You may have heard of this person but you seldom hear from them. This person is the "nice" customer who never complains and never comes back. My wife is one of them. She's a nice person. When she gets lousy service, she never complains. She never kicks. She never criticizes, and she wouldn't dream of making a scene. She's one of those nice customers. And I can tell you what else she is. She's the customer who doesn't come back. She takes whatever a business hands out in terms of bad service, because she knows she is not coming back. She is certainly capable of speaking up and might even feel better to let it out, but in the long run she feels it's better just to leave quietly.
You see, she's a nice customer. And there are a lot of others just like her. This little reminder is to emphasize to us all that when you put a lot of nice customers like my wife together, they can bring a business to its knees. The business owners may not even realize what's happening until it's too late.
How can we avoid being brought down by this "silent majority?" Here are a handful of tips to remember.
1. Be personal - Get to know your customers on a very personal basis. People are always looking for caring relationships. Don't overlook the fact that where people play tennis can become a meaningful environment to find encouragement and support. Since we are in the people industry, we must get to know the people who are our customers. We must be actively aware of their likes and dislikes, even their passions and fears. And, don't forget the single most important word that people love to hear - their own names. That's right, knowing the names of your regular customers, and addressing them by their names, can make a friend for life.
2. Be knowledgeable - Isn't is true that when you walk into a doctor's office you expect to find others beyond just the doctor to be knowledgeable? Good doctors surround themselves with people who are also knowledgeable or train them quickly. Why? Everyone in a doctor's office gets asked questions. Many of them. In fact, when you think about it, the front desk staff in a tennis club probably gets asked more questions than the club manager! Your customers will not only look to you as an expert, but also to your entire staff. Take time to train them and make sure your knowledge base stays current as well. Unless you know the answers before they ask the questions, they may start looking somewhere else.
3. Create a family environment - We have to all learn to work from the inside out. This holds true with our team of employees. In corporate America, this issue fits within the concept of creating a "corporate culture" which, simply put, means establishing common values and standards to which everyone adheres. In the small environment of a tennis club or tennis pro shop, the most successful starting point is to create a family environment. How do you accomplish this? There are many ways, not the least of which is to have common activities like celebrating each others' birthday parties, having small parties for holidays like Thanksgiving or New Year's, etc. Create a family environment among your staff and your customers will want to spend more time around your facility or store.
4. Have fun - There is a saying about families: "The family that laughs together, stays together." Extend this to your own business and you should get the point. When we have fun at work and have fun with our customers, everyone wins. What are some ways to create more fun at your workplace? Posting cartoons is one way. Creating a changing and humorous on-hold message is another. It's the little things that count. And, among all the little things in life and in business, a little healthy laughter is probably the best contribution anyone can make.
5. Ask for feedback - Finally, regarding feedback leading to improvement and success, I am reminded of the age-old saying, "The person who gives me nothing but praise is in actuality my greatest enemy, but the person who takes the trouble to give me helpful and constructive criticism is my good friend." The point here is to recognize that the only way to succeed is to ask for direction from your customers. Sometimes this will come in the form of helpful criticism. Appreciate it and you will get more. The more constructive guidance we all receive in our careers, the more successful we can become, assuming we act upon it. Guaranteed.
To sum it up, it will often be the silent majority that makes or breaks a business. And, since they don't speak very loudly, we have to be sure to listen carefully to make sure they are on our side, and we are on theirs.