Often good planning doesn't get implemented overnight--it takes time, it takes work and did I mention it takes time? But the positive action toward your goal will not only help your staff to get on board with a plan of action, it'll help you feel in control of your business' future!

This "long haul" approach is the approach taken by those businesses who want to build their business on relationships and great service. They recognize they can't build a reputation over night and they're dedicated to take the time and pay attention to every detail in the customer experience to ensure their clients are thrilled with the experience.

It won't happen overnight, but I promise this focused attention on what's important will pay off way sooner than you think!

The leading killer of word-of-mouth is inconsistency. Companies who have moments of greatness--great customer experiences that inspire referrals and word of mouth--followed by major fumbles. If I refer a good friend to try out a business (especially if it's a higher-end or higher-risk purchase) and they don't have the same great experience, it will quickly kill my desire to give that business more referrals. And, in fact, the next time that business comes up in conversation, I'm likley to say "you know, I had a great experience, but I heard . . . ." and then repeat the poor experience my friend had. Why? Because we're all gossiping fools? Well, probably, but it's also because I want to hedge my bets--I want to make sure if they try that company, business or product I'm not going to be held responsible for a bad experience.

So, everyone has off days and we can't make everyone happy. However, we CAN make sure every staff member feels empowered (and incented) to offer the same level of great service. We can make sure we treat people equally as important every time.

I know of businesses who keep around bad policies and employees with bad attitudes out of habit--thinking "it's just one person" or "it's not a big deal". Think about how that one person or policy is impacting the consistency of your business and ramifications it's having on your word-of-mouth.

Consistency is KEY to building your BRAND and growing your business through word-of-mouth.

I recently returned from a Mexican Cruise (I know, you can hate me, it's okay). It was the first vacation I'd been on in 3 years and the first cruise I'd ever been on. I didn't know what to expect, but the weather was great and so I was easy to please.

However, as I reflect on what Carnival did well I realize the biggest influence on my enjoyment of my cruise was largely out of their control . . .or at least it seemed.

I was on the cruise with friends, but chose to eat later than them and thought it'd be fun to sit at a table of strangers--I love meeting new people. It'd be an adventure.

The first night, I sat at a table for 8 . . .completely alone. I was mortified as the dining room filled and I ate by myself. My cruise wasn't off to a great start, but I requested another table--a "Fun" table (this was a "Fun" ship after all) if possible.

The next night I apprehensively went to dinner to see what was in store. I ended up at a table of the most wonderful people--we all agreed we had the best table on the cruise. We had so much fun that we were kicked out of the dining room every night--the last ones in the joint.

We noticed as the cruise went on that fewer and fewer people chose to eat in the dining room. The food was great and in talking with my friends on the ship, I learned that "bad matches" in table companions was often the reason for not eating in the dining room.

Conversely, one couple I sat with has cruised many times and on many different cruiselines. They said Carnival wasn't their favorite cruiseline, but that this had been their FAVORITE cruise because our table had been so fabulous. I've heard from several people that I was lucky because your table can "make or break" your cruising experience.

Take note: Our clients' experience often has less to do with our product and more to do with how they felt after our interaction with them (or their interaction under your roof--even if it's with other customers)

Carnival, with a little work, could probably do A LOT to better match table companions. Eharmony can match romances, I'm sure Carnival could ask a few more questions to make better table matches. This work could go along way to improving their guests' cruising experience.

On top of that, in spite of the fact that we had the best table and were the last ones in the dining room every night, the Maitre'D never came over (not once) to ask us how we were. If he had, he could've taken some credit for putting us together. Because he took no interest, we ended up thanking God, luck, fate etc. His seeming indifference led us to believe he had nothing to do with our great table matching.

Take time, think through the clients' interaction and experience(every step) and don't be afraid to make sure your clients know when you've orchestrated a good experience for them!

I'm often heard saying that I believe a time of growth (especially rapid growth) to be the most vulnerable time for a business. Work speeds up, timelines need to be met, pipeline needs to stay full, etc. And, this is the time balls get dropped .. .usually on the customer's head.

Keeping an honest eye on the customer experience is the MOST crucial during times of growth--to catch balls before they fall AND to pay attention to those variables contributing to your growth. It's the time businesses start to cut corners and forget about the "little things" because they're either too busy or forget what made them great to begin with.

So, if you're on the grow, congratulations! It's an exhilerating and stressful time. Just be sure to make time to pay close attention to your customers and what they AREN'T telling you.

A few weeks ago, Seth Godin posted a blog about how being interesting is more important than being perfect for the sake of word-of-mouth. His point was "interesting" gets talked about more than "perfect". Last night I saw a prime example of this. Mi Famiglia just opened in downtown St. Cloud and last night a few friends and I went to check it out. First of all, we were extremely impressed with the ambiance and decor! This place feels swanky and approachable at the same time. The "interesting rather than perfect" part came after we recieved our orders. We were all enjoying really good food when the owner, Ray, approached our table and said to my friend, "Excuse me, your entree came out without the sauce it needs. If it's okay, I can fix that for you right now." and proceeded to ladle the marsala sauce onto my friends plate at tableside. My friend may or may not have noticed it was missing anything, but the point is the owner was watching that closely! AND instead of yelling at kitchen staff, came over and fixed it himself. THAT is service! It was also extremely interesting--not perfect, interesting. And the story will be retold to several people, garaunteed (as I'm doing now). In order for Mr. Cook to have made this an interesting experience, he chose to be a bit vulnerable, admit a mistake and then fix it on the spot. The end result is we felt well taken care of and important. Had it not happend, I would've still told people it was a good experience . . had they asked. Now people will hear the story unsolicited. And we'll be back. . .with even more friends.