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Friday, June 26, 2009

The Customer Experience

In good times, or bad, it’s what matters most!

Think about it… why do you shop where you do? For some, it’s all about price. For others, it is convenience, or the quality and variety of products offered that keeps them coming back. But, for the majority of us, it’s about all of that… and more.

Most of us want to do business with a business that values what we value; a place that runs on common sense, not silly rules; a place where we are recognized and feel appreciated; a place where we can count on fast, friendly and efficient service. We don’t want to wait, we don’t want to be rushed, and we really don’t want to be sold to!

But we do want to buy…and sometimes, we need a little help with the process; and when we do, we want to deal with people who take time to really understand our needs, people genuinely interested in us not just as customers, but also as members of the human race. Please tell me such a place still exists.

With markets shrinking, it is especially important those of us in business understand why people do business where they do; and even more important we provide a customer experience aligned with that understanding.

Gone are the days where demand outstripped supply and we could count on sales regardless of our quality of service. Gone as well are the days when we could compete solely on product, price or channel differentiation. Thanks to the Internet, competitive advantage of that nature is typically duplicated in a matter of weeks, days, even hours.

A quality customer experience is not so easily duplicated, ergo the fact that great customer experiences are rare and horrendous ones commonplace. That said, those with the desire and commitment to create one can achieve consistent delivery of a great customer experience.

Enhancing the customer experience not only represents a journey into the final frontier of sustainable competitive advantage, but also one of the best pathways out of this economic downturn. Yet, as the recession lingers, what we are seeing is less, not more attention given to this imperative.

This spells bad news for consumers, the economy, and sadly, for the many visitors we are expecting to visit our province in the months ahead as we host the world during the 2010 Olympics. But, there is a silver lining. This general decline in service quality represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to gain market share for the enlightened few that truly understand - it is the customer experience that matters most!

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If you would like to know more about how Wavemaker Consulting can help your company improve the customer experience you provide, visit our Website, or email us at wmconsulting@live.com



Thursday, June 11, 2009

Your Call


The following is claimed to be an actual radio transmission intercepted some years back off the coast of Newfoundland.
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Real or not, the message is a powerful one!
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Operator #1: "Oncoming vessel, kindly alter your course 15 degrees east - over"

Operator #2: "Actually, we would be pleased if you were to alter your course 15 degrees - over"

Operator #1: "We are a US Navy Vessel. We repeat, alter your course 15 degree east - over"

Operator #2: "We repeat, it would be best if you were to alter your course and go around - over"

Operator #1: "LISTEN! WE ARE A UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT CARRIER, A FORMIDABLE VESSEL OF WAR! WE COMMAND YOU TO ALTER YOUR COURSE IMMEDIATELY! -over"

Operator #2: "We’re a lighthouse…your call."

The Message: No matter how strong you think your position may be, there are times when it is simply better to ‘go around’. This is especially important to remember when dealing with customer complaints.

If your initial reaction to a complaint situation is to try to establish who is at fault, or worse yet, to enter into a heated debate over who is right and who is wrong, there is a extremely good chance you’ll find yourself on the losing end.

I'm not suggesting the customer is always right. Often they are not. But regardless of who is right, or wrong, or even who wins the argument; if that's your main concern, you'll no doubt lose the business ...and in my books, that makes you the loser.

To be truly effective in the complaint handling and customer retention game, you must be objective. To be truly objective, you must first hear and acknowledge the customer's point of view, then force yourself to focus not on who is right and who is wrong, but rather on finding ways to put things right!

Right or wrong, your customers have as much right to be heard as you do. Once they have had their say, and you have had a chance to come up with a reasonable, well-informed and solution-based response, they’ll be much more inclined to listen to and appreciate your suggestions.

Take this approach and chances are you'll retain the customer and eliminate the possibility that they'll speak badly of you and your business to others. And even better than that, there is a substantial amount of research indicating customers who have had a complaint that has been effectively resolved, tend to be more loyal and better advocates than those who have simply never had a problem.
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In the service business, every decision you make
and every action you take adds to, or detracts from
the customer experience. You can either take time
to think them through, or not - it's your call.

To comment on this blog click on 'comments' below. To read previous articles, see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

NEW: If you would like to be notified whenever a new Wavemaker blog topic is posted, just drop us an email at wmconsulting@live.com with "Blog Me" in the subject bar. We promise never to provide your contact details to anyone else and you can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

If you would like to know more about how Wavemaker Consulting can help your company improve the customer experience you provide, visit our Website, or email us at wmconsulting@live.com