Book Review: “Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service” by Kenneth Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles

By NJSCPA Young CPA Lisa Guido

Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Kenneth Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles is a quick read whose principles will stay with you long after you finish reading it. This book is geared toward all companies, from manufacturers to service organizations; it is for all levels, from interns to owners. Superior customer service, termed “raving fans” customer service, is a basic requirement for any company looking to succeed and grow.

The tale follows the life of an Area Manager at his new job where his task is to address the Company’s customer service, or lack thereof. On his first day, the Area Manager is visited by his fairy godmother, Charlie. Charlie quickly tells the Area Manager that the Company’s customer service slogan should be “No Worse than the Competition,” because the only reason customers are ‘satisfied’ is that their expectations are low and no one is doing any better. Charlie proceeds to teach the Area Manager three steps to creating raving fans with a little help from his other ‘godchildren’ who offer their experiences as case studies.

The guidelines to follow in order to change ‘satisfied’ customers into raving fans are:
1. Decide What You Want
2. Discover What the Customer Wants
3. Deliver Plus One

Do these statements seem straightforward and simple? Yes, but they must be applied to every facet of the business. Each requires a thoughtful process, a plan to accomplish it, and a way to measure success.

Decide What You Want
The first step in creating raving fans, is deciding what you want to provide to your customers and “…create a vision of perfection centered on the customer.” Imagine you are the customer and identify every detail of what would make a ‘raving fan’ experience for you. For each type of customers, or type of product or service, put yourself in the shoes of the customer from the moment you make contact with the company to delivery of the product or service, and beyond. What type of experience can you envision changing a customer into a raving fan?

Discover What the Customer Wants
Next a company must understand its customer’s vision in the context of the company’s vision. To do this it is important to first understand who the customer is. The customer is not only the end user of your product or service, but every single person or business in-between. Suppliers, distributors, clients – a customer is anyone who may come into contact with any aspect of your business. In order to find out the vision, you may need to read between the lines. Listen to what your customers are saying, and listen to what they are not saying.

The two visions must be compared to identify gaps or differences. According to Charlie, a company must understand what it wants to deliver before beginning to understand what the customer is looking for. In some cases, differences will be so extreme that the customer may be better served by another company. For example, a customer in search of a five-star restaurant experience may not be a raving fan of a fast food restaurant. It is not realistic for a company to be everything to every customer, but a company must strive to be everything to its customers.

Deliver Plus One
This third guideline is short for “Deliver the Vision Plus One Percent”, and may be the most difficult of the three guidelines to implement. To create raving fans, a Company must deliver – to every customer – what was promised consistently: every time, every day. Promise and deliver. This level of consistency requires systems, processes, training, and an ability to change course if it means better service to customers. Once consistency is established, a company should continue to focus on improvement. The “Plus One Percent” of the guideline is a way to center a company on continuous improvement of its vision.

“Raving Fans” forces you to think about customer service as the most important tool in building and realizing a successful business strategy. After reading this book, I found myself thinking about the customer service I receive, and whether or not I would call myself a raving fan of the businesses with which I frequent. Whether your company is interested in dusting off its customer service processes or looking for a complete overhaul, “Raving Fans” is required reading.

Lisa Guido, CPA, CFE is a Senior Associate at Rothstein Kass Business Advisory Services, LLC (an entity of Rothstein Kass). She became a CPA in 2008 and joined the NJSCPA the same year. She read “Raving Fans” because she believes superior client service is integral to the success of business and people. Lisa also serves as the Student Relations Co-Director of the NJ affiliate of the American Women’s Society of CPAs. She can be reached at lbguido@yahoo.com.