Eight Steps to Web Success - Step 7: Provide Excellent Service and Stay on the Leading Edge
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Many years ago, Tom Peters wrote a book on business excellence. He identified companies that were practicing excellence in all aspects of business, from excellence in customer service, to new product development and speed to market. Who was replacing inventory on a regular basis? Who went the extra mile for their customers? Who provided a clean environment for employees and customers? Who took care of their employees?
Even though it was written over 20 years ago, the principles that were expressed are just as true today. What have you done for your customer today? If they have a problem with your billing or returns department do they have trouble contacting you? If you promise to ship out a product today, do you follow-up on that promise? Does your web site reflect sloppiness or excellence in design? Do you claim that your site is family friendly and then provide advertising of porn?
When customers come to your site, do they want to come back? Do they tell their friends and family about you? Are you hard to work with? Ask yourself these questions and then ask your customers and see if you both agree with the answers. You might be surprised. There is an old cliché that is appropriate for this topic: Under promise and over deliver. Give your customers more than they bargained for and watch them and their friends flock to your door.
The exciting part of the book was that the companies that were excellent in Tom Peters' opinion were also charging the most for their products. If you provide perceived additional value, you can increase revenues per sale. This is more than just spending more money on advertising. It is going the extra mile on each and every sale.
When you wake up tomorrow morning ask yourself, “What can I do today to add value to a product or service that I now provide?” This doesn't mean you give away the store. People are willing to pay more for additional services. We were discussing in a meeting today, that some of the ladies would like to see automobile gas stations go back to the full service pump, where someone else would pump your gas into your car for you. And they all said they were willing to pay more for that service.
We have all used shareware software programs that met a need we had at a particular moment. Many of us decided to purchase at a much higher price a competitors product because it had features we felt we needed and we were willing to spend more to receive those features. In most cases significantly more money, 10 to 25 times more money for additional added value.
So spend time on a regular basis determining what products or services you can add that would add value to your business.
Next: Step 8: Continuous Action Theory >>
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