Happy Owners

The Guardian Life Index asked business owners “What makes you happy?”  The owners #1 answer was “Customers who appreciate what we do.”

It is a very interesting response because they didn’t say “Customers who love our product.”   It is not about the product per se.  Rather it is about everything that wraps around the product that causes the customer to be appreciative.  

We all occasionally feel this about a product or a company.  For example, it is how I feel about my local coffee shop.  Their coffee is good.  But lots of places have good coffee.  It is about the ambience of the shop; the way the staff interacts with me; and the way they interact with one another.  You can tell they like what they are doing and they like each other.  It make for a very nice experience and I appreciate that.

In the end, having “customers who appreciate what we do” is entirely dependent upon your people.  Behavior is all you get from people.  Getting that behavior is something we actively pursue as part of THNK’s Behavioral Advantage product.  If you’ve read my book “Behave! How to get 100% of your workers fully engaged” you will recognize this as the behaviors that distinguish the company in the eyes of the customer.  Your teams will purposefully and actively identify these behaviors and then define them as part of what they do.  

Getting this kind of deliberate and focussed behavior is one thing, but putting energy and commitment behind it is where employees can make the company truly stand out.  For that, each of your people will define their Identity in terms of being the person the customer appreciates, and then they will pursue that Identity in every customer interaction because it has become who they are.

If you want more information, contact me at THNK@thnk2grow.com