Customer Strategy on a Shoestring Budget

Someone asked me if customer strategy could work for a small business that didn't have a lot of resources or technology available. The answer is: of course! Here are some small-business friendly, shoestring budget suggestions on how to begin implementing a customer strategy:

1. Create a list of your top customers. It could be your "Top 10" or your "Top 50" list. Use whatever data you have available - even if it is qualitative in nature - to create this list. Then make sure that everyone in your company has a copy of this list so that they can easily recognize a top customer when they interact with one. One client of mine wrote up their Top 10 list on index cards and taped them to each employee's computer monitor. Low cost, and, it worked.
2. Develop a list of "do no harm" rules for all of your customers. These are the basic customer service rules that you expect your team to abide by so that no customer feels that he hasn't received good service. Make sure your team has input into this list - they're the ones that will be implementing these rules.
3. Develop a list of "do no harm" strategies for your "Top 10" list of customers. How should these customers be treated? How can each of your employees feel empowered to go above and beyond to satisfy these customers? One client I know tells each employee that they are authorized to spend a certain dollar amount to resolve any issue for a top customer, no questions asked and no permission needed. It is rare that an employee uses the full dollar amount, but it has opened the door for employees to take a personal stand in making these customers happy.
4. Define the 3-5 key pieces of information you need to know about your customers. And then build a plan to get that information and use it in your sales, marketing and customer service activities.
5. Be a mystery shopper for your own company. Spend a few hours doing all of the things your customers typically do. Call your office to ask a question. Try to order a product on your website. Pretend to have a problem that needs to be resolved. Keep a list of all the things that are confusing, frustrating, or just don't work - chances are your customers have the same experience. Then fix them.

Each of these ideas is low cost; however, the impact can be huge. For my small-business (and not-so-small-business!) readers out there - I'd love to hear how these ideas work and others you may have.