Small Business CSI - Go Ahead.Leave Your Fingerprints

"They" say (don't you love it when they use it) that jury convictions have dramatically decreased since CSI was introduced to the viewing public. Juries expect scientific evidence a la CSI and if the prosecution does not deliver, the jury will not return a guilty verdict. Even though I used the "they say" term (wink), this phenomenon is known as "The CSI Effect". I am not suggesting of increased criminal activity in the small business world. I am referring to the Customer Satisfaction Index, or CSI. Jeffery Gitomer's book sums it up beautifully:  "Customer Satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless".  Brilliant. But, the road to loyalty is measured by the number of fingerprints, or positive impressions, you leave with your customers.

No two fingerprints are alike. So, go ahead leave your own special marks.Be different.Get the WOW back in your game.

What is your company's "genetic code" when it comes to customer service?

• Do you think you're leaving good fingerprints? Your CSI will tell you if you regularly measure your customers' experience.
• When you fall short of expectations, do you plead guilty? Be accountable. If your service is less than stellar, own up to it: Apologize, make no excuses. Do the right thing.Fix it.
• They say (oops) criminals always go back to the crime scene. Just do it! Is less-than-perfect customer service a crime? You bet. Losing an existing customer is a capital offense in my book (referring to it as "shooting yourself in the foot" is way too mild).  So, go ahead, make "your" day.Go back. Do the right thing.Fix it.
• And while we're on this very morbid topic (losing customers), please don't play Russian Roulette with your customers. Make sure there are no bullets in your gun. To deliver top-notch customer experience, you must have a system in place that guarantees, yes guarantees, performance. Put a process together, train everyone in the company (everyone is in the business of providing amazing customer experience, even accounts payable), launch, execute and check often to ensure that the chamber of customer experience services is empty of bullets that may injure or kill any chance for the customer to come back.

Why use such a dark metaphor on an exciting topic as customer satisfaction? Because without customers, we're all dead.Period.

PS. The author is a law-abiding, non-gun-carrying and peace-loving human being who watches more HGTV then crime dramas. OK, full disclosure: CSI, Law& Order, Blue Bloods, 60 Minutes, Amazing Race and the Voice. Harmless.