Are you easy or difficult to do business with? Would they rate your products and services as top-quality? Will they be repeat customers or regrettably “one-night stands?”
In a recent Bain & Company survey, 80% of companies believe they deliver a superior customer experience, but only 8 percent of their customers agree.
Why is there such a large gap and how can it be fixed?
Your customers or clients evaluate you every time they interact with your people, products and processes. Each of these interactions presents an opportunity to strengthen or weaken your reputation and your bottom line.
Every part of your business or practice, whether visible to the customer or not, impacts your customer’s experience. In our work with clients we found that customer delight is based on three major factors:
1. The Product Experience: Does it do what it says it going to do?
Customers care about performance. Customer delight starts with identify your customers and their differing needs. Do your products or services meet, and even exceed, their expectations?
2. The People Experience: What is it like to deal with your business?
Whether it's the neighborhood cafe, the telephone company or the city government, people play a major role in the overall customer experience. They are the “face” of your company, agency or practice. Are your people “people people”? Is that important to you?
3. The Process Experience: How well do you deliver your products or services?
No matter how good your product or service is, your customer will rate its quality and their satisfaction based on how you handle their requests; how you resolve their problems; how quickly and accurately you respond to them. Each transaction is important. How effective are you in dealing with your customers?
Smart Moves Tip:
Each and every customer experience can strengthen or weaken your reputation and profitability. Make customer focus a way of life. Start from day one to talk about your customers, who they are, what they want and how everyone, not just customer service, must meet their needs and expectations. Also check out What Do Southwest, 3M and GE Have in Common? and Are You Easy to Do Business With?
Do you have a gap between your game plan and your performance and profitability?
Don’t Gamble With Your Future! Close that gap and build your business, practice, firm or agency with The Business Edge and The Customer Experience. Get free e-book: 101 Tips.
Copyright © 2011 Marcia Zidle - the Actualizer – business strategist and coach.
Tags: business advice, business brand, customer experience, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, Marcia Zidle
