As we near the end of another year many of us will express our gratitude to our customers by sending greeting cards or gifts. Yes, this is a good time to do that. What about the rest of the year?
Customer recognition need not be relegated to the holiday season. Gratitude can be expressed throughout the year when it is timely to do so and it need not be an elaborate event or gift. A complementary word or comment is something we can do regularly. Sending a thank you note or how about a hand written card of appreciation. I know I remember those individuals who take the time to send me a card.
The next time you come across an article or a link to a website or a new product that may be of interest to one of your customers send it to them. It takes only a little effort and can create an impact.
Customer recognition … a year round occurrence.
A friend treated me to an Alan Jackson concert recently. I enjoy pretty well any genre when the artist presents a great show. Alan certainly did that. He rocked the crowd.
What really impressed me was the last song of the evening. Alan and his crew took the time to produce a video of the community and the video was played during that song. They went that one step further in making it a great experience for everyone there.
What is the one thing you could do to go that ‘one step further’ to provide your client or customer with a great experience? Little things are the difference between mediocre and extraordinary service. Your clients and customers will notice. I know I will remember Alan’s concert and will rave about it to all who will listen.
Our Professional Organizers Conference was held in balmy Calgary this past weekend. We participated in all kinds of interesting workshops and saw new and innovative products for organizing.
One of the highlights was keynote speaker Les Hewitt, founder of the Power of Focus Coaching Program, seen here with me. Les challenged us to make improvements in Goal setting, Priorities, Relationships, and Habits. As well, he shared the 3 Biggest Constraints:
- Lack of Clarity – we need to be clear to be successful
- Lack of Motivation – sustained motivation aligns with what we do well, be innovative, don’t quit, have a longer term view
- Lack of Focus – focus on priorities, write the script for the week at the beginning of the week, find a Focus Partner, someone who will hold you accountable for your goals
Les also reminded us that ‘The biggest challenge you will face at the end of the conference, is the first week back at the office! That’s when you make a decision to test what you have learned, or not. Sadly, most people never follow through and their great ideas lie on a shelf, collecting dust.’
‘Make a commitment today that you will be different.’
2010 is rapidly approaching. Where are you in your planning process for the next year? Are your plans still just thoughts or have you taken the time to set out in writing what you want to accomplish? If your plan is already written for 2010, congratulations! You are among the top 1% of us that write out our goals.
If your goals are still in the thought process here are things to consider when creating your plan.
Are you passionate about what you are doing? If not, how can you change that?
What are all the reasons ‘Why’ you want to achieve your goal? What will it cost you to not achieve your goal?
Where do you want to end up? When? Who will be part of the plan?
Questions are a great way to open us up to the possibilities we may not have considered. As this past year has shown, the economy has been challenging for many business owners. Your plan is your guide in any market.
How many times have you thought or heard yourself say ‘I wish I had more time?’ We can find ourselves going way faster than we’d like.
The key to effective business management is making the time to plan and implement those systems that lead us in the direction we want to go. We know the world will not stop if we do. By taking a step back, looking at where we are and seeing if we are indeed running in the right direction actually helps us to focus on using our time in more productive ways.
So, I welcome you to these writings on business organizing. It will be interesting, as all journeys are, in ‘this business of business.’
