Testimonials are the Canary in the Coal Mine

We want to do business with people we trust. It may be that we need to trust them to perform the service promised. Or it could be that we trust that they will deliver on time. Or it may be that we trust that the terms, conditions and pricing that are promised, are what will be on the invoice.

One of the best ways to establish trust with a new prospective customer is through the use of testimonials - written or video. If you are able to consistently gather glowing testimonials from your clients, you need not read any further. However, if you struggle at times to get great quotes or glowing reviews, you may want to consider that a warning sign that something isn't right in the business. It could be product, process or people.

If you have more than 12 or 15 people, your leadership team must be able to clearly understand and articulate what it is your customers pay you for, and how you deliver on that value. Then you must make sure that every process, interaction, communication and system supports that value. Easy to say, very hard to do because just one broken link in this chain can result in dissatisfaction.

• If the wrong expectations are set in the sales process - you'll have a dissatisfied customer.
• If the installation or training around your product isn't appropriate, good or complete, you'll have a less than satisfied customer.
• If you ship a product the wrong way, or don't clearly communicate delivery timelines, you'll have unhappy customers
• If you invoice a customer at the wrong price or terms, you will impact your customer satifaction
• If the support process isn't handled right, you'll have a dissatisfied customer
• If your customer can't find information when they need it, the way they want it, you have a dissatisfied customer.

... And the list goes on.

The right business systems are critically important in managing your customer satisfaction.

• CRM systems for capturing and tracking prospect and client interaction
• ERP and accounting systems for managing your supply, demand and billing
• Web systems or portals to allows customers and vendors to self-service

And all these systems need to work together so that your staff has a complete view into the life-cycle of your customer interaction and satisfaction.

Your ability to get testimonials is the canary in the coal mine. If they aren't coming, it's a sure sign that something else is wrong. If you would like get some fresh air into your approach to systems that support your customer satisfaction, we'd like to help.