How to win at business (and the fastest way to lose)
I’ve been in and around business my whole life.
At the age of 10, I remember seeing my dad door-knocking to sell his clothing line in retail shops.
It was my job to go through the phone book and highlight potential shops for him to visit.
I’d hear from him every few days when he would call us from a pay phone…
When I was 12 I helped set up a stall at the craft markets in Brisbane where I helped sell his clothing on weekends.
I knew enough even at that age to negotiate special deals with customers who wanted to buy multiple products.
I handled the cash and gave change with no calculator and did the end of day summary for my parents.
At the age of 14, I got a job at McDonalds where I earned my customer service stripes, learning what it meant to provide excellent customer service.
After my Maccas stint, I worked in hospitality where once again I was regularly reminded that without the customer, I have no job and no pay cheque.
So you could say I’ve been around the business block a few times and I know what it takes to create a business that people love to support.
And while I don’t want to say… “back in my day…” I'm going to 😝
Sadly over the years, I’ve watched many companies foreclose because they failed to focus on customer satisfaction.
And the business that do focus on their win because:
It’s not hard to make your customers feel seen
You stand out from your competition
Recently, I went with some friends to try a new breakfast spot that’s just opened up here in Sanur. My friends have their own business called Bali Buddies (an online guide to what’s hot right now in Bali) -- the whole breaky experience was abysmal and not the kind my mates would *ever* recommend to tourists on their site.
First of all, the owner was chain smoking with a beer in his hand at 8am 😳
We thought it appropriate to give him some polite but pointed feedback (after returning our meals 3 times because our poached eggs were stone. freaking. cold).
Instead of listening, accepting the feedback and apologising for the inconvenience, he chimed in with “don’t tell me what to do in my establishment!”.
He won’t last long in business with that kind of attitude…and his staff won’t learn much about hospitality, leadership or how to be a decent human.
Needless to say, we were all shocked at his total disdain for us, his paying customers. What happened to treating your customer like a queen / king?!
And whether you’re talking about cafes, clothing stores or online coaches, we all have literally an endless supply of businesses to choose to spend our money with.
Which is why you really can’t afford not to be customer-focused.
To be successful in business, you have to stand out from the crowd.
And that’s not to say you can’t make mistakes or get things wrong. That cafe owner had an opportunity to change our bad experience into something more positive simply by rectifying the problem (in this case, offering us warm eggs) and then going above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed and felt cared for.
He didn’t and he completely fucked himself over.
By lunchtime I had already told about 20 other mums in Sanur not to go there.
I have no doubt the 3 girlfriends I was with (who have all lived in Bali for 10+ years) made sure all of their networks knew not to go to his cafe either.
And while he may be banking on the tourist ‘footpath traffic’, that’ll only get you so far in the wet season when tourists stay away in droves and business relies on locals.
Sure, you can spend a small fortune on marketing, sales, advertising and business development. Have a website with all the bells and whistles or the best venue in town. And they all play a part in running a successful business.
But there is something that’s even more important…
Never underestimate the power of word of mouth and retention of current customers.
If you’ve decided that business is one of the asset classes you want to use to build wealth, your customer acquisition and more specifically, your customer retention is where you will need to put a large amount of your focus.
Solid customer retention will determine your bottom line and ultimately what you can use to reinvest and grow your business.
Thing is, if you’re a one-woman band, wearing all the hats can be tricky.
And when you have to market yourself AND be the business development manager, it’s a lot to carry!
The focus on retention is always at the forefront in my cleaning business and with some of our customers having been with us for over 15 years, I think we’re nailing it.
And that’s no easy feat. The cleaning industry is rife with competition and when there are commercial cleaning businesses literally on every street corner, how do you differentiate yourself from ol’ mate down the road?
here’s how we create epic customer retention.
Through good old fashioned word of mouth, happy clients tell everyone in the same way pissed off customers tell everyone about their experience
Exceptional customer service and experience every day (not just some days)
Put the customer’s needs above all else (where the customer is aligned with your target market and values)
Nurturing existing customers (the rate of retention will differ from industry to industry, but standards can be achieved no matter your business).
These days, if you aren’t prepared to show up for your business and share with your audience what you’re doing either through social media or writing emails and newsletters like I do, you really don’t stand a chance!
Because the reality of business is that in order to stay relevant and top of mind in your customer’s world, you need to market yourself and your brand and be out there having conversations about what you do.
Having a team will obviously help you get your message out in a really clear and consistent way but if you’re not there yet and can’t afford a team, start small.
Just start. Show up on your socials. Write an email as often as you can to your community. Book a one off call with a coach or step into a short term container to gain clarity and momentum in your business.
THE MAIN THING IS TO START.
Coco x
EXPLORE DEEPER
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