4 Rules for Delivering an Outstanding Customer Experience

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August 31, 2016

Customer experience is the lifeblood of any company, because there are very few companies who command the entire market. There are some monopolies out there, but not very many. The brand that you have – the product or service that you sell – is only half of whatever is in that package. The other half is the experience that people have with your brand. Say they love your product, but they can’t open the package. Or they want to use your app, but they can’t get it to work. Or they can’ t get anybody on the phone to help them. If any of those scenarios exist for your business, then you have failed to deliver for your customers. Period.

Getting someone to buy what you are selling is only half the battle. The other half is getting them to keep your product or your service after they have it in their hands. As more options come on board, as your competition increases, that becomes increasingly difficult. Succeed in that area and you have a sustainable business.

Here are four rules for delivering an outstanding customer experience:

  1. Know your customer. At Double Forte, we start every client engagement by developing a buyer persona. Who is the customer? How old are they? What are their challenges? What are their goals? What do they do at work and at home? What are their names? You need a multi-dimensional profile if you are going to delight that customer.
  2. Tell your customer a story. People make decisions based on emotion. How does a company, product, brand, etc. make them feel? Numbers don’t provide that data, narrative does. What is your story and how does it connect to your customer? Without that story, you don’t have a connection.
  3. Listen. The good news/bad news about the 21st century customer? They’ll tell you what they think. Listen to them! Use surveys, emails, 1-800 numbers and social media to listen to your customer. Why guess? The information you need to deliver an outstanding experience is readily available — as long as you listen.
  4. Adjust. It’s not enough to listen; you must adjust the customer experience based on the feedback you receive. Nothing in today’s business environment is static. The customer experience, like the products and services you sell, must be flexible.