Next Level Group

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers.  From their point-of-view, are there areas of your business that they may not consider enough of a value to continue doing business with you?  What, other than an owner or employee with an indifferent attitude will assist in losing customers?

Often, a business owner is so focused on working in or running the business, that he or she may lose the ability to place themselves in their customer’s place.  Below are a few physical areas that may be overlooked:

* Parking

• No available spaces
• No defined spaces
• Potholes in the parking area
• Trash on the ground
• Unattractive, obtrusive, or no landscaping

* The appearance of the exterior building:

• Peeling or faded paint
• Dirty-looking
• Broken or missing items (cracked glass, a flag pole with no flag on it, etc.)
• Dirty fingerprints on the door
• Unkempt landscaping

* The lobby or waiting area:

• An empty reception desk
• A funny smell
• Out-of-date magazines
• Uncomfortable (or not enough) chairs
• Not clean or picked up

Next time you walk into your business, put on “fresh eyes” – the kind that have never visited your location before.  NOTICE the physical aspects of your business, and how you would feel/respond to a business that looked the same.  Then, if anything needs attending to – DO IT! Your customers will notice and your profit margin will grow.

When I think of a lack of customer service, the first thing that pops into my mind is working with someone at a business who just doesn’t care about their job.  Generally, those employees are not striving to meet your expectations, let alone exceed them, on a daily basis.  Why?  Because to them, “it’s just a job.”

Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s just a job,” before?  Have you ever said (or thought) it?  I have heard that phrase many times and the people who say it usually don’t like what they are doing, or worse, don’t like (or respect) their employer and feel that they are not respected. Later this year, we will tackle employee issues.

Today, I want to plant the seed that a poor or indifferent attitude is the number one (#1) way to lose customers.  Your customers/clients want to feel acknowledged, respected and appreciated.  Are you and your employees living up to your customer’s expectations?

In the next few weeks, we will take a look at other ways you can lose a customer – or worse, never get them in the first place.