Argy and I spent the last few days travelling with Nicholas our youngest son visiting colleges. This time was different as we were spending time at colleges that had accepted him. It was more than a little interesting to watch each institution put their best foot forward to prospective customers. Overall an enlightening experience and one with useful lessons for my small business.
Each schools approach was different but they did have some similarities. They all use students to provide campus tours. Customer endorsement is a very useful tool for any of us. Most of the campus guides are well versed in where things are and how they work providing useful insight, they also can give insight into areas that might be less than perfect. Every business has those and it is nice to hear about them up front.
The biggest small business lesson for me came when we were asked to go to a gym to hear the university president speak. We heard two college presidents speak during the trip and one was a great show, every aspect well done, from the band playing pep music to large screen images of the speakers. At the second the gym was noisy with metal folding chairs on the wooden floor, a loud ventilation system and shockingly a sound system that simply did not work.
This business had put millions of dollars worth of potential customers in the room. Enlisted their best and most expensive employee and then wasted the opportunity because half of the room simply could not hear what he had to say. Mind you this campus has, not two hundred yards away, a fabulous performing arts center with a large auditorium with excellent acoustics and a working sound system. Argy mentioned it to someone from the staff and was simply told that they were hoping to get a new sound system next year. Nice, we want you to give us tens of thousands of dollars because we might spend a few thousand to improve your experience next year. Really!
I strive to provide the best customer experience possible every time and assume that everyone else does as well. It is critical though that I take a minute and see my offerings through the customers eyes to be sure I don’t miss the mark, granted I can’t always make fish bite or the sun shine. But I can be sure that my equipment is as good as it can be and provides the best experience possible.
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