(Time to read this Blog is about 2 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking:

1. My biz quote of the week:
   A great question that I love to ask my audiences and biz coaching clients, Whether you’re a business owner or manager, “Does your business model serve your life model?”  Sadly, for many, it does not.  How would you answer this one?   
   …Donald Cooper
2. I have just one Biz Coaching ‘space’ available for this Fall.  If you’d like to receive our Info Sheet on how this 6-month 1-on-1 coaching program can help your business and your bottom line, email me at donald@donaldcooper.com.
3. Our phone addiction. According to a recent survey, people check their phone an average of 58 times a day.   Other recent surveys show numbers as high as 96 times a day.  
4. Home Depot is using technology to stop the theft of power tools. Home Depot is combatting a wave of shoplifting of expensive power tools with technology that activates the tools at checkout, only after they’ve been paid for. If you steal it, it won’t function.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Just satisfying your customers won’t ‘cut it’ anymore: 

Many businesses believe that the key to success is ‘customer satisfaction’.  But just ‘satisfying’ customers won’t cut it anymore.  ‘Satisfied’ is somewhere just slightly north of ‘not satisfied’, but far below ‘thrilled, delighted and amazed’.

‘Satisfied’ is not where emotional connection, brand loyalty and customer ownership take place. ‘Satisfied’ is not where customers become fans and tweet, text, blog and tell 100s of friends about you. 

‘Satisfied’ is where customers are not unhappy enough to complain, but not thrilled enough to come back.  So, rather than just ‘satisfying’ your customers, you need to absolutely delight and amaze them.  And, if you’re not prepared to do the work to make that happen, you should just pack it in right now! 

So, what will you commit to do to surprise and delight your customers, clearly differentiate your business from your competitors and make you ‘famous’ at every touch-point?  What products, services, extraordinary experiences, joy, speed, policies or proactivity will blow them away?  What’s possible?  What has never been done before?   Then, how will you make that part of your corporate DNA?

Sit down with some of the best minds and hearts in your business, including several front-line staff.  List every customer touch-point and imagine what ‘extraordinary’ might look like at each of them.  Then decide, commit, implement and follow up.  The world is run by those who follow up.    

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.