The Venture Edge

The basics of customer service are actually not all that difficult. So, why then is it that so many companies are lacking in good customer service?

I hate to say this, but Google has made us all a bit lazy--not to mention fatter from sitting for hours in front of our computer screens.  It's just too easy to search for what we want without moving more than our fingertips, but that deeply ingrained habit has negative ramifications for what we do as entrepreneurs.  There is no substitute for getting out of the office and talking face to face with customers, suppliers, distributors, and anyone else who affects the success of your business. 

As often happens when the economy goes sour and unemployment is on the rise, many people get serious about putting their back-burner dreams of starting a business into motion. It's no surprise, therefore, that the number of articles in the press about this latest wave of "accidental" entrepreneurs is on the rise.

Now is not the time to be frittering away your marketing time and money on prospects who offer you the least possible chance of paying off in the near term. Now is the time to focus your marketing efforts on the potential customers and clients who offer you the best chance of a return sooner rather than later. And who exactly might these best marketing prospects be? Well, your current customers and clients of course!

A couple of years ago, Frances Hesselbein at the Leader to Leader Institute asked me to take on a new project—an update of a book that Peter Drucker wrote for the Institute (then known as the Drucker Foundation) way back in 1993. Of course, it’s not every day that I get asked to create an updated version of a book by Peter Drucker, so I of course jumped at the chance. Long story short, the new book—The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization—was published by Jossey-Bass earlier this year. As it turns out, Drucker’s five questions are just as relevant for companies today as they were when he wrote about them more than a decade ago.