The customer is the single most important ingredient to success in business. A customer wants to deal with a business that is responsive, caring, knowledgeable and flexible. Meet these criteria and business increases! Employees must see their jobs as a contribution to the organization's total impact on your customers.

Customer Obsession Test
To assess if your business really cares about and is obsessed with your customers, simply ask your staff to complete the following sentence: "As a result of my coming to work, the customer benefits by..."

How does Customer Obsession differ from customer service?
By:

• Thinking "customer" whenever you make a decision or establish a policy.
• Serving the customer better then he/she ever expected - perception exceeds expectation.
• Creating a perception of value received - making the customer feel good about doing business with you.
• Making your business one big customer service department that expands your business, cross sells and secures new business
• Treating your customers as if your were going to see them every working day for the rest of your life - at the end of each visit the customer would then decide to buy something from you or one of your competitors.

• Eliminate your organization's barriers to customer obsession
  • Policies that exist for the organization but not the customer
  • Lack of coordination among various departments
  • Absence of employee empowerment
  • Employees with a "don't care" attitude
  • Failure to listen to customers
• Become an effective listener
  • Learn how to listen to solve problems, build commitments, and handle complaints
  • Give the customers what they need and want, and prevent errors and misunderstandings
• Resolve problems and create solutions
  • Use the dissatisfied customer as an opportunity to convert complaints into sales
  • Cope with "the customer from hell"
• Know exactly what to say
  • The "hook" to get their attention and the "sound bite" to make your point in 30 seconds or less
  • How to apologize, say "No," and make the customer glad he/she talked to you
• Build in the value of feedback
  • Use the customer survey, vendor survey, and employee survey to find out how well you're really doing
  • Help the customer to complain and use the information to improve
  • Know who and when to thank
• Increase employee empowerment by
  • Letting your staff know you trust them and have confidence in their abilities to do a good job
  • Assessing your employee "empowerment level"
  • Creating the "can do" image of doing the right thing and solving problems creatively
• Develop an internal customer obsession program
  • Identify your customers within your organization, what you depend on them to do for you; and how they can improve their performance on your behalf

Customer Obsession Defined
• Describe how customer obsession differs from traditional customer service
• Explain techniques to eliminate barriers to Customer Obsession
• Describe ways to make the customer feel important
• Describe techniques to bolster the customer's self image to solve problems, build goodwill and trust, and handle complaints

Resolving Problems and Creating Solutions
• Identify ways to prevent errors and misunderstandings
• Explain ways to "hook" the customer and make your point in 30 seconds or less
• Identify methods to convert the dissatisfied customer into a satisfied customer
• Describe techniques to cope with an "incident:" the angry and irate customer
• Demonstrate ways to remain calm when under stress and dealing with "the customer from hell"

Feedback Systems: How Well You're Really Doing and Your Internal Customers
• Describe the value and components of the customer, vendor, and employee survey
• Explain the importance of an Internal Customer Obsession Program
• Identify your customers within your organization and what you depend on them to do for you