I know the headline sounds a bit questionable, but I am very serious about it. Recently, I have been reminded about how difficult it can be to do business with some places. It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to get a sub sandwich the way you like it or if you are trying to get the right part for your vehicle, it needs to be easy. I do not mean to imply that the two activities are at all easy. I am just saying that whatever your offering is, the process of procuring that service needs to be understandable, and at least, tolerable.

Gone are the days of no competition and the ability to treat the customer like they know nothing. It does not matter what business you are in, there are always five others providing a similar product and claiming to do it better. We simply must deliver the experience that our customer is looking for or they will be lost.

It’s really not that hard. Here are my three simple steps to keeping your customers in your camp:

1. Provide the customer with understandable, valuable information in a non-threatening way.

2. Deliver a product that delivers or exceeds the customer’s requirements at a good value.

3. Do these things in a positive, upbeat manner.

Remember, this is not difficult. Just put yourself on the other side of the equation and ask yourself, “ Is this the buying experience I would like to have?” If you keep answering yes, you are winning the game.