Great customer experience don’t just happen, they require vision, planning, and consistent execution in order to deliver the type of service experiences that create customer loyalty.
The principles of winning customer experiences aren’t complex. You don’t need to purchase expensive training systems or software.
It just takes a decision, by you. You decide the type of service experiences your customer will have today. You control the direction and effectiveness of your people and their ability to focus on the right principles that mean real customer service action.
10 Principles of a winning customer experience strategy
Dan Rockwell at Leadershipfreak got the ball rolling today with his 10 steps on a winner’s journey. These 10 steps will also lead you down the journey of winning customer experiences that matter to customers. These 10 principles of customer experience should be part of your customer experience management template.
1. Describe a winning customer experience. With just one word, if possible.
Probably the most difficult aspect of starting down the customer experience development road is defining a winning customer experience. We know what’s in our mind, we feel it in our heart, but translating it into words, then into actions is the initial barrier to great service.
2. Don’t worry about simplicity, focus on developing a clear customer outcomes.
Sometimes your experience process may not be simple. Depending on your organization or the needs of your customers, it may be very complex. That’s ok. The key is being able to clearly define what is a winning customer experience. There’s no limit in the number of steps, the amount of time, or the number of people that can be involved. What matters most is that you know what it is, that your people can act on it, and that your customers accept it.
3. Make winning service a series of clear destinations, not a onetime event.
There’s no single action, no one single word or phrase that will always win the customer. A winning customer experience is a process. It takes time. It takes consistent, positive action to achieve customer results. If your focus is on hitting the markers along the way, eventually you will arrive at your desired destination, that’s the nature of crafting an exceptional customer experience.
4. Win a customer today. Win another tomorrow. Win one more the day after that.
The best decision you can make is to win a customer today. Customer experience has to be focused on winning a customer for life. So much time is spent on preparing, wishing, hoping, dreaming of delivering exceptional customer experiences. But the ones who do it stop dreaming and start doing. Start today. Customer experience can make a different. Customer experience can deliver bottom-line business results.
5. Describe two winning customer experience behaviors that will win a customer today.
Start doing those two things today. If you’re already doing them, get someone else to start doing them too. You’re now not winning just one customer, but winning two. Tomorrow, pick another two behaviors to work on, then get someone else to do them too. Customer experience is active, not passive. It’s not enough to have a nice Web site or beautiful graphics. Ultimately you need to act in order to leave your customer with a good taste of what your customer experience has to offer.
6. Pick one counterproductive behavior that loses customers.
Don’t worry about two, three, or more of those behaviors. Just pick one thing your customers hate and stop doing them today. Get another team member to stop that behavior too. Repeat the process tomorrow, the day after, and the one after that. Then repeat the whole process again. Your customer experience won’t be perfect at first. It won’t be perfect the second time around. It will take many tries before you refine your customer experience to become the type that consistently creates loyal customers.
7. Build a winning customer relationship.
The next person you work with is the best one to start with. What do they need? Why do they need it? Why are they coming to you? What are their expectations? What are they concerns? What do they think is the perfect outcome? How do you typically stack up? What will keep them working with you? Is your customer experience designed around enhancing relationships? If not, you’ll need to re-think your customer experience approach in order to effectively create the type of feelings and emotions that convert customers for life.
8. Evaluate customer experience progress.
What is the typical customer experience? How many are positive? How many are negative? How are you tracking? Is your tracking getting reported? Is your reporting being used for future decisions? Are your decisions sustaining positive growth?
9. Celebrate winning customer experiences.
Pat yourself on the back. Ring a bell. Do a cheer, ok maybe just a quiet “Yes!” Are you celebrating your customer wins? Is your team celebrating winning customer experiences? Take time to point your successes in your customer experience training. This will go a long way to motivating your team members to continue working towards perfecting the customer experience process. Use customer experience quotes to encourage and set the tone to your daily service strategy.
10. Document and market your winning customer experiences.
Take the time implement a customer experience survey to give you an idea of what’s going right. Keep track of exceptional customer experiences. Publish your winning customer interactions. Share your awesome service stories. Post winning customer service on your blog. Share special customer experiences on social media. Spread the word about the great customer work getting done. Show that you mean business, your customers deserve the best, and you will deliver.
10 Principles of winning customer experiences you control
These are 10 principles of winning customer experiences that you can follow today. It doesn’t cost anything. You don’t need executive approval. You don’t need the board to vote on anything. Your manager doesn’t need to assign this. The principles are proven and effective as part of your client experience. You are in control. It’s up to you. You can improve customer experience. It’s your decision. You can do it.
And when you do, I’d love to hear about it. What’s your take on making a difference with these simple customer experience tips?
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