You have to do something commendable to be recommended
You can go around telling everyone you know that your company is great and that you do great things, but it’s not going to mean a thing because anybody can do that. In fact there are a whole slew of companies, most of them your competitors, who are doing exactly that right now, and you and I both know that most of the time they are just er… exaggerating, or maybe just well…they’re lying alright.
So if you’re the one company who is telling the truth. If you are the one company out there who really is doing a great job then you are at a distinct disadvantage because you are just getting lost in the crowd of everyone who is saying the same thing.
What can you do about that? What can you do that is going to make you stand out of the crowd? What are you going to do to prove that yes you are in fact the best company out there? What are you going to say to get your potential customers to listen and most importantly believe you?
Well, here is what you are going to stop talking; you are going to stop saying you are the best. Just stop it already!
And here is the answer, you are going to let your happy customers do it for you. Yes, having one of your customers tell other potential customers that your company is the best is literally thousands of times more valuable than you saying it yourself.
In fact there is nothing better than a customer reference or a customer testimonial when it comes to endorsing your company’s products and services.
People who would never believe you are going to sit up and pay attention to your customer one hundred percent of the time when he is saying good things about you.
So yes the key to getting your message of great service and Quality to the market place is letting your happy customers do it for you.
And the best way to do that is to make sure your customers are happy customers. Not rocket science is it?
Now how do you do that? How do you get your customers to say nice things about you? Well the first thing you do is perform so well, service them so well, make sure your products are so outstanding that they will be happy to say great things about you.
It’s very straightforward; in order to get recommendations you have to do things that are actually commendable. You have to keep your customers so happy that they will want to shout out about your from the rafters. And the best way to do this is to be truly outstanding. And the best way to be outstanding is to look for opportunities to be so.
None of this happens by accident. You have to be looking for occasions when you can walk that extra mile for you customers. You have to provide them with products and services that are so insanely great that they will actually want to tell people about it.
Here are a few examples:
- Deliver your product in a blizzard or a hurricane, or a tornado or any other time when your competitors are taking shelter from the storm.
- Deliver that QTA product ahead of the nearly impossible schedule you had signed up for in the first place.
- Always give more than you promised.
- Find special ways to service your customers that will enthrall them.
- Look at what your competitors are doing and double up. Put them to shame.
- Package your products in special containers that your customers can re-purpose.
- Give things away at most opportune time…when they need it most and expect it least
- Help them out of a jam when it is their fault
- Figure out what they need to be successful and give it to them…before they even know that they need it
These are just some examples. To develop more, create a WOW! Team that brainstorms to come up with great service and product ideas that will blow your customer’s mind. Have everyone on your team thinking about ways to surprise, excite and thrill your customers to the point where they can’t wait to tell everyone about it.
This kind of thinking can be not only a lot of fun but profitable as hell as well. How much fun is it to have customers loving to do business with you? Life gets a lot better when that happens doesn’t it?
Now once you’ve providing your customers with all of this remarkable service there is only one more thing to do. When they are calling to thank you for the great job that you’ve done, there is only one more thing to do. And when they start praising you for the great product you just delivered there is only one thing more to do. And that’s to ask them to write you a testimonial, or an endorsement or a reference or a success story because the time has never been better…and yes they will be happy to do it. I promise you. It’s only common sense.