I recently read an article suggesting that perception is reality. I found this very interesting and it stuck right in there where it wasn’t gonna leave. The article said that If your customer sees you in a certain way, then like it or not, THAT IS THEIR REALITY. If they see you as the easiest to work with, then that is their reality. If they think you are the most experienced, that is their reality. A high-, mid- or low-priced choice…that is their reality. A crummy supplier or a best-quality choice…those perceptions are all their reality.

I do know how my customers see me, don’t I? On second thought, I know how I would like them to see me, and it seems short-sighted for me to think otherwise. “You can’t read the label from inside the box.” is a fun saying that I have read and heard. It seems that the way to find out how your customers see you is to ask for feedback. Let your customers read your label to find what it says. Memorable, huh?

Part of my job is to make O’Mara Ag Services more user-friendly, more engineer friendly, more installer-friendly, more pocketbook-friendly and well, you get my drift. I need to do all that plus continue to provide a high-quality choice. I find it great to hear when we meet these levels. We love it when our feedback reveals itself through referrals. Other times we just flat out have to ask the questions. I could send them some survey forms to fill out, or maybe ask them to take just a few minutes to fill out a short on-line survey. Perhaps, like me, they are not a big feedback questionnaire filler-outer kind of person. Those surveys just take that much more time from an already busy day, unless of course, you are unhappy with someone’s performance. Then we’re all over filling out a feedback survey, right? How can we make it important enough for someone to take the time to give the feedback we need, good or bad?

I’d better get my Facebook account up and running so you can like it, huh ?

Seed World Article