The “FUSS Philosophy”: Key to getting and keeping great clients.
It’s not as anal as it sounds. It’s an unshakeable commitment to under promising and over delivering.
How often do you hear customer responses like:
“You’ll do that? Fantastic!”
“You will? Unbelievable!”
“You did? Sensational!”
“Wow, now that’s Service!”
Those responses suggest a pleasantly surprised customer. They add up to FUSS!
When you generate FUSS it usually means you know how to FUSS.
Successful enterprises in B2B are FUSSers because their people know the perpetual value in keeping great clients. It’s at least five times more profitable more often than being overly dependent on “Black Friday”, the symbolic day in late November when the average B2C firm realizes its first dollar of profit each year.
But that’s not to say B2C-ers can’t FUSS. Or don’t want to. Every enterprise wants to attract and keep good customers.
But how?
Follow the “FUSS philosophy”.
Practice these critically important inter-connected customer services consistently well:
- Always look for and exploit extraordinary service opportunities.
- Study and understand your customers’ businesses; not just the category they are in.
- Anticipate problems they may face, find solutions and present them without waiting to be asked.
- Demonstrate serious and sincere interest in solution delivery.
- Differentiate meaningfully to help customers value your unique or unexpected service.
- Follow up progress regularly and request customer assessment of your efforts.
- Listen!
FUSSing only works if it’s nurtured across the enterprise. Everyone in the business must be a FUSSer. It should be a “cultural” thing. Management in such businesses provide more than lip service to it. They support staff who think of ways to help the company help its customers. They recognize staff who see things to do without being told, who are proactive, rather than just reactive, who do the unexpected and not just their job.
They fight the “What Smell?” Syndrome.
Years ago while visiting a client in a small town with a huge kraft pulp mill as the major employer I couldn’t help but notice the a heavy sulphur odor associated with that pulp making process. Sulphur = rotten eggs to most people, despite its importance as an element.
“This is a nice little town” I said, but had to ask my client “how do its people put up with the smell?”
“What smell?”
After living there for a while people don’t notice it anymore.
The same thing happens to employees of businesses in trouble. Often they’ve lived with the smell of poor customer service for so long they don’t sense it.
FUSSers work hard to sensitize staff to what’s good service and what’s not. It’s an on-going thing. If they don’t, all talk about improved service will ring untrue, frustrating clients who would like to believe you.
The smell that’s left then could be very unpleasant: a decaying bottom line.
May I suggest you FUSS around?
It’s for a good cause: fun and profit.
Mike Hanson
B2B Copywriter
Cel/text: (416) 200-2430
