What do you fear for business?

I was at a networking meeting the other week and our host, Mike Stokes, asked us to to share with the group what we fear most. As you would expect heights, spiders, public speaking etc were all mentioned however, when it came to my turn I decided to put across my view on something that really concerns me for the future of business. Communication, verbal communication to be precise, or the lack  of it.

I cited an example of this, which I frequently see when having a coffee or meal in a cafe or restaurant, where couples - I was going to say young here but it now appears to be happening with people of all ages - sitting at the same table and obviously together are using their smart phones to either text or communicate on social media rather than talk to each other (could be that they are texting each other!).
 

In business the same thing is happening, emails and sms messages, which are essential and necessary in business today to confirm conversations, meetings and pass detailed information etc, are being used used as the first choice of communication with colleagues, existing & potential customers and suppliers, sometimes even in the same office, rather than talking to each other. Now I know that  an excuse used is that they need a paper trail however emails and messages can be misinterpreted, instead why not pick up the phone or meet with the relevant person and have a conversation which you then know that your message has been delivered and helps to build trust.

In sales and customer service 'Trust' is especially important as it is the main reason that customers give when purchasing goods and services or why they stay loyal to a particular supplier.

People buy from people, so encourage the use of verbal communication along with methodologies, to bring out the personality of your business.

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Paul is a Business Development Coach & Trainer specialising in High Growth Strategy Planning & Implementation.  Developing Customer Focused Businesses to Deliver Growth.

Call Paul on 01529 413476 - you can even email him (paul@healdi.co.uk) or send an sms message - to arrange a no obligation review

How can delivering exceptional customer experiences impact directly to your bottom line?

I was at a meeting of the Nottingham City Business Club the other day and listened to an impassioned talk by Center Parcs UK CEO, Martin Dalby, which answered many of the questions often asked by prospective clients about how delivering exceptional customer experiences impacts directly onto growth and profitability.

Martin detailed how Center Parcs UK has grown year on year despite the recession because of the customer concentric ethos running throughout the business. Figures like occupancy rates of 97% and 60% of customers returning every 3 years with staff turnover at only 25% being the envy of any business in the travel and hospitality sector, all driven by the provision of excellent customer experiences delivered by the total organisation. Martin gave an example by asking the audience "How many litter pickers do we employ?" Answer "Aound 6,000 - everybody in the organisation including himself"

The ethos of making the Customer the centre of any organisation has to be embedded and nutured, it is not a quick fix. The results can be significant:

• Brand Protection 
• Improved customer retention rates
• Loyal, happy customers
• More profitable business from existing customers
• Ambassadorial customers
• Extra Referral business
• Less selling costs
• Reduced customer complaints
• Less stressed employees
• Highly motivated workforce
• Reduced staff turnover 
• More PROFIT

 Improve customer experience to improve growth & profitability.

Paul Clayton is business management & training consultanct specialising in business growth, strategic Sales & Marketing planning and Customer Experience Management (CEM).

www.healdi.co.uk                  t: 0845 3081377