Moments of truth are your brand

Are you satisfied with the number of clients you have? How often do they return for repeat business? Do you make it easy and enjoyable for them to do business with you?

All of these, and many others, result from the ‘moments of truth’ in your business. They create lasting impressions that determine whether or not you will turn the most sceptical client into your company’s biggest advocate.

So, what is a moment of truth?

It’s a sliver of time when clients or prospects interact with you and your business and decide whether or not to do business with you, to share you with their network, or to use your products/services again and again.

Jan Carlzon, in his book, Moments of Truth, defines them as “anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, [as] an opportunity to form an impression.”

By strengthening the moments of truth in your business, you can accelerate your business’ growth to ensure your clients remain and continue up the ‘trust ladder’.  The result is an increase in client acquisition, retention, and sales.

As a business owner, you want to be aware of common moments of truth, such as:

• When someone views your Web site
• When someone receives your business card or brochure
• When you answer the phone
• How you interact with a prospect during a sales appointment
• What you post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites
• How you handle a customer complaint
• How and when you respond to requests for information
• When a client receives your billing statement

Moments of truth can seem insignificant to a business owner when they’re happening, but clients may have an entirely different reaction. For instance, if a potential client calls you and you don’t give them your full attention because of an office distraction (whether you think your attention is diverted or not) his or her impression may be that you are unfocused, unprofessional, and perhaps unworthy of his or her business. It can be the difference between having a great experience with a client and landing that next contract or sale.

Some questions to ask yourself to define and improve upon the way you and your staff handle your moments of truth include:

• What are the various touch points (such as your Web site, meeting at a networking event, sending an email, leaving a voicemail message, etc.) during which a potential client has an opportunity to “experience” your business and develop an impression?
• What is the current impression your clients and prospects experience?
• What is your intended impression?
• What changes need to be made to ensure each impression is the one you want your client to experience?
• Who will make these changes?
• When will these changes be made?
• How will you measure the effectiveness of your changes?

Have you uncovered your moments of truth to ensure you make the right impression to continue growing your business? As your clients benefit from a consistently positive experience, you can count on them returning for repeat business.

There is a lot of talk about ‘brand management’ these days which suggests that external agencies can somehow manufacture favourable impressions of your business.  But if the truth of customer experience is an embarrassment, I suggest you give more attention to reality, and then the impressions will take care of themselves.