This is a classic contributor to broken promises. So many customers get upset at vendors who dropped the ball. Customers often chalk this up to a vendor that they think is inept and incapable, when in fact, the vendor is overcommitted. Are you overcommitted? Do you suffer from FOMO when it comes to taking on jobs? If so, we encourage you to think about taking on what you can handle.

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Sounds like a silly question, but you would be shocked at how many of us vendors miss the mark time, and time again. Most of our customers are given the name, “Hey”, when we could easily address them by their name. Maybe it’s time to take a good hard look at how many times you call a customer “Hey”, when you could call them by name? Always remember, to that person, their name is the sweetest sound they could hear. Increase your repeat and referral business by making one, simple change as to how you say hello to customers.

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Have you ever examined your business through the lens of identifying pain points in your business? It’s a great exercise, and can be very fruitful. Every once in while assemble your team for a story-telling session. Encourage them to share their stories that illustrate customer pain points with your business. Once identified, get rid of them and replace them with customer-pleasing methods of handling that experience component of your transaction process.

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Sounds like a funny question right? Well I just ran into a very strange situation a few months ago, and I feel compelled to share it. I was leaving a voice message for a vendor when I heard a bunch of F-bombs coming from him as I was leaving my message. Apparently, the vendor never stopped recording, and it eventually captured an inter-office business conversation laced with vendor F-bombs. The F-bombs start revealing themselves about 10 seconds after the vendor voice message finishes, but the caller never hears a beep prompting the caller to start leaving their message. Imagine how many customers, or better yet, potential customers, have heard this, but never said anything to the vendor. I called the vendor to let him know, and he was flabbergasted. Maybe it’s time to check your voice message. Keep listening to make sure it doesn’t contain something potentially embarrassing, or damaging to business opportunities.

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In today’s world, so many buyers have one eyebrow up when they meet with vendors. A classic, and easily detectable mistake is when vendors rely on assertions instead of claims. What’s the difference? A claim is a statement that can be backed up with evidence, and an assertion is a baseless statement with little, to no evidence as back up. Where do you and your customer facing teams fall? Maybe it’s time to make sure that you’re using claims instead of assertions?

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I learned a valuable, and painful lesson years ago. I met three customers for important lunch, and for the second time, I was 15 minutes late. Little did I know that the leader of the customer group was an ex-marine, and punctuality was a standard operating procedure for him. As I greeted everyone and sat down… I got my head handed to me. From that day on, I have worked diligently on trying to be punctual in business. It’s probably one of my biggest weaknesses in business, and life. I constantly try to get better at it. What say you? Where do you fall in the spectrum of punctuality? What improvements can you make?

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This concept may get a chuckle or two. However, this operating tenant is often times skimmed over in the board rooms and training rooms. The customer experience is set on the right axis if the vendor displays genuine politeness. This is especially important in the first 30 seconds of a business relationship. Starting the transaction, and continuing the transaction with the common thread of politeness will enhance positive reviews for each customer experience. It’s simple, yet grossly overlooked. Maybe it’s time to find out what your customers think of you? Don’t be shy… ask the question and be prepared to be a little shocked.

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Customers find great comfort when their vendors operate in patterns that are consistent, and good for the customer. Inconsistency is one of the most common occurrences in business today. The companies that flourish are those that operate with a set of standard operating procedures that becomes an insurance policy for consistency.

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