The Customer Experience

Ring, Ring!

The Customer Experience Leave a comment

Calling Customer Support can be a painful experience. After you get through the automated system you end up speaking to a person half a world away. Often you can barely understand the person and even “if” you can get your problem fixed it is always frustrating.

In contrast take a look at the popular online retailer Zappos. Touch one button on the automated system and you are talking to a real person. I had to return a backpack yesterday and talked to John at Zappos. Not only did he handle the return, he also helped me find the correct color backpack (my teenagers are very picky). The process was painless and enjoyable.

Great customer service is just one of the reasons Zappos owns the customer experience. Who answers your phones?

Two Roles, That’s It Kid

The Customer Experience, The Thought Police One comment
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If you really think it through, there are only two roles within any Company’s organization:

  1. Sales; and,
  2. Sales Support.

If you’re truly a Customer-Centric organization, then there quite simply can’t be any other role within your Company.

Period.

If you do have other roles, then you’re a product-centric company.

Everyone in your organization ultimately touches the product (service), the process, and definitively affects the Customer’s Experience.

It’s about a different paradigm: focus on your products, or focus on how your Customers EXPERIENCE your products.

How To Enchant Your Customers

The Customer Experience, The Thought Police, Word-of-Mouth Marketing Leave a comment

Here’s a great post from Guy Kawasaki… the #1 below is my favorite:

“I love to do business with small businesses—in-store, online, for myself, for others, for pleasure, for work—it doesn’t matter to me. I love to find great products and services made by entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world. And I love to help small business owners because they aren’t flying around in corporate jets and lunching with investment bankers. American Express’s idea for Small Business Saturday is a marvelous one, and I’d like to help out by them explaining 10 ways that small businesses can enchant their customers.

  1. Put likable, competent and passionate people on the front line. I prefer to interact with employees who smile, know what they’re talking about, and love what they sell. However, companies often put the lowest-paid, least-experienced employees behind the counter or at the front desk and hope for the best. This doesn’t make sense. Ask yourself this question: Is the first impression of my business a good one? Because if it’s a bad one, it may also be the last one.“

Continue reading the rest of Guy’s post HERE.