Engineering the Customer Experience
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.
Service recovery is good … anticipating client needs is even better.
“Always deal with complaints before they’re made.”
-Timothy Firnstahl
Consider making your pricing available on your website … or at least an estimated range. (Sound advice from inbound/content marketing expert, Marcus Sheridan.)
Make neatness and order everyone’s responsibility. Your customers should never have to be distracted (or disappointed) by messy, disorganized, neglected or unclean surroundings (a cluttered closet, a water-deprived plant, a broken link on your web site, long hold times when they call you, or debris on the floor).
Wouldn’t you rather know there’s a problem than be ignorant to it? Customer complaints are golden opportunities. A customer is making you aware of something that is “broken” … and giving you a chance to make it right (and maybe even WOW them in the process) … before others may end up experiencing that same thing. This customer — through their willingness to share — may be representing countless others.
Have exceptional patience with your customers and prospects. If you can demonstrate patience in a way that others feel completely heard, understood, cared for and validated, you’ll stand well above your competition.
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Did you know that Hollywood employs continuity editors to be sure their films contain impeccable transitions? For example, if a camera angle shows an actresses long hair hanging in front of her right shoulder, the next shot/angle in that same scene shouldn’t be showing us that same actress with all of her hair now behind her back. Impeccable.
Your client’s favorite topic is … him/herself. Ask clients about themselves (likes, interests, hobbies, history, opinions, etc.) and don’t be so quick to start talking about you, unless asked.
Meetings, seminars, awards banquets, luncheons, networking functions, weddings, funerals … and everything in between. Whether we realize it or not, people present all the time. But how often does the presenter seem confident and comfortable, engaging and memorable?
Photo credit: Josh Barry Photography
Recently, my wife and I attended a Bar Mitzvah for the son of a longtime friend. I was Bar Mitzvah’d myself, nearly 29 years ago and have attended my share of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs over the years. If you’ve never been to one, you should know that – aside from the very meaningful rite of passage it represents – logistically, they are very much like weddings. There’s a ceremony (traditionally led by a Rabbi) and then a reception: a big party with food and dancing for family and friends to celebrate this milestone.
This particular Bar Mitzvah was led by a rabbinical student named Nathan (above). With all due respect to every Bar, Bat and B’not Mitzvah I’ve ever attended, this officiant was the best I’ve seen. He led an educational and fun ceremony – not so easy to pull off. But the word of the evening, when others described this event – and there was lots of talk – was [Read more…]
