Make Your Customers Happy

Nanz Chong-Komo shares one of her top business values.

The most exciting part about running a business – besides having positive results – is knowing my customers, understanding their thoughts and their wants.

If you ask me which is the most important function of a business, I will say without hesitation: “Making my customers happy.” To know what makes my customers happy is the most valuable asset I can have.

Companies spend millions of dollars to find out what customers want, what makes them tick. It took me five years before I instigated a 30-day exchange policy which was then implemented throughout all my ONE.99Shop stores. It was the right thing to do because it was what the customers wanted. It made them feel that they were able to buy in faith, knowing an exchange will not only be honored, but they could do it at any of the stores.

At that time, it was rare in Singapore that products were exchanged without questions asked. The stores that did allow for exchanges demanded that it be done only where the item was purchased. So our policy was a breakthrough.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do. We needed to get a sophisticated new software, and of course staff were initially resentful of the added workload. On top of that, customers had to wait a long time for the exchange to process. Eventually, in the fifth year, I installed a new system which enabled inter-store exchanges electronically.

This was one decision I was glad to have made — one of a number of good decisions that made my customers smile.

One year, I stood by my decision to install comfortable soft chairs at most outlets. Some of the outlets were quite small in size, barely over 1,000 square feet, but it made a big difference to many customers with “over-shopped feet”, especially elderly ladies, and husbands-in-tow. In a country where shop space is costly, it was an expensive decision to make but I believed the benefits and goodwill were long-lasting.

Here is one golden rule in customer service: take off the management’s hat and wear the customer’s hat. By doing so, you will know what makes your customers happy.

This was extracted from Nanz Chong-Komo’s best-selling book, One Business, 99 Lessons

Don’t miss today’s episode of The Nanz Inc Show.