Sol Barrera Watters - Web Developer, Language Expert, Artist and more...

Hug Your Customers

Many years back, I found this book called Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell, and even back then I knew most of the problems I had with my business were because I wasn't putting the customer first. It was important for me to please my customers and the people that did outsourcing to me but I was not a great communicator by all means.

Today I know that to make my business a success, or ANY business for that matter, I need to focus on the customer first. That translates into not only communicating with him/her but also keeping your word. Did you promise those changes for Friday? Is it Monday already and you have not done them, or you did them but haven't called the customer so they can check everything is in order.

Without clients and customers to hug we would have no business. - Jack Mitchell

Many of us know why we don't do this, the customer will invariably need another change (or 10 as is generally the case) and expect that change to be free. The rookie web devs don't know when they should ask for a re-quote of the work, and some of the devs that do know may not know how to pass this information along to the customer without risking the account. The answer to that is another issue completely (Read "Why defining a project scope is important").

I think it all boils down to your core values, specifically honor and integrity. If you run your business that way, you will definitely gain loyal customers. Jack and Bill Mitchell have taken this to a new level, they actually live and breathe the "hugging culture" as they call it and not only do they apply it to their clients, but their associates as well. They realize the value of the people that work with them day in and day out. If not for them, doing their jobs each and every day our businessess would fail.

I know we all cringe at the expression "the customer is ALWAYS right", but isn't he though? In our web dev business it is crucial to know this because the customer is right about what his own clients need. It's their business, they know what has worked for them. We, the technologically inclined, sometimes get carried away with all the cool stuff we could do with a prospective client's site and so we lose focus regarding why the customer reached out to us in the first place. First and foremost, if they want a web page, it's because they believe it will bring them more business and if we work WITH them, that is the ultimate result.

Empowering allows the associate to do whatever it takes to make a customer extremely satisfied, but if an associate is enabled she knows she has the authority plus the resources to do it. - Jack Mitchell

Another aspect I loved about this book, is that Jack lets his associates have quite a bit of leeway in doing their day to day work. He believes in not only empowering them but also enabling them by giving them the power to act on their ideas. He does qualify that there is a structure to these benefits, so that the associates don't run "amok".

Once you start hugging, the customers will start "hugging back", not only with more work but also with praise. I've already got several hugs after implementing some of Jack's wonderful ideas, and I certainly plan on taking this philosophy to heart.

In the end, it all comes down to this statement by Jack Mitchell, "Hugging involves touching and listening to and caring about the customer, getting so close to the customer that the customer becomes more important than anything else". Remember, without them, no money, no house, no future.

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