Posted by Eric Hubbs on Wed, May 20, 2009 @ 11:38 AM
By Michael Gunther
As originally published in The Tolosa Press on May 7th, 2009. 
In an economic downturn, customer service is more important than ever. It would seem that with less workload, businesses would focus almost entirely on maintaining customer relationships-but that is just not the case. Have you noticed service suffering at your favorite restaurant or retail store? I know I have.
Having to minimize expenses, companies make layoffs, so employees are stretched thin; yet so are consumers' wallets. This creates a vicious cycle: companies' cutbacks affect areas of their customer service; while the consumer expects extraordinary service and appreciation for any business they give during these tight times. And if a company does not provide great service, they risk losing the customer; the cycle continues.
It's easy to see how we got here. Business was booming. Most businesses didn't have to concentrate on customer service because customers literally walked in the door. Now we're experiencing the fallout -the Boom Hangover.
Recently, I took my team out for a celebratory event at a well-known local restaurant. With consumers eating out less often and restaurants feeling the hurt of empty tables, you would think we'd have received memorable service, right? Unfortunately, this is one of those businesses suffering from the Boom Hangover. Our server was indifferent, the food came out late, and the dessert menu we requested was never delivered. As we walked out of our private room, we noticed the restaurant was empty; the vicious cycle reveals itself.
It's easy to fall into the trap of allowing the quality of your products or services to diminish. Business owners and managers today are under more pressure, are making harder decisions, and in many cases (as verified by unemployment growing at the fastest rate in decades) are making layoffs. Though you may not have the clients and cash flow that you did a few months ago, allowing the quality of your product or service to suffer is not a strategy to build business.
We business owners must take action. We need to ask ourselves,"How can I improve service to my clientele with limited resources?" Let's get back to giving customers what they want. We should be listening, learning, and making changes - today.
First, contact your customers. Start with your best customers - current and past. The only way to make the change your clients desire is to know how they feel about you and your overall customer service, and to truly understand what works for them. Perform formal face to face discussions, if at all possible.
One of my clients increased his clientele by creating a focus group of his best customers - the type of customers he wanted more of. He asked them structured questions that related to his service: What do you like and dislike? How can we find other customers like you? Why did you choose to work with us? Their feedback helped him improve his customer relationships and understand how to gain more clientele.
Second, get back to focusing on the end user. Treat every customer that calls, enters your place of business, or is interested in your product or service with the utmost attention. Let them know that you truly appreciate their business.
Recently, some friends and I were at a local pub and were impressed by changes they had made. We mentioned it to the owner, who told us that he had talked to his clients and implemented change based on the feedback. His whole attitude was that his business was better because he listened - and we agreed. When we left, he made sure that we knew he appreciated our business; he appreciated us coming in and supporting a local company. It was an experience I'd like to have again.
Perhaps you feel you don't have time to talk to customers. You just cut staff and are busier than ever. Make the time to work on service. Take one hour per week to focus on what you could be doing differently with customer service. Remember the cyclical nature of business, and that a client who sees you mean business today may be your most loyal client tomorrow.
Posted by Eric Hubbs on Wed, May 20, 2009 @ 11:24 AM
By Michael Gunther
As originally published in The Tolosa Press on April 30th, 2009.
Historically, challenging economic times have provided a platform for business owners to analyze and reassess their business practices - and this "Great Recession" is no different. Perhaps you have begun to recognize that you can operate your business more effectively; that your customer relationships are more precious than ever; or that the mantra of "growth-growth-growth" you've been uttering has quickly transformed to "stabilize-stabilize-stabilize." You may even have noticed that the solid financial foundation you thought you were building is riddled with cracks.
This economic downturn is a wakeup call for many business owners to get back to the basic principles of building a profitable and sustainable business - principles we seem to have let fall by the wayside. For some of us, it is too late -we either were not proactive enough or simply delayed reacting. Either way, some of us will have missed the opportunity to be part of this exciting time in business.
Yes, I did say exciting time! Through all great adversity comes strength and innovation. We have the opportunity to choose which path we will take to forge through this economic turmoil. Will it be the path of panicking and waiting to respond? Or will it be the path of true leadership: focusing on innovation, making hard choices regarding staffing and finances, and keeping employees centered and positive.
Let's collaborate and explore these leadership options further.
Focus on Innovation
Instead of becoming overwhelmed with what is not working, we must focus on innovation, and determine what needs to change in order for us, and our companies, to build strength and efficiency.
We should be asking ourselves and our teams "how" and "what" questions daily: How can we deliver our products or services more efficiently than our competitors? What new products or services can we be offering and which should we cut? How can we operate our business more economically? How can we expand our client base in terms of size and geographic reach? What creative, low cost marketing initiatives can we undertake?
Make the Hard Choices
Leadership is fundamentally about making hard choices. Business owners tend to be optimistic, clinging to the hope that the situation will improve sooner rather than later. These economic times, however, are unprecedented. If we don't make the tough choices now, we risk losing even more in the long run.
These choices may include laying off employees, renegotiating prices with vendors, minimizing key expenditures, etc. We should challenge ourselves to align our expenses with the changes in our revenue, so at a minimum we are breaking even.
We can always rebuild our teams, reallocate cash, and increase expenses once our businesses begin to grow again, but we must first survive these tough times.
Keep Employees Centered and Positive
Employees are stressed - and rightfully so. They see businesses closing around them, they hear of record-breaking unemployment numbers, and they probably know a friend or family member who has lost their job. To top it off, they are wondering if their place of employment is secure.
We must lead by example in order to keep our teams centered and positive. For starters, we should be watchful of our attitude because it will impact our team's performance. Although we may be concerned about the future of our companies, we should not share that stress and negativity with the entire team. It's not that we should hide the challenges we face, but instead we should share the challenges with our passion to find viable solutions to overcome them.
Employees want leaders who are forwarding thinking and decisive. They want to know that their leader is creating and implementing a plan to address the obstacles facing their organization. One way we can involve our team is by enrolling them in the process of getting the company back on track - again, start by asking the "how" and "what" questions.
As I said earlier, this is an exciting time for business. And as Leaders, it is time to face our challenges head on: create innovative solutions, make the necessary choices, and keep positive through it all - because attitude impacts thoughts and thoughts impact behaviors.