What would you do with this? A friend excitedly exclaimed, “Our competition is on backorder!
“We are getting all the business now!”
To me, initially it sounded like a “dream come true.”
“Wamp, Wamp”,
As often happens, there is the Yay! and the Nay, that makes life a balance.
They continued to explain that with the landslide came the “cleared land” and, also...”the mud”...Here are the top lessons they found when their “wish came true”:
1) Lost Business Returned...
Yay! Customers who had gone away to the competition,were forced to purchase their product again! Nay... Loyal customers were victims of increased demand, which meant that they, like the returning customers had to sometimes wait for their orders.
Lesson: Take care of the Loyal customers and service those who have returned because you never know...and good service in bad times determines a relationship
2) More Contracts...
Yay! New contracts were signed by old customers Nay! Again, product demand issue
Lesson: Contracts don’t always equal an automatic win, they need to be massaged and serviced
3) Increase in Manufacturing...
Yay! More contracts equaled an increase in product production! Nay...This takes time to ramp up
Lesson: More is good and more takes time...did we mention managing expectations?
4) Time is Time...
Nay... time was taken away from day to day efforts to focus on servicing all customers Loyal and Returning Yay! Utilizing steady and sincere communication, these efforts offer the ability to serve loyal customers and have increased connection with them and the non loyals
Lesson: Time is a limited resource. You can’t manufacture more of it. Stay focused and organized and selfish with it period.
5) Service is Service...
Yay...Customers who had gone away needed product and were feeling the pressure of not having it. The providing company was rescuing them! Nay...There is no guarantee they will stay with the product after the other product is back and the service given may have been simply for the moment
Lesson: There is no replacement for good customer service. When you take care of customers, they remember, even if they are not your loyal customers.
My friends, we can we take any situation and make it a win for our current customers and potentially returning customers. When we take the time to get strategic, and lead from our place of doing what we feel is the best for all involved, everyone wins.
Wish on!
Sincerely,
Shelly
The Beekeeper