But you're not a customer, you're an employee

This phrase was recently overheard at a retail store. It appeared that an employee was making a purchase and was joking with the employee ringing the transaction. As soon as this phrase was uttered, a new blog post flashed before my eyes.

Would you want to work in a company where employees are valued as much as customers? If you said anything other than yes, you need help.

Southwest Airlines founder Herbert Kelleher used this response whenever he was asked about the success of the airline. "You have to treat your employees like customers."

Here is Southwest's mission statement.

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

Sounds like a good company to work for.

It's been a while since I've been on a Southwest flight. As a matter of fact, it was 1992. It was a flight from Birmingham to New Orleans. I still remember it.

Random fact: Terry Bradshaw mussed my hair once. Once. (Thank you, Donna. I stole this idea from you!)

How do you become an expert?

I once was given a definition of the word Expert.

Ex = has been

Spurt = a gush of water

Expert = a has been gush of water

Are you an expert in your field? If you take the definition above, it's probably not something you would want to put on a resume.

How about a real definition? An expert is defined as a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; a specialist; someone with authority in a subject area.

Do your customers view you as an expert? Do they come to you for advice? If not, why not? What are you doing to change that?

It is up to you to become the specialist.

Retention vs. Acquisition

More evidence has been discovered that it costs much less to keep customers rather than attract new ones.

Click here to be taken to the latest findings.

Further proof to work on those customers we have. Existing customers have a greater value.

What are you doing to retain your customers?

Using a lifeline

I was listening to a recent Disney podcast while driving home from work. This one is known for its humor, insight and every now and then, great nuggets of wisdom that can be applied to numerous situations.

One such bit that transpired centered around how Disney appeals to all generations and that part of what they do is to attract new guests. One of the panelists was talking about taking their kids and someone else's kids to Disney. He said, "Every child today is a potential customer tomorrow."

Here's another way to look at it from a business perspective.

Today's phone call is tomorrow's customer.

Can you honestly say you have enough customers? Is your phone your lifeline?

In a follow up to an earlier post on how not to handle a personal phone call while working, this is a great approach to have each time the telephone rings. Whether it is a slow day or the busiest day of the year you should treat each telephone call as a potential sale. You don't know who is going to be on the other end of the phone line. Yes, with Caller ID being so popular you may know who it is. But you might not know what they are asking for.

Do you ignore the phone when you have a customer/guest with you? Maybe it's time you learned how to multitask efficiently. Go ahead and answer the phone. It could be the difference between success and failure.