Responsible business leaders recognize that in today's competitive business environment, customer experience (CX) initiatives are no longer optional. Numerous studies have concluded that by 2020, customers' decisions to do business with a company will be based on CX more than any other factor. Companies succeed or fail based on how they treat their customers. Customers will leave if their expectations are not met, but unfortunately, some organizations make the mistake of taking their customers for granted. Smart businesses recognize that customers will do business with companies that deliver the experience they expect and even more.
CX can be a differentiator: companies can outperform their competitors by delivering better experiences. Here are six ways to do just that.
- Define your customer service vision. I call this customer service. MantraA short (one sentence or less), straightforward, and compelling vision statement that guides employees in your organization. Leadership can reinforce this vision by amplifying the virtues of excellence and demonstrating personal and organizational commitment to the vision. For example, one of my favorite companies with a perfect customer service vision is Ace Hardware. It's three words: “The hardware place that helps.” These three words define who they are, not just to their employees but to their customers too. This is who they are. They are, Helpful.
- Communicate proactively: Effective communication can provide your customers with evidence that they made the right decision by doing business with you. It is one of the fundamental keys to realizing your organization's customer service vision. Engage with your customers in person and online. Digital communication is popular, but look for ways to balance it with the human touch. Primo Management Group (PMG) is a good example. The company operates in the timeshare industry. While many customers are happy with their timeshare contracts, some want to get out of them. PMG helps customers get out of unwanted timeshare contracts that they can no longer pay for or don't want to continue with. The company builds trust with the way they communicate with their customers, such as having a human answer the phone instead of an IVR (interactive voice response system). They build customer trust by replying to messages quickly and communicating proactively throughout the process. Communication helps PMG exceed customer expectations.
- Always innovating: Companies that are constantly improving show their customers that they want to continue doing business with them. LightspeedVT is an online platform for interactive, video-based virtual training. I believe it is one of the best learning management systems in the industry. Customer experience is dramatically different today than it was five years ago. “New and improved” seems like a cliché, but the best companies deliver exactly that. Think about any company that you've had the pleasure of doing business with for a few years or more. Most companies are different than they were when you first did business with them. Software companies are constantly pushing out updates. Retail is always introducing new products. Hotels and resorts are always renovating. Great organizations are always innovating.
- Be consistent: Customers want consistency and predictability. Whether in person or online, customers want a consistent CX. Apple has been ranked #1 in Interbrand's Best Global Brands for six consecutive years, and there are three reasons for that. The first is consistency. No matter how you interact with Apple – in a store, on an iPhone, on an iPad – the experience is consistent. Customers want a consistent experience because they know you care. everytime Respond quickly and everytime Being friendly, everytime useful everytime They are knowledgeable. And if a problem occurs, they will help you. everytime Take care of them. The words are everytimeCustomers want a constant stream of positivity, and consistency builds confidence, which leads to trust and loyalty.
- Convenience: My latest book has just been published, A revolution in convenienceWe can't forget to mention the importance of reducing friction as a way to improve customer experience. Amazon.com is probably the most convenient company in the world to do business with. Look at how they leverage technology to create a great customer experience: How their trademarked 1-Click purchasing option reduces friction and saves customers time. There are many ways Amazon provides convenience to its customers. My car dealer also won me over with their convenience. Whenever I need my car serviced (for routine maintenance or repairs), the dealer brings it to me so I don't have to take it in for service.
- Always solving customer problems: No matter how well you implement the five ideas above, if a problem occurs and isn't properly resolved, it will all be for naught. No company is perfect, but great companies have systems in place and properly train their employees to not only solve the problem but also restore trust. For example, the Ritz-Carlton is a case study in how to handle problems. They empower their employees to handle guests and allow them to spend up to $2,000 to handle customer complaints. This doesn't mean that employees will spend any or all of that $2,000, but they know it can be done. Handling a problem properly often restores customer trust to a higher level than if the problem had never occurred at all.
If you're not yet focusing on CX, you're falling behind. CX is a defining factor for customers and will become even more important in the future. Get started today. Use the ideas above to start or strengthen your own CX brand and ensure your future success.
