We’re always seeking ways to do outstanding work and stay connected with our Customers. In fact, we’ve decided our second resolution for 2012 is Taking Communication to the Next Level to Amaze Our Customers. And by the way, our employees are considered Customers too, since they are the first line of communication to the community, our vendors, and of course, our business-to-business associates.
I believe the best way to amaze Customers through excellent communication includes three important steps:
1. Stay connected / Stay involved. The only way to find out how we’re doing and if we can do it better is to ask. And that requires honest, straightforward, face-to-face communication with all of our Customers. It also includes using new forms of communication to know what our Customers are thinking.
2. Ask Questions. “What’s new? What are some of the business problems you’re facing right now? What areas of spending in your business do you foresee increasing or decreasing?”
3. Always be ready to help Customers find solutions. “Here’s how we/I can help.”
Last week I spoke about our first resolution: How we will use social media as a communication tool. Social media is a great way to communicate with Customers and share ideas. I’m not saying we should ignore picking up the phone and talking with Customers, or sharing a good idea with your Shamrock peers. Actually, I think a phone call to a business associate or a walk down the hall to talk with a co-worker is a great method of connecting and communicating. But social media gives us a chance to connect and share ideas, trends, and new concepts with so many more people at one time. Without connecting there is no amazing. In the 20th Century “old days”, we called this information gathering. It still is, and it still works.
Information gathering is a great way to reveal new ideas and share them with Customers. In the upcoming months we’ll be asking you questions, gathering your thoughts, and sharing them, using social media, email, and face-to-face communication, as well.
FINAL THOUGHT…
Taking Our Communication to the Next Level to Amaze Our Customers takes many forms and fills many gaps. One form is recognizing a job well done. In the next week or so we’ll be announcing an exciting new employee recognition program, intended to reward employees who go the extra step to find ways to connect, communicate and amaze our Customers, whether they’re our co-workers, our vendors, or our business-to-business associates. So, here’s a question for you: How does your company recognize employees? Please let us know by responding to this post or on our Facebook page, and we’ll pick the most interesting response and reward the winner with a gift.
