Providing Total Quality Is Vital To Your Business Success

To be successful in business today you must be the best. You must offer the highest quality products and services every day just to stay ahead of the competition. Whether you have a storefront, in-home consulting business, or a Web site you must provide total quality in everything you do.

If you ask any business owner the single most important factor to success they will tell you that it is providing total quality. Unfortunately, most businesses talk about this critical element to business success but so very few actually deliver it.

Providing total quality in all your products and services requires that you and all your employees have a special mindset because it involves every aspect of your business. Every person in your business must understand and practice this special mindset. This is especially important if your business relies on vendors. For example if you if you are an affiliate of other Web sites and need to make sure that their products and services are of the highest quality because it reflects back on you.

Here are twelve important rules that you must follow to ensure that your business is providing total quality.

1. Price alone is not enough to keep a customer’s business. Your lower price may tempt or even motivate some prospects to start using your product, but without quality and service, you’ll quickly lose customers. No matter how fair and competitive the price, your business will suffer unless you deliver an excellent product and provide first-rate, reliable service.

2. You must continue to render excellent service at all times. Many businesses are very attentive to their customer’s needs on the first one or two orders, the “honeymoon” period. However, when the honeymoon is over, the service and attentiveness begins to slip. Studies show that most consumers will give one warning when they receive poor service but if it happens a second time they take their business elsewhere.

3. Always have a high level of integrity. Nothing is more important in a business relationship than honesty and integrity. There are no second chances if a customer feels that your business is being dishonest with them in any way. We’re all human and mistakes are made. Most people can forgive a mistake or an occasional oversight in performance, but they insist on being told the truth. Once a customer looses faith in your honesty and integrity, you’ve lost their business.

4. Live up to every promise. When you make a promise to your customers and keep it, you look good but when you fail to honor your commitment, you create problems for your business which customers are not willing to tolerate. It all comes down to being honest. There will be times when you will be unable to deliver on the date promised. When these things happen you need to let the customer know in advance of the scheduled delivery date that there is a problem, what the problem is, and when the product will be delivered.

5. Never offer excuses to your customers. When a customer orders a product or service from your business that’s not delivered as promised, they’re not interested in your problems with suppliers or employees. They want to know what your solution is to get their product delivered within the time frame you promised.

6. Never tell the customer his or her order is delayed because you’re too busy with a “bigger” order. You customer only cares about his or her own order. It is insulting to tell your customer that his or her job is being pushed aside to handle a larger order. You must always deliver as promised and make every customer feel important.

7. Value excellence in all areas of your business, even those that are unrelated to your primary product or service. If you’re sloppy or negligent in one aspect of your business, you customers begin to think that you’re sloppy in other areas as well. For example, if you send a conformation letter or email out that has typos in it, your customer is going to wonder about the quality of the product or service he or she has just purchased. If you can’t invest the time proofreading your correspondence, why should your customer believe that you’ll effectively service his or her account.

8. Return all phone calls and answer all emails as soon as possible. Whey you don’t return a phone call or answer an email from a customer, you’re telling him or her that you aren’t interested in their business. If you’re busy and can’t return a phone call or answer an email right away, have someone else in your office call or write to let the customer know when he or she can expect a call or correspondence from you. Customers will appreciate your diligent efforts to help another customer, if someone takes the time to explain it. What a customer won’t tolerate is being ignored.

9. Learn as much as you can about your customer’s business. Customers will respect you for taking the time to learn more about the business or field they’re in. Understanding what your customer needs will put you in a better position to meet his or her requirements and it will enable you to sell more of your products and services.

10. Always go the extra mile for your customers. This is plain and simple: do more than you are paid to do. Start believing in the Law of Sowing and Reaping that says what you give to others and the way you treat people will eventually come back to you. Always do a spectacular job and a little bit more. It will pay dividends in the long run.

11. Always offer a complete guarantee. People today are afraid of making a mistake so when you take the fear out of the transaction it makes it much easier for them to buy from you. Offering a “guarantee plus” is a powerful way to ease a prospect’s buying anxiety. For example, you could say; if the customer is not 100% satisfied they will get their money back in full and receive something else for free because of having to go through the inconvenience.

12. The cheapest advertising is a satisfied customer. How many referrals do you receive from existing customers? The number of referrals you receive is an important indicator as to how well your business is doing and how it will grow in the future. You should be asking your customers in person, by letter, or by phone to recommend you to others. You’ll find that most of your satisfied customers will be happy to recommend you, if you will just ask them.

Providing the highest quality at a higher but still reasonable price is something your business must do to survive and prosper in today’s highly competitive business world. Quality is a mindset. It cannot be faked or forced. It is something you and everyone in your organization, including your vendors must want to do. When you have a total quality mindset there is no competition.

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many businesses around the world, on the subjects of leadership, achievement, goals, strategic business planning, and marketing. Joe is the author of three books, Starting Your Own Business, Finding Your Purpose In Life, and The Guerrilla Marketing Workbook. Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com Read more articles and newsletters at: www.jlmandassociates.com

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