiene immediately providing clean new bed sheets. Now all that a small bed and breakfast nearby has to do is to provide rooms that are spotless with clean bed sheets and they would succeed in gaining customers at the expense of this beachfront resort.
It is not the size of your store but the quality of service that gives an edge to the small and medium sized businesses worldwide. With the advice of a business consultant you can prepare a business plan and a marketing strategy that carves out a profitable niche for your business within the community you serve.
A little boutique Inn in Winnipeg comes to mind where the restaurant has a chef who takes it as a challenge to use only fresh ingredients to satisfy the needs of customers with allergies to artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives in foods. He succeeds every time in creating a delicious gourmet experience that makes this Inn an attractive place to stay on your travel across the North American prairies.
Business success always comes from satisfying your customers needs. These are the people who pay your bills and make your business profitable. Treat them well always.
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant
www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com
Your connection to global markets!
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America
The geographical centre of the world’s largest market.
