Essentials Of Entrepreneurship And Small Business Management 9e – Norman M Scarborough

When buying services, customers look for similar characteristics: tangibles (equipment, facilities, and people), reliability (doing what you say you will do), responsiveness (promptness in helping customers and in solving problems), and assurance and empathy (conveying a caring attitude). For example, the owner of a very successful pest control company offers his customers a unique, unconditional guarantee: If the company fails to eliminate all insect and rodent breeding and nesting areas on a client’s premises, it will refund the customer’s last 12 monthly payments and will pay for one year’s service by another exterminator.

The company has had to honor its guarantee only once in 17 years. Companies that excel at providing quality products and services discover tangible benefits in the form of increased sales, more repeat customers, higher customer retention, and lower costs. Small businesses that have succeeded in building a reputation for top-quality products and services rely on the following guidelines to “get it right the first time”: Build quality into the process; don’t rely on inspection to obtain quality.

Foster teamwork and dismantle the barriers that divide disparate departments. Establish long-term ties with select suppliers; don’t award contracts on low price alone. Provide managers and employees the training needed to participate fully in the quality improvement program. Empower workers at all levels of the organization; give them authority and responsibility for making decisions that determine quality.

Get managers’ commitment to the quality philosophy. Otherwise, the program is doomed. Employees look to leadership to see if quality is 66  67  just talked about or actually a part of what the company does. Rethink the processes the company uses to get its products or services to its customers. Be willing to make changes in processes wherever they may be necessary. Reward employees for quality work. Ideally, workers’ compensation is linked clearly and directly to key measures of quality and customer satisfaction.

Develop a companywide strategy for constant improvement of product and service quality. Back up the company’s quality pledge with a guarantee. For instance, gSchool, a software programming school in Denver, Colorado, guarantees all students a $60,000 job in Colorado as professional Web developers after completing the program. Students who do not land such a job are guaranteed a full refund of their $20,000 tuition!68  Attend to Convenience Ask customers what they want from the businesses they deal with, and one of the most common responses is “convenience.”

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress. 1 17 OceanofPDF.com To Cindy, whose patience is always tested during a writing project of this magnitude. Your love, support, and understanding are a vital part of every book. You are the love of my life. —NMS To Ann, for her wisdom and love. Your encouragement and support are the foundation for each new entrepreneurial adventure we take.

—JRC “May your own dreams be your only boundaries.” —The Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson, in Purlie, Broadway Theater, 1970 Preface Entrepreneurship is a fast-growing and ever-changing discipline. People of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities are launching businesses of their own and, in the process, are reshaping the world’s economy.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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