Did you ever ask for the reasons why your customers are satisfied with your performance? Have you ever questioned yourself about this? Do you know why your customers leave you, or why they continue to keep necking? If you would actually ask them, you would find that most of the time their answer is very simple. Your customers feel they don't get enough personal attention!

I have just finished the process of building a house and of course there where a lot of little things that were not as they should have been. This did not bother me at all, because I assumed the builder would solve things to my satisfaction. What happened though was that the builder did not communicate with me at all. He ignored me as a client and as person. This made me very strict and demanding which caused the builder a lot of headaches.

What irritated me the most and made me very angry was not only the fact that my builder did not solve the problem but even more that he did not consult me on anything.

It is needless to say that customers want your respect, your cooperation and a clear and open communication, which means, you will inform them as clear and complete as possible and listen to them. Also, a flexible, transparent and enthusiastic attitude is highly appreciated.

Never the less, nothing beats Genuine Personal Attention! A recent Customer Satisfaction Survey done by research agency "Impactology" showed that 27% of al respondents mentioned the "Lack of Personal Attention" as a great source of irritation towards a company, closely followed by the "Way problems are handled" (26%).

Other irritation factors customers experience are:

• Difficulties to get in contact with the right person (18%);
• Inflexible behaviour (7%);
• The cooperation between back- and front office of the company (6%);
• Anticipation towards the customer (6%);
• Communication in general (6%);
• Incompetence of the people they had to deal with (4%).

As a result, the irritation level of the customer will increase, he or she will become more demanding in order to get things done, and, if their needs are not met, they will eventually leave. Taking their business elsewhere and leaving you with nothing, not even good references!

There are 7 main rules that strongly support Customer Focused Thinking:

1. Anticipation Most customers don't expect you to think ahead, assessing their needs and perception. That is probably the reason why the factor "lack of anticipation" scored relatively low in the survey. However, thinking about and talking with your customers will increase your customers trust in the attention you have for his/her needs.

2. Explanation Your customer likes to know the reasons behind your decisions. Being transparent tells them you trust them as a person. They feel trusted and appreciated.To explain something to your customer also means that you act as an interpreter, translating processes and technical terminology in a way that makes your customer comfortable and involved.

3. Attention Giving your customer attention has to do with interest, consideration and involvement. Your focus is conscious and purposeful. Giving attention means you listen closely when your customer talks and response back in an appropriate manner, that is: matched to the problem and focused on the question. You make sure there is a lot of interaction and that you have a clear perception of the wishes of the customer.

4. Creating win-win solutions If you resolve priority issues in favour of the customer, give in where possible, compromise and add value, you show a "customer-orientation" attitude. Customer oriented (sales) people tend to exhibit behaviour that enhances long-term customer satisfaction, possibly at the expense of immediate sales. But remember, it always takes way more efforts and costs to gain a new customer as it takes to maintain a customer. Don't try to win an argument if it means that your customer will loose that argument. If you have attention for your customer's point of view it shows him you are respectful and honest.

5. Internal communication Most people work with an organization, which sometimes complicates the communication you have with your customer. You won't be the only one talking to him/her! Establishing the proper communication lines within your organization is therefore crucial!

For example, what will happen if your customer makes a call to your organization with a problem and you are not available? Are there set procedures, are other people taking over the responsibility? Rule number 1 is that the problem gets solved as quickly as possible. To make that happen you need to know what the procedures are, who owns what problem and how the different departments in the organizations are tuned in with each other.

Setting up these procedures is difficult and time consuming. There are relatively "easy" actions you can take to smoothen the communication process, like: make sure your customer is "known" in the organization. Give contact information to those co-workers that will probably deal with this customer along the line. Give regular updates on the status of the project, keep people involved. Do you anticipate a problem? Let people in your organization know! And, don't forget the confidentiality aspect!

6. Ask for feedback When you have accomplished a task, whether that is a service or the manufacturing of a product, you need feedback to determine how you have performed. Don't hesitate to ask your long time customers for suggestions to improve the service or product you offer them. Asking their opinion will show them you value the relationship and that you appreciate the contribution they can bring.

7. Availability Being available means your customers have access to the service and information you can provide them with, whether that is provided face-to-face, by email or by telephone. For email and telephone there are some simple "rules" that will enhance your availability without you having to be on stand-by 24/7:

• If possible, respond to an email immediately. If you don't have the required information at hand, just confirm you have received the email and you approximate response time.
• If you can't be reached by email, make sure senders get an automatic reply mail with alternative contact information
• Answer your phone! Listen to voicemails on a regular basis and respond back.
• If you can't be reached by phone, make sure your voicemail mentions alternative contact information.

Always realize: if a client asks a question, no matter how trivial that question may look to you, they expect a prompt answer! Personal Attention is shown in the participation with your customer, listening to your customer, involving him in the decision making process where possible, and in an open and honest communication. [1] 03-2007 CSS (Impactology measured the customer satisfaction of Graphic Designers and Agencies towards their printer(s))

Source: Wikipedia (Peter F. Drucker (1194) The Practice of Management, New York, Evanston)

Peter Hessels has a long career in the Graphic Arts Production as Project Manager, Consultant and Advisor and serves currently as the Print and Promotional Specialist at a large Office Supply Company in Calgary, Canada. He is also an experienced Consultant for Total Quality Management, Re-engineering of Work Processes and the Re-organization of Administrative Processes within organisations.

More than 25 years of experience made him an acknowledge expert in the organisational processes around Catalogue, Brochure and Magazine production.

Currently Peter also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Dutch Canadian Business Club in Calgary.