Why Should I Give You My Money?
Books are written, workshops presented, and countless business meetings convened to investigate the most effective and innovative practices in customer relationship management. We can gift wrap professional advice in any number of tips, acronyms, mantras or ra-ra chants, but in my view, customer service boils down to the ability to effectively answer one simple question for the customer — "Why should I give you my money?" An endearing mission statement residing in a nicely framed plaque located in a prominent position on the wall of a business does not answer this question. And a "we're great" paid advertising message acknowledging that you're family owned and in business over fifty years also does not answer this question. And an indifferent employee who isn't even aware that there is such a question will certainly not provide the answer.
While business entities have become very proficient at siphoning money from our accounts and tip-toeing through our wallets without making a sound, it is not unreasonable for us as customers to expect some explanation of their worthiness to deserve a prime parking place in our pockets. Most businesses fall into one of three categories. There are those to whom we give our money on a regular basis, there are those to whom we give our money on an occasional basis, and there are those to whom we have never given our money. For the regular recipients of our funds, the question becomes more of why should I continue to give you my money? For the infrequent recipient of our financial resources, the question becomes why should I give you more of my money? And for the business unchartered in our shopping travels, the question becomes why should I give you any of my money?
Tony, my mechanic, fits into category one. He answers the question of "why should I continue to give you my money?" very well when he offers to run me back to my house after I drop my vehicle off for repairs. I count him among a few businesses that I never question, and to whom I would pay more for their services were they to ask for it. On the other hand, there are places that I frequent often who seem hardly aware that I have plenty of choices for what they provide. When I leave someday, silently vowing never to return, they will hardly know that I have left, much less why.
The second category refers to contenders. They have provided for my needs on at least one occasion, but never seem to deliver that knockout reason to ensure my return. Perhaps it was a sense of not feeling welcome, or the impression that they really didn't care whether I returned or not that keeps me and my money at a distance. First-time customer encounters provide the greatest opportunity for a business to showcase, impress and ensure a return visit. Many businesses do a good job of impressing their current customers, but display a complete lack of commitment to converting new customers to repeat business.
This brings me to category three, and the places where I have not yet gone to part with my money. Some have saved me the trip through poor reputation, disappointing reviews or complete indifference to the cultivation of new business. But, how about a business so good at what they do that we as consumers do not ask why we should give them our money, but rather when will we have the opportunity? Enter Southwest airlines. Taking flight from our local airport for the first time this month, this champion of customer care brings us far more than an affordable travel option not previously available to sky travelers in these parts. I have never flown with Southwest Airlines. Yet, I like many others, wait on the runway ready to give them my money. Southwest Airlines is a frequent flier guest in my Greenville Tech businesses classes, always presented as a shining example of service in a competitive, challenging and perilous industry. They have a storied career of excellence in everything from flights leaving and arriving on time to least amount of lost baggage. They refused to jump on the industry carousel of fees for checked luggage. They look out for their employees who in turn look out for their customers. They have on more than one occasion violated airport regulations to wait for a stranded passenger. Answers like these put companies like Southwest on every customer's shopping radar.
The best answer to any of the questions posed in this column is the one that beats the customer to the question. The answer presented in deeds, not words. The most powerful exchanges between a business and its customers take place in those spaces between the lines of negotiation. They are expressed in a "glad to see you" smile, processed in a comfortable, helpful environment and delivered in a spirit of goodwill that transforms a basic transaction into an affirmation of choice.
Good partnerships in life are built on continuous reminders of what we have together — not questions that ask why we are together?