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Client Retention: What Keeps Your Customers Coming Back? |
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 Written by: Mike Tafoya
What keeps your customers coming back? An important aspect of Customer Service (CS) that all successful companies address is Client Retention. Remember, client retention is growth, and without it, you are forever replacing customers. A well-thought-out plan that defines how to keep your customer’s business is vital to the long-term success of your business.
Discipline: Client Retention
You may offer excellent products, but if the process of dealing with your business is an unpleasant one, your clients are likely to begin looking elsewhere. This is especially true if you are in a highly competitive field, and who isn’t these days. If you have a competitor whose product is equal to yours and the CS experience clients have with your company is a poor one, what’s to keep them from checking out the competition? Not much!
Creating a high quality customer experience
CEO Rule #1: “Customers remember the experience, not the product.” That’s why good companies place a great deal of emphasis on making sure that their CS representatives provide clients with a high quality customer experience that covers these important areas:
1. New/Existing customer expectations/orientation. Do you know what your new and existing customers expect from your business, and does your CS staff properly orient them to know what to expect from you?
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Thriving In A Down Economy |
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 Written by: Mike Tafoya
Okay, so we are in a recession, but how will it affect you and your business? Money is tight. People aren’t spending. Companies are struggling—some are going out of business. The future looks bleak. What are you going to do? Is it really possible to thrive in a down economy? We at Estrada Strategies believe it is. However, it depends on how you manage a number of important factors, beginning with you and your mindset.
What is your outlook?
Your outlook will largely determine whether your company dies, barely survives or thrives during difficult economic times. If you pay too much attention to all the negative comments coming from the media, other businessmen, clients, friends, etc., you may come to the conclusion that all is lost and that your chances of success are so slim, you might as well give up and close your doors.
What conclusions do you make about the economy based upon what you are hearing? The first step toward forming a healthy outlook for your business when the “bears” are all around you is to be aware of the messages you are receiving. So, make a list of everything you have heard about the economy in the last 90 days, and access the effect they have had on you as the leader of your business. In short, what is your current outlook? Next, identify the steps you have taken in the past or that you already plan to take to deal with the economic situation as you see it today. These simple actions will help give you a clear picture of where you are and how you may need to take some additional steps to alter your outlook.
Create a Place for Growth
One of our CEO RULES is: “People tend to be down on what they are not up on.” That means that in the absence of good information, we tend to form negative opinions. It is especially important in a down economy to be well informed. A few keys to remember in this process include:
- Don’t Believe Everything You Hear on TV or in the News
Remember that the popular media thrives on bad news, and that often the easiest way to “sell newspapers” is to claim that the sky is falling. If you allow the media to determine your outlook, you may never see any good—ever!
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Six Keys to Developing a Successful Business Plan |
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“To build a successful business, you have to begin at the end.”
Creating a clear business plan is an essential task for every leader who wants to operate a successful, smooth running, self-sustaining company. While it takes time and effort, having such a strategic roadmap will enable you to view your business from a higher plane and to quickly evaluate its strengths and inefficiencies. It will also empower your employees by freeing them to accomplish your company's goals and to fulfill its mission and vision without your constant, hands-on involvement--which also frees you up from the day-to-day work, or, as we call it, “Doing the do.”
I have identified six key elements every successful business plan should include. The first three encompass what we call the organizational “Culture,” while the second three comprise its business “Systems.” Lacking these business elements almost inevitably leads to employee confusion, conflicts and other workplace problems that undermine product quality and business performance--and makes it almost impossible to remedy them. Since most businesses do not have a clearly defined culture or defined systems, by taking these steps you will gain an immediate advantage over your competition. Below is a brief description of our Six Keys:
CULTURE
1.) Vision A one-sentence statement that defines the ultimate impact your business is going to make on the community. It should state what you want to accomplish in terms of an almost unattainable goal or dream. A good vision statement makes the connection between your business's passion and its purpose. My rule for Vision is: “People will work harder for a vision then they will for a paycheck.” Your vision statement should inspire, motivate and excite your employees, clients and the community where you do business. It should be short, concise and easy to remember. Remember, a vision is not merely a large goal. It differs from a goal, in that you almost never quite achieve your vision--it is a virtually unattainable ideal that motivates your employees to meet and exceed your company's practical objectives. In other words, goals are used to measure systems and processes, while vision is the fuel that ignites people to go beyond goals to excellence. A company's top leadership has the responsibility to drive its vision. Without the support and encouragement of upper management, your vision will fail to have the impact the company needs to outperform your competition.
Example--“Estrada Strategies: “Creating an Opportunity for All Businesses to Succeed”
2.) Values Core Values are the rules of conduct in your business: a clearly defined set of standards that describes your organization's approach to relationships. It is a written code of conduct defining how all stakeholders will treat people internally and externally, including other workers, clients, vendors and the community.
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