I've been doing things for the public for 30 years, between radio and the work I do now. There are so many ways you can mess up, but there's one mistake they won't forgive you for, and it's making them wait.
I've had concerts run an hour late, and I've never seen an audience angrier. I've had events that were supposed to start at seven and didn't start until eight, and people walked out. In our daily life, we've eliminated almost every possible wait. We talk to a chatbot instead of sitting on hold, and we click a button to watch a movie instead of driving to the theater to see one. The more convenient life gets, the less patience we have for waiting.
What customers expect now
Customers want more for their money, but the real shift is how fast they expect it. They want you to know who they are and what they like right away, and when they have a problem, they want an answer straight away, not a letter in the mail 14 days later.
Here's the opportunity. Without improving your product at all, you could make the experience so much better by doing it faster. Customers have an idea of how long things take, and most of them still don't know how fast a lean team can move right now. You get to beat that expectation.
I've seen it work. In the last month I had two companies I was talking with about partnering with the show and the community. After the needs meeting, I went from talking about what we might do to a working draft in 48 hours, and the only reason it took that long is I waited until Monday at 8 AM to send it. Both of them were surprised at how fast I moved. The work was solid, but the speed is what got their attention.
Where to find the time
Start with your process. Look at how long it takes to get from step one to step two to step three, and ask which steps are unnecessary. Which steps are there because you think they're valuable, but the customer doesn't care about them at all? Which ones exist because that's the way it's always been done? Extra reports, extra meetings and extra double checks are good places to look.
Then automate the things that repeat. And batch your work. Julie Miller Davis taught me this, and it's brilliant. Instead of jumping from one task to another and back again, stack similar work together. When I do my financial stuff, I do it all at once with everything open in front of me, and I move so much faster.
The biggest change might be in your head. For a long time there's been an unspoken pride in how long it takes for a customer to get something from you, as if the longer they wait, the more valuable it feels. I think that has changed.
Here's the homework. Find one thing in your business that takes longer than it should, name it and fix it this week. Remove the step, automate it or batch it. Your customers probably won't thank you for it out loud, but they'll know you're the one who gets stuff done quickly.
About the author
I'm Pat Miller. I help small business owners build a better business. I host Businessing, a weekly show for small business owners, and I run the Small Business Owners Community, where owners get help from other owners. Come find us at smallbusinesscommunity.com.
