Mr. Marketing: Clear, concise communication important

I recently took my mother to lunch at a Vista café.

She ordered a tuna sandwich, but got the costlier tuna steak on a bun instead.

Hmmmm...

I promised my client a monster project would be delivered Friday. Thursday afternoon he announced he needed it 7 a.m. Friday to accommodate his travel schedule. I’d assumed 5 p.m.

The connection? Both times obvious questions weren’t asked and bad assumptions made.

With more questions asked early on, both Mom and Mr. Client would have gotten their desire.

Yet they made one set of assumptions, the café server and I made another set, and problems arose.

In other words, lacking additional details, the café and I both chose options favoring our own needs.

Neither Mom nor Mr. Client were 100 percent satisfied.

Careful communications are critical to business success and customer satisfaction.

Mom saying “tuna salad sandwich,” makes that issue disappear.

My asking if 5 p.m. Friday is acceptable has the same result.

Okay, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll never hesitate again from asking that extra question. I may be considered annoying, but I won’t be ignorant of expectations.

Now look in the mirror; what’s expected of you? Have you eliminated all questions regarding costs, timelines, deliverables, and personnel? Can you guarantee every customer will be happy?

You’ll notice you extensively record details when borrowing money, buying property or hiring someone. This eliminates questions regarding obligations, deadlines, and money transfers.

If you’re not doing the same for all your business dealings, confusion may reign.

And you know what they say about when you assume, right?

So I suggest that, whenever possible, have a paper trail on your business dealings to minimize confusion. It’ll compensate for a wide range of potential problems and help you improve future service and profits as well.

And if you can’t have a paper trail, just recognize going in that you may need to make good when those inevitable problems rear their ugly head.

True, in both cases everything worked out in the end. Mr. Client was happy with the report, and Mom liked her tuna steak. But wouldn’t it have been better for everyone if we all expected the same thing instead of having to settle?

Clear, concise communication. Wow, what a concept, right?

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.