The Golden Rule

Fred Reichheld lays out the Golden Rule in his book “The Ultimate Question”: Treat customers as you would wish to be treated yourself.

For example, he asks how many CEOs would like to be disturbed during dinner to answer an unsolicited telemarketing call? He, and I, suspect very few! So why inflict it on your customer?

My Golden Rules?

Every, (yes, really, every), interaction a customer has with your organization affects their perception of your brand. Companies need to get that. Even the driver of your logo laden vehicle who cuts off someone on the road.

Every interaction, every touchpoint, every one of your people – and we often talk as though it’s only about people, (it’s not, though they are very, very, important!) – affects your customer or your client’s view in some, perhaps small, way. It can be positive – but most often customers hear talk about the bad, not the good.

And be ethical. That means being open, truthful and upfront about your product and your brand promise.

Get it wrong? Explain openly and truthfully and fix it – and the customer’s problem. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has a code of ethics that captures how marketers should act ethically.

It’s a great place for a businesses to start.