It is back to basics for customer satisfaction with the 10 Laws of Customer Satisfaction.
Law of Recognition: The most beautiful words in any language are your name. It may be impractical for every employee to recognize every customer by name, but a genuine smile and a warm greeting go a long way toward becoming as beautiful to customers as his/her name.
Law of First Impression: You never have a second chance to make a good first impression. This is akin to the process animal biologists call “imprinting” – a term used to describe the few seconds it takes to etch the identity of its parent into the mind of a young animal.
Law of Expectations: Guests expect a hassle-free experience. Customers haven’t read your operating manuals; they don’t understand your policies and procedures. They just know that they get something to solve a problem, and they want to do so without aggravation.
Law of Effort: Customers want to expend as little effort as possible. Anything businesses do to make it easier and more convenient for their customers will be rewarded with repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.
Law of Decision Making: Basically customers don’t like to make decisions. In their minds, you are the expert; that’s why they came to your business. What a great opportunity for suggestive selling of add-on products/services.
Law of Perception: A customer’s perception is the customer’s reality. Your customers don’t necessarily see things the way you do. The customer is always right – at least in his or her own mind.
Law of Time Warp: The mind warps real time by a 4/1 ratio. For every minute a customer waits for something, it seems like four. Think about the last time you sat in a waiting room, were put on hold, or expected a shipment from a supplier. Convenience and expediency are the by-words.
Law of Motivation: People are motivated to recreate the good times they remember. This is why a business can build loyalty. If your customers feel good about their experience with you, they will be back. If they feel really good, they will probably tell others about it too.
Law of Memory: People remember bad experiences longer and in better detail than positive experiences. And in a world of social media, they live forever and travel around the world as fast as people can tweet or type.
Law of Who Owes Whom: After your customers return home, they must feel that they “owe” you, not that you “owe” them. You want them to feel as if they got so much value for the price they paid that they owe you another visit. That’s the key to loyalty and increasing revenues.
