| UCEzine : September 15, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Who and what you really are... There is an astonishing, overwhelming lack on the part of professionals - and the organizations for whom they work - of clarity about who and what they truly are. If a customer doesn't know what you stand for, and why you are distinct, then why should they invest their time and money into the product or service you have to offer? Recently, I did a series of consulting assignments with multi-million dollar producers affiliated with a large financial service brokerage. In eight separate meetings, I asked the question, "What differentiates your practice from those of other financial advisors?" Six times I received the response, "We provide great client service." Twice, the answer was, "I don't know." Consider that for a moment - these are successful professionals! Somehow they have missed the point that if they want to achieve higher levels of success and profitability, the most important first step they can take is to make their practice differentiated from the scores of others in the same business. Do they really think that "great client service" is a differentiator? Does that mean that everyone else is saying they provide "pretty awful client service" to their investors? I doubt it. Part of the reason that clarity is so vital is because you cannot differentiate a generic! In medicine, for example, we take for granted that the specialist is more highly compensated than the general practitioner. Usually, specialists are not the ones giving referrals to the G.P.'s - it's the other way around! Why would we presume that other industries would have a different set of rules? You might say that Wal-Mart sells "everything to everybody" - but that would not be true! What if you want a tuxedo? How about a pair of cufflinks? What about a designer gown? You cannot find those at Wal-Mart! Wal-Mart markets "low prices everyday" on mass market consumer items. There is a sizable amount of clarity regarding who they are - even though they handle thousands of items. Why should you focus to such a significant degree on clarity? Simple: You do not have enough time or energy to create highly distinctive customer experiences for a widely varied assembly of wildly diverse customers. If I focus upon surgeons, for example, as a clearly defined client base, I can then learn their schedules, participate in their charitable activities, understand their unique professional challenges, educate myself in some of their specialized terminology, host client events that appeal to their specific needs, plan my work hours to fit the times that it is easiest to contact them - and be contacted by them - and much more. Almost all of the answers to the above aspects would be different for corporate CEO's than for surgeons - and different again for retirees or entrepreneurs. None of us has the time -- or the emotional and intellectual energy -- necessary to learn so much about so many and still retain an ability to develop differentiation. However, this also answers why so few in any (and every) profession are able to attain significant distinction. Can you begin to imagine how difficult it is to learn all of this - and more - about a specific customer base? Therefore, we end up - organizationally and individually - knowing our products, but not our customers. We're often a "mile wide and an inch deep" when it comes to knowing what would really make a difference for the very people we seek to serve. Or, we try to serve so many that we end up truly engaging very few. --Scott McKain - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Top Floor Tips
Making it Right Have you ever done business with a business when you hated what you had to go through just to spend your money with them? Here on the Top Floor, we are customers too! We too have problems arise that require immediate attention and support. Just like you, most of the time our issues are handled promptly and courteously. Of course, there are those other times... We recently encountered a problem with a hosting company that in turn was making it difficult for us to provide an ultimate experience for OUR client. After an hour on the phone and in a live chat session, we felt as if we weren't provided help; nor were we treated with respect. The hard fact is that it only takes one person within your organization (maybe YOU) -- to totally change a customer's perception of your organization as a whole.
Here's what happened next: The Top Floor Team would suggest that you GET it right, not MAKE it right. But if an occasion does arise when your customer doesn't feel as if his/her experience was ultimate, we hope that you follow GoDaddy's example. We thought their 'making it right' action was extremely cool! --The Top Floor Team - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How to become successful... As posted on September 14, 2009 on BLOG, McKain Viewpoint. Read more of Scott McKain's insights at: http://mckainviewpoint.com. Never fails. At meetings of speakers or authors, those just getting started in these endeavors ask me if I could give them insight into what it takes to become successful... Read the rest of this story >> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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