The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Transitioning a business from “mediocre to phenomenal” begins with customer service, an international speaker and lead trainer said yesterday, adding that few companies grasp this concept.

Lou Altman, chief executive of the Globafone satellite communications company, who was a presenter at a seminar hosted by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) on accelerating business profits,  said transitioning to a successful business revolves around exceptional client care.

“I’m talking about how you transition your business from mediocre to phenomenal, from struggling or barely breaking even, to making accelerated profits, and it all  focuses around exceptional client care,” said Mr Altman.

“Most people call it customer services, but what we find in this day and age is that neither actually applies. Most companies aren’t really focused on the customers, and service consists of filling out something online and maybe getting back to you.”

Describing himself as an “unabashed customer service redeemer,” Mr Altman added: “The reality is you need to do something different than everybody else.

“A customer is a transaction, a client is a relationship. Clients behave very similar to customers but not quite. They have different characteristics. As you think about who you want to serve, and think about what it is you are selling, then you can get a better feel of what you need to be doing.

“It all borders along communication and putting the client first. When I created my satellite communications  company, that was the mandate: That client comes first and profits second, completely backwards from what a lot of enterprise organisations think,” he added.

“Seventeen years later, we are not a big company in the industry, but we have clients that are loyal and who have been with us 10-16 years. Our clients’ life-cycle is  three to four times the industry average, which is about three years or less. Ours is about nine years.

“You can provide a border line level of customer service and do it at a cheaper price. I prefer to offer outstanding customer experience and charge a slight premium - not what everyone else charges, a bit above it - but the value is so much more than what everyone else does.

“If you take care of the clients, the money follows. I describe myself as an unabashed customer service redeemer. What I mean by that is that customer service is the most under appreciated, underpaid, underdeveloped, underutilised department in any company in the world.,” said Mr Altman.