Posted by Guest Entrepreneur Gail Hahn
Is there alignment with your values and those you choose to deal with in your work and home life?
If we don’t feel valued, we walk. Whether it’s in our personal life or in our professional life. If our partner isn’t valuing us, or our values don’t match with them, there is a good chance the relationship will fizzle
In business, it’s the same thing. If we don’t feel valued as a client or customer we take our business elsewhere. If we’re mistreated, not honored, patronized, ignored, spoken to in a rude manner, experience unacceptable or sub-par service, we walk. It takes just one person in the service delivery chain to really screw things up for a business owner or company. Your font line is your bottom line. It’s where the rubber meets the road in customer retention. One surly, sour receptionist/cashier/call center rep/sales person can ruin it for you. And there goes the lifetime value of that customer.
It pays you dividends many times over to train your team in the manner you wish to be treated and in the manner you wish them to treat your customers. It starts at the top – how they are treated is how they will treat your clients. Value your team and they will be more likely to value your consumers. It sure helps to hire them with positive dispositions in the first place. You can train skills, but it’s much harder to train attitude and outlook.
Matching your values to your workplace or to your preferred providers of service is critical in maintaining a long-term happy partnership. Before deciding upon a career path, job, personal or business to business provider, get clear on how your values match the values of the other business. If there is a big discrepancy, then it will create tension, strife, frustration and ultimately a deterioration of the connection. It is not a pretty sight. If you can determine some of the foundational values of your chosen business, then you’re one step ahead of the game.
You’ll find clues as to what a company values in their marketing materials, in how they treat their team members, in how they treat their customers, in the type of business they are in and in who is running the show. Make sure there is a good match between what you value and who you spend your time and money with to ensure smoother sailing in future endeavors.
How are you offering value to your customers, your employees or business partners? How do your personal values spill over to your work? How about your friends, family, and loved ones? Is there a good match between what you hold in high value and what they hold in high value? If not, there may need to be some tough decisions ahead.
Is there an alignment with your values and what you do for a living? With how you treat your customers? If things are out of alignment, you will know something isn’t right. Take stock of your values and how they color your choices in your personal and professional life and make changes to align them to feel more energized.
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