Of course, no business owner in this world can afford to lose their business. Many policies and strategies are performed to protect (and grow) their businesses. Some will enjoy a big growth, some will stay as it is, and some will suffer from bad strategies. I will only talk to one specific point that can kill your business if you do not apply it very well: business attitude.

This is a clear example of how a bad business attitude can put a successful business in danger…

During my 15 years career in industrial sales and service business, I happened to know one trading company selling machines and parts to many industries. For years they enjoy fruitful relations with their loyal customers, as well as successfully build new cooperation with many other industries. All are built on the base of terrific service value, or in trading business we called it: after sales service.

After sales service is what makes a business owner can continuously run his business, and even bring it to a higher level. Because once we made a sales to a customer, we don’t just deliver the goods, collect the payment, and credit it in our journal, then finished. No! We want the customer to enjoy the goods and in the future do another transaction with us again. Or, if they are satisfied, they can refer our product to their friends, which means more customers for us. But how? By providing after sales service!

There are people who think that after sales service is another profit center besides the product. So, every service that they provide related to the product will be charged. That is normal, as business goal is gaining profit. However, if we charge for our after sales service, then what will be the added value we will provide for customer in order to keep them buying from us ?

So that trading company has a good after sales service tradition for years, and enjoy a fast growing by keeping the old and loyal customers. The customers are guaranteed with free machine service guarantee for life, machine back up when their machine got problem, and friendly and flexible approach to solve every problem.

Unfortunately, one day the boss decided to take control of the after sales service division. He changed all the previous policies, no more free services, no more free back up machines (they do provide back up machine but in terms of ‘rental’), no more friendly approaches. Everything is counted only on money basis. Customer gets something from them, customer must pay for it. Period.

So the company has transformed from ‘always ready to give’ to ‘must receive for all that we give’. Receiving first, then giving. I found this quote that is well-written about business attitude “…if you’re selling, giving more use value than you receive in cash value….” It emphasizes that, if you want to grow a business, build a long term relationship, by giving more use value to everybody (customers, suppliers, brokers, business partners, and even your competitors). Of course, without scarifying the business itself. Be good to everyone, and you will receive it back to your business, because people likes to have business with good people, people that they can trust, people that keep their promises.

No need to describe it in detail, but that new policies definitely become a shock for the trading company’s customers! Honeymoon is over! Complaints will keep coming. And what is going to happen with the business? Nobody knows now, yet. But from the story, we can learn one important thing : not an overpricing products, or delayed delivery, or broken parts over delivery, that can kill a business (you can revise, redeem or replace all the failures). But bad business attitude can!

By: Fanda Amnesiana