Meeting with a firm for the first time, I had trouble getting into their offices – the front door was locked and there was no bell. CEOs are reminded to check up on what visitors feel and perceive when they encounter the firm for the first time.
Customers and clients are the life blood of a business. But your relationship with them doesn’t end with the sale. How you treat problems – and they will occur – will shape your company’s public image and have a hard impact on the bottom line.
Mr. Dave Kearney, CEO of Boomerang, knew that their customer feedback system needed modifications when the big wakeup call came: in the span of a few months, the business lost several key customers due to dissatisfaction. Here’s how Boomerang closed and automated the feedback loop, increasing customer loyalty.
What are the key issues when marrying a product with a service to create a process offering? Ryan McGredy, CEO of Media Net Link, learned more about his clients’ businesses, then modified his own company’s offerings accordingly to create more value for everyone.
The Vita Companies, guided by President Karl Hansen, started their business in 1979 in the usual fashion: marketing, selling, cranking out the work, and starving all the while. Then they set sail on a new tack, contrary to all established business “wisdom”, and steered toward double-digit growth.
In sales there’s the temptation to list all your product’s features for the prospect all at once. But most people are confused by complexity and resist adopting new products. Patricia Rougeau, President and CEO of Informatics, found the best approach is first to find out what they need.
Gene Miller, Chairman and CEO of Miller, Starr & Regalia, knows the importance of dealing with important clients face to face. Many of these contacts have no obvious or dramatic outcome, but they all serve to strengthen critical underlying relationships.
Where there’s pain, there’s opportunity. Tom Engdahl, CEO of Work Force Logic, identified the pain points and found a way to make life easier. If your service or product makes your customer’s life easier, you’ve got an edge.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).