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Articles
Why Not Guarantee Your Service?
Written by Adrian Caruso, CEO/Master Business Coach of TA Fastrack
In the 1830s, Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the world's first mechanical
reaper, a machine with the potential to improve farmers' productivity
tenfold. Astonishingly, farmers remained uninterested-or at least unconvinced.
For nine years, sales were virtually zero as McCormick's brilliant invention
languished in the barn.
McCormick changed all that when he decided to offer a written, money-back
guarantee on the reaper. Sales skyrocketed, and McCormick went on to become
one of the wealthiest men in America.
Since that time, guarantees, especially on products, have become commonplace.
But guarantees have only inched their way into professional services.
In fact, professional service providers often have a visceral, negative
reaction to the very idea. A consultant once asked me what factors most
influence a client to buy services. "Have you ever considered offering
clients an unconditional guarantee?" I asked.
The response: "Uh, do we look like we're selling appliances here?"
I took that as a no.
Those who shy away from guarantees rationalize their aversion. After all,
the reasoning goes, clients expect the highest-quality service from us,
so a guarantee isn't needed. And given that clients work right alongside
us on their trips, why should we be accountable if the trip runs into
the ditch?
The resistance to offering guarantees runs deep. Some suggest that guarantees
reek of the cheesy practices of used-car salespeople and late-night infomercial
hosts. The purists proclaim that the dignity of the professions, and respect
for the client, are diminished if you hype a guarantee during the sales
process.
The anti-guarantee argument also suggests that a guarantee is a sign of
weakness. Why plant the seed of thought in the client's mind that service
failure is even a possibility? And to wrap the argument up in a nice,
tidy package, many worry that a firm could lose its collective shirt if
a client were to demand that the firm make
good on a guarantee.
Get Over it
It's time for a change, and winning travel service providers know it.
Consider this: A guarantee of promised results and service is among the
top criteria that today's clients use to select travel service providers.
And few travel providers are providing that assurance, leaving an important,
competitive differentiator on the table.
Think about it. A guarantee isn't as scary as it may sound. You probably
work under an implied guarantee anyway. If you have a legitimately unhappy
client, won't you fix the problem by doing additional work or reducing
the commission you make or service fees as a worse case scenario? In that
case, you are effectively making good on an implied guarantee.
I mean, we are offering a professional service to our clients and
in return being compensated for it by commissions received from suppliers
and the additional service (or as I like to call them….professional
fees or consultancy fees) charged to a client.
Why not offer a money-back guarantee on fees earned upfront, where it
can benefit you?
Guaranteeing
Professional services marketing literature is full of claims about the
quality of offerings and dedication to client results. Without a guarantee
to back up those words, though, clients just perceive them as empty promises.
If you're serious about service excellence and client results, put some
teeth into your assertions.
A guarantee benefits clients and you. Nothing shuts down the bad habit
of over-promising than the specter of a guarantee. With a guarantee in
place, you and client must reach precise agreement on project objectives,
outcomes and measurements of satisfaction. The project for agents being
the planning, booking, documentation of their trip and other services
you provide. Agents can never ever guarantee and should not guarantee
the actual experience of a client's trip. You are not there when the client
receives the service from a travel supplier at a far distant place in
some cases.
Another benefit of offering a guarantee is that it can enhance a businesses
culture of service quality simply because your team knows that the firm
has its reputation and financial health on the line for every trip.
Like everything, guarantees aren't for every business. If your service
offering is immature, a guarantee may add a lethal level of risk to your
business. A handful of service failures could put you out of business.
Also, some clients are not that interested in guarantees. You have to
judge each situation. And, lastly, if the client's perception of your
service quality is high and other travel service providers are known for
poor service, a guarantee will certainly help.
What Makes a Good Guarantee?
A good guarantee is simple and unconditional. It can be something like:
Our booking and service fees (or consultancy or professional fees as
I prefer to call them) are subject to an unconditional client satisfaction
guarantee: If when the work is done, the client does not feel that full
value was received, then the client decides how much it was worth and
how much to pay (if anything).
This presents to the client upfront that an agent is compensated by booking
fees (commissions) received from travel suppliers and service fees charged
Here's another example:
Our work is guaranteed to the complete satisfaction of the client.
If the client is not completely satisfied with our services, we will,
at the client's option, either waive our professional and booking fees,
or accept a portion of those fees that reflects the client's level of
satisfaction.
Or here is the one I used in the previous travel centres I owned and that
generated millions of dollars worth of additional sales when mentioned
by my consultants in every consultation and written at the top of every
Travel proposal we offered.
We believe totally that your perception of our performance is always
the reality. If this is not the case we will refund our commissions and
consultancy fees in full. No questions asked!
Or as one my top consultant used to say:
If you are not happy at any stage with my service, I will refund you
our commissions and my consultancy fee immediately with no questions asked.
That's how confident I am with the service I will provide you.
These statements are clear and don't mention a specific outcome-only that
the client has recourse if not satisfied.
Seven Tips for a Great Guarantee
1. Make the guarantee simple and unconditional. Drop the excuses, fine
print and legalese.
2. Be sure your entire organization embraces the operating philosophy
dictated by the use of guarantees.
3. Know your clients well enough to judge when a guarantee is helpful
and when it isn't.
4. A guarantee should be a two-way street, so include some upside if you
exceed performance expectations: ask for "success" fees.
5. Keep the discussion of the guarantee alive during the trip planning
process. Monitor performance carefully to avoid surprises.
6. Respond quickly if a client requests that you make good on your guarantee.
With or without a guarantee, providing travel services to clients is a
risky business. But clients risk just as much or more when they hire you
to organize their trip. Your offer of a guarantee will show clients that
you are willing to share the risk, making the relationship a true collaboration.
You should take another look at what you put on the line for clients.
Offer a real service guarantee for I guarantee that your competitors aren't
or simply too afraid to.
tell
us what you think
We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Adrian Caruso's name and contact information is included.
email, 07 3630 1298, http://www.tafastrack.com
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