We recently visited a new Which Wich sandwich shop near our home for lunch. As you can see from their website, they are very proud of their innovative sandwich creation process.

Process Only Does So Much

Which Wich’s system allows a customer to clearly state what they want and how they want it. You don’t have to worry about language or other communication barriers between customers and employees. Their ordering process also allows for a quicker throughput of customers, thus giving the illusion of speedy service.

That’s nice and all but what about the actual product?

Process Output Matters

Despite Which Wich’s dazzling new store and whizbang ordering process, the sandwich was a disappointment.

Will we return for another lunch? No.

Did it have to be this way? No.

A great process will only get your company so far. You need to make sure that your employees and other inputs to that system are facilitating high quality results.

Feedback Loop

The outputs of your process need to be verified against your quality standards. Check your products regularly and systematically so you can detect when things start to deteriorate. When problems are detected, fix them quickly.

If you wait too long, your system will be creating products customers don’t like and then their trust will be hard to regain.

I got an email from Peter Abilla after posting my article on back ordered items and shipping. On Peter’s blog, he shares some of his experiences while working for Amazon.

According to Peter, Amazon will go to great lengths to fulfill customer orders. If a product that was ordered isn’t available in the warehouse, two things may happen:

(1) [they] may go to a local store and buy the item and ship it to the customer or (2) do a “network flip”Â?, where the assigned facility “flips”Â? the order to another facility that has that product. Option (2) is ideal, but during the holiday season, it is very difficult to do. During the holidays, option (1) is common.

This type of “customer obsession,” as Peter describes it, pushes aside the direct cost or hassle to the company and focuses squarely on the long term. Amazon is betting that since the order was fulfilled quickly and accurately, that they’ll nurture a repeat customer.

To what lengths does your company got to meet customer expectations?

On the heels of my Tale of 3 eCommerce Sites, I ran across an interesting article about building up your website’s credibility at The Conversion Chronicles.

The author, Trenton Moss, highlights several steps to gaining web credibility for your website:

1. You must prove there’s a real organization behind your website

The web has very low barriers to entry. Anyone can setup a website and start selling products literally overnight. If I’ve never heard of you before, why should I trust you? Prove to me you’ll support my purchase and be there tomorrow if I have questions.

2. Your website needs to provide ’sensitive’ information

People have reservations about buying online. These “sensitive” people need reassurances that everything will turn out properly. Make sure you include warranties, return information, shipping policies, and company contact information in prominent locations.

3. All statements should be backed up by third-party evidence

Would your statements stand up in a court of law? Authenticate your marketing claims by including testimonials, quotes, references, client names, studies, and survey results.

4. There has to be proof that the organization is growing and has clients

A large and growing customer base will, by its very existence, quell the uneasy minds of potential customers. Call it safety in numbers or the safety in the herd mentality. Either way it definitely applies to your online venture.

5. Your website needs to have an air of professionalism and confidence

I focused on #5 in my previous article, which as you can see, is just a piece of the puzzle. Credibility is more than skin deep on websites. Don’t forget to add the evidence necessary to validate your claims and encourage prospects to do business with you.

Moss’ points are critical in gaining a potential customer’s trust when they first come to your site. You may be lucky and someone will take a one-time chance on you. However, if you hope to start any type of long term relationship with a customer you need to resolve their doubts and remove any barriers to entry.

We got a card in the mail this week from our favorite home improvement store Lowe’s. The cover of the card stated: “Get your next project started.” Inside was a ten dollar gift card labeled “FREE $10 Project Starter.”

Normally when I get a gift card, I think about what can buy for that exact amount. This time was different. My first thought was about the fence I need to replace and the bathroom we’d like to paint.

Why was that?

Lowe’s had carefully crafted the wording of their card to make me think about my home improvement projects. They had helped me think big.

Think Big

If you frame your customer’s expectations on something small, they’ll buy exactly that. If the Lowe’s card had shown me pictures of ten dollar items, I would have gone with my typical thought and bought something for the exact price of the gift card. However, they set my sights on the big picture. Your business should do the same.

If your company can meet a customer’s big needs, surely you can handle the little things as well. Focusing on the big picture will essentially up-sell some customers and still give you the safety net of those that fall back to smaller purchases.

Think Possibilities

You want your customers to think about all the wonderful things they can do with your product. This gift card example helped me remember all my projects and how I could buy supplies at Lowe’s.

Get your customers thinking about possibilities by addressing their current situations, pain points, or responsibilities in your marketing.

Start Sparking

To successfully spark your customers’ imagination, you have to know what they dream about. This knowledge only comes when you find out exactly what kind of customers you have. Take that familiarity with customers and use it to your advantage!

As you know, I’m a member of the 9rules network. This community features some of the best blogs and websites on the web. Since I joined 9rules last year, I’ve seen a direct correlation to a boost in my readership and have been able to associate with some truly talented people.

Do you have a blog or website? Today you have the opportunity to join the network. The 9rules folks are taking submissions until midnight Eastern time today (5/17/2006). You can submit your site here:
http://9rules.com/submit

Update 5/18/06 - The submission round is over and pulled in 700 sites. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Harley-Davidson’s CEO, James Ziemer, defined three constants that help drive their motorcycle-making business:

1. Our passion for this business, for riding, and for relating to and being one with our customers
2. Our sense of purpose — in other words, our focus on growing demand by offering great products and unique experiences
3. Operational Excellence — which is the continuous, relentless drive to eliminate waste in all aspects of our operations and to run Harley-Davidson better and more efficiently with each passing day

These guiding principles give us some wonderful examples of ways you can run your business.

Relating to Customers

What better way to relate to customers than being your own customer? To do this, you must buy and use your products. Harley’s annual report is fun to read because you see all the company executives decked out in leather and riding gear. They get out on the road with customers and engage them in conversation. Don’t sit behind your desk forever. You can figuratively jump on your Harley and head out to a rally to meet with your loyal customers. What do you think you could learn from them?

Grow Demand

What have you done lately to grow customer demand for your product? Harley has been busy innovating new designs and models, acting on customer feedback, and hooking new customers through education and safety courses. You must continually refine your product lines to keep them growing and moving forward. Incorporate feedback from your customers to help you improve. Think about how you can engage prospective customers and turn them into paying customers.

Eliminate Waste

Every business has areas that siphon off money unnecessarily. Do you know where these spots are in your business? Get out on the factory floor, mingle with employees, or survey your company to see what areas could be improved. By continually evaluating your efficiencies, you can, in turn, fix issues that arise speedily and then build on that foundation for your next steps.

Take Action Today

What can you do today that will make your business run a little more efficiently? Don’t stagnate in the status quo. Take some steps forward right now in improving your operations.

A recent BusinessWeek article delves into how your company may be losing business because of its political stance and donations. A certain class of customer is emerging whose

product choices are driven not by low price or customer service, but by politics.

… millions of Americans … choose — or avoid — certain companies because of the political donations of their management or the controversial causes they support.

Politics will always rile people up and engender a heated debate. When your company is already fighting to win over customers, why add any reason for them not to buy your product?

Your company can get pegged for two types of political associations: company donations and employee activities. A rich and outspoken CEO’s personal position can easily be reflected upon the company to its gain or detriment. In addition, your company’s donations to political parties or activist groups can also alienate customers.

Choose wisely the causes, organizations, and individuals your company officially supports. The benefit of any donations may be offset in the loss of conscientious customers. Tread carefully.

Last year, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was on the verge of buying medical device maker Guidant. JNJ invested lots of resources, time, and money into this acquisition plan. However, in the end, the deal fell through. In JNJ’s annual report, the CEO states:

Unfortunately, a combination of adverse developments in Guidant’s business and competition for the asset forced the price to a point where we concluded it was no longer in the best interest of our shareholders to pursue this business opportunity.

This example gives us some great insight into changing the business decisions you make.

Seasons Change

When you first make a decision, the landscape may seem so clear and the outcome almost assured. Surprise! Everything changes. Just remember that most of your decisions should have the disclaimer attached: subject to change without notice.

Keep Monitoring

Due to the constant shifting nature of your environment, you need to keep an eye on things. Don’t make a decision and then ignore the outcome. You may wake up from your Rip Van Winkle-like slumber to realize that everything has gotten away from you! JNJ was monitoring Guidant’s business and was thus able to spot some troubling developments. You need to keep an eye out for similar storms that may be brewing.

Be Flexible

Just because you make a decision doesn’t mean that you can’t change your mind. JNJ’s decision was essentially: we want to acquire Guidant, if, after some investigation, everything checks out fine. You may make a decision and start dreaming of all the great things that will come out of a deal. Be flexible so that you can roll with the punches that will come. Flexibility involves doing your homework and reacting according to the facts you uncover.

Be Humble

A key component of flexibility is being able to change your mind completely. Admit your great idea wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. If you hang on to your idea, once it appears to be a bad one, you may follow it all the way to failure. Don’t be so stubborn or prideful that you can’t admit defeat, a mistake, or the need for change.

Remember Stakeholders

All decisions you make as a business affect someone. That someone could be you, your employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, distributors, or even your competition. Be sure to take into consideration the ramifications your decisions will have on others. JNJ avoided a bidding war over Guidant because they remembered their obligations to shareholders.

Walk Away

It is OK to walk away from an idea, design, decision, or plan that doesn’t turn out as you had hoped. JNJ walked away from the Guidant acquisition despite the large investment sunk into its pursuit. Walking away from your decision may be painful, costly, and even embarrassing. Nevertheless, it may just be the best thing you can do for your business.

Keep Your Word

I’m not saying that you should absolve yourself of commitments or obligations you have made. If you’ve signed the contract, made the promise, or closed the deal, you’re under legal and moral obligations to fulfill your part. The JNJ example here illustrates that you need to make sure you’ve got all the facts before signing the contract. You may have made the press releases and done interviews hyping your intent to do something but that doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind. Remember, changing your mind is much easier before you close the deal than afterwards. Just look at JNJ.

On my last two trips to Lowe’s and Home Depot I got a survey invitation printed with my receipt. When I took these surveys on their websites I saw a user interface problem that is commonly found in web applications: forcing the user to input data like you (the company) want to see it.

Your web application may require the customer to input data that isn’t familiar or that could be entered in numerous formats. Your job is to make that data entry as easy and quick as possible.

Examples

When asking for user input, provide some examples and hints as to where they’ll find the necessary information. Both my surveys asked for the numbers printed on my receipt. Home Depot was nice enough to show a sample receipt:

Lowe’s provided an example of what the number would look like:

I was able to easily identify which numbers to enter but then I hit a little annoying snag.

User Inputs

Lowe’s insisted that I input the numbers into several sequential text boxes. Home Depot wanted me to include the space between the numbers. Why can’t I just type in the whole number, spaces or not into one box? I could then avoid having to tab between boxes (Lowe’s) or move from the numeric pad on my keyboard to hit the space bar (Home Depot).

When you boil down the inputs both surveys requested, you get an integer. Programming languages are great at parsing data and can even reformat it on the fly. Don’t force the user to input data a certain way when you can handle it programmatically.

Common Inputs

Web users are often asked to format data as they enter it. Data that is frequently displayed with punctuation and spaces can often appear in numerous formats. An individual’s preference will dictate how she would normally write out the information. For example, one could write (123) 555-6789 or 123.555.6789 for a phone number. Other types of data lend themselves to programmatic formatting by the web application as well:

• zip codes with/out +4 extension
• credit card numbers
• dates
• social security numbers
• serial numbers
• decimal numbers (i.e. 1,5 vs. 1.5)
• abbreviations
• license plate numbers

Simple Inputs

Keep your web application’s user inputs as simple as possible. You can use your programming skills (or someone else’s) to format data for company use on the server and out of the user’s sight. Forcing the user to input data a certain way will cause delay, possible confusion, and could lead to errors in your application.

The simpler the interface, the quicker a customer can get through the required steps and get on with their day. Leave the heavy lifting of formatting to your application.

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Jack and Suzy Welch in this week’s BusinessWeek magazine are asked to give some good measurements of a company’s health.

They respond:

If you’re running a business … we would say there are three key indicators that really work: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow.

You can listen to their podcast at BusinessWeek.

Employee Engagement

You need to know if your company “message” is getting through to your employees. Do employees view their roles as integral parts of the company machine? Does the employee really feel nurtured? Measuring engagement is more than just asking: “do employees like their cubicles or boss?” Treat employees like partners in your business by asking for their feedback. You’ll be surprised what you may learn.

For your team to succeed, everyone needs to be working towards the same goals. If people don’t understand the company goals or haven’t internalized them, your top brass can talk all they want but won’t see the results they are promising.

Customer Satisfaction

Get out of your office and talk to your customers. Don’t let middle men between you and your customers dilute the truth. Talk to your customers directly and get a pulse on their opinion.

Free Cash Flow

Cash gives you flexibility. Accounting manipulations can give you a positive net income on the income statement. However, if you’re not creating free cash flow, your business will run into some trouble. Successful businesses consistently generate free cash flow. With this money, you can invest back into the company, make acquisitions, or return some to shareholders. Without cash, you’ll find yourself exhausting your savings and digging a bigger hole of debt.