What Does “service” Really Mean?
We’ve all been there — the day long training / motivational program where we will
instantly learn how to improve sales and crush the competition, right?
After a period of expert presentation, you inevitably experience the “audience response”
section of the program. The first question is barely out of the leader’s mouth and hands
fly upward. There’s always one person who just has to answer the question before
everyone else and show the whole room “who’s really number one”.
Can you guess the big question? Of course . . . it’s always the same, “What separates
you and your company from the competition?”. And the same answer always comes
screaming out, “OUR SERVICE IS BEST!”. Wow, everyone in the room has the best
service! Guess this is really the place to be to learn all about everything!
Now the bigger question - how many times have you heard the leader actually ask the
responder to take it a step further? “Give me one example of why your service is the
best?” asks the leader. Suddenly all the enthusiasm to be the one with the best answer
disappears. Amazingly, all the minds seem to freeze up like your very first computer.
The answer, ‘SERVICE”, has become so automatic the true meaning is forgotten.
At our company, the slogan is, “Quantified Service with Integrity”. Sounds quite
profound, doesn’t it? In reality, it is the first phase of the answer to the seminar leader’s
question. If you cannot “quantify” your service, then how can you expect a customer to
understand just what you mean? I bet you can rattle off a list of all the features your
products possess: colors - shipping weights - production times - the whole myriad of
features. But can you rattle off the real reasons customers should do business with
you?
Let’s start with our #1 “Quantify-er” - We pledge to our clients that their invoices will
match their quotes. Pretty basic, but how many times have you gotten a call asking
why they’re not the same? It’s a true “service” to fulfill your promises to your clients.
Our #2 is also very basic. We pledge to our clients that one of the owners is always
available to them. The promise to be there for the client assures them they will not be
just passed around when they really need an answer. What better level of service can
your client ever expect than knowing they will be treated in such an important way.
Maybe you have an expert in some area of your client’s business on staff. Isn’t that a
way to “quantify” why your service is better? Do you provide features as simple as toll-
free numbers? What better “service” than saving your customer some money. Our list
is made up of twelve specific items that “Quantify Service” . . . how many can you name
about your company or business?
I truly hope this gets you thinking. And maybe the next time someone asks “the big
question” you can be the one with the BEST answer.
Bill Lord is president of Zia Specialties, Inc., a Las Cruces, NM based promotional product distributor. He and his partner have nearly 3 decades of experience in the advertising specialty industry and with offices in Las Cruces, NM, Scottsdale, AZ and Spring, TX they truly cover the American Southwest.
Tags: customer service, marketing, sales, service