Paul Riddle
Contributing Writer
Success Group International
6 Ways to Find Out if Your Clients are Raving Happy or Mad!
Here’s a scary statistic for every business owner:
“The average organization loses 15–35{938cd9e8dae860e800efc538277d4f7684e6f6981618ba70d1c34357a53c2e1f} of its customers each year, primarily due to poor service.”
That’s a statistic from Ken Blanchard’s website. He’s the author of the book Raving Fans, and he presents an interesting idea for any company concerned about keeping those 15-35 percent of customers they might otherwise lose each year.
Do you know if your company is in the process of losing a third of your customers this year? There’s only one way to find out before it’s too late. Ask them.
As Blanchard points out in the book there are raving happy fans and there are those that are raving mad. Naturally, you want to shoot for the raving happy fans, but if you fall short of that, you want the raving mad customer.
Sounds crazy to say, doesn’t it? But think about it this way: if they’re mad enough to tell you about it, then you have an opportunity to fix it.
It’s the silent customers in the middle of the spectrum that are the most dangerous. They are the ones who you don’t know about. They are the ones that could be mad enough to tell their friends but not mad enough to tell you. That’s dangerous.
Just think about how dangerous that silence can be, and you’ll quickly see where that 15-35 percent of lost customers come from.
Think about your last visit to a restaurant. When you left, the manager may have asked you how your meal was, and you probably replied, “Great,” as a reflex. But in reality, your steak was cold, the service was poor, and the restaurant was freezing. Needless to say, you know you’re not coming back, but the restaurant thinks you’ll be coming back. They’ve lost you, and they don’t even know it. It’s the silence that kills.
Today, we expect mediocre service. The expectations of people from companies, especially contractors, are lower today. As a result, customers reward those companies that provide them with outstanding service. If you can offer clients the type of service that connects with them, they’ll be raving fans.
So where do your clients fall in that spectrum? Raving or silent? It’s better to know so you can either celebrate or get to work on fixing the problems.
How do you find out if your fans are raving? Here are a few ideas:
Comment cards – Every business on the planet uses comment cards, but they are a simple way to get feedback from your clients. However, do you do anything to entice your clients to fill them out, and do you call them afterwards to thank them for filling out the cards? Even happy clients might need a reason to let you know it.
Website comments – Obviously, more and more of our world takes place on the web nowadays, so integrate your comment cards or feedback form into your website. Direct your clients to the website after you complete a job, and that way you’ll capture their email address too. Be sure to thank them for leaving feedback, and with their email address, you could even send them a coupon or online gift certificate.
Focus groups – If you want to know your clients’ opinions, just ask! You could invite a small group of clients that you haven’t heard from to a focus group. It would give you a great chance to break the silence and see if they were happy with your service, and most people enjoy giving their opinion when they know it will make a difference, so this is a chance to see what you can improve in your company.
Happy calls – Be sure to follow up with each homeowner after you install a roof. It’s a simple step to get their feedback after the job by calling them to make sure that everything was satisfactory.
Personal stop-bys – How many jobs does your company go on in a day? Unless you’re a really big operation, the number probably isn’t too big. Is it possible to stop by at least a few of those homes and get feedback from customers on the spot? Plus, stopping by the job sites personally will keep your technicians on their toes.
Do a little investigating – With everything happening online today, it’s not too hard to find out all the information you want to know about a company. What’s out there about your company? Your community may have a specific website where homeowners post their experiences with companies. What are they saying about you? Log on and find out.
Those are just a few ways to see if your clients are raving happy or mad.
About the Author: Paul Riddle, Vice President, Success Group International
Paul Riddle has over 25 years of hands‐on experience as GM, COO, CEO, and owner of service companies specifically in the mechanical and restoration segments. Throughout his career, he has personally trained the owners and employees of hundreds of businesses, including several turnaround situations. His hands‐on training for owners and their employees has been in the areas of business planning, sales & marketing, and company culture. Paul enjoys applying his knowledge and experience working directly with business owners and their employees to increase profits, improve the company’s present value, and unlock the intrinsic value of the business when sold. Paul joined SGI in 2009 as the VP of Operations.