It’s long been said in business circles that customer loyalty is too dependent on the fidelity you show in the quality of your product. While most of us agree that this is true, the question becomes; what about those who have no goods to sell?
What fidelity is used to join businesses that are 100 percent or largely service businesses? The truth is, if you have a product, your product is your brand and can sustain you. If you wholly deliver services, you become the brand, and then it becomes necessary for you to learn how to brand yourself for success.
Service businesses are sitting ducks for litigation and a plethora of complaints, and they can very easily be torn apart. Product integrity is a bit easier to maintain than integrity of staff and the people who make up the business.
These tips will help you brand your service business for success and build a stable base from which you can further your aspirations.
1. Develop a feedback system for both positive and negative feedback.
Communication they say, is not complete until feedback is received. When your business has to deal purely with services rendered, like a hair salon, telecommunications business, clinic, car wash or property management business, you need feedback much more than any other business. For instance, I run a property management firm and find myself susceptible to cross fire, from both the property owners and the tenants. While most people in my shoes listen primarily only to the property owners, it is wiser to listen to all parties involved. Getting feedback — and asking for it regularly, even if it is negative — is a strong move in protecting yourself.
Many businesses have faced litigation and even filed for bankruptcy as a result of little things ignored over time. Feedback helps you know what to work on or what to keep up. You can use feedback charts, boxes or provide room for feedback on your company app, if you have one. Make feedback avenues available and beyond that, encourage and ask for it. It protects you more than it makes your customers feel valued
2. Treat data like gold.
The high profile Yahoo hack was an eye-opener for everyone involved in the service business. The allegation that Yahoo knew about the hack initially and did nothing raised a great number of hairs on users of the platform. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal stated, “If Yahoo knew about the hack as early as August, and failed to coordinate with law enforcement, taking this long to confirm the breach is a blatant betrayal of their users’ trust.”
You may not have…