Carol’s recent post on the Nextiva blog, “Your Employees are Always Right, Too” shares tips for leveraging one of your business’s best assets. She begins:

Did you know that the saying, the customer is always right, was coined way back in 1909? I hope we’ve learned a few things since then. Business titans like Virgin’s Richard Branson recognize that customers fare best when businesses recognize employees as their most valuable assets. Putting your employees at the top of your priority list places customers there, too.

Valued employees pass that value on to customers

Regardless of the type of business that you run, valued employees are engaged and brimming with company spirit. And, employees who love their jobs tend to pass their knowledge and spirit on to customers.

If you’ve ever shopped at a high-end clothing store like Nordstrom, you know what I’m talking about. Their sales staff will go the extra mile to help you find everything that you want, while trying to protect you from buying the barrel-tied-in-the-middle outfit that you love so much.

When you recognize employee value, your team wants to meet and even exceed your customer service expectations. They continuously hone their knowledge of your products or services, and they enthusiastically share their skills with customers.

Customers recognize the importance of your employees

Regardless of whether your business sells products or services, customers spend more time with your employees than they spend with you. They may never meet you personally, and they don’t care, as long as they get the support that they need.

Your employees can make or break the customer experience. As such, customers equate them with the company that they represent. In the eyes of your stockholders or investors, you may be the big cheese. But, the knowledge and spirit that your team displays every day helps ensure that the business does not curdle.

See your employees as customers see them, and you recognize their importance to the business and your customers. It is their advice and support that helps your customers to be right, too.

Employees can make your products and services better

You may know every fact and figure about your business, but your employees have a different perspective. These are the people who are on the floor, seeing operations in ways that you never will see them.

You can read the rest of the post here.