Turning Customers into Stakeholders

by Mark S. Fulton

It’s a typical Thursday night at Cheers, television’s best know saloon. Sam and Woody are slinging drinks. Carla is harassing Diane. Cliff is expounding on the history of the U.S. postal service.

Suddenly, the front door bursts open and Norm the beer-guzzling accountant enters with a flourish. “Norm!” the Cheers denizens shout in unison as he strides to his seat at the end of the bar, where Sam already has a beer waiting. As the Cheers gang launches into another half hour of high jinks, it’s evident that Norm is Cheers’ primo customer.

Indeed, what Norm found in Cheers is something we’re all looking for in places where we do business: a friendly environment where our needs are met, where the employees are knowledgeable and courteous, where our contribution to the bottom line isn’t taken for granted—a place where everybody knows our name.

Norm was a stakeholder in Cheers. No, he didn’t own a piece of the business (although his beer consumption probably paid for the pool table). But he certainly felt a sense of ownership. No one else sat in Norm’s seat. He expected and received first-class service. He was taken seriously when he was dissatisfied.

In return for his status as a valued customer, Norm went to no other watering hole when he had a yen for a brewsky. In fact, it’s probably safe to assume that he took a personal interest in Cheers’ success and was responsible for recruiting many of the bar’s patrons. When Sam turned the lights off in the final episode, Norm was the last to leave.

Customers who are stakeholders are committed to your business. They have formed a relationship with your enterprise that is marked by loyalty, advocacy and affinity. They are very much like the devotee of a sports team—a fan.

In their book Raving Fans, authors Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles describe three steps for conditioning customers to develop a sense of ownership in your business:

• Define a vision of customer service. Before you can deliver outstanding service, you have to know what great customer service is for your business. That requires some thinking about the product or service you provide and the optimum experience your customers can have during the buying process. How easy is it for customers to use your business? How quickly and efficiently do you respond to their questions and solve their problems? How well do you keep them informed about future buying opportunities?

• Discover what customers want. Don’t assume that you know what your customers want. Ask them. Conducting regular customer surveys will help you identify product problems and service lapses before they become disasters. Train your employees to be good listeners and to ask intelligent questions. Profit from complaints by turning irritations into innovations. Anything that makes a customers unhappy can become a catalyst for change that will lead to greater satisfaction.

• Deliver “plus one” service. Customers like consistency. First, make sure you have systems in place that produce an excellent buying experience for the customer every time. Consistency creates credibility. Then challenge your employees to improve customer service by just one percent each week. Incremental advancements in service quality create positive momentum that will keep your customers noticing and appreciating your efforts on their behalf.

Carl Sewell, author of Customers for Life, has identified what he calls the “Ten Commandments of Customer Service.” In addition to the principles noted above, Sewell suggests some other keys for creating customer stakeholders:

• Say “Yes” as often as you can. No, you can’t give away the store, but you can go above and beyond when a customer asks for help. Empower your employees to respond to customers’ needs as they would if a friend were making the request. Likewise, if a customer asks for something extra, make every effort to do it without charging for it.

• Pay attention to every impression. Have you ever eaten in a restaurant that had a filthy restroom? Makes you wonder about the cleanliness in the kitchen, doesn’t it? Sometimes we sabotage our best customer service efforts by overlooking an impression created by a seemingly trivial detail. Walk around in your customers’ shoes and look at things from their perspective.

• Convey a positive attitude. People make their minds up about a business within 30 seconds of their first contact with it. The attitude that pervades your business will be the first thing your customers notice. Train your employees to exhibit cheerfulness, confidence and enthusiasm at all times. When they do a good job, reward them for it.

• Respect your customers’ time. One of the most important elements in your relationship with your customers is the value you place on your customers’ time. Anyone who has spent time sitting in a waiting room, standing in line or hanging on hold knows how irritating it can be as the minutes drag by. While some delays are inevitable, you should make every effort to minimize the time its takes for your customers to do business with you.

Turning customers into stakeholders in your business takes time and effort. But the payoff can be substantial. Work hard to make your patrons raving fans and customers for life and they’ll drink a toast to your success.

Copyright 2001 © Mark S. Fulton