| Keep your business promises, no matter how small | | | | Absolutely. In fact, at the time I was in a meeting with a |
| they may be. | | | | client, and the caterer not only left messages on all |
| Sounds like the most basic of business principles, | | | | available contact numbers, he phoned me again first |
| doesn't it? Why then do so few businesses keep their | | | | thing the following morning, before I had even had a |
| day to day promises? This is something I've always | | | | chance to return the messages. So, when it came to |
| taken for granted in my business dealings, but my own | | | | worrying about our catering, do you think I did? Not at |
| recent experiences have highlighted how much of a | | | | all. I knew that this was one service provider who |
| real differentiator reliability can be to online and offline | | | | always kept his word. So while I spent a great deal of |
| to businesses that excel in this area. If you want to | | | | time keeping close tabs on the progress of some of |
| make people remember and trust your brand, keep | | | | our other suppliers, this was one that I knew I did not |
| your promises, no matter how big or small. | | | | need to worry about. |
| Think about it this way. If your business website | | | | Check the promises made on your website carefully. |
| promises delivery within 24 hours, but your actual | | | | Are they well-intended but overly optimistic when it |
| delivery time is 48 hours, what does that say to to | | | | comes down to your actual ability to deliver? Do you |
| your customers? Surely 48 hours is still a good | | | | promise high quality products and services that are |
| turnaround time? Probably not to your customers, at | | | | actually only reasonable quality, but at a very good |
| least not any more. Simply put, you have created an | | | | price? Chances are that if your sell them as what they |
| expectation in your customers' minds, and your actual | | | | really are you will get a far better match of customer |
| delivery has been 100% overtime on that expectation. | | | | expectations to actual results, which results in trust. |
| If your site promised 48 hours, and you delivered on | | | | And the results of customers trusting you is that they |
| time, I doubt that your customers would pay attention | | | | will refer you to their friends and make use of your |
| nearly as much to the turnaround time as to the fact | | | | services again, because they got what they expected |
| that you keep your business promises of timeous | | | | the first time around. |
| delivery. | | | | Another point I should make here relates to first |
| Now, when it comes time for your customers to | | | | impressions and your first few interactions with |
| assess that big expectation of a one year guarantee | | | | prospective and new customers. I am consistently |
| on the quality of your products, it will certainly be | | | | amazed by how many business still have "Contact Us" |
| skewed heavily by your performance on smaller | | | | forms on their website that don't work, or that are not |
| promises to date. When it comes to the big promises, | | | | monitored for submissions. If a client emails you with a |
| your customer will probably be having some serious | | | | query, reply promptly and efficiently, and that is how |
| doubts about your ability to deliver. After all, if you | | | | they (probably correctly) will perceive your future |
| cannot keep your small promises, it's much more likely | | | | communications with them when they really have a |
| that you won't keep your big ones. That makes it very | | | | pressing need. When you promise to email or phone a |
| unlikely that customers will believe anything more that | | | | customer on a specific date or time, make a note of it |
| you say to them, simply because you didn't even keep | | | | and stick to it rigidly. When you promise delivery of a |
| a very simple promise made up front. That is bad for | | | | product or service in a certain way, by a certain date, |
| referrals, bad for repeat business, and bad for the | | | | you can be sure that your customer will not be as |
| general reputation of your business. | | | | forgiving as you would hope if you do not deliver as |
| I recently had need to contract with a number of | | | | promised. If you really cannot deliver as expected, |
| businesses for various facets of my wedding. Of | | | | most people are reasonable if you give them a call to |
| those that promised to phone me back about | | | | explain the problem, and assure them of your fullest |
| something, most who made that promise never did, at | | | | attention at resolving it. Most people will still prefer to |
| least not within the time frame they promised to, and in | | | | deal with a business that encountered difficulties |
| some cases up to a week thereafter. In most cases I | | | | delivering, but explained the problem and worked hard |
| had to follow up and make sure that they delivered | | | | to resolve it, over a business that makes promises and |
| according to their promised deadlines. | | | | only delivers in their own time. |
| One of the businesses that I contracted was a small, | | | | Think about it. A few small basics that are neglected |
| home-based catering business. When we visited them, | | | | by your competitors can really make you stand out. |
| we were treated like royalty, and I was promised a | | | | After all, is it really that difficult to remember the small |
| phone call on a specific date, a number of weeks into | | | | things like punctuality, courtesy and efficiency? If you |
| the future. Did I get my call on the specified date? | | | | don't, your customers certainly will! |