Customer Love – It’s in the Details

Customers want to like you. They want to feel appreciated and do repeat business with you. With most products and services, customers want a relationship not a transaction. So what are you doing to show them a little love?

Love is in the details. Here are recent interactions that created a memorable experience.

1. Delta Airlines sent a letter after a recent flight apologizing for my seat assignment - the “dreaded” middle seat.  I don’t like the middle seat especially on a four hour flight. However the letter acknowledging this inconvenience made a difference.

2. While checking out at Trader Joe’s, the cashier reminded me to drive safely in the heavy rain. He was real, sincere and in the moment. Trader Joe’s gets a lot of things right.

3. Panera’s loyalty program is full of surprises. You never know what or when you will get a reward. The reward has to be used in 90 days so you are pretty likely to return sooner than later. The simple stuff works.

4. When having a hard drive restored recently,  Data Savers, Inc. impressed us with continuous email updates on their progress and success. It was unlike any we had experienced with other companies. This personalized approach added value to this technical service.

5. And then there is Zappos. A recent order confirmation was written in very clever and fun language. They included a phone number and signed off with XOXO (hugs and kisses).

Now that’s LOVE.

Your Customer Focused Culture – Time to Renovate and Retrofit

Creating a customer-focused culture requires strategy and constant review. January is a
time for resolutions, goal setting and organizing. Take the time to apply these same
disciplines to your customer focus. I suggest going as far as renovation and retrofitting.
I encourage you to look at two areas, processes and people, to strengthen your customer
focus.

Organization’s processes and systems can get complicated.
Too often businesses have an internal focus which can create hassles for the customer.
Customers want ease, simplicity and responsiveness. No matter how the customer
contacts your business, hassle free is their desire. Look at your website, social media,
call center, phone handling and in person contact. Where are the interaction points that
can cause glitches, delays and frustration? Evaluate how hard it is for the customer
to reach you and get a timely response. Where might they “get lost”, confused and irritated?

Many of you have done the overhaul on your systems and processes - - it is time to do it
again. Lots of stuff keeps getting in the way.

The second area to renovate is your people. You have team members who are delivering
status quo.To have a customer-focused culture, your team has to be at its best. Look at
your current team, decide who needs to be “retrofitted”.

 It is time to coach and retrain. To get change, deliver feedback, decide upon a plan
of improvement, state your expectations and set a timeline. If the team member is still not
receptive to change, then take a hard look at their value.

Check your new employee orientation process. Retool it so it matches up with your
customer-focused culture. Dedicate enough time for orientation. Have key people be a
part of the training so the new team member feels valued and important.

Name a leader who is in charge of the customer-focused culture. This person keeps
important customer issues front and center. Their position must cut across all departments
so the processes can be seamless. This leadership position demonstrates your long-term
commitment to the customer.

Resolve to make your organization one that works well for your customer. A customer-
focused culture requires a regular “check up”, a champion and strategy. Renovation and
retrofitting are not easy or cheap but required if you want to be known as "one of the best".

Real Empowerment Creates Real Results

Organizations serious about creating a customer focused culture have spent
time studying Zappos. Zappos has developed an unusual approach to serving
customers and building loyalty.

They have redefined empowerment. Team members have the ability to spend
time on customer calls as they see best. Zappos measures total time spent on
calls with the goal being 80% of time spent on customer facing interactions. This
is much different from the usual measure of time per call with a focus on quantity.

Excellent insights on Zappos can be found in this Software Advice blog, 
A Zappos Lesson in Customer Service Metrics. Look closely at the 4 factors
measured in the Happiness Experience Form. Ashley Furness outlines
the secrets to creating real relationships with an emotional connection.

Employees also called the customer loyalty team are empowered to connect
with the customer and then are rewarded when their scores are high on the
Happiness Experience Form. The reward is a spin on “the wheel of happiness” to
win gift cards and other items. Smart hiring, training and empowerment is a part
of the culture, so true customer connections can be made.

Does Zappos unusual approach work? Furness states that 70 to 75% of
purchases come from returning customers. Real empowerment of team
members does pay off on the bottom line growth and profitability.

Think about your own metrics and how well they support a customer focused
culture. After reading Furness’s blog, get moving on the lessons from Zappos to
build happier, loyal customers.

What Is The Customer Worth To You?

All companies love the idea of keeping their customers loyal. They survey to assess
satisfaction, create slogans to inspire and make promises to attract customers. However
many have efforts and strategies underway that are roadblocks to loyalty. These
roadblocks could be more easily removed if you put a monetary figure on loyalty.
Increased revenue gets attention and can get “buy-in” from across the organization. Few
are willing to do the hard work to make it happen.

In a recent Dow Jones Report, General Motors Co. stated that for each percentage point
of improvement in customer retention rates, $700 million will be gained in additional
revenue. The auto industry typically retains about 52% of its customers when time to
purchase a new vehicle. GM’s retention rate is right on target with the average. Think
what being above average could do for your bottom line.

Here are some thoughts to consider –

Do you know how much your customer is worth on an annual basis?
How much would be added to the revenue if you kept 1% more of your
customers?
If you know the answers to the last two questions, does everyone in the
organization have them committed to memory?
What strategies, processes and attitudes deter the customer from being a retained
customer?

It may be hard to calculate the numbers but the work is worth it. Numbers sell others on
seriously moving forward with customer focused efforts. As stated earlier, few do what it
takes to deepen customer loyalty.

Do a quick assessment from your own experience as a customer – when have you
received a “thank you” or show of appreciation from your insurance agent, payroll
provider, mobile phone company and many others. My guess is the answer is not enough
and not often.

Go run the numbers and share the value of a retained customer. Get moving on strategies
to make it easy for customers to remain loyal. Loyalty is fragile and fleeting. Don’t give
them a reason to leave you.

Customer Experience Counts

Customer experience is a tough concept to define. It is designed and delivered by the company yet defined
by the customer. According to research and customer conversations, the experience can be the reason for
defection or loyalty. You must make it your priority to keep improving the experience so you create an
engaged and loyal customer. The best organizations are constantly tweaking their customer experience.

To be at your best, here are strategies to put in place. The reality is most of you will think you already have
these in place. I challenge you to review how well they are being implemented on a daily basis.

1. Are you easy to like?
- Nice counts
- Hire a likable team. Customers are much happier to give money to someone likeable.
- Be kind and respectful

2. There is no substitute for a real connection.
- Eliminate the scripts
- If you’ve hired and trained well, allow your team to use their common sense.
- Great data “married” with common sense will create satisfied customers. The connection
comes when using the data to show customers you know them.

3. It is time to really listen to the customer.
- The customer is talking to you via many channels. How are using “their voice?”
- Use their input to make appropriate improvements.
- Showing you are listening engages the customer and drives loyalty.

The reality is you must get the basics right first. Once you have a reliable, responsive process to serve the
customer, it is time to work on creating a memorable experience. Get moving on doing not just talking
about it.