Beyond Fixing Problems: Wow your Clients' by Addressing Secret Worries

Big Picture

There is a marginal difference between good and excellent customer service, that looks significantly big in the client's eyes. This means you can wow clients without an extra investment in customer service, retain them and increase profitability. Thrilled clients will buy more from you like my recent experience at a local car battery shop.

Why you should care

Most organisations spend a lot of money attracting new clients. This is despite a 2006 study by Reichheld and Schefter which revealed that it costs 5X more to acquire new clients than retain existing ones. In fact Patricia Rioux in her 2020 Forbes article argues that your existing clients are 50% more likely to try your new products. This feels about right from my recent experience.

Case in point

Last Friday, my car refused to start when my family was all dressed and buckled up to go for dinner. That battery was supposed to last me till pay day, since my car's hesitant start was only a day old.

This is why I was at a local small battery shop run by two Malawi guys on Saturday morning. As soon as my bonnet popped open, one guy stuck his battery tester on the battery. The tester pointed to the red portion, which from experience justified the shop to sell me a new battery. Not today. He wasn't satisfied.

He pulled a trolley with another machine, opened the guts of my battery and connected it. The acid in one of the cells was shimmering. "Achimwene (brother), that cell is dead," he said. But he still wasn't satisfied.

He fetched an injection looking contraption and tested the acid in each cell. He put everything back together and told me the price of batteries. I have never been more satisfied buying a new battery.

"Can you check and re-gas my aircon?" I asked. How else can you thank them for such excellent service except to buy more from them?

Lesson: Solve more than the problem you see

It's not enough to solve the client's obvious problem. You need to also deal with their secret worries. Like the worry you have that a mechanic will take advantage of your ignorance. Or the usual flight delay concerns when flying.

Bottom line

What are your client's secret worries which your service solves? How can you address them while you are servicing them?

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Customer service is the single most important competitive advantage any business can have. - Michael LeBoeuf, Business Author