Before You Shut It Down...

4 Thoughts

1. Your customers experience a different business than you do.
   Every once in a while, go through the process yourself and see what they see.

2. Revenue doesn't always equal a good customer.
   A client can bring money in while eating up your time through rework, discounts, calls and headaches.

3. Complaints contain information.
   Even your competitors' bad reviews can show you what customers care about.

4. Avoided problems don't disappear.
   They usually sit there taking up attention until somebody finally deals with them.

4 Lessons

1. Test the experience yourself.
   Call your company. Send an email. Fill out a form. Find out what happens next.

2. Know what relationships are actually profitable.
   Look beyond what a customer pays and consider what it takes to serve them.

3. Study where others are falling short.
   Repeated complaints can reveal where your business has an opportunity to stand out.

4. Follow up before chasing something new.
   Someone who already asked for help may deserve another conversation before you spend money finding another lead.

4 Challenges

1. Go through one part of your customer experience yourself.
   How easy is it to get a response?

2. Look at one difficult client or customer.
   Add up the time, rework, discounts and attention they require. Is the relationship still worth it?

3. Open a few recent one star reviews from competitors.
   Look for patterns and compare them honestly with your own business.

4. Make one call you've been avoiding before the weekend.
   Handle it now instead of thinking about it for the next two days.

Quote of the Week

"The details are not the details. They make the design." - Charles Eames

You don't need to spend the entire weekend rebuilding your business.

You just need to notice what's leaking.

Fix one thing.

Handle one conversation.

Follow up on one opportunity.

Then go enjoy your damn weekend.