Uncover the Moments of Truth in Your Business With a Strategic Coach
Are you satisfied with the number of clients you have? How often do they return for repeat business? Do you make it easy and enjoyable for them to do business with you? If not, analyze your business’ moments of truth to create positive, lasting impressions of you and your company that will turn the most skeptical client into your company’s biggest advocate.
So, what is a moment of truth? It’s a sliver of time when clients or prospects interact with you and your business and decide whether or not to do business with you, to share you with their network, or to use your products/services again and again. Jan Carlzon, in his book, Moments of Truth, defines them as “anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, [as] an opportunity to form an impression.”
The role of a strategic coach is to ensure your business makes the right impression when interacting with clients and prospects. By strengthening the moments of truth in your business, a strategic coach focuses on accelerating your business’ growth by ensuring your clients remain on the continuum of the “Nine Steps for Building Virtual Trust.” The result is an increase in client acquisition, retention, and sales.
A strategic coach advises business owners to be aware of common moments of truth, such as:
- When someone views your Web site
- When someone receives your business card or brochure
- When you answer the phone
- How you interact with a prospect during a sales appointment
- What you post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites
- How you handle a customer complaint
- How and when you respond to requests for information
- When a client receives your billing statement
Moments of truth can seem insignificant to a business owner when they’re happening, but clients may have an entirely different reaction. For instance, if a potential client calls you and you don’t give them your full attention because of an office distraction (whether you think your attention is diverted or not), his or her impression may be that you are unfocused, unprofessional, and perhaps unworthy of his or her business.
Some common questions your strategic coach asks to define and improve upon the way you handle your moments of truth include:
- What are the various touch points (such as your Web site, meeting at a networking event, sending an email, leaving a voicemail message, etc.) during which a potential client has an opportunity to “experience” your business and develop an impression?
- What is the current impression your clients and prospects experience?
- What is your intended impression?
- What changes need to be made to ensure each impression is the one you want your client to experience?
- Who will make those changes?
- By when will those changes be made?
- How will you measure the effectiveness of your changes?
Regardless of the moment of truth that’s holding your business back, uncovering your moments of truth ensure you make the right impression. As clients benefit from a consistently positive experience, you can count on them returning for repeat business.