Raving Fans - Ken Blanchard

"Raving fans - a revolutionary approach to customer service" was written in the early 90s and it's principles resonate today. Satisfied customers just are not enough. What an organization should aim to do is knock the socks off their customers, to create “Raving Fans.” These Raving Fans become some of your best marketing tools. They go out and tell others how great you are. Satisfied fans, on the other hand, will jump ship as soon as a competitor provides them with better service. According to the authors, there are three secrets to creating Raving Fans.

1.  "Decide on what you want" - When you decide what you want for your business, you must create a vision of perfection centered on the customer & promote that vision throughout your organization.

2. "Discover what the customer wants" - Ask your customers what they want, then re-align your vision. A customers vision will likely only focus on one or two areas - you need to fill in the gaps. A customer who says the service you provide them is "fine" is relaying a concerning message. Essentially, it means they aren't ecstatic about your business. On the other hand, you can't look after every need or every whim of your customer, so  sometimes it is best to be frank and send your customer elsewhere (to another competitor). Service leaders perform in a well-defined window – they do what they choose – what is in their vision – and they do it very well. Finally, a business should tie its' employees raises and promotions to customer service. If you don't look after your people they won't look after your customers.

3.  "Deliver plus 1%" - Once you've discovered what the customer wants then - deliver plus one percent.  In order to not get overwhelmed at creating a fantastic customer service from scratch you aim to improve by one percent per week. Over time this will compound. Delivering consistently is crucial because it takes time to build a relationship with a customer and establish credibility.  Don't offer too much service initially, first be consistent at what you offer. To be consistent you have to have systems and training programs to implement your systems.  A system is a predetermined way to achieve a result.