HANDS ON - Business 101
Do you provide Value?
by Daniel Abramson

Today's customers want results, not effort; solutions, not idle chitchat; value, not promises.

You determine the price, but it is the customer who determines the value. Value is a perceived issue—and perception is reality.

One of your challenges is that no two customers or prospects will measure or define value in the same way.

Although it is generally linked in some way to saving money or saving time, the question remains: How do you measure your dispensary's value to your customers?

There are many ways to do this, and none are foolproof. Here's a partial list of indications that you have client satisfaction and there is a perceived value for your service.

• Repeat business from clients.
• Quality unsolicited referrals from customers. (Don't forget to ask for letters of recommendation.)
• A lack of resistance to price increases. n Satisfactory after-sale/customer satisfaction evaluations.

Just as important, you need to know what your current customers and patients most care about—in other words, what else they want in order to do business with you again.

	quick tips
	Think a smile isn't important? According to the book First Impressions by Drs. Ann Demarais and Valerie White, when you fail to smile, you may think you seem neutral, thoughtful, or cool, but you may seem uninterested or cold to those on the receiving end of your attention.

WHAT CUSTOMERS NEVER FORGET

Customers don't overlook the details when they do business with you. Here are three "take-away" ideas that you need to know if you want customers and patients to come back again.

Attitude. Business is 80 percent attitude and 20 percent technique. Everyone counts. It starts with the receptionist, whose title really should be "director of first impressions." Is yours friendly and professional? Next time you're out of the office, call in and see how the phones are being answered.

You might be surprised.

Promises. When you lose customers' trust, the relationships don't stand a chance. They need to trust you as an information source. Period.

After-sale service. Set yourself apart by becoming an after-the-sale champion for customers.

Happy customers will tell an average of eight other friends about YOU. Conversely, if they have a bad experience, they will tell 16 other people.

And, don't forget to let your customers know that you appreciate their business and look forward to earning more of it.

Daniel Abramson, president of Staffdynamics and a speaker at International Vision Expo Events, can be reached at daniel@staffdynamics.biz.