Part of Charles Darwin’s theory about the ‘survival of the fittest’, is that each species must either ‘adapt or die’. 125 years later, a subset of our own species (entreprenuers and business owners) need to implement his advice: ‘adapt or die’. You see, I believe that during the economic recession that we’ve struggled with during the past three years, most business owners attribute many of their problems to the ambiguous ‘financial crisis’, issues like tight credit, sagging revenue, etc..

However, its my belief that a far more dangerous problem that we’re faced with are the catastrophic, gut-wrenching changes in the way we actually do business, and even communicate with each other. Who heard of Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter 3 years ago? Yet they, and the Internet platform that supports them, are responsible for dramatic changes to the entire media industry. Care to guess how many newspapers in North America have disappeared during 2009? How often do you listen to the radio anymore, when you have so many other choices of listening to the music you like, when you want it.

Still have one of those phones at home that hangs on your wall (or sets on a desk)? Now we carry individual cell phones with cameras, video, texting and more computing power than mainframe computers had 25 years ago. Heck, even the US Postal Service is flirting with bankruptcy; when’s the last time you wrote a personal letter (remember those?) or mailed a postcard?

Here’s the dilemna these market dynamics are causing…the technology revolution has rapidly changed the way we communicate with each other during the past five years. The problem is that the traditional methods of communicating via television, radio, newspaper, or even direct mail with our clients and customers is disappearing into the sunset. Meanwhile, the replacement channels or processes for a business to communicate with existing clients and prospective customers isn’t nearly as well defined or developed. In fact, implementing some of these same technologies such as texting, email, etc, can be either socially unacceptable, or downright illegal.

Given the current trend of media businesses like radio, and newspapers going out of business, my challenge becomes communicating my next big 50% off sale to my current clients and new prospects. How am I going to grow my business, or even survive if I can’t effectively communicate with my clients? What’s an entreprenuer to do?? Oh, I suppose I could give you some explicit advice, but it’d be obsolete by the time you read this. So instead I will offer three basic suggestions…plus one bonus!

1. Go where your customers are. If you’re looking in all the wrong places, any form of communication will be adequate. You likely won’t be selling snow blowers or snow shovels in Florida, so no form of communication will yield results. Does your product or service have a niche? Is there a place on the internet or in the offline world where they congregate to socialize or to network?

2. Once you find them, figure out the best way to communicate with them. Is it the internet? Direct mail postcards? Twitter? Don’t get too wrapped up in any specific method of transmitting your message, be flexible and adaptable to new developing methods of communicating.

3. What you communicate is always more important than how you communicate. Your messages to clients must always articulate the value, or they simply won’t respond; the silence will be deafening no matter what medium you use to transmit the message.

4. Don’t be pressured into quickly adopting new technologies to communicate with clients. 96% of the world’s inhabitants aren’t identified as ‘early adopters’ of new technology. Make sure that the new method or technology to communicate actually works for you, achieves some sort of measurable ROI before you jump in. Just because its there, isn’t a valid reason to include a new technology in your communications strategy.

A dictionary defines the word ‘problem’ as:

A question raised or to be raised for inquiry, consideration, discussion, decision or solution … an unsettled matter demanding solution or decision and requiring usually consider¬able thought or skill for its proper solution or decision …a perplexing or puzzling question.

Why is this definition hard to understand?

Many of my business management students have difficulty in understanding this. They don’t grasp the point that a problem is always best expressed in terms of questions. “Any problem is open to question.” I ask them, as I ask you, to state some of their principal problems. Here are some of the answers I have received

- The main problems we feel we will be facing in the next three years are: the economy, financing expansion, maintaining a competitive edge, and the recruiting of qualified productive employees.
- Cash flow
- Poor cash flow
- Slowing of the economy
- Encouraging the public into the store
- Employee reluctance to change
- Employee motivation
- Competition
- Development of personnel suitable to our type of business.

Show me the question

None of these statements gives us a clue about what to do to improve any undesirable situation that may exist. Not one statement is expressed as a question. All the statements leave us completely up in the air about what to do about the problems that the economy, poor cash flow, competition, etc. might be causing. Clues to management action are created when the manager asks himself what he can do in response to a question that is perplexing him. He reviews the situation, asks himself what’s what, what he wants to change, etc., and then he has something to work on.

For example, one manager simply said, “encouraging the public into the store.” What was the perplexing question? It might be “What steps must I take to increase the flow of traffic in my store from an average of 100 persons per day to an average of 200 persons per day?” This gives him at least something to work on. The manager who described the economy as a problem was right, I’m sure, but his description of the problem leaves him nothing to work with. He needs to ask what it is that the economy is doing to him that he can work on. He needs to break down his situation and circumstances and ask how can I deal with this or that circumstance so that I can achieve what I want to achieve in spite of the difficulties? What he will get will not usually be simple questions, but perplexing questions. That’s what problems are. If he doesn’t think up the questions how will he ever get the answers? To tackle your problems, first put them in the form of specific, precise questions.

What do I do next?

Managers and owners of small businesses who are ready for samples of problem solving questions are sending a blank email with “your first name + P/Q” in the subject line, yesdocmiller@gmail.com

Based on data collected recently by my business performance analysis engine at www.MentoringSuccessGroup.com, by far one of the biggest opportunities that comes with perhaps the lowest investment of your money and resources is….(drum roll) customer service. For little more than an investment of your time, and training your employees, you can make a significant impact on your customer loyalty, and consequently, repeat customers.

Speaking of customers, did you know that studies have proven that it costs 6 times more of your money, time and energy to attract a new customer or client, than it does to keep your current customers happy, and returning for more?

What baffles me is that when the financial pressures increase, and our personal stress level goes through the roof, customer service is the first characteristic of our business to be ‘laid-off’ or eliminated. In fact, our analysis engine is acutely aware of the apparent absence of customer service during the past few months. Based on the data that we recently have collected, renewing your focus on ‘Exceptional Customer Service’ during the next 6 months will clearly give your business a distinct competitive advantage.

Here’s Why It’s Important To You…

The American Customer Satisfaction Index, a survey conducted by the University of Michigan, is at its lowest levels in the past 10 years. The IBM survey of recent retail shoppers revealed poor customer service was second only to long lines. Good customer service is essential in developing loyal customers who are only a click or a few steps from visiting your competitors.

1. Assess Your Organization

Customer service begins with the internal customer also known as your employees. Assess your organization from the top down. In many cases, poor customer service is a symptom of a more serious undiscovered problem. HINT: Incorporate proven criteria such as the Business Performance Analysis Engine at www.MentoringSuccessGroup.com to determine what you do well and where you need to improve.

2. Assess Your Customer Service Training

Poor customer service is not because your employees don’t know how to, but probably more often than not they don’t want to. If your customer service training focuses only on knowledge and skills, you are draining your K.A.S.H. Box because you are failing to address attitudes and habits.

3. Don’t Assume That Your Employees Know What Good Customer Service Is

With the world a far different place than 50, 30 or even 10 years ago, don’t assume that your potential and even current employees know what good customer service is. Specifically define what good customer service is.

HINT: Good customer service is when a customer comes back, spends more and doesn’t visit the competitor.

4. Deliver Customer Service Training in Real Time

Customer service training should extend beyond the procedures and policies. Infuse good communication skills and professional appearance within your learning sessions. Create mentors that new employees can job shadow.

5. Ask Potential or Existing Employees If They Buy From You?

If you are a retail chain, ask employees if they have ever bought from you? What did they like about your store or business? Many businesses ask the “Why do you want to work here?” question. Why not dig a little deeper?

6. Ask Yourself If You Would Buy From You?

This question may sound ridiculous, but would you buy from you?

7. Focus on Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

Exceptional customer service is when a customer brings or directs a new customer to your business.

Customer service is the beginning and the end for any business. All businesses are in customer service because without customers there would be no business. If your customer service is not at the exceptional level, then you are missing incredible opportunities to build your business and you are wasting a lot of money and resources. And,if that isn’t bad enough, your poor customer service is growing your competitor’s business.