Great service or road kill?
I fired a client last week. Technically, he’d say that he fired me. He did so right after I explained that I wouldn’t take any more projects until he paid his past due invoices and observed a few other basic considerations.
When I decided to draw the line, I knew it would end the relationship. I also knew that if I allowed it, this client would run me over again and again.
Still, the decision caused much consternation. You see, I grew up in a business school that believed “The customer is always right.” I heard legendary stories of customer service at all costs. In one account, a high-end department store took back a returned car tire, even though it didn’t sell tires.
Back then, my peers and I praised those companies for doing the right thing. Their extraordinary measures would surely pay off in the form of word-of-mouth advertising and increased patronage, right? Today, after 20 years in the business world, I’m not so sure that the “service at all cost” philosophy is on the mark at all. Did taking back a tire really bring in more high-end customers or did it attract more tire-kickers? How did that decision impact efficiency, employee morale and profit?
Now that I’m all grown up, I tend to look at business relationships like a look at partnership. I believe two people come into a relationship with obligations to uphold. If everyone upholds his or her obligations, then by all means – great service reigns. However, if one fails to do his/her part, all bets are off. The obligation to give great service evaporates when the bulldozing begins.
What about you? Do you believe there’s a fine line between providing great service and becoming road kill? How do you establish expectations up front, so that you’re not run over later on? Share your thoughts by clicking the “comment” link below and PLEASE … take the poll!
Is that your best offer?
Mark Twain once said, “I’m opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.” In other words, if the offer was right, he just might take it. The same is true of your prospects. So, so often, they’re intrigued by your offering, yet they never take the next step. Why? The “offering” may be intriguing but the “offer” isn’t compelling – or worse yet, it doesn’t exist. There’s no good reason to do anything more than continue thinking.
Think about your own experiences … like the last time you shopped for shoes. If the shoes look great and feel great, but the price is $200, you might decide to think on it. If the same shoes are on a two-day sale for 40% off, you’ll probably buy. There’s a very compelling reason to buy now.
So an insurance marketer, what’s your 40% off sale? You probably can’t discount the price, so what can you do to create urgency and desire? How can you motivate response without violating rebating laws?
