La La Land
Your number one priority in business should be revenue growth through excellence in product and service. Most think the priority is to make a profit, but money that does not hit the top line has no opportunity to ever hit the bottom line.
The service-profit chain gives us the logic of how to grow the top line through excellence. If you want to grow your top line, you have to impress the socks off your customers by having the right product, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price, with service that shows you respect them and truly value their business.
If your employees are not delighting your customers, then your customers are not being delighted – expect maybe by your competition’s employees. Your job is to partner with your employees to design the systems that enable your employees to provide truly impressive products and services.
If you think your employees can impress your customers when they are disgusted with you, then you are living in La La Land. I can always tell when I am getting service from an employee that hates their leadership and their job.
If you want to grow your top line, the single most important thing you need to do on a daily basis is impress the socks off your employees.
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About the Author: Bret L. Simmons
Welcome to my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section of my posts. I publish all constructive, non-anonymous comments. 
Bret,
What a great and timely post! With so many companies operating “lean and mean” and employees doing the jobs of two or more people these days, I wonder how many employers are/can be focused on the service-profit chain?
I am hopeful that we can get back to a service-profit chain approach rather than revenue/profit alone approach. Living here in La La Land is a very sad and desolate place!
Sharon Markovskky
http://www.sharonmarkovsky.com
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Great point about the lean and mean path to La La Land. I don’t have to tell you that companies that are mistreating their employees are going to pay both a top and bottom line price for what they are doing. Thanks, Sharon! Bret
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There’s a new book coming in the line of the service profit chain: Employees First, Customers Second.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
wow! when will it be out? Who is the author? Sounds like a book I need to read – thanks, David! Bret
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Bret,
It comes out June 10th. Here’s the link to its Amazon entry:
http://www.amazon.com/Employees-First-Customers-Second-Conventional/dp/1422139069/
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
February 20th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Looks great, its on my list. Thanks! Bret
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Bret, you just shined by blogging this great post (product) at the right place, in the right time, to the right customers (us your readers)since we have been discussing for the last couple of classes the importance of treating our employees as internal customers to boost both the internal and external customer service by exceeding their expectations. So you are right on Bret. Thank you for sharing this good stuff.
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
February 20th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Easy to talk about, more difficult to practice. But it pays top line dividends. Thanks, Javier! Bret
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