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

Your Call

The following is claimed to be an actual radio transmission intercepted some years back off the coast of Newfoundland.

R

Real or not, the message is a powerful one!

O

O

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.

O

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).

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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

Coffee Anyone?

In this world of ever

increasing commoditization,

key to winning the battle of

the marketplace is a clearly

differentiated (and better)

customer experience

Question: How is it that a person will spend over three dollars for a cup of coffee at a trendy coffee shop when that same cup of coffee could be enjoyed at an upscale hotel for two dollars and fifty cents, a casual restaurant for a buck and a half, a fast food place for a dollar, or in the comfort of your own home for a total cost of about twenty cents?

Answer: It’s not about coffee . . . it's about the customer experience!

Think about it. Regardless of what you are buying, your decision as per whom you buy it from is more dependent on the total value proposition (convenience, service experience, image, ambiance, trust, packaging, etc.) than it is about the product or price.

The same holds true for almost any product. Take financial products and services for example. You can get a mortgage, open an RRSP, or receive financial advice from any number of financial services providers ...and all for pretty much the same price. Why do you bank where you do?

Long gone are the days when all you had to do was build a better mousetrap and customers would beat a path to your door. Today, new and improved product and service offerings can be replicated by the competition in a matter of days, if not hours. Now, to get the customer to come to you, and stay with you, you must present a better total value proposition!

That is what customers are really buying and knowing what customers are really buying is key to selling more of it!

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).

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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

A Magic Formula For Thriving In Tough Times

I'm sure you all recognize this famous couple, but how much do you know about their history? Well let me tell you about it…



It all began in 1923 when an ambitious young man named Walt Disney arrived in Hollywood California with a big dream, a few sketches and $40 in his pocket. Soon thereafter, Walt convinced his brother Roy to join him and together they formed The Disney Brothers Studio using $200 Roy had saved, $500 borrowed from an uncle, and $2,500 contributed by their parents who mortgaged their house to come up with the funds! In no time, they hired a small staff and got down to the business.

For the first few years, Walt and Roy paid the rent and their staff by selling their early cartoons which were the original versions of “Alice in Wonderland” to M.J. Winkler, a New York film distributor. It wasn’t until early 1928 that Mickey Mouse, Disney’s best known creation was born.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

When the demand for the Alice series waned, Walt created a new character for Winkler named ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’. Oswald’s popularity grew, and in the spring of 1928, Walt decided to go to New York to negotiate a higher price for the contract.

Unbeknownst to Walt, Charlie Mintz , Winkler’s husband, had recently engineered a hostile takeover of Walt’s operation, enticing most of his staff away with the promise of better money. What Walt also did not know was that according to the terms of the original contract, Charlie Mintz and Universal Pictures actually owned all legal rights to Oswald as well as the Alice series. Thinking he had the upper hand, Mintz demanded that Walt Disney give up his business and go to work for him. Walt refused and stormed out of his office to return to California with virtually nothing.

It was during the four day train ride home from that fateful meeting in New York that Mickey Mouse was born. Walt originally wanted to call the little guy Mortimer, but fortunately, Walt’s wife convinced him that Mickey would sound less formal. Likely prompted by that conversation, the creation of Minnie was soon to follow.

Walt completed Mickey’s first cartoon, "Plane Crazy." in record time, but likely intimidated by the Universal Pictures disputes, no distributor would buy it. Not one to quit, Walt produced a second silent Mickey cartoon, called "Gallopin' Gaucho" which was also a very tough sell.

If nothing but persistent, late in 1928, Walt Disney began work on his third Mickey Mouse cartoon, this time a talkie, entitled, "Steamboat Willie." The young man (now 26) invested everything he had left into the film. This time the investment paid off and Mickey and his leading lady Minnie became stars, and orders for more cartoons came flooding in.

All that said, Walt’s troubles were far from over. It was 1929 and looming on the horizon was the Great Depression. Fortunately by this time, Walt, Mickey and Minnie were no strangers to adversity. They not only knew how to manage it, but even how to turn it to their advantage. Laughter sold well during the dirty thirties… and well beyond!

So what was Mickey, Minnie and Walt's magic formula for thriving in tough times. It's simple really. For over 80 years they made people (customers) happy! And they still do.

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).

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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

The Silent Disappearing Act

The following was submitted as a comment by Justin Baillie (a fellow crusader of the service quality cause) in response to one of my earlier articles entitled ' The Company You Keep.' Given Justin's words spoke to more than just the core theme of that effort, I decided that rather than post it as a comment, I'd put it up as a whole new article. Thanks Justin!

I am probably the worst kind of dissatisfied customer. When something goes wrong, I just walk away. You'll not hear another thing about it from me (did I hear you breathe a sigh of relief?), I'll never again do business with you and, being human, I'll tell all of my family and friends not to either.

You have just lost a customer and you don’t even have a clue why. And you can’t win me back, because I’m gone. Like magic, I just disappeared and all your companies expensive MI will show is attrition, with no attributable or tangible explanation.

If management is clever, when they see a lot of attrition, they may try to find the cause. But don't worry; that takes a lot of time and how will they know it's linked to the poor customer service you provided?

Let's be realistic. Customers come and go, and we all generally spend a lot more time trying to get new ones than focusing on the existing, or exiting ones.

And besides, so what if I have left, what’s the big deal, who cares?

But, just in case you are interested, here's the ironic bit: the reason I am walking away is trivial and you could so easily have done the right thing in the first place, or put it right after the fact, if only you'd picked up on my rather obvious signs of displeasure.

Now I'm thinking that you and your organization don’t really care about service, or my business. Fair enough, you are a big corporate, you make millions, so why should you care about my few hundred or maybe few thousand dollars of revenue? I bet your motto is “There are plenty of other fish in the sea.” Right?

Fortunately for me, that works both ways. What you offer is available in many different places, maybe even for less money. I’ll just take my business elsewhere; thank you very much.

Justin

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

In Good Times and Bad

To be productive, there are only two things you can do in business:

1-add value

2-save costs

Now then - which are you doing right now?

The above words of wisdom were sent to me by a good friend and X boss. While I love the simplicity and see no need to mess with them, I would like to suggest there is something to be said for the order in which they are presented, especially given the times.

While all for running a tight ship, I am more than a little concerned for those companies focusing first and foremost on cutting costs, but giving little or no thought to adding value.

Particularly disconcerting is the all to common practice of cutting programs aimed at improving the skills and knowledge of long standing employees, or worse yet cutting the people themselves.

I suspect most, if not all of these these companies are going to find themselves behind the eight ball when the markets turns, if not before. And, when it comes to time to staff back up, the cost of regaining, or retraining the skills and knowledge lost may be more than many can bare.

So if your response to the question posed above is simply "I'm cutting costs" and you haven't already developed and implemented a plan for adding value, you might want to rethink your approach.

What is the best, and likely the least expensive way to add value, regardless of the times?

We would suggest the answer lies in retaining and further developing your best people so your company can deliver a superior customer experience that differentiates you from your competitors, both today and in the future - a logical strategy for both good times and bad!

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).

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

Change

While some would say it comes in waves and others suggest it rides an expediential curve; I believe that change may well prove to be the last remaining constant.


What with everything going on in the world these days, you have to admit, these are certainly interesting and ever-changing times!

For the most part, change is a good thing as without it, there can be no improvement. But significant and rapid change does have its down sides, one of which is the risk that faced with the uncertainty, confusion and fear typically associated with change, we may occasionally lose sight of what matters most.

In business, there is no doubt that it is the customer that matters most. After all, if not for customers, we wouldn’t have our businesses.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the general decline in service quality of late, it would appear that at least some, likely distracted by recent events, may have lost sight of this fact. Perhaps it would help to remind ourselves (and others) that even inturbulent times, service quality is one of the things we still have complete control over.

So enough of being distracted by things outside our control; isn’t it time we all returned our attentions to what matters most?

No matter if you believe that change comes in waves, is expediential in nature, or is the last remaining constant; during turbulent times it is wise to remember that you can only manage those things within your control. Among these are operational efficiency, sales effectiveness, cost containment and above all else, service quality!

In the face of a storm, these are your anchors and if you give them your undivided attention and manage them well, they will keep you from being washed off course and onto the rocks.

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).

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