July 2008

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following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 9 July 2008</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Snakes and ladders</B></div> <bR> <div> Moving customers up the loyalty ladder, about which I've written before, is important for a number of reasons, but primarily because loyal customers generate more sustainable profit for any business.  They return regularly, spend more than new or fickle customers and often refer others to you and your organisation.  But, in the game of business, for every ladder up there is a snake down which you might fall if you don't listen to your customers.  </div> <bR> <div> We're not very good at complaining about poor service in Britain - but we are pretty adept at whingeing and moaning.  A complaint is made either directly to the offender or at least to someone in the business who can do something to rectify your problem.  A whinge, on the other hand, is offered to anyone who will listen - often with no particular interest in the event that sparked the discontent.  It's widely calculated that for every complaint that is actually lodged, there are between 10 and 12 unhappy customers who will not tell you about their concerns.  But - crucially - they will frequently tell their friends and family about their dissatisfaction with your service.  And some research indicates that these people, in turn, might tell another ten or so each.  So for every complaint of which you become aware, there could be over a hundred people out there who have some reason to doubt the quality of your business.</div> <bR> <div> I know it's had to correct mistakes if you're not aware of them in the first place, but a customer who is unhappy and who sees nothing being done about his reason for that unhappiness is quite entitled to think you just don't care.  That's why it's vital to use every possible opportunity to communicate with your customers and seek feedback about how well you are serving them.  Just periodically isn't enough - it has to be a continuous process of communication to demonstrate that you welcome your customer's comments - good and bad - and will do something as a result of receiving those comments to make their future dealings with you even more satisfactory.</div> <bR> <div> According to the game specialist James Masters, the Victorians who first published Snakes and Ladders in 1892 incorporated the moral overtones of the much older Indian board game on which is was based and labelled the squares connecting ladders with virtues and rewards (so penitence, thrift and industry elevated a player to grace, fulfilment and success) and those linking snakes with vices (indolence, indulgence and disobedience slid him down to poverty, illness and disgrace).   Dated, perhaps,  but still relevant as a model for good business (and personal) behaviour.</div> <bR> <div> However, unlike the children's board game, it takes more than a roll of the dice to keep your customers climbing the loyalty ladder and avoiding the snakes.  It takes commitment and hard work to seek continuously ways of doing things better and demonstrating to your customers that their total satisfaction is your number one priority.  Silence isn't necessarily golden - it may simply be that nobody's told you yet that you're headed for a downward slide.</div> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>