Rather than repeat what Seth said in “Winning on the Uphills” post, I just wanted to share this with you and add my 2 cents.  The key in this to me is hat we all have the “moments of truth” many call them where things are in a shambles and look like there is no light at the end of the tunnel (except the oncoming train) and we don’t know what to do.  The key here is to “rally the resources” and demonstrate what you are really made of – delivering a great customer experience.

It reminds me of my days back at IBM when something would go wrong with a system or an installation (I was in sales and sold their big iron to big companies).  They didn’t sit around and blame or point fingers or try to convince the customer it was their problem, NO, they put “people in planes” and flew them in to solve the problem.  The customers LOVED it and we earned more LOYALTY that day than all the other days where we just kept them happy.

Morale of the story – use the worst of times and the crisis to demonstrate what it is your customer wants – focus on their issue and resolving it in the heat of battle.  And you don’t have to do this very many times – only once in a while and you earn a lot of Loyalty Points in their eyes.  So “man up” and show them what you’ve got…

Customers are EXACTLY THE SAME!  How many times have you woken up and found out a customer has “defected” and left for the competition.  You rally the troops, do an analysis of what happened and why and then go back to the way you were doing business with the rest of the customers until it happens again, and again, and again.  Why not stop this in its tracks.

I was talking to a prospective client the other day after he was lamenting about how hard it was in these difficult times to keep a customer.  My question to him was, “what are you doing today that was any different from a year ago?”  His answer, we do the same things today we did then and now they are leaving because of price and other issues (so they say).  I said, EXACTLY.  Changing the game, getting closer to your customer, understanding their needs on a “real-time basis” is critical to staying in front of the competition.

I encouraged him to have us do some interviews of his customers and let their “voice” be heard.  Half the battle is won when you reach out and just tell your customer you are interested in their opinions as you make changes or modifications or enhancements.  Who out there doesn’t want to be part of something new and exciting and improved – no one!  So don’t just assume that your customers are happy, put together some great questions, go ask and then report back what you learned.  You will be amazed what you will learn and your customers will start to understand that you really do care about them in ways other then them spending more money with you.  GIve it a shot – what do you have to lose – another customer???

Blaine

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

Loyalty is not built overnight, but it can start with a single event. This past week I was in Nashville celebrating my wife’s birthday and had some great experiences. I thought you might enjoy hearing about them as you think about “customer experiences” and how they can create “customer loyalty.”

Consistency is still KING. One particular experience we had in Nashville was to sample some of the local cuisine – very different from the Pacific Northwest to be sure. I never knew you could deep fry so many things! I wonder if new homes come with built in Deep Fryers in addition to the stove and cooktops. One restaurant we experienced was called Caney Fork Fish Camp, just outside of Opryland. We went there to try the local delicacy of “fried pickles” – which we heard were one of a kind. They were.

The fried pickles were, in my humble opinion, excellent! I’m not sure I could make a steady diet of them but they were certainly an unusual treat. I’m ahead of myself a bit so let me back up. When we got to the restaurant, the hostess was actually quite rude and seated us in the bar – away from the ambience and action. I asked to be moved and it seemed like a big imposition. First impression – not good. However, when the waitress came to great us she was totally opposite – super wound up and friendly. Happy to help, she immediately put things on a better course. By the end of the meal we met the manager and she was super friendly and very willing to talk to us “outsiders” about their restaurant, cuisine and culture.

So in the end, we had a great experience and left willing to recommend the restaurant to others. But it could have gone the other direction. I am still puzzled how they allowed the hostess to treat us like she did and set the “inconsistent” tone to be one I could have walked away from. If she had been consistent, they would have captured me from the start and I would have been beaming. As it is, I would warn everyone to ignore the hostess and focus on the waitress and manager. That is unnecessary and certainly wasn’t the impression they wanted to leave.

So if you want to capture the hearts, minds and feelings of your audience from the beginning, make sure your first impression is your strongest. It can carry the day and certainly allow you to jump start your way to building unsurpassed loyalty. Do a “self-audit” of your own organization – is the first impression ALWAYS consistent with the impression you want everyone to leave with? If not, time to start over.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

twitter: @BlaineMillet

OK, sometimes this might be true and out of your control.  But from my experience and what I have seen for many years, and even more so these days, these aren’t the real reasons at all – it is the lack of a consistent and desirable customer experience.  The lack of a consistent and “customer-focused” customer experience is the primary reason customers leave companies and go to the competition.

Remember, everyone basically hates change.  We drive the same way to work, we get dressed the same way in the mornings, we do a lot of activities because they are consistent and we feel comfortable with them – the same way your customer feels (or should feel) about you.  Because of this phenomenon of human behavior, the key is to understand first hand the experience your customer wants (ask them) and then design the way you operate to consistently deliver these experiences.  If you do, amazing things will happen – they will actually stay with you even though the competition lowers their price.

Learn about your customer – in depth.  Ask the “right” questions to get the “right” answers that they really want you to know to serve them.  Forget the survey process (topic of another blog) and build (or hire) a process to get the “good stuff” from them – this will give you a much stronger advantage and lead over your competition – more than cutting price by a few bucks.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

twitter: @BlaineMillet

The key message from their study, “Giving Customer Voice more Volume,” was summarized perfectly, “Customer experience is one of the most critical determinants of brand strength and business growth. Yet most organizations and senior marketers suffer from major blind spots and gaps in the way they interact, handle and respond to customer issues or problems,” says council executive director Donovan Neale-May.

The truth be told, it is far easier than companies believe it is to actually understand the customer experience their customers want.  At least 8 out of 10 companies I talk with make this process far more complicated than it should be.  And as such, either delay the process or make it so difficult that their customers choose not to participate or contribute since they know it won’t do any good.  Are you one of those organizations?  If so, my free advice is STOP making it so complicated and your customers will reward you for your simplicity.  Hope this helps.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

It seems like no matter what you do, there is always a connection in some way to customer experiences, expectations and promises – and yesterday was no exception.  It started when I realized I had to get my drivers license renewed -ugh, always hate that process.  There I was, sitting in the hard plastic chairs, holding number 42 and only number 28 is showing as being served – going to be a long wait.  But fortunately many of the people got tired and left so it only took me an hour from start to finish – wow, an hour of wasted time, other than e-mail on my phone. I was watching the lady at the counter “abuse” all the customers as they came up. All she was looking for was what was wrong with their applications or documents or anything else – obviously a very unhappy person or having a very bad day.

I was dreading having to deal with her because no one escaped her wrath.  But then again, I am the “customer guy” so i figured I could win her over or at least point out what she was doing to everyone – like she would really care.  But, as luck turns out (it was my birthday after all), she left on break just before my number was called.  The lady that replaced her was an exact opposite – friendly, cracking jokes and making you feel like a real person.  Wow, what a difference.  I personally viewed what we have been talking about for years – “Random acts of Excellence and Chaos” all in one meeting!  What a difference and it made me realize what customers go through every day with companies and why they defect continuously . 

The moral of the story is two fold.  First, don’t wait until your birthday to renew your license and waste an hour of the most special day for any person, the day they were born.  Second, really, really be careful when you are looking at your own company to see if you are following the same pattern – having people that are really nice and really crabby serving the same customer.  Believe me, the CUSTOMER NOTICES and you will wonder why they suddenly left.  Customer don’t want random acts – they want CONSISTENCY and if you can’t deliver this, you can be sure they will defect and leave – giving you no reason or a lame one as to avoid the controversy.  So do an introspection of your own company and be honest about it – are you delivering “random acts of excellence and chaos” or are you “consistent” – I hope for consistency.

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Jamie starts off by saying that, “In today’s commodity-filled marketplace, oftentimes the only characteristic that differentiates one company from the next is customer service.”  Excellent point and one I completely agree with, other than the word “service” – it should be “experience.”  This was emphasized in the well known book (and the primer for what we believe in) titled, “The Experience Economy” by Pine and Gilmore.  In their book they claimed that in the new millennium (which is what we are in now), the primary thing that will distinguish companies from each other is the “experience” they provide their customers. I completely agree with this – and it is becoming more of a reality every day.

“If all you do is satisfy your customers, that’s not enough,” explains Randi Busse, president of Workforce Development Group Inc., an Amityville-based customer service coaching and training firm. “A satisfied customer is a former customer waiting to happen.”  I agree that satisfying your customers isn’t enough but not sure I quite understand her definition.  Let me offer you our definition, which I think is pretty clear to everyone.  We say, “A satisfied customer is one that is simply looking for the next best deal.”  Meaning, as long as you have the best deal around (price, delivery, terms, etc.) they will buy from you, but when a better deal comes along, they will defect and follow the “next best deal.”  The only way to prevent this from happening is to build LOYALTY with your customers.  Those are customers willing to “give you another chance” and stay with you.

The final piece I wanted to comment on was a statement made my Martha Rogers of Peppers & Rogers Group out of Connecticut.  Martha said, “Random acts of kindness are not nearly enough.”  We agree – but it should be taken a little further.  We coined a phrase in our book over 6 years ago that has stuck with many people over the years.  We said, “To create a Totally Awesome Customer Experience, you must eliminate the Random Acts of Excellence and Chaos in the relationship.”  Simply put, if you can’t create a “consistent” and “repeatable” customer experience, customers get confused and defect.  Customers want consistency and when they don’t get it they leave.

So in almost all cases of Jamie’s article, it was spot on – just didn’t quite take it far enough in my humble opinion.  My recommendation to our readers – take it all the way, don’t stop part way in developing your Totally Awesome Customer Experiences – develop “consistency,” move beyond “satisfied” to Loyal and eliminate “random acts.”  Hope this helps…

Blaine

Blaine Millet

Customer Experiences Inc.

Everyone is touting how great their customer service is or how wonderful of an experience they give their customers or how well our employees treat our customers, etc. etc. etc.  Put your money where your mouth is on this one.  If you truly believe you have the best service or experience or loyalty programs, then you shouldn’t be afraid to give your customers away to your best competitor.  Why?  Because if you have truly delivered the best experience in the market or provided the best customer experience in your field then you shouldn’t be afraid to give them away.  If they are truly LOYAL customers, they will see the difference between you and the competition and come “running” back to you.

However, if you don’t feel like you can literally give them away to your competition, then you have some work to do – and that is the purpose of this exercise.  Test yourself and be honest.  If you don’t think you can make that call and give them away, then start to find out WHY.  Why are you afraid?  Why do your employees think they would defect?  Why don’t you think you have the best customer experience?  Why would your customers enjoy the competition more than you?  These are all excellent questions and questions that hit at the heart of any customer loyalty program – or at least they should.

If you are an executive, ask your employees these questions and expect honest straightforward answers – don’t punish them for the truth, they know what is going on.  If you are an employee, test your executives with these questions and ask them what they think your customers would say.  Test each other, test the system, just simply test your customers.  You will be amazed what you will discover.  Hope it helps…

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.