Satisfied customers return to purchase again, and it is returning customers combined with new customers that create business growth and long-term success. In a competitive business environment, there are generally numerous products and services of essentially the same quality available on the market at any given time; therefore, it’s all the little things that make up a product or service (its quality) that counts in making the difference between a sale or non-sale and whether the purchaser will be a returning customer or only a one-time customer.
Quality Eliminated
Although a business can offer a superior product or service, all it takes is one small “something” to force a change to the competition. In the eyes of the customer, one element of quality was somehow diminished or eliminated. When owners, managers, and employees do not pay strict attention to every detail of their business, products, and services, an inherent message is sent to customers and prospects that there are more important things in their business than what should be the most important…customers and prospects. Never second guess whether quality and details are important to purchasers because they most definitely are.
A retail store might have messy displays, inattentive clerks, and dirty restrooms. A service business might have an unfriendly receptionist answering the phone, sloppy technicians, or being late to calls. A physician’s office might keep patients waiting for unreasonable amounts of time or show little respect for patients as individuals. A manufacturing business might not necessarily care about packaging, on-time deliveries, or personal service. The list of quality items (the little things) that many businesses overlook is endless.
Emphasis at the Top
The importance of quality must start at the top in any business and will then permeate down to every employee. One manager or one employee alone emphasizing quality is not enough. Every employee regardless of position must have the same mindset regarding quality, especially regarding customers. What might be important to one customer might be less important to another and vice versa. This means that attention to quality in all facets of a business is important. As a business owner or manager, you never know what is important to one customer…the one thing that might keep a customer, secure a prospect or push an existing customer to the competition.
Quality Equates to Success
Successful businesses pay attention to every detail…excellence for the sake of excellence. They constantly strive for perfection in every area and every aspect of the business. They realize that quality is not limited to one or two areas of the business but is unlimited whether encompassing employees, customers, sales events, communications, websites, facilities, peak seasons, or slow times. The endless quest is to always be better than the competition.
The quest for quality does not happen by accident. Employees must be trained and retrained. New employees must be indoctrinated into the business philosophy knowing that quality is not one employee’s job, rather it is every employee’s job not just today but every day.
Experience What Customers Experience
Owners, CEOs, managers…step into the shoes of your customers and experience what they experience. Get employees involved. Talk to customers and seek feedback. Take the blinders off so you can get a wider view.
Business is more than simply selling a product or service. Long-term success is looking at the broad spectrum of a business and emphasizing quality regarding every detail every day. Little things or big things, they all matter when it comes to quality and customer experiences.
