John Spence is in the business of making complex things awesomely simple. On July 13, Spence gave a sold-out Chamber Lunch the secret weapon to achieving success in business: superior customer service.
Spence spoke to more than 170 people at the Best Western Gateway Grand about the importance of customer service in winning the marketplace for your business.
He provided listeners with an equation for success.
T + C + ECF x DE = SUCCESS
While that may look complex, Spence broke it down into simple things that every business must do to be successful. Talent, Culture, Extreme Customer Focus and Disciplined Execution will lead to success for your business.
Spence stressed the importance of recruiting a talented, engaged workforce. Without this talent, the entire equation is thrown off. Spence urged the crowd to make “hiring right” a core competency for their businesses, and to remember that you can train skills, not attitude.
Once you have talented, bright employees it is important for those workers to be supported by a strong business culture. To Spence, the number one factor in having highly satisfied, engaged customers was to have highly satisfied, engaged employees.
To achieve this, Spence provided ways to instill an ownership mentality in your employees, including long-term training and development, fair compensation, high standards and employee empowerment.
According to Spence’s research, increasing employee satisfaction and engagement by building a great culture can double your business’ profits.
In the current business climate, engaging your customers is more important than ever. Consumers are highly informed, have high expectations and competition is always strong.
But while the cost of acquiring a customer is high, a loyal customer is a priceless commodity. A 5 percent increase in loyalty among customers can result in a 25-85 percent increase in profits.
Finally, Spence described what brings all the other factors together – Disciplined Execution. Businesses must develop and implement clear and effective processes to ensure that delivery of service is flawless. By providing clear standards and accountability, you will ensure that your talented employees don’t get bogged down in a stale business culture.
If you missed Spence’s speech, or need to brush up on his message, view his presentation slides here.
Be sure to register for our next Chamber Lunch – My Employees Don’t Steal From Me. Freddie Wehbe, owner of Gator Domino’s, and the Gainesville Police Department, will address employee theft and how you can stop it. According to the FBI, nearly 7 percent of revenue is lost to employee theft – learn how you can protect your business! Watch a preview of this Chamber Lunch here.