Engineering the Customer Experience
Impeccable service doesn’t mean responding to the needs of your customers & clients … it means ANTICIPATING their needs. When they start saying, “You’ve thought of everything,” you’ll know you’ve got it. Well done.
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© Copyright 2012 to Present – Driven To Excel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Have I crossed the line? Stay with me on this – Sometimes I just wind up finding customer service innovations in the most unexpected places.
I turned 40 a few months ago. I’m guessing most of my readers are of an age that you, too, recall the condition of public restrooms just a few decades back. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? It wasn’t so long ago that we had to turn faucet knobs ourselves and flush our own commodes. Paper dispensers often ran empty with no built-in method of restocking. We even had to walk away from the counter to find a wastebasket rather than just tossing our used paper towels into a large hole cut into the countertop solely for that purpose. And while that last example isn’t high-tech, it still goes a long way toward creating a more pleasant environment.
Making life easier for the customer
A few years ago, I joined some friends for a comedy show at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Later, as we were walking through the indoor mall, a friend requested we wait for him while he visited the public restroom. A few minutes later, he came out excitedly saying, “Come in here! You have to see this!” Of course, I said, “No way,” having grown up with cousins and a brother that were – let’s just say – practical jokers. He insisted it wasn’t anything bad or disgusting; that I should trust him. He was excited to show me … are you ready … the Dyson Airblade. Have you seen this ingenious, touch-free hand dryer that uses forced air (like an “air-squeegee”) to do the work?
I must admit, it was pretty cool, and it got me thinking about how far public restrooms have come in making things easier and cleaner for us. Technology has helped to create an impeccable experience in a surprising place. Now even a lowly restroom can become so innovative that it garners attention.
Today we have the luxury of motion-sensor lights, faucets, soap dispensers, hand dryers, air fresheners and, of course, toilets. Many restrooms are fitted with baby changing stations, televisions, and some even have a complimentary supply of mouthwash, chewing gum, mints and an array of colognes.
Pay attention to the ever-evolving customer
So how do advances in restroom technology translate into better business practices? You must follow the example of these forward-thinking folks who outfitted their facilities with our comfort in mind. Indeed, one of the most powerful things you can do when engineering the customer experience, is to anticipate your customers’ needs. The days of merely offering satisfactory service or meeting basic client needs are long gone. Exceeding those needs must become your best practice. And even then, there is still more you can do.
Today, the habit that will set you apart and create remarkable client experiences is becoming an expert at anticipating the needs of your clients.
Have you noticed that many public restrooms now keep a waste bin near the exit? Many of us are using a paper towel to avoid directly touching the door handle upon exiting. Now a strategically placed trashcan is often there to collect our makeshift “door handle protectors.” (You’ve probably noticed that without that trashcan near the door, you’re likely to see a pile of used paper towels on the floor.) On a recent vacation, though, I noticed that one cruise line had taken this idea a step further with a simple solution. Mounted on the wall at eye level, just next to the exit door, was a tissue dispenser. Smart.
“Satisfied” is Passé
A satisfied client is not guaranteed to be a loyal client – there’s too much competition out there and your customers are armed with the tools (namely their keyboards) to tell the world how you’re doing for them. If you’re not proactively seeking solutions and anticipating clients’ needs, one of your competitors is bound to come along and figure out a way to wow them. Follow the cruise line’s example above, and take your customer service to the next level – give them what they want before they know they want it.
© Copyright 2012 to Present – Driven To Excel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
In Part 1, I shared about “Chuck” the wedding DJ and his cocky approach to salesmanship. While it’s important to be skilled in tooting one’s own horn, it must be done in such a way that it doesn’t seem conceited and therefore repel prospective clients.
But wait! There’s more …
Selling products via infomercials is a multibillion-dollar industry. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of their (often cheesy) tactics, we can learn at least a few things from their success. The leaders in this industry seem to have mastered the art of strategic bragging. In the quick sections that follow, we’ll take a look at 3 leading sales strategies and discuss how to make them work for you.
1. Show, Don’t Tell
Infomercial presenters do an incredible job of showing us the features and benefits of their products. In Dan & Chip Heath’s book, Made to Stick, “The curse of knowledge” is addressed. The concept is this: [Read more…]
(Part 1)
If you Google strategic bragging, it appears my friend Sally Strackbein coined the phrase. And while its use has brought a chuckle to many a room, it’s a serious concept. After all, no one likes a “Me Monster” and I have found that if you must brag, you might as well be strategic about it.
My recent search for a wedding DJ has provided a great example. As it turns out, I’ve found that many professional DJs aren’t able to express their emcee-expert-party-guide personalities over the phone. Instead, they come across as rather awkward and uncomfortable. Go figure. I’ve chalked it up to this: They must need a microphone and an audience to come alive. However, one of the seven DJs I interviewed over the phone had no trouble expressing himself.
This guy – we’ll call him Chuck – referred to himself as “The DJ to the celebrities.” He said he’d [Read more…]
At the end of my seminar for a trade association last September, the guy who’d been taking photos all morning came over and introduced himself as Hersch Wellman. He said he was the region’s past president and wondered if I’d be willing to come and speak for its larger Eastern Zone meeting a few months later.
Toward the conclusion of our in-depth and engaging 30-minute chat, Hersch asked me a question I’d never heard posed quite this way. He asked, “So, what do you want people to get from your talks? What’s the message you’re hoping to impart?” In other words, “Why are you doing this?”
Seeing as the talk he’d just heard was on Leveraging Social Media for Business and I speak mainly on the topics of customer service, sales and leadership, I asked him to clarify which topic he was referring to. “All of them,” he replied. “What’s your ‘message’? What do you want people to get out of what you’re doing? … Do you need some time to think about it?”
By the time he was done asking, the answer hit me like a ton of bricks. [Read more…]
I’ve conducted countless job interviews over the years and I’m still amazed at how many mistakes are made by most job applicants.
Put yourself in the shoes of your interviewer for just a moment. Let’s set the stage:
As someone conducting a job search, although you’d love for the process to be predictable and efficient, most applicants do a great job of filling the process with unexpectedness, a lack of integrity and even the absence of professionalism. For example, people are sending you generic cover letters and resumes with typos, bad grammar and inconsistent tense, taking too long to reply to e-mails, no-showing or showing up late for interviews, arriving inappropriately dressed … and the list goes on.
The list of glaring mistakes is so long, in fact, that we’ll just have to stick to what I find to be the top 3. Let’s count them down and discover how to follow a few avoidance tactics: [Read more…]
A couple of years ago, I felt compelled to write a testimonial letter. I had received remarkable service from a pair of business owners and it took an entire page to express my heart-felt gratitude. I e-mailed that letter, as an attached Word document, to both owners. Additionally, I included a request for their physical mailing address, so that I could provide them with a signed copy on letterhead. I waited and waited, but [Read more…]
A few words from Amazon’s Founder, Jeff Bezos
Okay, my new favorite book is Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com). So what does that have to do with Amazon … besides the fact that in 2009 Amazon acquired Zappos for about $1 billion? — I’ll get to that…
There are several reasons to love this book, but if you know anything about Zappos.com, it’s probably that they are a benchmark for customer service. In fact, their company tag line (deservedly so) is simply, “Powered by Service™.” They are world famous for their free shipping (both ways!) and their uber-liberal 365-day return policy, but there is so much more to this company. Their innovative approach to customer service is revolutionary and their success secrets … well … aren’t really secrets. In fact, you can read all about their approach to business, leadership, teamwork, innovation and of course world-class customer service in the book.
In Delivering Happiness, Hsieh tells of the long-standing positive relationship that existed between Zappos and Amazon well before the partnership ensued. In the audio version of his book, which the author reads himself, you’ll also hear the voices of many Zappos employees, a customer or two and that of Jeff Bezos all reading to you.
In the following quote from Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com, he explains that your energy is far better spent focusing on your customers than on your competitors…
“The first thing I know is that you need to obsess over customers. I can tell you we have been doing this from the very beginning and it’s the only reason that Amazon.com exists today in any form. We’ve always put customers first – when given the choice of obsessing over competitors or obsessing over customers, we always obsess over customers. We pay attention to what our competitors do but it’s not where we put our energy; it’s not where we get our motivation from. We really like to start with customers and work backwards. And again, that is the key thing that I know and it covers a lot of other mistakes. If you’re truly obsessed over customers it’ll cover a lot of errors.”
(To watch Bezos discuss this and other top strategies (for world domination), you can watch his 8-minute video on YouTube)
Are you obsessing over your competition … or your customers? I’d love to hear from you.
A former client, now friend – we’ll call him Charlie – called me for some advice on an interesting dilemma: Since Charlie’s recent TV interview has gained a good bit of online publicity, several people from within his industry have requested to connect with him via Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin (like many of us, he also has an active blog and YouTube channel). The thing is, Charlie works in an industry with loads of competition – in fact, in his town alone there must be 100 other companies that do what he does … and they’re all vying for the same local and regional clients. So in Charlie’s small world, “colleague” is often synonymous with “competitor.”
Here is Charlie’s concern:
- “I’m very selective about whom I connect with on Facebook. I use it mainly for personal stuff. But what if I ‘friend’ someone who steals my business ideas?”
In this post I’ll address his concerns. I expect several of you will feel compelled to chime in. As always, I invite and value your comments.
In the social media universe, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube are the big four. Each has extensive privacy controls to make you highly visible to the world, completely INvisible/inaccessible, or something in between. Decide what’s right and best for you. We’ll use Facebook as an example here:
Make the choice:
a. my Facebook presence is strictly personal
b. my Facebook presence is strictly professional
c. my Facebook presence is rated “E” for everyone
If you choose to go fully public as a representative of your business, give some thought to creating a social media strategy that feels right for you and is aligned with your mission. You could post daily, weekly or monthly updates, sharing videos and articles like I do. Once you’ve made your choice, the path becomes clear and moving forward will be easier. For a live example of these easy-to-follow guidelines, CLICK HERE.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to Charlie’s main concern.
Social media has created an interesting dilemma for many of us, especially [Read more…]
Good for you! You’ve chosen to look at leveraging online video for business. So what’s next? Where to begin?
Well, here are 6 quick tips on strategy and best practices…
There are a number of easy-to-use cameras on the market. I chose The Flip – not only is it super easy to use, with only 7 buttons and a built-in, flip-out USB connection for your computer, but the video and sound quality are excellent. (When, instead, you decide on wanting a professional to do the taping and editing, contact me. I’ll have some referrals for you.)
As I mentioned in “Part 1,” it seems we all suffer from A.D.D. when we’re sitting at our computers. Before hitting the play button, most of us will look to see how much time we’ll have to commit to watching a video. So keep it short. Anything under 2 minutes seems to be perfect. I do recommend an extended version for those who decide they want to see more of you. Aim for 5 to 10 minutes for the longer version (Note: YouTube limits your uploads to 15 minutes in length.)
You can’t fake authenticity. Instead of trying to be someone you’re not, simply embrace the real you. Not everyone is going to “connect” with you and that’s OK. Wouldn’t you rather do business with [Read more…]
