Whenever I walk into a new-to-me business, I find it interesting to observe how I'm treated. This gives me an instant clue as to how the leaders of that business treat their employees.

Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief, or...

Whatever the endeavor is, when a customer enters that place of business, her impression of the organization is formed in the first few minutes of interaction with an employee - and even with the space in which the employee works. The employee's attitude, and the "flavor" of the space around him, is most strongly affected by how he is treated by the company's leaders.

If you want your customers to feel warmly welcomed when they enter your storefront or other space, you and the supervisors overseeing the employee must treat your employees with respect, personal attention, and gratitude. You may be sure they'll pass it on. On the other hand, if their personal needs are ignored, or they are not appreciated, or they are not fairly compensated for their contributions, their reaction will be reflected in how they treat the customer.

This behooves you to treat your employees as your most valuable asset in your efforts to serve the person who is most important to the success of your business - the customer.

You may remember a few weeks ago, I ranted about customer service, how important it is, and how important it is to do it personally. I mentioned in that essay that the customer is the most important person to you in your business. With that as a premise, who makes or breaks the all-important relationships with your customers? That would be your employees. They make the first impression on your customers. In May, I wrote about my daughter's very positive experience with a new employer and some of the ways she is treated there that make her feel important, appreciated...and inclined to treat the company's customers the same way.

Many businesses employ professional sampling services to visit the company's locations and evaluate how they are treated. This is a great way learn how your company treats its customers. When you sit down to address the issues uncovered by this sampling, just be sure you consider the motivators behind the employee's behavior. If you simply counsel the employee to treat customers better, and don't address how the employee is treated by his supervisor or someone else senior to him, you're treating symptoms without considering the root cause of the employee's actions. As in any remedial work, treating symptoms while ignoring the root cause is a futile effort - you may get some short term improvement but the "problem" you're addressing will continually reappear.

Do What You Do Best!

If you are in a business coaching or other business advisory role, then you want to spend as much of your time as possible working with your clients. Generating the written pieces that will help you gain additional clients takes you away from that face time with your clients. Why not let us at Unity Copywriting relieve you of that duty so you can get on with your business? As a longtime practitioner and student of what makes leadership successful, and in recent years a business coach in my own right, I can articulate to your prospects and clients the benefits you work so hard to bring to them. In a fraction of the time it would take you to write a white paper, case study, or newsletter, I can learn what you want to say, the tone in which you want to say it, and then I can go to work concentrating on writing your piece while you do what you do best - helping your clients meet their goals.

So...if you are, or someone you know is, in the business of advising or coaching business leaders on how to do something that they want to know how to do better, or may be struggling to do well, let's talk about how I can help you promote that business. If you'd like to publish a periodic newsletter, or have a white paper or case study written, call ( 814-590-3854 ) or email  me and let's discuss how we can work together.

Questions?  Comments?