September is Courtesy Month

Think about how many people in your organization have the ability to impact the customer experience; not just in direct provision of services or products, but who simply personally interact with customers, inside or outside of the walls of your business. People who interact personally with your customers and prospects for any reason: casual meetings, taking orders, completing sales, answering questions, fielding complaints or giving directions.

Sales, growth, customer relations, loyalty and retention — with so much riding on the outcome, can you afford to assume that everyone in your organization knows what constitutes courteous behavior? It's vital that all of your employees understand how they have the ability to impact the customer experience in even the most casual interactions. Set expectations relative to interpersonal interactions and behavior toward customers and co-workers.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
(Michael Jordan)

Provide training as part of new employee orientation and employee development programs. During the hiring process, ask references whether candidates were courteous toward co-workers and customers. Demonstrate the importance of courtesy by bringing in guest speakers to enhance employee training and development.

Tie performance expectations and salary reviews to your standards of interpersonal behavior and hold employees accountable. Ask employees to agree to uphold the promises you make to customers. Show your commitment to courtesy by recognizing employees who demonstrate consistently high levels of customer service in this area.

Most importantly, demonstrate courtesy yourself in all of your interactions, from customers to vendors to employees.

Once you have the internals in place, tell your customers what they can expect in terms of courteous behavior each and every time they interact with you or any of your staff. Ask customers to share examples of extra-ordinary customer service, those times when employees go beyond the call of duty. Conduct customer feedback surveys to find out if you are keeping your promises and making the grade.

Remember, unless you are the only business who provides a particular service or product, it's not what you sell that sets you apart. What sets your business apart from the competition and creates the customer perception that you cannot be replaced, is how you make them feel, each and every time they do business with you.



365 Days of Marketing is now available on amazon.com in book and digital formats as are my other books, Make Over Your Marketing and 12 Months of Marketing for Salon and Spa. Find more ideas and inspiration, subscribe to e-mails, read my blogs, connect with me on Facebook or visit 12monthsofmarketing.com.

It's going to be a great year!

Elizabeth Kraus