According to a recent periodical published by the University of Wisconsin study, keeping the customers you serve happy may be the best marketing tool ever! As a matter of fact, they listed six caveats in business management related to this topic:

1.      Offer quality products.

2.      Cultivate good people skills.

3.      Know your customers.

4.      Use attractive packaging.

5.      Let customers try samples.

6.      Be willing to change.

What does that look like? It involves eschewing the cheaper product, which might boost profits momentarily, to offer the best on the market. It includes teaching phone and personal skills to employees, and awarding manners. It goes far beyond the norm, being willing to change.

               Our Blue Springs businesses have taken many of these ideas to heart. Miller Theatres always amazes me, with their offerings geared to attract different facets of the Blue Springs population. Innovation has been their watch word. Our eateries constantly tweak their menus, and several donate food to Chamber events, keeping their establishments on our minds.

               But how do you, as a business owner, measure the effect of an effort beyond dollars and cents? If you are only looking at your bottom line, you’re likely looking at all the wrong things. Rev-rec is that gray area in which you know you’re making money, but you have no idea why you are succeeding. It may be an advertising pitch, it may be the slow accrual of new customers from an effort initiated two months ago, and it may be for any of a dozen other ambiguous reasons. Revenue recognition may obscure a story of unrequited love when an unhappy customer is locked into a contract. The company is surprised when the customer suddenly flees the nest at the first available opportunity, because the spreadsheet said everything was going well! In short, money is not your best tool for understanding what is effective and what is not.

A business I used to frequent was recently sold, retaining the name but bringing in all new personnel. There was no introductory letter. Customers were met with the change upon entering the door. Word spread. I, among others, found new businesses to frequent. Was I satisfied with the original business? Yes. What turned me away from the new one? #2, #4, and #5 from above come to mind. It was the lack of personal introduction and upfront presentation of the change which drove me away. My 100% satisfaction plummeted to -10%. Here’s the thing: I never responded to that company to explain why I left. I just became a phantom number on their spreadsheet.

The literature is replete with ideas on how to understand customer satisfaction, and companies who specialize in this suggest some very basic strategies. Surveys track everything from customer satisfaction through the effort customers expend to shop with you. They also tend toward being expensive and time consuming.  An easier way to track satisfaction is by evaluating performance through Face Book or web page comments. If you are doing your job effectively, feedback should be 40% positive, 10% negative and 45% neutral. Many hire an influencer to monitor this and promote their business in a positive way.

Customer satisfaction is where it’s at. The best way to grow a business is to keep your customers in the fold, so to speak. You can measure your effectiveness in a number of ways, but don’t just look at your bottom line. Look at the feedback they offer you, and if you aren’t sure, ask questions.