Certainty is a fantastic word, but very difficult to deliver…
McDonald’s don’t produce the best burgers, but you can be certain, the quality will be consistent no matter which drive through or restaurant you choose to visit.
The Cambridge dictionary says certainty means something that can not be doubted, the state of being completely confident or having no doubt about something.
And the Oxford dictionary says something very similar. Certainty means beyond the possibility of doubt and a firm conviction that something is the case.
Certainty for us is the quality of being reliable true and a condition in which decision making is without risk. Which is why we build it into all our customers solutions. Why?
The one thing that any organisation craves is certainty…
- Certain that their team turn up for work on time.
- Certain customers orders are delivered on time.
- Certain their funding paperwork has been completed correctly.
- Certain about their operating costs with no hidden surprises.
- Certain that someone will fix their equipment if it breaks in an agreed time.
- Certain on the margins they are making on each sale
You could go on for hours. But it’s very clear that certainty in any business or organisation is one of the most important factors. And if you haven’t got any certainty, how do you plan anything…
- If your not certain your team will turn up, how do you serve your customers?
- How can you keep your customers if orders are continually late?
- How do you keep operating if your funding doesn’t come through?
- What happens when there’s no spare cash to pay for that unexpected cost?
- How do you feel when your supplier says you have no support agreement?
- If your profit margins don’t pay your overheads what are you going to do?
When trying to develop a new problem solving solution, the things we ask ourselves are…
- Does this provide our customer with certainty of the total cost?
- Does this provide our customer with certainty of an agreed delivery time?
- Does this provide our customer with certainty of support if anything goes wrong?
- Are we certain that this product is fit for the required purpose?
And if we can’t answer these questions with yes, the solution is shelved and it’s back to the drawing board.
But along the way we’ve had to be bold, stick our head above the parapet and commit to a number of uncomfortable (at first) things…
- A guarantee never to increase your current agreement price.
- Guaranteed next day delivery.
- Guaranteed next day support if anything does go wrong.
- A guarantee to end your service agreement (without penalty) if we don’t provide the agreed response.
- Guarantee that our product is ‘fit for your purpose’.
- 100% overall satisfaction guarantee.
For us, peace of mind is the only thing that allows organisations to focus on growing their own operation. And peace of mind is only ever achievable when customers are certain about the outcome they receive from their suppliers.
So, how do you make sure your customers are certain enough to have ‘peace of mind’ when dealing with you?
