I am sure that you have heard the phrase “Customer Service” more times than you care to count. But have you heard the phrase “Family Service”? Today I want to discuss how important both of these are, and how they actually have a lot in common.
I have here in my home office a sheet of paper that lists the reasons why clients leave the company or person with whom they have been doing business. Here is the list;
– 1% Die
– 3% Move Away
– 9% Competitive Reasons
– 15% Service Dissatisfaction
– 72% Attitude of Indifference
If you are in business and have not seen this list before, it may serve as a wake up call to you. Like the list says, the biggest reason BY FAR why clients leave is because they feel like you – your salesperson, your delivery team, your company as a whole – don’t care about them! They feel like you loved them when they became a customer, but now they feel like you only love the profits that you are making from their purchases of your product or service.
Here are just a few ideas that you may want to consider using to KEEP your clients:
– Take them to lunch.
– Write them a note (a postcard or hand-written letter on
company letterhead).
– Call them.
– Go see them.
It does not have to be a three-hour visit, or a $100 lunch. It just needs to be SOMETHING – anything that makes them feel like you still care about THEM!
OK, so how is that any different from your Family? It is NOT! I will not go through the entire list from above, but I find it extremely interesting that the reasons given on the list match up pretty well to relationships with our spouses and our children. Think about it. Sometimes our family members die. Sometimes our kids move away, and we lose contact with them. Sometimes a spouse may take a job far away, or that involves a lot of traveling. If we do not reach out and show that we care, they could start to feel distant in the relationship.
Let’s discuss the last two items on the list. The second-biggest reason why clients – and I believe some spouses – leave is because of “Service Dissatisfaction.” When was the last time you PLANNED a date with your spouse? When is the last time that you PLANNED a Daddy/Daughter date? When you plan events like these, the people on the receiving end feel honored, loved and cherished. It shows them that YOU CARE enough to make them a priority in your life!
And now about the elephant in the room: the “Attitude of Indifference.” One of the sentences that I heard years ago has stayed with me ever since. I have shared this sentence with many people through the years, and many times it rang true with the people with whom I shared it. Here it is:
“The opposite of love is NOT hate. It is INDIFFERENCE!”
That’s right. Counselors will tell you that, if you say you hate someone, the truth is that you actually still care about him or her. Why? Because if you truly have no feelings for someone, you would be indifferent about them.
That leads to my closing question: are the people in your life – your spouse, your children, your friends, your coworkers and clients – feeling that you care about them, or are they feeling indifference from you? If you want a real wake up call (and you should), just ask them. I did. A year or so ago, I asked my daughters how I was doing as a Daddy, and if there was something that they would like to see me do differently. I was awakened by their response! The good news is that – because I asked – I learned that there was something more they wanted from me: more time with them having fun. On that note, I am off to play a game of Monopoly with my wife and our teenage daughters!
Always remember that the biggest and best Client in the world that you will ever serve is YOUR FAMILY. Now quit reading this, and go plan something now to show them that THEY are your priority!
(If you would like some help in this area, I truly believe that my book may be able to bless you. Go to www.ScottKimbroTeaches.com to learn more.)
