by Bob Hettel

Created on: July 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 22, 2009

So many businesses that we speak to proclaim to do business based on the golden rule, yet many are not nearly as successful as they would like to be or expect to be. Is this really a business strategy or as mom said "they are words to live by"?

From a moral and ethical perspective we should follow the golden rule in all aspects of life. In fact if more people did we'd probably all be the better for it. However, when we are talking about growing our business and meeting, or better still exceeding, our customers' needs we need to think and act differently.

The first thing is we need to realize the golden rule is not a business strategy. It is important to understand that treating people as you want to be treated (the golden rule) may not be the best way to deal with your customers.

Think of it this way, how many times have you frequented a business and been disappointed in some aspect of the experience only to hear from friends or family how great that same business is? The main reason is we all have different expectation levels. Some of these expectations are set by the business itself and how they market and position themselves. Other expectations are set based on what we hear from others (recommendations). Finally, and most important of all, our expectations are also set by our personal preferences.

As an example a client who we are collecting feedback for has been hearing about their hours. Customers have repeatedly commented that the business should be open in the evenings and longer on Saturdays and open on Sunday. The owner has stated that they are unwilling to change their hours because it is not convenient for the owner. By changing their hours could they increase the amount of business they are doing? Their customers are certainly indicating that this would be true. By having a comprehensive customer feedback process in place we can learn far more than we ever could hope by just speaking with our customers. We can begin to understand our customers better than we ever have.

Armed with this feedback you can better understand what motivates them, your strengths and weakness and what products and services they find most valuable. By addressing these needs in the way your customers expect and desire will increase your customers' impression of your business and lead to a stronger relationship. Don't get me wrong we need to spend time with customers but we can focus on meeting and exceeding their needs and not trying to quiz them.

I was meeting with a client yesterday who said "when our staff spoke directly to our customers we got pretty favorable feedback but we knew we weren't doing as well as we expected. Then by asking to them to provide anonymous feedback we started to hear about a lot more issues - we had no idea..." The reason for this is people like to avoid telling you what they really think about you, especially bad news. Who of us likes to say to someone I didn't like my visit / experience because... Usually we only get this type feedback when the issue was so egregious they were outraged.

This is a long term strategy that when implemented correctly will build long term loyal customer base with relationships that stand the test of time (and yes occasional mistakes). It will help to fend off competitors (customers are less likely to consider your competition if you meet all their needs). It will help in tough economic times, while your customers may cut back spending you are more likely to get a larger share of the dollars they are spending. Finally, it will generate better and more frequent recommendations leading to additional new business.

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