The major highlights on this book relates on how you can attract and retain your customers. This book basically stresses that service to the customer is the cornerstone of most successful businesses. The writer has identified various key points which are very useful in customer relationship.
The writer has shown that starting at the top is the key to giving customers a good service. An organisation which is arrogant, aloof and out of touch with its customers are also headed by leaders who are also arrogant. It is all about leadership because an organisation is a reflection of its leaders (Carbone, p. 123). The author states that this holds true whether you run a small or multinational business i.e. if the leaders are bad at dealing with customers so will the staff.
The book also indicates that making customer service everyoneâs job is the key to attracting new customers and retaining the existing ones. According to the author, good customer service is âglobalâ or it is nothing. In other words, it is supposed to be done by everyone or it is pointless and it is spearheaded crucially by the person at the top (Carbone, p. 162).
The writer also gives the impression that, abusing customers should be made a serious offence and employees who annoy customers should not keep their jobs. Here he stress that, you must treat transgressions in these areas as seriously as you would fraud or abuse of office. Customers should never be neglected, ignored or insulted.
The author highlights that, it is very crucial for the business owners to understand the context since good customer care has certain universal requirements: warmth, friendliness, genuine concern and sincerity are always necessary in all circumstances (Carbone, p. 173). This means that different businesses throw up different opportunities for good customer care and it is up to business owners to study their customers deeply and understand what they really want. For example, if you are running a garage, honesty is the most important attribute every customer is looking for, if you run a bank or utility company, it is about speed or if it is a restaurant the most neglected service attributes is attentiveness.
A closer look at the book reveals that, the writer has come up with new and interesting ideas on how to attract and retain customers. For instance, he has pointed that by picking out the naturals i.e. identify people whom offering great service is their very nature. They are joyful when those they serve are joyful and they grieve deeply when their customers are let down. They need almost no customer-care training because they were born with it.
Also the author has demonstrated that, it is okay to get it wrong, but not to keep getting it wrong. This implies that a business person needs to continue learning new ideas which are brought by the needs of customer relationships. The writer has also talked about the power of feedback in that every complaint is a golden opportunity to address issues that can lead to loss of customers. This is because they help business owners to connect with their clients by way of understanding what they need, when and where.
The writer has also emphasised on paying attention to little things which matters. You donât need massive investment in training and customer relationship management systems to be good to customers. This is because small things can make all the difference. For example, greeting and identifying customers by their names makes them feel valued. Customers always appreciate small but meaningful gestures. They expect the big things but they love the little things because they are the ones that touch their heart and make them feel special.
The highlighted ideas relate directly on business performance on the basis that great companies are able to apply and practice most of them. The businesses which are customer focused have the highest retention levels and have competitive edge. For this reason, they get high returns on their investment and are able to achieve high per cent on their targets.
This book is of great value to the managers because it captures clearly on how customers need to be treated. It is important for them to understand that customer care is the key to survival of every business. Mistreatment of customers and being insensitive to their needs will make them exit and to recruit new clients is quite expensive. Managers are made to understand that, customers need to be treated like kings since the purpose of opening any business is to create more customers. They are also reminded that they ought to be in forefront of practising good customer service so that team that she/he leads is able to focus their energies on wowing the customers.
This book is very useful to business students since it enlightens them on the pillars which make businesses a success. From the book, the students are able to relate how great companies have been able to beat their competitors by way of analysing on how well they manage their customers. The book acts as a guide to them on how they can sharpen their entrepreneurial skills, and remain competitive in any businesses they will set their eyes on. They also learn that even weak businesses can be made more competitive by continuous improved customer care.
This is a surely a good book which I can highly recommend to everybody in business. This is because it captures the spirit on how a customer needs to be treated and especially by leaders who inculcate the good culture of customer relationship.
In my opinion, this is a great book which anybody who has a business or has been given the opportunity to serve others needs to read and understand. The book has good examples on how businesses can be made competitive and also clearly shows the bad effects of not doing the same. This book makes one to think outside the box and comes out with more creative and innovative ways of attracting and retaining customers in order to stay ahead of competition. In conclusion, the author recommends the use of exceptional customer service in transforming any business.
Works cited
Carbone, Lewis. Clued In: How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again, Upper Saddle River. NJ: FT Prentice Hall, 2004.