Tip 35: Respect your customers’ time

Time is precious. And with so many things out there competing for your customers’ time, make sure when you do get their attention, you make the most of it. Add enough value so they feel like the resources they spent with you were more than worth it.

Examples

  1. There are certain blogs I read religiously. One of the primary reasons I do so is because I know within each post will be valuable information that is worth the time invested to read it.
  2. A while back I visited a doctor’s office for a routine physical. One of the things the office staff stressed when I made the appointment, as well as in their reminder call was to ensure I arrived thirty minutes early to allow enough time to complete the new patient intake paperwork. The staff knew that filling out paperwork was a roadblock that could easily make appointments throughout the day fall behind. By implementing a system to enable appointments with the doctors to run as scheduled, the office showed me that they respected the time of me and all the other patients they served.

Suggestions

  1. Focus on quality instead of quantity. That way you train your customers that every time you create something it is worth it to devote some of their precious time to it. Quantity is helpful, but only when you can consistently produce high quality stuff.
  2. Put systems in place to ensure you are able to keep on the schedule your customers expect you to have. That way, if there are things that can derail you and prevent you from keeping on schedule, your systems can help to minimize the likelihood of those happening.

Application for your business

  1. Write down the systems do you have in place to ensure everything you present to your customers is of the highest quality?
  2. Write down two things that can easily derail you from keeping you on the proper time schedule with your customers. Brainstorm two ways you can prevent those derailers from throwing a wrench into your schedule.

Previous tips

1-22. Build a relationship with your customers (series)

23. Solve your customers’ problem

24. Know your stuff

25. Add value

26. Do what you say you’re going to do

27. Exceed your customers’ expectations

28. Be a purple cow

29. Be consistent

30. Be accessible

31. Always be one or two steps ahead

32. Give your customers what they didn’t even know they needed or wanted

33. Give your customers an easy button

34. Make common inconveniences more convenient