“60% of people are willing to pay more for better customer experience”. This is a statistic out of a book called “Running Lean” by Ash Muray about lean start-up activities. Customer experience can apply when a customer is individually using a product or service, but a lot of the time it is in the presence of an employee-customer interaction. How we interact with customers is such a crucial factor in the success or failure of an organization. The way your brand is presented by word of mouth is primarily based off of the customer experience, interaction, and service provided.
From the discovery of a product or service to the actual use of it, a customers view of your brand is continuously subconsciously being thought through. If the marketing doesn’t display your brand well enough not enough trust is present, and the customer isn’t going into a potential purchase with a great experience in mind. On the other hand, if the product or service isn’t user-friendly or more than satisfactory, then the experience that the customer has is tainted. All this to say, customer service is not the only part that plays into the customer experience.
The customer service piece of the experience is more relevant in more service-based businesses (software products, barbering, grocery stores, complex tech, etc.). For example, one company that I’ve had phenomenal customer service from is Fitbit. In the past, I’ve sent them a picture of a warranty or how the product I have of theirs broke and they immediately send a new/ replacement product (and most of the time the transaction is within minutes). They are always willing to help as fast and as best as possible in so many different channels like Twitter, email, phone, etc. For the rest of my life, I will remember FitBit as the company that gave me the most comfortable time with product difficulties.
In my work, I have some great techniques that work reasonably well most if not all the time. For example, one thing I believe that creates a great customer experience is re-instilling confidence is the customer. When a guest asks me at an event if I can do something for them or answer a question, as long as it’s in my power to do/ answer said thing I will start off with “Absolutely!” or “Of course, let me get right on that for you!”. I’ve found just starting off with an answer like that almost instantly re-instills confidence and makes the customer at ease (especially in high-stress environments).
Another simple thing I do is always say “my pleasure”. There is a reason that Chik-Fil-A requires their employees still to say my pleasure. This backs-up your willingness to do a task or answer a question and serve them which makes them think more respectful of the organization.
Next, whenever something needs to get done for a customer or guest, and it is apart of the service we provide, I make sure whatever I am in charge of is of the utmost quality. No room for mediocre.
One last thing I will share that I do to make sure people have a great customer experience is to go out of my way to double check on them and ensure they’re happy. Even if I don’t have to, at tastings for my work, I would ask guests what else I can bring out for them, any questions they have, and how they are doing so far.
To conclude, customer experience is one of the most critical yet overlooked areas of a business and can always be improved. There is a myriad of different things that fit into customer experience, but when they are taken into account and prioritized the end consumer is pleased which helps everyone involved.