It's The Little Things That Count
In our quest for
profitability, we often risk losing sight of the fact that goodwill can cost
very little, but brings huge rewards in terms of repeat business, customer
willingness to overlook mistakes, or to make allowances in other matters.
I was recently a guest speaker at a 3-day event for an
institution where I delivered workshops on three different subjects. These seemed to go down well, judging from
the audience participation, questions and comments during and after the
workshops.
As I left on the final day, I saw some of the institution’s
golf umbrellas and asked if I could have one.
I was told certainly - provided you pay…
The price wasn’t high, and normally I wouldn't have minded, but I had just given
this institution 1-½ days of my time free of charge and they wouldn't give me a
cheap golf umbrella as a thank-you? What
they were selling them for was probably more than what they’d paid for them, so
it wouldn't have been a huge dent in their budget.
This isn't a major issue in the grand scheme of things, but
it showed that the person to whom I spoke didn't seem to appreciate the difference
that it would make in terms of goodwill (I had shown goodwill by giving my time
free of charge on this occasion as part of a larger contract).
Some will be saying that I got upset over nothing, but
that’s often the way goodwill or customer experience work. What may seem to be trivial to you may mean a
lot to the other side, and the skill is in understanding that. That’s what skilful negotiators understand. They know what they can give way on without
causing massive harm to their own cause.
To make things more interesting, the institution concerned
were late in paying for previous work done and came up with a number of bureaucratic
excuses based on requirements that were never communicated in the first place
(despite my asking for them).
In all, I learnt several valuable lessons:
- Take nothing for granted;
- Clarify, clarify, and clarify again;
- Make sure you understand how your payer works;
- Little details matter (on both sides).
It’s the little things that count. That extra bit of service may mean that, when
you make a huge mistake, the customer is till willing to forgive you.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 09:49
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