Congratulations you are in Business, well done, it takes courage and determination to step up and take on a Business. If you are familiar with my work you will know that I am passionate about helping Business owners use their Communication strengths to succeed in business.
We have spoken many times about the cost of poor communication. It has been shown in research to cost up to 32% of profit. For a business making $500K pa, this is $160K, that's not small change. One of the biggest ways it can show up is poor customer service. Luckily, this can be easily turned around once you know what you’re dealing with.
So you have a business and there are issues, perhaps management is not perceived as approachable, perhaps there is relational tension as different staff clash with each other, perhaps staff don't feel valued or understood. In this article we will focus on poor customer service.
I want you to stop and think about what would happen if your best customer stopped buying form you tomorrow? It may be a very sobering thought.
Customers are the lifeblood of your business without them you do not have a business. Customers can make or break your business, in and ideal world we all want ideal customers who love our service, rave about us and spread the word for us. Wouldn't that be nice!
To get to this stage we need to know what our customers want from us and meet their needs. You can do this many ways but I find the old fashioned way the best, ask them…..
Now this may freak you out but really, what is the alternative, guessing? Imagine all of the work you put into providing a service only to find it is not what people want…. Absolutely soul destroying.
Some people do this as customers come into store, others will call and have a conversation, some will do a survey. Surveys are helpful but the return rate can be low and a challenge.
The next factor is your team and how they provide service to your customers. You probably have a preferred way that you want your team to interact with customers, but do your team know this? You may also have some stars in your team that do an awesome job, and you may have some who are ok and others that you are concerned about.
I remember working with a Transport company years ago and they had a long sanding team member that had so many strengths, she literally ran the place, except she was very abrupt on the phone. A large part of her role was dealing with customers via phone answering questions, solving problems. Yet her manner and tone was somewhat disrespectful, brash and dismissive. The Manager was frightened of her as she was a very “big” personality. They needed help and they needed it fast.
What we found was that she was a Powerful Communicator and had no idea how others were perceiving her. With some coaching and support, she was able to improve her customer service and things improved. We also worked with the leader so he knew how to speak up and deal with this big direct communicator.
One of the things I encourage the businesses I work with, is to learn their strengths as Communicators, and to learn the strengths of their team. Every person you have hired brings different things to the table. Once you are aware of the strengths you have to work with you can ensure that your team provide the customer service required, using their strengths.
For example a Patient Communicator will never work the same way as a Powerful Communicator and that is ok. Why? Your customers are different too and some will relate more to one DNA style than another. Your team and your customers have different Communication DNA.
Your team needs a process to follow, a best practice and then to be able to use their strengths to fulfill that process. For years I have been helping business understand their Communication DNA so they can see what makes each member of the team tick, what strengths they have, how they work best and how to bring out their strengths.
If you would like to know more you can learn more about Communication DNA here.
If you would like to learn what your Communication DNA is you can do so here
If you know you need more support to unravel what is happening in your business we offer Coaching and Training services as well as our very popular online Master Communication in Your Business.
We are here to resource you so that you can create the business of your dreams, kick those goals, create a highly productive team and future-proof your business.
Until next time Care, Connect and be a Courageous Communicator.
Lets grow your business one conversation at a time.