By Mark Stevens, President, MSCO 

The dotted line has been signed and the agreements have been made, you are partnered with a great client that could potentially turn your company around, however; your brand promise is stale and less than satisfactory. You offer no element of surprise and sadly, don’t have the tools to build a relationship with your client rather than a sloppy one-night stand.

Every business leader dreads the moment when their client voices their unhappiness or questions the expertise of their company. No company, let alone person, wants to suck. Reputation is everything and if you can’t keep yours intact, you just signed your company up for failure.

In a capitalist driven society, understanding the relevance of gratuity and implementing it within your business is essential to creating a success story for your company and its clients (because we all know if satisfaction doesn’t work both ways, it just does not work).

One might say the customer-company relationship mirrors a romance. The relationship should constantly be striving to be fresh and fun; otherwise you shouldn’t expect your partner to stick around because they have little to nothing to look forward to. Where is the incentive? That isn’t what they signed up for nor would any client with a brain. Incentive that is uniquely utilized in a company is a great way to hold on to clients for a lifelong partnership.

Establishing a loyal client/customer following is the key element to setting and keeping any business in motion. The traditional “service with a smile” is no longer enough to leave clients impressed with your service. People want to have their breath taken away so they return time after time and refer your company to other businesses and potential clients – people want to be thrilled.

What is thrill exactly? To blow your clients away with your product and skill so they return for more awe.

It is the domino effect that often goes overlooked and ignored by management because they are too busy lusting after clients rather than showing concern for how happy their present clients are and potential clients will be.

Would you rather a thank you card in the mail or complimentary vacation? This is what sets apart a company that thrills versus a company that is on the verge of permanent residency in Sucksville.

To truly thrill your clients, management must consider their personal appreciation for reciprocity. Nothing compares to the astonishment you feel when someone gives you a gift on a day other than your birthday. It’s the “just because” acts of kindness that matter most and the same concept should be applied to any business looking to thrive in the competitive economy.

Management should never forget to question what sets their business apart from other businesses. What is luring clients in but more importantly, keeping clients content and coming back for more? If you have to ask yourself this question, you should probably consider revising your tired strategy.

If you want people’s business, you have to continuously thrill.

To take your company to the next level and raise the bar on thrill factor, your company should have at least two (if not all) of the following components present:

• Stunning innovation
• Exclusive features and performance characteristics
• Irresistible design
• Extraordinary value

Clients can see right through a company that is merely talk. The brand promise should live up to its standard to breed success.

Loyalty is a two way street and when you are loyal to your clients they will return year after year because you do more than serve, you offer a customer experience that is exclusive to your business. Your client isn’t getting this type of gratuity anywhere else.

By grasping the idea that service with a smile is a dated tactic, thrilling your customers and pulling new customers in will never be fleeting.

About the Author: 

Mark Stevens is a best-selling author, CEO of MSCO, a results-driven management and marketing firm, and a popular media commentator on a host of business matters including marketing, branding, management and sales. Mr. Stevens is known for delivering business insights with blunt truths and unconventional wisdom. Stevens shook the marketing establishment with his Business Week best seller, "Your Marketing Sucks", and redefined the rules of management with "Your Management Sucks"

Stevens' latest book, Your Company Sucks: It's Time To Declare War On Yourself identifies the four reasons companies fail or simply get stuck in neutral and how to identify and address them so the business can break through the ice to new levels of success. Stevens also demonstrates that "customer satisfaction" is no longer acceptable: winning companies must Thrill their customers/clients.