Did you know that customer service is the #1 factor that influences how much a customer trusts your company?  Yes, this is true- according to a customer service survey conducted by Zendesk.  Good service = increased trust and loyalty = higher sales.  The reverse of this is definitely scary; poor customer service can result in your company going down like a sinking ship.  If you have not been focusing on delivering good customer service, there's no need for a life raft just yet.  Let's plug up those holes and give your company some customer service buoyancy by starting with the biggest leak (biggest opportunity), which is the first impression.

Rule: You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower value activities.  For you to do something new, you must complete or stop doing something old. Getting in requires getting out.  Picking up means putting down.

Creative procrastination is the act of thoughtfully and deliberately deciding upon the exact things you are not going to do right now, if ever.  Most people engage in unconscious procrastination. They procrastinate without thinking about it. As a result, they procrastinate on the big, hard, valuable, important tasks that can have significant long-term consequences in their lives and careers.  You must avoid this common tendency at all costs.  Your job is to deliberately procrastinate on tasks that are of low value so that you have more time for tasks that can really make a difference in your life and work.

-Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog

How many times have you been in a store, restaurant, or on the phone, and questioned the proper "fit" of the person's skills in relation to the job they were working?  The waiter who is unfriendly, or the person answering the phone who puts you on multiple holds, disconnects your call, or transfers incorrectly?  How about the person at a home improvement store working in "lawn and garden" who can't answer any of your lawn and garden questions?  One of my personal favorites is the person who works in a family fun vacation destination, such as a theme park or resort, who, based on the poor delivery of their service, alters your "fun" experience?  So who is to blame for this improper fit?  During that moment of frustration, it is easy to blame the service person at the restaurant, home improvement store, or on the phone, but as we peal back the layers of "why," there are many reasons for this bad fit and disconnect.

We may think we know what someone is trying to say, particularly if we make assumptions about them and their motives or agendas.  But generally speaking, we are not learning when our mouths are moving.  We are also not learning when we become too focused on what we want to say, the points we want to make, or when we spend time judging whether or not the person speaking is right or wrong.  Pay attention to what is being said.  When people in business fail to hear and understand each other, the results can be disastrous.

- Brown, Haygood, and McLean, The Little Black Book of Success

Businesses aren't successful by chance.  Someone, who may be you, has to focus and have the vision for what it takes to thrive in today's economy and to continue to provide exceptional service to a demanding consumer market who has high expectations.  Might sound complicated, but let's make it easy and go back to "base camp."  How about you simply embrace and teach our "FOCUS" concept, which is a simple method that truly focuses on successfully serving your customers?  It always comes back to paying attention to service and delivery when you want to move your needle of success and increase your sales.  Right?