Why Nurturing Employees and Customers Is the Key to Retention THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
Get them hooked on your service.
Own up to mistakes.
Who comes first: employees or customers? When posed this classic business question, Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher had an easy answer: employees. “If employees are treated right, they treat the outside world right,” Kelleher explained. As Kelleher knows well, employee-customer relations are a cycle — one that fuels recurring business. Engaged employees deliver service that converts to sales, a fact backed up by a Gallup report. Gallup cited a 20 percent increase in sales as a result of this process. Even as you’re courting leads, you can’t ignore your existing customers. Likewise, even (and especially) as you grow, you have to nurture your employees. The cost of losing either is too high. In the holiday rush, it’s important to not lose sight of your priorities.
Have you ever asked a client why they return to your business? Do you think it’s because they can’t find your product or service anywhere else? Probably not. Think about the last time you returned to a restaurant. Was it because it’s the only place in town that makes amazing Thai food? Maybe, but it’s more likely that you enjoyed the welcoming host, attentive waiter, and positive experience you had there. Starbucks is a great example. Even with thick competition, they deliver consistent service and quality products to customers, whether in Oregon or London. And they do this by providing competitive wages and benefits to their employees along with training and learning opportunities. Employees who are knowledgeable and excited about what they are offering pass their enthusiasm on to customers.
Even the best businesses make mistakes. When it happens, own up to it. There’s probably been a time when you put in your order at a restaurant, only to receive the wrong thing. How did the business handle it? Did they admit their mistake and offer you a newmeal? How a business treats customers when things don’t go smoothly is a good indication of how they’ll handle adversity in general, and that reaction starts with employees. Set the precedent for employees that a mistake is their opportunity to go above and beyond. A transparent environment will make employees feel more comfortable, which will make customers excited, rather than apprehensive, to engage with your business again. children experience when growing up. It can be frightening, and it makes sense that reassuring traditions would surround this rite of passage. The real question is why do American children fall asleep dreaming about a tooth fairy instead of a tooth mouse? That might have something to do withWalt Disney. The tooth fairy story started to gain traction around the same time animated films featuring benevolent, wish-granting fairies like “Pinocchio” and “Cinderella” were released. Much like how Coca-Cola helped solidify the iconic look of Santa Claus, pop culture played a part in helping children across America believe in the tooth fairy. In addition to helping young children through a frightening time of change, the tooth fairy has become a sort of mascot for good oral health. Some parents even tell their children that the tooth fairy gives more money for healthy teeth! For this reason, it might be wise for dentists and orthodontists to encourage young patients to believe in the tooth fairy for just a little longer.
The True Origins of the Tooth Fairy TEETH, MICE, AND DISNEY MAGIC
Along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy stands among the pantheon of childhood beliefs. However, unlike her holiday counterparts, the tooth fairy’s origins are far more recent. Oral traditions of the tooth fairy only date back to around the turn of the 20th century, and the first written account of this dental sprite was a 1927 play by EstherWatkins Arnold. While the tooth fairy herself is barely 100 years old, legends and traditions surrounding the loss of baby teeth are far older and found in almost every culture around the world.
teeth from the upper jaw go underground. The idea is to encourage the adult tooth to grow in the direction of the old tooth. During the Middle Ages, it was common for parents in European countries to burn their children’s baby teeth so they could not be used in a witch’s spell. Interestingly, the most widely practiced tooth traditions involved rodents. Stories
from Russia, France, Mexico, and even New Zealand tell of baby teeth being offered to or collected by mice and rats. This was done in hopes that the adult tooth would be strong and sturdy
In many Asian countries, children who lose a tooth from their lower jaw might throw the tooth onto the roof of their home, while
like a rodent’s teeth.
Losing a tooth is one of the first changes
2
www.oralsurgeryofwestchester.com
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online