By Dick Stark

• 55 percent cite great service, not product or price, as their primary reason for recommending a company.
• 66 percent said that great customer service was their primary driver for greater spending.

–Customer Experience Impact 2010 Report

In Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest book, The Thank You Economy. Gary writes, “The Thank You Economy isn’t some abstract concept or wacky business strategy—it’s real and every one of us is doing business in it every day, whether we choose to recognize it or not.  It’s the way we communicate, the way we buy and sell, the way businesses and consumers interact online and offline.  The Internet has given consumers back their voice, and the tremendous power of their opinions via social media means that companies and brands have to compete on a whole different level than they used to.”

If customer satisfaction or service is the most important factor for recommending a company, what can RightStar do remain competitive?  If spreading sunshine and rainbows is all that matters how will we ever be profitable? And should we participate in a rating service like customerlobby.com?

At RightStar, our mantra is and will continue to be every customer a reference.  Indeed, valuing every single customer is mandatory.  My favorite example is DJO, a manufacturer of orthopedic devices and supplier to all thirty-two National Football League teams. DJO purchased MagicWand for an asset management project. Once we began the project, we discovered that their scanners were not compatible with MagicWand. This was surprising since we make it a point to ensure that all MagicWand customers receive our list of certified scanners. Rather than argue about who was right, we rushed five new scanners to DJO overnight at no cost. This guaranteed an on-time delivery and a very satisfied customer.

As thought leaders, we must balance spreading sunshine, with delivering the right solution. Customers tell us what they want, and we in turn try to give it to them. How many times have we won the sale, given customers what they wanted and still ended up with an unhappy customer? We’ve learned the hard way:

• The customer could be wrong, yet we still get the blame
• It’s important to understand the problem we’re solving and how success will be measured

Should we sign-up for an Internet Rating service like customerlobby.com? Absolutely. Our customers must trust that our intent is compatible with their best interest and that we have the experience to design and deliver a solution that meets their needs.  In the Thank You Economy, customer focus is essential for growth and profitability.