GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: Delighting your customers

by Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

Delighting your customers is the surefire way to make your company successful. No matter what your company is, no matter what your services or products are, your job is to delight your customers. If you are serious, truly serious about your company being outstanding then you have to deliver outstanding services, services that will truly delight your customer, keep them coming back and most importantly telling others about you.

Here are five ways to make sure your customers are delighted:

• Ask them: Once you have performed the service on their car, or finished that landscaping job, or built them that new gazebo, call them up and ask if they are happy with your work. If they are not then it’s a great opportunity for you to remedy the situation, if they are then ask them for a reference or testimonial.
• Super Service: A friend of mine gets his Lexus serviced in Bellevue, Washington, where he lives. If the car is going to be in the shop for any length of time, they loan him a brand new Lexus, which is a great way to get him to try out the new model. And when he gets his car back it is washed and cleaned in and out. He tells everyone he meets about this service. And best of all he would never dream of buying anything but a Lexus the next time he needs a car.
• “No Policies:” The only policy you should have no matter what your business is to make your customers happy. If you’re company is full of policies (which are usually rules that are good for you but not for the customer) get rid of them.
• Make them love the wait: If your business is so successful that people have to wait, make it a delightful wait. If you own a restaurant, and your customers have to wait, make sure the waiting area is comfortable with plenty of seating. Pass around free samples of your excellent food. Think about it, no one is going to complain about the wait if they are being fed hot buttered rolls while they wait.
• Deliver something extra: If you’re a landscaper, do something special that the customer did not request. Offer her to plant an extra plant. Sweep his driveway when you’re done. Take a photo of that special flower bed you just worked on and send them a framed copy of it.

The idea is pretty simple. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and imagine what would make you happy. These are only five ideas. There are hundreds of things you can do in your specific business to delight your customers. All you have to do is put your customers foremost in your mind.

How do you delight your customers? Think about it. feel free to steal some of these ideas…or think up your own, it’s a great way to grow your business.