Engineering the Customer Experience
“The only way to build a good company is one satisfied customer at a time. However, to build a great company, we must add one raving fan at a time. The difference is this … a satisfied customer will come back, but a raving fan not only comes back, but becomes part of your sales team. There’s a big difference!”
-Mac Anderson
Maybe you can’t make your people care, but you can model customer care for them and — perhaps most important — you can make it a priority to hire caring people (skip to minute 23:50 for the part on hiring).
When addressing those thank-you cards to customers and clients, take the time to handwrite their name and address clearly (legibly) and without abbreviations (e.g., “Road” instead of “Rd.” or “Georgetown” instead of “G’town”). This small investment will demonstrate additional care and attention on an already-thoughtful gesture.
If you have a mechanism in place for client feedback (and you should), how do you respond when a client provides feedback? Whether they’re sharing a complaint or a compliment, thank your clients for taking the time to participate in the exercise; to help you improve.
Happy employees make happy customers … who make happy employees who make happy customers who are more likely to become the raving fans who generate 80 to 90 percent of your referral business.
“In a world where people have become extremely value conscious, one of the only ways to compete, outside of price, is with customer service. Create a better experience and you create better value.”
-Shep Hyken
Having a tough time trying to get your customer-facing employees to deliver an exceptional customer experience? It’s been said many times that it’s hard to be a prophet in your own land. I may be able to help. Let’s get the conversation started…
Avoid having your next meeting turn into a non-productive complaint session. Invite team members to share their customer experience concerns with the agreement that in doing so, they’ll be offering at least one proposed solution of their own.
When preparing for a large number of attendees, cool the room 5 to 10 degrees below normal before they enter. This will help to compensate for the natural rise in temperature that occurs from collective body heat, while also working to keep everyone comfortable, alert, and awake.
Lighten up! Don’t take yourself so seriously. Unless you’re a mortician, customers and clients would rather do business with you when you’re light, easy, approachable, and even fun … while remaining professional, of course.
