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Is it time to start obsessing over your customers?

Couple shaking hands with business man

I recently read Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, values obsessing over clients more than he worries what his competitors are doing. Both Bezos and Steve Jobs have previously quoted how they like to start with the customer experience and then work backwards when figuring out how to create the magical difference for their respective customers. No mention of competitors at all. 

Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh (credited with bringing online shoe-shopping to the masses) stated that 75% of their sales came from repeat customers. How? His whole philosophy was to take the money he would have spent on marketing and invest it into the customer experience. This then allowed word of mouth, delivered via repeat customers, to become their primary form of marketing. In doing so, Hsieh was also credited with single-handedly reshaping customer service.  

Pretty ballsy, huh?  

Actually, not really. 

Try to remember the last time you had an awesome experience or felt the sales-person went over and above your expectations. I’ll bet you went back again for more of the same, even if it was a little more expensive than you’re used to. When you genuinely value an experience, cost doesn’t come into play as much because you feel you were understood and received real value from the transaction. I’ll also bet you told your friends and family about it so they could enjoy the experience as well. And, they would’ve probably listened because there’s a relationship between you and they trust your judgement.  

Now, imagine you are your own customer. What transactional experience would blow your socks off? What would keep you coming back again and again? By our very nature, mortgage brokers are innovators and problem-solvers. So, it wouldn’t take much to charge up our innate super-powers and deliver a mind-blowing and memorable proposition to our customers. 

In this season of interest-rate increases and house-price uncertainty, you need to elevate yourself above the competition. But, if you follow Jeff’s example, you wouldn’t even waste time worrying about your competition. You’d obsess over your customer’s experience. 

No matter what, we can always do more. 

Until next time. 

Greg Pennells 
Purple Circle Financial Services Pty Ltd 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Guarantee Scheme

The Scheme will enhance lenders’ willingness and ability to provide credit and will be available for new loans made by participating lenders until 30 September 2020.

The Government will provide eligible lenders with a guarantee of 50% per cent of new loans. Some generic terms are:

  • Businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million.

  • Maximum total size of loans of $250,000 per borrower.

  • Loans will be up to three years, with an initial six month repayment holiday.

  • Unsecured finance, meaning that borrowers will not have to provide an asset as security for the loan.

Reduced Interest Rates

Consider your current banking arrangements. The Reserve Bank has recently reduce the cash rate and lenders have passed this on to various loans they have.

Instant Asset Write Off

An increase in the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000 30 June 2020.

Deferment of Loan Repayments for up to 6 Months

The banks are developing their own approach as to how to deal with requests from their clients for repayment holidays. Some are automatically granting the request, others are assessing the requests individually.