A study by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) today reveals that UK firms fear losing 10% of their customer base over the next three years, at a cost of almost two and quarter billion pounds.

As cash–strapped customers spend less and shop around more amid continuing economic turmoil, business leaders warn of an impending war for customers and identify customer retention and acquisition as critical to success.

The study is based on research among senior decision-makers at 250 of the UK’s largest consumer firms, as well as 1,000 consumers.

Unless the goose is happy and healthy in ALL areas, she cannot lay golden eggs consistently and excellently. Very often the smallest things show this up in an organisation, and, in service, very often the small things are the big things.

As customers:

Actions speak louder than words

You may recall from your childhood the story of the goose that laid the golden egg: in this story a poor farmer owns a goose, which, one day, lays a golden egg. It continues to do this until the Farmer becomes fabulously wealthy.

Sorry! Yet another statement of blindingly obvious common sense.

Yet, so often, sales teams complain that their prices are too high or their range not good enough.

And customers say 'you're too expensive'.

What a customer means by 'you're too expensive' is
YOUR VALUE NEEDS IMPROVING!

So, everybody, please stop running about trying to be the cheapest ... you can't ... WalMart have that market sown up!

Try and be 'Great', and build long term profitable business by delivering a CONSISTENTLY excellent customer experience.

How do you do this?

By having a simple and empowering system that works (and then constantly training and improving your people).

NOTE: Don't train your people until you have a system ... it'll just p*** them off!

So, where can you find a simple empowering system that works.

Well now that is an interesting question, isn't it?

I have just seen the Channel 4 programme on customer service in the High St.

In the Pilot shop they focused on, there was a lot of money invested in the changing rooms to make them flashy: yes, on checking facebook, it seems that, since the programme was filmed, customer service in that shop has fallen back to the previous DIRE levels.

This isn't about money!

This is about simple things (that usually cost little or nothing) done very, very well. Just look how Richer Sounds do it! Nothing flashy in their stores!

Come on: get real!

Get your customer focused mission right, know your customers' REA needs, Go the extra inch, and measure and incentivise!

This isn't rocket science!