Guest post by Marcel Oudejans.

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
– Sam Walton

Wal-mart, the company that Sam Walton started 1962, became the world’s largest retailer because the store offered its customers more choices than their competition. Certainly, they were also able to offer the best prices because of their bulk-buying power, but as Seth Godin says, “Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That’s not marketing, though, that’s efficiency.” Rather, Walton understood that the customer has the power of choice. Your prospective customers now have the ability to find out far more about your company & how you treat customers before they even consider doing business with you. A simple Internet search, or reading websites like getclosure!, can reveal whether you are trustworthy, or if your previous customers recommend your product or service. Competing on price alone never works as a long-term strategy; the companies that focus on consistently creating a positive customer service are the ones that become most successful.

Unfortunately, as your business grows and you start to face new challenges, it is easy to forget how important it is that every single customer expects to be treated as ‘special’. Your customers now recognise that they have more choices available and they have far higher expectations: they may even compare your service to an experience of doing business in an unrelated industry. The businesses, like Wal-mart, that have become famous all recognise the importance of creating a great positive experience for every single customer.

With the dramatic growth of consumer complaint-drivers like getclosure!, customers are becoming less resistant to voicing their opinions, especially any negative ones about you and your business. The companies that refuse to address and respond to complaints suggest they are apathetic to their present and future customers, who then exercise their choices by doing their business with someone else. It has been said that “one disappointed customer is worth ten delighted ones” (Seth Godin). Your happy customers may support you with their wallets, but not helping unhappy or indifferent customers will cost you more in the long run. Since prevention is better than cure, always remember to treat your customer like your “boss” and you’ll be one step closer to creating a reputation as a world-famous business.

Marcel Oudejans is a Corporate Infotainer who is passionate about inspiring his audiences to deliver more “magic moments” to their customers in their customer service, sales & marketing. Marcel is the author of “The Serious Business Owner’s Guide To Creating Customers For Life” & provides more tricks, techniques & strategies on his blog, http://www.performmarketing.co.za