The Source of a Satisfied Customer

Quality is undeniably the single most important facet involved in retaining your clientele.

Improving satisfaction is critical to boosting profits and quality is the key to keeping customers happy. But how do you define quality and inject it into your relationships with customers? By living it.

Your company's commitment should be to meet or exceed your clientele's expectations. Make that the first topic discussed at weekly staff meetings. Do everything to ensure that your staff always offers superior service.

The best leaders know that quality and a successful business are synonymous. Practice these four steps to pay attention to detail and people will believe in your commitment to excellence:

1. Focus on customers' needs. Understand what your customers require and be uncompromising in responding to them. Send out frequent questionnaires to take the pulse on how your customers feel about every aspect of your business. Even if they don't respond, they'll see that you care.
2. Contact former customers. Ask them why they left and how you can win them back. Educate yourself and your staff about the cost of losing a customer.
3. Train employees and verify they are paying attention. Listen in on telephone calls and monitor face-to-face interactions with customers to ensure that staff members are always courteous. Make sure they know exactly what you expect. A ruffled customer can become a lost customer.
4. Don't rest on your laurels. If your company is already successful with your clientele, congratulations. But don't forget that paradigms change. Keep your eye on changing trends and customer tastes and you'll stay on top of your industry.

When you take quality seriously, success will follow. Certainly it takes time and effort. But the payoff is a clientele that remains intact and a balance sheet that keeps improving.