In the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (audiobook in this link), Stephen Covey makes an important observation. He notes that people use the word love as an abstract noun. They consider it as an emotion. However, it is a verb in the English language. Therefore, to love someone means doing things like gifting, spending time, taking care, being there, etc. We often make the same mistake in our businesses too. We focus on Customer Satisfaction as a feeling. However, we forget that satisfying the customer is possible only by taking action on their needs and wants.
The brochures of many companies are full of adjectives and nouns. I routinely look at the brochures of many real estate companies. They are full of sentences like:
Spread over a large expanse of refreshing greenery interspersed with natural water bodies.
Fully equipped clubhouse, cricket pitch, mini basketball court, and landscaped streets.
These sentences trigger our imagination, and we see the picture as per our experiences. But, just think again, did you imagine yourself as a spectator or a participant in this picture? My guess is the former.
Instead of highlighting the features, they could have been presented in action. For example, the same brochure could have been worded as follows:
After a tiring day in your office, stroll on the lawn, gazing at the landscape punctuated by natural water bodies.
Join your friends, on a Sunday morning, for playing a Cricket match or sweat it out on the basketball court.
Your family can enjoy the fully equipped clubhouse, and you can invite your friend and relatives to splurge on various cuisines in the restaurant.
The verbs serve a dual purpose. They effectively tell the customer how they can use and benefit from the product/services. They also set an internal benchmark for the company to accomplish. For example, words like a stroll, gaze, play, enjoy, splurge, provide design specifications for the company to achieve. It is like seeing your product and services in motion. After all, that's the way your customers are going to use it!
Metrics: Immediately review your brochures and other promotional aids. Walk the path your customer is going to take while using your products/services. Select and use the appropriate verbs in all the instruction booklets, brochures, SOPs.
Subodh
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