Exceptional Service - The Cornerstone of a Successful Business

Marketing is so much more than just advertising.  I’m going to say this until every small business owner gets that through their heads!

Marketing ≠ Advertising

Marketing is a complete set of activities working together to create a positive, memorable brand image of your company.  And one of the most important parts of that is the level of customer service that the customer perceives your company provides.  It’s not just about what level of service you actually provide; it’s about what the customer perceives to be great service.

Having worked in retail management for so long, I am probably now the pickiest customer out there.  I worked hard to create amazing teams of staff members who delivered exceptional service and went above and beyond for each and every customer.  So now, when I go into a store I automatically take note of everything going on in the store.  I pay attention to the cleanliness of the store, the visual layout, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff, and how knowledgeable and customer-oriented the staff are.

These are just a few of the things managers and business owners need to be keenly aware of.  Yes, I’m the picky customer so I notice stuff that maybe other customers wouldn’t be looking for.  But why not strive to impress even the pickiest of customers.  Even the customers who might not have paid attention to the small details will be very happy with what they perceive as “exceptional” service.  After all, who doesn’t want to feel special?

We’ve all had some bad customer service experiences in our lives and they remain stuck in our memory forever.  But fabulous, amazing customer service experiences also stand out in our mind.  One experience stands out in my mind so clearly… and it happened over 9 years ago!  My husband and I had taken our 2 boys to Ottawa to visit my brother and some friends of ours.  We decided to take the boys (who were 2 and 7 at the time) to Moxie's Restaurant for dinner.  The waitress we had that night was absolutely phenomenal.  She did everything possible to make sure our kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, which of course made the meal that much more enjoyable for my husband and I.  Now, every time I see a Moxie’s Restaurant, I associate the place with happy thoughts and fully recommend the place to all of my friends and family.

That’s what you want your customers to do.

Take an honest look at your own business.  When you take out the bias you have towards your own way of doing things and really look at things from a customer’s perspective, you may not like what you see.  So, don’t scrimp on your training budget when it comes to fully training your staff on exceptional customer service.  Remember that that memorable  image will remain in your customers’ minds for a very long time.