The Water Trough

Is Your Business Ill? Treat the Illness, Not the Symptoms.

Sam has a problem; his customer service staff has dwindled from 3 to 1 and even more alarming, his two latest hires lasted two and three months respectively. Sam is at wits end and he has no idea what to do.

The business world is full of Sam’s; the issues may not be identical but the challenge is the same- he has tried everything he knows to do but the problem remains. If at first you don’t succeed, it’s a good time to go back to square one. There is nothing wrong with persistence but sometimes that try, try again stuff is just a waste of time, that is unless you have a plan. And that plan is a lot easier than you might think.

The first question you must ask: what is the problem? The easiest way to describe the problem is in terms of the presenting conditions (or to use a health term, symptoms). This part is straight forward; just describe what you see. In this case, there are two symptoms- the customer service area is understaffed and staff retention is floundering. For many folks, the process comes to a screeching halt right here. Others have “been there done that” so using their recipe for success you assume that you too will make everything right. Heck, they wrote the books, how could you possibly go wrong? Well, sometimes this approach works, but when the “one size fits all” approach fails, desperation sets in. Don’t despair, read on...

OK, so you know what’s wrong; the next question is why or said another way, what is the cause of these symptoms? The answers may appear obvious but without a thorough investigation the underlying source (root-cause) of the problem cannot be elucidated. Root-cause analysis has been described in abundance and any of a number of resources will suffice to explain how it is done. Regardless of what guidance you use, keep in mind that each situation is unique. Time invested in identifying the root-cause is time well spent. The temptation to resolve the problem quickly should be resisted. If the root-cause is not identified, recurrences and that sense of being at wits end will return. Not exactly the plan of choice I’d say.

Buying Customers Versus Buy-in Customers

No matter what type of business you operate, the customer matters the most. The thing is, not all customers are ‘buying’ customers. Your employees, suppliers and related service people are your customers too- I think of them as the ‘buy-in’ customers. And let's face it, they are the ones that keep your buying customers coming back for more. What are you doing to keep these VIP's engaged?

• Acknowledge Your Buy-In Customers
  Buy-in customers are a very real and very important part of business; acknowledge this fact. The buy-in of your employees and supporters is as much a part of business success as the products and services you sell. It doesn’t hurt to look at each of these folks as business partners. Without them, you are in business alone, if you are in business at all.
• Treat Your Buy-In Customers as if They Are Buying Customers
  You don’t think twice about working hard to make your buying customers happy; it takes planning and it is something you do all the time. Why not include your buy-in customers in the planning process? Whether it is incentives, recognition, courtesy or whatever, if it works for the buying customers adapt it to fit your’ buy-in customers as well.
• Create a Continuous Buy-In-Customer Maintenance Plan
  Preventive maintenance versus as-needed maintenance; you’ve done the comparison and you have learned that over time prevention is less costly, less intrusive and vastly more productive. Supporting the intellect, integrity and enthusiasm of your’ buy-in customers is more than incentives, recognition and courtesy. It is about giving them an opportunity to share in the triumphs and challenges the business faces; an opportunity to maximize their own potential. Institute a plan, which encourages your’ buy-in customers to share their ideas, to challenge perceived weaknesses and to make the business greater than it is. Investing in the intellect, integrity and enthusiasm of these folks will reap lasting rewards for all.

Your’ customers come in a variety of forms. You must continue to put your best forward in an effort to attract, maintain and most important of all, to sell to your buying customers. At the same time, don’t forget your’ buy-in customers and how valuable they are to the bottom line; you might just say, they are the bottom line.

If You Want It- Ask for It!

When I set out to start this blog I had a couple of ideas in mind: 1) it would give folks a glimpse into the way I think (on the hope they'd want to work with me), 2) I wanted to inspire people to think, 3) I hoped to share information that would be useful or that would give rise to ideas that had not been explored before and finally 4) I hoped to engage in a conversation with people (feedback, comments and such). 

The conversation piece is important to me and I admit, in part, it reflects my hope that people are reading and finding value in what I present. OK, what I am trying to say is that I want to KNOW that people are reading and finding value. But this is more than me being needy- this is about knowing that I am of value. How many times have you worked your butt off and felt that the only one who noticed is you? It doesn't squelch your desire to perform but it is something that brings you great satisfaction. Right?

Well, so here I am, whether I am asking for affirmation (being needy) or convinced that the Internet is failing me- I am asking for your feedback. What do you think of what I am doing and what are you looking for?

That was easy, right? Oh, please don't forget to let me know.