No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals and Customer Retention. Dan S. Kennedy

getting these calls, but I love customers who give us the opportunity to MAKE THEM HAPPY, teach us how to be better, and sound an alarm about a problem before it costs us a fortune.

      Find as many ways as you can to tell your customers that you want to know if they are not happy. Tell them with signs when they are at your place of business. Tell them in your advertising. Tell them when you communicate via email. Tell them on your website. Tell them every way you can.

      Your team members aren’t likely to forget your customer service expectations when they know that your customers know your expectations and that you want your customers to tell you directly when they don’t get Make-You-Happy Customer Service^®.

What Business Are You In?

      I used to think we were in the business of selling price guns to retailers. Then I thought we were in the business of selling price guns and packaging to retailers. Then I decided we were in the business of selling retailers everything they needed to operate their business.

      Now I know what business we are really in.

      In their first hour of employment each new team member at American Retail Supply receives Make-You-Happy Customer Service® Training. The system includes our training DVD that discusses first-day training at Disney World. Where the trainer at Disney asks, “What business are we in? We know that GMC makes cars, and Whirlpool makes refrigerators. What do we make here at Disney? We Make People Happy.” That’s when it occurred to me, “That’s what we do at American Retail Supply! We make people happy.” Frankly, I think that’s the business every company should be in.

      If you are in the business of Making People Happy, it becomes clear to every team member in your business that their job is to Make Customers Happy.

      We understand that after customers call us, they’re not going to be singing “Zippity Doo Dah,” but the reality is, our job is to make them happy, and if we don’t make them happy, they won’t, and they shouldn’t, come back!

      I carry this idea over to all five of my businesses, including my training and coaching businesses, that you can tap into at www.KeithLee.com. These are B2B businesses, not a Disney-like business on their faces. American Retail Supply could be judged a mundane business mostly selling necessary supplies. There’s nothing inherently, organically “happy” about these businesses. We’re not putting inflatable bouncy-houses in backyards at kids’ birthday parties. But that’s the point. With any business, no matter B2C or B2B, no matter if seemingly as ordinary as dry toast, customers want to be happy.

Should YOU be in the Business of Making Customers Happy?

      If you really want to get maximum referrals and customer retention, making customers happy is the place to start.

      If you, and your entire team, show your customers that you really care about them, they will be happy customers, not just satisfied customers. Happy customers come back, even if you’re a little higher priced. Happy customers will come back even if someone else is more convenient. Happy customers, and this is incredibly important, will allow you to make mistakes and they’ll still come back. Happy customers tell others about you.

      KEITH LEE owns five businesses, including American Retail Supply. When Keith shared his secrets to his exceptional customer service with his customers via his Retail Tip of the Week, they clamored for more and asked him if he could put them all together. The result is his book The Happy Customer Handbook, 59 Secrets to Creating Happy Customers Who Come Back Time and Time Again and Enthusiastically Tell Others About You. The book is a quick and easy read with secrets any business can use to improve their customer service. For more information, visit www.TheHappyCustomerHandbook.com.