As one of America’s Business Keynote Speakers, I’ve done a lot of research. As a result I’ve been influenced by many great thinkers and thought-leaders. Karl Albrecht is one of the people who has had a profound influence on what I think is important for achieving success in the challenging business environment we all find ourselves in today.
We’ve all known, for some time now, there is a direct connection between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. But it was Karl Albrecht who articulated it most profoundly with the following principle:
“Your customers are going to feel the way your employees feel.”
What a truly profound statement that is. By re-phrasing it a bit we can have it inform everyone in the organization.
“Our customers are going to feel the way we make each other feel.”
When I am out in the world as a customer, I am constantly paying attention to how I am being treated by customer-contact employees. I’d betray all business keynote speakers everywhere, if I wasn’t constantly paying attention to what works and what doesn’t.
Recently a new restaurant opened up near my home. So, of course, I decided to take my wife to dinner there. I love supporting businesses in our area, if possible; and I enjoy seeing how employees treat their customers during “grand opening events.” I want to see if they can interact with me in a way that will make me want to come back.
My wife and I love going out to dinner, so we strolled into the restaurant as happy as we could be. But when the waitress came to our table, it was like her dog had died. And by the time we had both ordered our meals, and the waitress left the table, it was like my dog had died! And I don’t even own a dog!
In our work environments most of us totally underestimate how the way we are feeling, impacts the person we’re interacting with. Just for a moment, think about the way you want your customer to feel as a result of doing business with you. The list is an obvious, isn’t it? We want our customers to feel special, important, listened to, and totally satisfied. And so, what does this principle tell us? We’ve got to create a working culture that makes our employees feel the same way.
If we can succeed at creating that kind of working culture, we have a chance to create real customer loyalty. It’s not easy to do, but it is do-able. When my clients hire me from a selection of business keynote speakers, I always tell them this: We do ourselves, our fellow employees, our company, and our customers a great favor by remembering – and acting upon – this great principle.
“Our customers are going to feel the way we make each other feel.”
There are many business keynote speakers out there. Hopefully you’ll choose the one that captivates and creates results. I’m ready to do both.