 A
Well-Informed Customer is a
Better Customer
When
customers know what to do, how to do it, what to expect
and why, they usually follow instructions.
When customers are uncertain about what, how or why,
they will often hesitate in uncertainty and doubt.
This can be a major problem, especially when customer
participation is essential to your success.
For example, medicines not taken on time will degrade
the quality of a patient’s recovery and healing.
Automobiles with oil not changed will wear down before
their time. Lawns not watered by owners after fresh
fertilization will burn in the sun and die. Data backups
not performed on time result in very angry customers
when their hard drives unfortunately but inevitably
crash.
Since customer performance and participation is so important
(it’s called compliance in medical terms), you’d
think everyone would put more effort into educating
customers about exactly what to do and motivating them
to do it. Remarkably, this is often not the case.
Buy an inexpensive alarm clock and you’ll get
a 12-page user’s manual on how to set the time,
change the battery and work every feature of the alarm.
But buy $96 worth of prescription drugs and you might
get a little sticker on the bottle saying something
cryptic like ‘1C 3X w/meals’.
A pharmacist will explain that ‘1C 3X w/meals’
means ‘Take 1 capsule, 3 times a day, with your
meals.’ A doctor may also advise if the medicine
is best taken before or after your meals. (The cryptic
code gives no clue.) They may even warn you of possible
side effects and what you can do about them. (None of
this useful information is found on the little sticker.)
How many people receive medication every day, but they
are nervous or unwell when their doctor or pharmacist
explains it to them? Back home they may forget what
was said, and then they are left with only the little
sticker reading ‘1C 3X w/meals’.
Under these circumstances, some patients will forget
what to do, when to do it and why. They may feel uncertain
and hesitate. In medical terms, they may not fully comply.
Consider the consequences for the doctor (an unwell
patient), for the pharmacy (a dissatisfied customer),
for the hospital (a complaint to be answered) and for
the patient (a continued illness, discomfort or frustration).
In short, a very bad situation.
How easily this could be avoided by making a better
effort to inform, educate and motivate the customer!
(Every company can find a way to do this better, including
yours.)
For example:
The drug manufacturer could provide an easy-to-understand
flyer or brochure with every medication. The doctor
could create a simple list of what to take, what to
expect and what to avoid. The pharmacy could design
an attractive calendar to hang on the bathroom mirror
or refrigerator door. The calendar could include space
for you to ‘check the boxes’ and track your
daily participation. The hospital could maintain a website
with up-to-date information and helpful FAQs –
and print the website address right on the bottle’s
little sticker. A smart computer company could send out an e-mail once
a day with a simple reminder: ‘Back up your
data now!’ They could send another reminder
at the end of the week with a checklist of costs in
time and expense to recreate your data from scratch.
A lawn care company could provide a simple notepad with
every page reminding you of the next time and date to
water your fertilized lawn. They could add two photographs
to keep you motivated: one lush, green and beautiful;
the other dry, parched and pathetic.
A car maintenance company could put a bright sticker
on the cap of your gas tank asking: ‘Is it time
to change your oil?’ They might even include a
note like this: ‘Bring your auto in on time and
save 10%.’
The bank could send you an e-mail one week before your
term deposit matures or when your checking account approaches
the minimum required balance. A link in the message
could take you to the right web page where you can extend
your deposit, increase your balance or transfer funds
as required.
Key Learning
Point
Customer participation
is a key to achieving high levels of loyalty and satisfaction.
Earn this participation by giving your customers the information,
education and motivation they need. Do it at the right
time, in the right amount, at the right place and in the
most engagingly effective manner. (Hint to pharmacists
and doctors: a little sticker on the bottle isn’t
it.)
Action Steps
Improve the quantity,
quality, consistency, frequency, accuracy and attractiveness
of the information you provide to your customers this
month.
Work on improving your handouts, flyers, e-mails, checklists,
informative posters and brochures, stickers and decals,
manuals, user guides, videos, web pages, guidelines and
instructions.
Do a better job of telling customers what to do, bring,
prepare, submit, copy, file, track, complete and expect.
Tell them more about the time, steps, costs, input, output,
problems, indicators and guarantors of success. Make them
better informed, better educated and better motivated.
In short, make them better customers.
Next Article in Customer Service Education >>
Positive, Proactive Communication
First Article in Customer Service Guarantees >>
Are You Pulling in the Same Direction?
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
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