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      KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
     ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
                 Volume 52, July 2005
    Publisher: © Key Associates, 2005
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com

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This Issue: On "Customer Retention"

This is a monthly electronic magazine for anyone 
who wants to be a better leader, coach, facilitator, 
or simply, to tune up their people skills.  It is a 
complimentary publication, devoted to the next
evolution of Quality Thinking.

View Earlier Issues --See our new website (http://www.mkkey.com) 

Contents:

• What's Hot in Leadership
• Maintaining Yourself as a Leader
• Frequently Asked Questions from Leaders
• Educational Opportunities
• Useful Websites
• Articles/Publications
  

"Stronger timber does not live at ease.  The stronger 
the breeze, the stronger the trees. "
           -- Elfie Page, Dan Rather's grandmother

"The man who will use his skill and imagination 
to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead 
of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to 
succeed ."
           -- Henry Ford

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your 
room here on earth."
           -- Muhammed Ali

"You can hardly make a friend in a year, but you 
can easily offend one in an hour."
           -- Chinese Proverb

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WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
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INVITING FEEDBACK FROM ALL CUSTOMERS.

NEVER BREAKING A PROMISE WITHOUT 
PERSONAL COMMUNICATION FIRST.

BEING THERE WHEN NEEDED.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS.

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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Your greatest ally is someone who will give you 
honest feedback.  Sadly, unhappy customers walk
(96% defect)--and they tell others (at least 9 other 
people) about their negative experience.  More 
than 13% will tell at least 20 other people and 
exaggerate the story of their frustration.  
They rarely tell you.

Their primary complaint: "an attitude of indifference."

Losing customer confidence, which takes years 
to build, can be lost in a few minutes.  Are your 
channels open for feedback?  Their feedback is 
a gift.  Talk to customers--employees, clients, patients, 
vendors--and listen deeply.  Accept what they say.  
Be willing to act immediately and make changes.
The customer whose problem you solve is your 
ally for the duration.  If it's hastily resolved, 
96% of those will do business with you again.  
And will tell 5 to 7 other people.  They become 
your champions!

Word-of-mouth marketing is the cheapest and 
most effective strategy!

(Figures from Sanders, Fabled Service, 1995.)

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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"What erodes customer confidence?"

Mainly, broken promises.  All you have in business 
is integrity--living at your word.  As Werner Erhardt 
of est said, "Make promises you can keep; and keep 
the promises you make."  If you can't keep an agreement, 
rework it.

There are service elements that are deal-killers:

- Inconsistent service
- Rude people (attitude of indifference)
- Poor accessibility when needed
- Time wasters
- Late/partial/wrong delivery (errors)
- Poor quality
- Unfair price
- Making excuses, blaming, defending any of the above.

"What do we do when we make a mistake?"

We are all human, and mistakes happen.  First 
of all: empower people in your system to take 
responsibility for a problem and take action.  
Forbid the making of excuses, blaming, and 
defending.

Here's a formula:

- Admit fault.  "Glad you told me."
- Validate their feelings.  "I know you are angry."
- Apologize.  "Sorry we fell short of your expectations."
- Assure them that you will take care of them.
- Ask, "What would make you feel better about this?"
- Provide it or "option (find a substitute that will make it up to them)."
- Work with the customer on resolution.

"We do a satisfaction survey.  Isn't that enough?"

A satisfaction survey is not sufficient for gathering 
all the customer data you need to improve.   Noriaki 
Kano described three levels of customer knowledge:

Level I - ASSUMED, EXPECTED.  If these elements are 
missing from your service, you will get complaints.  This 
is "must-be" quality.

Question: What are the basics?  How well are we doing?

Level II - REQUESTED.  "More is better" quality.  These 
add-on's typically bump your satisfaction scores up.  An 
example would be bending the rules to accommodate a 
customer.

Question: What more could we do?

Level III. - DELIGHTED.  Customers cannot tell you 
they need these.  They just know they are happier for it, 
when they experience it.  This is called "surprising, 
attractive quality."  Delighters come from innovations. 
Level III's would cause  customers to brag; they are 
the features that retain customers and draw others t
o your business.

Question:  How could we surprise and delight you?

"We get plenty of random complaints that are not
picked up by our satisfaction survey.  What do we 
do with these?"

Keep a log of "Customer Murmurs."  Write down 
stray remarks in a designated book, and periodically 
review them for trends.  Anyone may write in this book.  
In fact, keep one in your waiting  room(s).  This a tool 
that  captures all the things you forgot to ask on a survey.

Another technique is Rounding or Customer Debriefing.  
In person, face-to-face, ask, "What experiences delighted 
you during your visit/stay here?  What were some of your 
disappointments?"  Listen and learn.