A Well-Informed Customer is a

When customers know what to do, how to do it, what to expect and why, they usually follow instructions.

When customers are uncertain about what, how or why, they will often hesitate in uncertainty and doubt.

This can be a major problem, especially when customer participation is essential to your success.

For example, medicines not taken on time will degrade the quality of a patients recovery and healing. Automobiles with oil not changed will wear down before their time. Lawns not watered by owners after fresh fertilization will burn in the sun and die. Data backups not performed on time result in very angry customers when their hard drives unfortunately but inevitably crash.

Since customer performance and participation is so important (its called compliance in medical terms), youd think everyone would put more effort into educating customers about exactly what to do and motivating them to do it. Remarkably, this is often not the case.

Buy an inexpensive alarm clock and youll get a 12-page users manual on how to set the time, change the battery and work every feature of the alarm. But buy $96 worth of prescription drugs and you might get a little sticker on the bottle saying something cryptic like 1C 3X w/meals.

A pharmacist will explain that 1C 3X w/meals means Take 1 capsule, 3 times a day, with your meals. A doctor may also advise if the medicine is best taken before or after your meals. (The cryptic code gives no clue.) They may even warn you of possible side effects and what you can do about them. (None of this useful information is found on the little sticker.)

How many people receive medication every day, but they are nervous or unwell when their doctor or pharmacist explains it to them? Back home they may forget what was said, and then they are left with only the little sticker reading 1C 3X w/meals.

Under these circumstances, some patients will forget what to do, when to do it and why. They may feel uncertain and hesitate. In medical terms, they may not fully comply.

Consider the consequences for the doctor (an unwell patient), for the pharmacy (a dissatisfied customer), for the hospital (a complaint to be answered) and for the patient (a continued illness, discomfort or frustration). In short, a very bad situation.

How easily this could be avoided by making a better effort to inform, educate and motivate the customer! (Every company can find a way to do this better, including yours.)

For example:

The drug manufacturer could provide an easy-to-understand flyer or brochure with every medication. The doctor could create a simple list of what to take, what to expect and what to avoid. The pharmacy could design an attractive calendar to hang on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door. The calendar could include space for you to check the boxes and track your daily participation. The hospital could maintain a website with up-to-date information and helpful FAQs and print the website address right on the bottles little sticker.

A smart computer company could send out an e-mail once a day with a simple reminder: Back up your data now! They could send another reminder at the end of the week with a checklist of costs in time and expense to recreate your data from scratch.

A lawn care company could provide a simple notepad with every page reminding you of the next time and date to water your fertilized lawn. They could add two photographs to keep you motivated: one lush, green and beautiful; the other dry, parched and pathetic.

A car maintenance company could put a bright sticker on the cap of your gas tank asking: Is it time to change your oil? They might even include a note like this: Bring your auto in on time and save 10%.

The bank could send you an e-mail one week before your term deposit matures or when your checking account approaches the minimum required balance. A link in the message could take you to the right web page where you can extend your deposit, increase your balance or transfer funds as required.

Key Learning Point
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Customer participation is a key to achieving high levels of loyalty and satisfaction. Earn this participation by giving your customers the information, education and motivation they need. Do it at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place and in the most engagingly effective manner. (Hint to pharmacists and doctors: a little sticker on the bottle isnt it.)

Action Steps
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Improve the quantity, quality, consistency, frequency, accuracy and attractiveness of the information you provide to your customers this month.

Work on improving your handouts, flyers, e-mails, checklists, informative posters and brochures, stickers and decals, manuals, user guides, videos, web pages, guidelines and instructions.

Do a better job of telling customers what to do, bring, prepare, submit, copy, file, track, complete and expect. Tell them more about the time, steps, costs, input, output, problems, indicators and guarantors of success. Make them better informed, better educated and better motivated. In short, make them better customers.

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

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