Communicating Your Tangible Service
Now, let’s assume that you are now actually providing “better service.” How do you communicate that in a way that provides you a bit of an edge in the minds of the customers?
The answer? Tell ‘em. But don’t just tell ’em. Tell ‘em over and over, with substance, in a detailed, specific, convincing way.
Create a one-page sell-sheet. Detail specifically the things that you do to provide “better service.” Explain the benefits to the customer. Turn the “service” items into economic benefits. For example, if you individually expedite backorders so that no backorder is over two weeks old (remember, this is just an example), what does that mean to the customer? How much money does the
typical customer save because of that benefit?
If there is no discernable benefit to the customer for your “better service,” then that service means nothing to the customer, and you are wasting your time providing it.
Once you have your sell-sheet printed, then call a sales meeting, and have the salespeople practice using that sell sheet to communicate your “better service” to the customer. Salespeople, both inside and outside, should make that presentation to everyone, over and over again. It should be a
part of every formal presentation and part of the introduction to every new person. It should flow naturally out of everyone’s mouth, all the time.
At that point, you will have made some significant progress toward making service tangible to your customers.
But don’t stop there; think of other creative ways you can communicate your “better service.” For example, I have one client who prints a “report card” on every packing slip and invoice. There will be a statement printed that says something like this: “On this order, we shipped 94 of 100 line items complete, within four days of receipt of your order.”
That’s a great example of applying the principle that you should “Tell ’em over and over, with substance, in a detailed, specific, convincing way.”
