stages of development - International Business Growth Radio Network

S12 E21-24 (HOLDING YOUR BEST ACCOUNTS) - THE PROMISE GAP WITH WILLIAM EASTMAN

11/1/2023

Did you know?

Companies that focus on customer experience outperform their competitors by 80%
84% of the companies that improved the customers experience increase revenue
73% of the companies with above-average customer experience financially outperform the competition

The most critical issue in customer service is the initial delivery of what the customer purchased - does it perform as sold? How user friendly is it? Was it delivered on time? Is the value worth the price? Many times in the sales process, marketing and sales overstate results gained from purchasing, delivery date, or features. This creates a situation where the customer will feel deceived or cheated when the product or service is delivered; there is usually no reasonable recovery that will hold this account or recovery that is affordable.

Show Objective
Given a contracting economy with diminishing business opportunities and inflation devaluing the currency, start with holding your best accounts and determine the gap between what you promised and what was delivered.

EPISODE 21: Two Types of Service Quality (support podcast)
The process starts with marketing and advertising, what is promised in terms of the results you can expect, how easy the product or service is to use, and what is like doing business with your company. Next, what happens after the customer raises their hand and the sales process starts? Are the promises made validated, dashed, or expanded? Once the product or service is delivered, does the result of the entire process align with what the customer was led to believe?
Today's show starts with a quick review of the two types of quality that are present in every product or service: Process and Delivered.

Process Quality is how you build the solution promised during sales. It is creating what was promised and begins in the marketing & sales process, through installing a solution, and the service follow-up; it is an alternative way for defining customer service.

Delivered Quality is the customer experience using or consuming the product / service delivered and whether it meets the promises made - does it do what you promised it would do and how user-friendly is it?

IMPORTANT SUPPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE - Next Tuesday at 1PM EST is our CHALLENGE Session where we will review the previous Operations & Customer Shows. It is an open forum for you to ask questions and challenge your thinking about Owning Your Numbers. Click Here to Reserve a Seat.

Tags: recession proofing your business, most profitable customers, holding best accounts, customer retention, managing by data, customers, promise gap, process quality, delivered quality, reliability, recovery, assurance, empathy, IBGR, IBGR Network, William Eastman

EPISODE 22: The 5 Service Gaps (support podcast)
Back in the 1990s when we developed the best-selling book "Raving Fans" and the corresponding consulting process, the research focused on the gaps between what was promised vs. delivered. That led to us looking at the underlying reasons for the Customer Experience Gap and the development of the 5 Gaps concept. One is experienced by the customer and results from 4 other causes. The 4 causes are dealt with in other tracks in this series on Recession Proofing Your Business.

Topics:

Gap 5: Customer Experience
Gap 4: Creating Expectations
Gap 3: Work Performance
Gap 2: Leadership & Management
Gap 1: Insufficient Customer Knowledge

5.1 Reliability (Failure to Deliver on Promise)
5.2 Responsiveness (Recovery Methods)
5.3 Assurance (Competent and Empowered Personnel)
5.3 Empathy (Sincerity – Value Their Business)
Tangibles (Features – Specific of Your Solution)

IMPORTANT SUPPORT IS NOW AVAILABLE - Next Tuesday at 1PM EST is our CHALLENGE Session where we will review the previous Operations & Customer Shows. It is an open forum for you to ask questions and challenge your thinking about Owning Your Numbers. Click Here to Reserve a Seat.

Tags: recession proofing your business, most profitable customers, holding best accounts, customer retention, managing by data, customers, promise gap, process quality, delivered quality, reliability, recovery, assurance, empathy, IBGR, IBGR Network, William Eastman

EPISODE 24: GAP 5.1 and the 3 Expectations (support podcast)
The 3 expectations were covered in the Summary. The first is the most obvious - you promised a set of results from using the product or service. There are a range of outcomes from being on target to almost lying. This reflects what was sold vs what was made. If you have to embellish results to make a sale - fix what you make. If you are close to truth in the marketing and sales process, then you have an internal quality issue - failure to produce what was promised.

The third issue, which is solely Process Quality, reflects what it is like doing business with you. How does the customer feel about the overall experience?

Topics:

Creating accurate expectations with potential customers in the marketing & sales process
Post sale alignment meeting to start with accurate expectations
The product or service is delivered on time, on budget, and with the features promised