Last week was my wife’s birthday and we wanted to do something fun and special – of course, where have you heard that before.  Since we live in Woodinville Wine Country, Woodinville Washington, we decided having a party at a winery would be a fun experience.  But which one – there are tons of great wineries 10 minutes from our house.  We didn’t have much time so unfortunately we didn’t’ get to try them all (dang) so we narrowed it down and picked J.Bookwalter Winery.

They were very accommodating and we liked their wines.  Now came the test – the evening of the party. What were they going to be like?  After all, it was a special occassion so you don’t want it to be a bad memory.  Well, Nick and Erin came through big time and did an absolutely awesome job of serving the guests and making everyone feel at home.  They poured samples and glasses of wine, made sure everything came off smoothly and helped in every way possible to clean up.  Now THAT made it a memorable experience.

They did everything they should have to make it a memorable customer experience.  I knew what to expect from the beginning, they worked with me on the selection, made sure the guests were treated like kings and queens and in the end allowed us to do our thing and make the evening special.  My hat’s off to Erin and Nick – they get what a great customer experience is all about.  I would encourage anyone in the area to give them a call – use my name and tell them you want the same experience Blaine got – they’ll know what you mean.  Enjoy!!

Blaine

In this article, Tom said, “If you can’t get people to pay for what they love, we’re all out of business.” WOW – this was a great statement not just for Newsweek magazine but for the world of business.  Think about it.  If you don’t create a customer experience where your customer doesn’t “love dealing with you” how long, in this competitive climate called a recession are you going to last?  This is something i have espoused for years and years that is you don’t have a customer experience that customers love and they don’t absolutely love dealing with you, Trust and Loyalty are always going to an elusive goal. 

If you take anything away from Tom’s message it is this.  Get someone to honestly evaluate your current cusotmer experience from an objective perspective.  NO, ididn’t say do another lame survey.  I said understanding the CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE and the PROMISES that go along with being able to deliver on this experience.  Get help in understanding the Promises your customers want from you and figure out how far off you are in being able to deliver on these promises and FIX IT or you run the risk of going the direction of the print media – extinction.

Understand what it takes for your customers to LOVE dealing with you and what PROMISES they want you to keep every day and you will have LOYAL customers that TRUST you and wouldn’t go anywhere else.  And in these difficult times, isn’t that what everyone wants?  Hope this helps…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

By way of background, we had this issue several years ago in the Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction discussions.  What I would do is get a room of people together (not more than 25) and I would ask them all to write down the definitions of “Loyalty” and “satisfaction” and a few other terms.  You guessed it – what came back were a whole host of definitions that were all over the map.  So then, what “is” the right definition?  The only answer was, it depends.

Fast forward to today and ask the same question about the word “Authenticity” and I’ll bet you a venti Starbucks latte that I would get the same results as I did with the words Loyalty and Satisfaction.  Big problem.  If you have one definition and your audience has another one, you will NEVER see eye-to-eye and thus won’t be able to deliver the “experience” they are desiring from you.  It is absolutely critical that you are on the same page with your definitions so you can deliver on these.

OK, so what’s the answer you ask?  Find a word or words that aren’t as ambiguous and that you don’t have to spend a lot of time and resources to make sure you are on the same page.  We came up with the word “PROMISES” to do just that.  No, we didn’t invent the word, we just decided to use it in the context of customers to make life simpler and more straight forward.  When I asked the same question of the group above and used “Promises” they virtually all got it right.  Why?  Because it is a simple and powerful word that everyone understands.  Is it dangerous?  Absolutely.  Anything powerful has the potential of being dangerous.  I will talk more about this in another post.

I just read Seth Godin’s latest blog titled, “Authenticity.”  Interesting discussion on this exact topic.  Why?  Because Seth uses the two words, “Authenticity” and “Promises” interchangeably!  He believes the definition of Authenticity is keeping your promises and “acting” a certain way rather than “being” a certain way.  Very interesting argument.  But if I asked all of you if you would have equated these two terms, I doubt I would have gotten much agreement – thus my initial point – definitions that are ambiguous NEVER, NEVER, NEVER result in easy to deliver experiences. 

When you use a word, make sure you feel it has the strength to be consistent among your audiences, especially customers and employees.  Otherwise, you run the risk of misunderstanding and delivering the “wrong” experience to your audience.  That is the reason we settle on the word “PROMISES” and live by the belief that if you understand what these are and can keep them with our audience (personal or professional) you will build TRUST which ultimately builds LOYALTY - it’s that simple.  Comments welcome…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

With that in mind, I had to comment on a couple of his most recent entries.  Why?  Because I really liked where he was coming from and because I think he left a couple of things out along the way.  Let me explain.

On January 23rd, he wrote in his blog the following:

Easiest cheap way to dramatically increase sales

Call your customers. Or write to them.

“I know that times might be tough for you. Is there anything I can do to pitch in and help?”

You’ll end up doing a lot for your customers. Which is a wonderful privilege. Even for those that don’t reciprocate.

 

 

Seth, couldn’t agree more – almost.  I absolutely positively agree, as a customer experience evangelist, that you should be doing everything at this point in time to be communicating with your customers/clients.  BUT, rather than just leave it open ended of asking how you can help, be direct.  Ask your customers, “How can I help you be more successful in your business today?”  Now THAT will get their attention and elicit some responses that may offer you more specific ways you could help.  This usually is followed by questions and discussion – which is what your goal should be anyway.  The goal is to help “brainstorm” new ideas and new ways of thinking about the current environment we are in.  What you usually won’t get is “cut your prices” – that is what they will tell your competitors that didn’t ask the question.  Seth had the right idea for sure, just needed to push it a little further along. 

Seth also wrote on January 22nd, the following:

The five pillars of success

1. See (really see) what’s possible
2. Know specifically what you want to achieve
3. Make good decisions
4. Understand the tactics to get things done and to change minds
5. Earn the trust and respect of the people around you

It sure seems like we spend all our time on #4.

 

 

Again, couldn’t agree more – almost.  I would suggest another one – say 4.5 in the list.  I would suggest adding, “Keep your Promises – not matter what.”  Everything on the list is correct but it won’t lead to trust and loyalty and respect.  Keeping your promises, over and over and over and over again will do that.  So again, love the list – just with one minor addition. 

Thanks Seth – once again you are on target with relevant topics.  Keep them coming.  In the meantime, I hope you all have an awesome day!

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

John states in the article that when times are tough and the economy is either weakening, is already weak or is headed downward, don’t try and cover it up with “things are going well” type comments to employees – be straight with them and be TRANSPARENT.  Everyone knows this is happening, so why are we making excuses that it isn’t or it isn’t as bad over here or over there – just be straight.  There is too much information easily obtainable today that would warrant this type of behavior.  Yet, many if not most organizations today continue to play this pathetic game of cat and mouse with employees.

OK, let’s turn the tables a bit on this same subject.  What about your CUSTOMERS?  Don’t you think they deserve the same treatment?  Absolutely YES!!  Why would an organization try to paint a different picture for their customers when they, in most likelihood, realize things are tough and as such you should be straight with them as well.  It is really pathetic when a company tells their customers “hey, things are going well for us” and then they lay off 20% of their employees – duh?  Customers aren’t stupid and when you treat them like they are, guess what happens – they DEFECT and buy from your competitors. 

The goal of any organization should be to be as transparent as possible to their customers and form greater partnering opportunities and situations where they share more information with their customers.  Customers realize you need to make a profit so why hide it – be up front with it.  Customers know you have to operate in certain ways to make their life as easy as possible, don’t hide that either.  And most certainly customers figure out when you are in trouble as a company or not – don’t hide that either.  Instead, adopt a philosophy of TRANSARENCY with both your customers and employees and you will benefit greatly.

Remember, Loyalty, whether it be employee loyalty or customer loyalty, is an end state.  It is built on a foundation of trust.  Trust is built on a foundation of making and keeping your promises and being transparent with your customers and employees.  Don’t think you can get to loyalty and skip trust – hasn’t ever worked and never will.  Spend the time, invest in your people and your customers and above all, be transperant and straight with both of them.  The rewards will far outweigh any additional costs or hardships you might endure. 

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

The quote was, “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”  So how does this relate to customers?

Simple.  It really relates to a number of areas but let me pick just one – CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY’S. This is a tool that is basically worthless, in my opinion, today as a tool for caputuring differentiating data from your customers.  Instead, it has been used as a “validating tool” to simply validate what it is the organization “thinks” is important to their customer.  Problem is the traditional “Bell Curve.”  Only the extreme ends (those that love you and those that hate you) generally provide feedback so it is automatically skewed from the start.  The customers in the middle (the other 80%) don’t bother either because they are merely “satisfied” or they don’t care – either because they know their information won’t change anything or they truly don’t care enough to respond.  Either way, bad information.

So, back to the Einstein quote on counting.  Think about his quote in regard to customer survey’s.  “Not everything that counts can be counted” is the first part. Exactly!  What is most important to the customer isn’t something that can be tallied in a survey.  Rather, they want to be heard and give you their opinion and what Promises they want you to keep – not checking boxes.  Is it more work?  Yes. Is it more valuable?  Absolutely.  The voice of the customer, giving you their own words is invaluable, most companies are just too lazy to take the time to go get it. 

The second part of the quote supports the first part, “…not everything that can be counted counts.”  This basically says the same thing as above – just because you “can” count it (as in a survey with numbers and statistics) doesn’t mean it really counts.  Having numbers doesn’t make it right nor does it make it accurate – it just is something that has numbers behind it.  Are numbers good?  Absolutely – but only when used to capture “valuable” information used for the benefit of improving the customer experience each and every day.

So Einstein was spot on in regard to how to capture valuable information from your customer and how to use it – he just didn’t know it.  Put his saying on your wall and next time ask your customer which they would rather have – someone asking them specifically what Promises they want you to keep or handing them a survey and a pen.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

In an interview, Phelps said, “Putting money in the bank.  When you train every day, sometimes there are workouts you don’t like, don’t want to do.  Bob says you’re putting money in the bank.  I guess I put a lot of money in the bank over the last four years, and we withdrew pretty much every penny in the bank.  After Bob and I both grab a break, it’ll be time to start depositing.”

What a great comment from the most decorated athlete at these Games – congratulations Michael and Bob – job well done.  OK, so how does this relate to customers, strategy and driving more revenue?  Well, I’m sure many of you have figured out already where I am going with this one.  Let me explain.

First, when you start by learning more about your customers than your competition, you start to make deposits in your “CUSTOMER LOYALTY ACCOUNT” and building up reserves.  The more you learn the more you deposit into the account.

Second, the more you are able to deliver on the Promises your customers want you to deliver on the more deposits you make into the Loyalty Account.  They measure you on how well you deliver on what you say you are going to do.

Third, when you demonstrate “consistent behavior” to your customers you are also making deposits into the account as they see you are able to give them what they want each and every day.  This is the crux of building customer loyalty (as we have discussed many times before) and as such they reward you with their loyalty for your efforts.

OOOPS – you screwed something up, made a mistake, messed up something.  This is the point where you actually make a WITHDRAWL from the LOYALTY ACCOUNT so you can make up for what went wrong.  If, like Michael Phelps, you have been doing your work and making deposits, your customers will give you another chance and allow you to withdraw from the account to make it right.  However, do it too often or too many times and you will “DEPLETE” the account and the customer walks – its that simple.

Michael gave us a tremendous analogy (we will be using it again for sure) that fits exactly why it is important for companies and their employees to make deposits in the CUSTOMER LOYALTY ACCOUNT every chance they get because, as we all know, we will have to make a withdrawal someday.  Thanks Michael and Bob – great way to look at something more than the swimming.   

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

I left a comment on their site that basically said, good idea, but not something that will build loyalty longer term.  Why?  Simple.  This, as many other articles and ideas out there focus on what to do immediately and uniquely to change the customer experience so your customer will go, “Wow, this is pretty interesting maybe I will be loyal to them now.”  I hate to say it but that just isn’t how it works with customer experiences and loyalty.

What builds Loyalty is TRUST.  And Trust can only be “earned” by “consistent” repetition of events.  We use the word “Promises” as one way to describe these events.  If someone understands the “Promises” a customer (or employee or shareholder or supplier or partner – you get the point) wants you to make, and you have a way to consistently keep that promise, your constituent will begin to build up trust with you.  Without consistency you have no trust.  And without trust you have no loyalty.

So, when someone starts talking about having a new way to deliver a customer experience that sets them apart, it is important to remember that it is the “basics” that create loyalty.  Customers, based on our experience and research, have shown the one PARAMOUNT component they would like is to have a “consistent” and “predictable” experinece that can be repeated over and over again – customers DON’T like SURPRISES. 

We have found that the only true way to actually build a “consistent” and “repeatable” experience is to link the desired experience to the processes of the organization.  Without this linkage you can’t have everyone on the same page delivering the same experience.  When the experience isn’t connected to the processes, you run the risk of getting “happy Harry” or “sad Sally” instead of what they want, which is “mediocre Mike.”  Customers would rather have a mediocre experience that is consistent than an exceptional experience once in a while and not know what they are getting.

So when you read all the articles, blogs, comments, etc. out there that talk about the “latest and greatest” way to WOW your customers – don’t listen.  Go back to what you know is what the customer really wants – CONSISTENCY and REPETITIVE experiences they can count on each and every day and not guess which experience they are going to get.  Don’t give in – resist the temptation to continually confuse your customer – that will only lead to defection, not LOYALTY. 

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

But really folks, think about your own lives and those of your businesses.  Isn’t it refreshing when something you are working on or involved in or managing is so simple everyone gets it right away?  Isn’t every one’s life easier (other than possibly the consultant that is trying to make it too complex) when something is simple?  I am reminded of this every day in the work we do and in my own personal life.  Think of Apple and the Ipod – can’t get any simpler than that – one button and a wheel does it all.  Every time, and I mean every time I either make something more complex than it should be or communicate my thoughts in a way that is too complex to understand, everyone loses – especially me. 

I built Customer Experiences Inc. using the mantra, “Simple Solutions – Powerful Results” and I try to live by that every day for the sake of my clients.  We do a lot of things, one of which is helping companies better understand the promises their customers want them to keep.  As part of that work we are constantly reminded by our clients customers how complex they have made the relationship.  They don’t fully understand what they are being promised and they aren’t really sure if they are delivering on these promises that they don’t fully understand – whew – that is is complex and confusing. 

Another example is when we look inside our clients own “house” to see what is happening internally.  Invariably, we see new solutions and programs being implemented (or I should say trying to be implemented) that have no chance in you know what of succeeding.  Why?  Because they are so complex that the majority of employees don’t even understand the program or their role in helping to make it happen.  It doesn’t work if only top management and the creator of the program gets it – it has to reach the “lowest common denominator” in the company.  If they don’t get it, it won’t work.  But when companies introduce programs that are so simple the lowest level employee “gets it” and understands their role in it – it is generally wildly successful. 

A great example of this, and I keep going back to this company, is Southwest Airlines.  Their missions statement is so simple everyone gets it and knows their role in it.  It is simply, “The Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Simple – everyone gets it and can do their best to make sure they are living by this rule.  We could all learn a bit more and be a bit more effective at everything we do if we constantly keep the word SIMPLE in front of us every step of the way – and when things start to spiral out of control, remember the Golden Rule and get back to something that is simply simple.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

I tried to open this discussion in the article, “Marry Your Customer” that was posted a couple of months back. I have received lots of positive reviews of that with the most common one being, “you’re exactly right, why should what we do for pay during the day cause us to act any different that we would to the ones we love.” It shouldn’t and that is my point.

So I hope all of you can take some time, when appropriate, to reflect on this and realize that if you understand the Promises the people in your personal life want from you and you truly care about them, you will keep them – at least most of the time. By keeping your Promises over time, you will build Trust and eventually Loyalty and ultimately complete commitment from each other. That is what it is all about in life anyway, right?

So I hope you all have a great day – I know I will. Think about these relationships and see what you can do to continue to build more Trust and Loyalty to those in your life that matter. Have an awesome day…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.