It’s an old adage that I’ve mentioned before in my writings and video lessons: People, as in customers, like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. The knowing and liking is easy. Just creating a good image and having a good reputation makes it easy for customers to want to like you. Be nice and respectful and they start to feel like they are getting to know you. But, the trusting is more difficult. You have to earn your customers’ trust by following through and creating a predictable experience.
Creating trust is paramount to creating customer loyalty. And anytime you have an opportunity to prove yourself and establish a little more trust with the customer, take advantage of it.
So, how do you know when your customers trust you? Aside from repeat business, referrals and accolades, there is one word that you are looking for them to use as they describe you. That word is always.
They are always so nice. They always take care of me. I can always count on them. And, when there is a mistake or a problem, they always fix it.
So, how do you get to that level of trust? How do you get the word always to be part of your customers’ description of you?
Sure, there are more ideas, tips and tactics we can add to this list. (And, feel free to share them with us below.) So, to summarize, creating the always predictable customer experience falls into two areas; operations and culture. Is your system in place, and does it work? Is your culture defined, and do your people walk the talk?