Lexington, KY - Dog lovers are devoted to their four-legged friends because of the constant devotion dogs provide, including a continually warm welcome, caring nature and selflessness. As it turns out, these are exactly the same characteristics valued in people, especially when doing business.
Author Jeanne Bliss in her new book, "I Love You More Than My Dog," suggests that when businesses make decisions that respect customers, they earn not only admiration but also love. Customers will then do the work of growing your business for you.
Gone is the "dog-eat-dog" world of business. In the age of chat rooms, Web sites, Facebook and Twitter, customer love isn't just nice - it's essential for success. When customers love you, they not only buy your product or service, but they turn to you first, regardless of price or competition.
Businesses have to earn the right to have raving fans. Earning that right, according to Bliss, comes down to a singular idea: making active decisions about how you run your business.
Your decisions define the story of your company being told by customers in the marketplace, Bliss tells us. Everyday, those decisions tell your customers who you are and what you value. If those decisions don't resonate with customers as well as employees, Bliss says, your business will have difficulty succeeding. "Congruence of heart and habit form the backbone of beloved companies," the author says.
Bliss suggests there are five decisions that set beloved companies apart, revealing their values. Those decisions are:
1. Decide to Believe - Successful companies believe in their employees and their customers. This trust frees the organization from unnecessary rules and policies and barriers between employees and customers. It allows employees to think on their feet, and stops micromanaging and second-guessing by management.
2. Decide with Clarity of Purpose - Beloved companies are clear on their promises. By making decisions aligned with these promises, the organization becomes more united. Profits are a natural consequence of purpose.
3. Decide to Be Real - Shared values and relationships draw customers to companies. Only companies "who really know who they are" can be real consistently, Bliss says.
4. Decide to Be There - Beloved companies do the hard work of being there for customers when they need it. Relationship requires everyday experiences that earn the right for customers to return.
5. Decide to Say Sorry - An organization's reaction to adversity reflects its humanity, showing its true colors more than anything else. The ability to apologize or repair the emotional connection with customers can actually create an even stronger bond.
Bliss illustrates these decisions with examples of companies that have seen success in using them. These "beloved" companies include Wegmans Food Markets, Harley-Davidson, Zappos and The Container Store. The commonality between these diverse companies is that they have found ways to make their humanity the center of business decisions. As Bliss suggests, they don't lose sight of people, whether customers or employees.
In creating an extraordinary customer experience, such companies have flourished and expanded, even in challenging times.
Bliss uses her experience at Land's End as an example of a beloved company.
"Who we were as people came through loud and clear in how we acted," she said of the company. "It wasn't just that we were proficient in the business of producing, packing, sorting and shipping. Our decisions were guided by a simple statement that is easy to say but hard to execute: 'What's right for the customer is right for all of us.'"
She cites an incident regarding a shipment of Land's End turtlenecks as an example of this commitment. After shipping thousands to customers, it was discovered that some contained a flaw. Without waiting for customers to complain, the company sent all the product's customers a note apologizing and offering to replace the faulty clothing.
This type of commitment not only retains customers, Bliss says, but also inspires employees to model the behavior that sets such a company apart from the others.
The author suggests the idea that the collective decisions of an organization become the story that is told to customers, employees and the marketplace. Who you are and what you value is the basis of that story, regardless of company size or type.
This book is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to create a company that inspires customers to love and to spread that into success.