Customer Delight By The Beach!

We had a fabulous meal at one of our favourite holiday spots yesterday – no don’t worry, I’m not going all Judith Chalmers on you! The restaurant at Ingrina Beach on the Portuguese Algarve is a wonderful spot.

After a wonderful lunch by the beach, we came to pay the bill. I went up to the bar and produced my card, only to find that they don’t take cards, and I didn’t have enough cash!

‘Don’t worry’ said the restuarant owner, ‘pay next time…. but don’t come tomorrow, we’re closed!’

Now, THAT is customer delight!

Of course we’ll be back to pay….. and probably have another delicious meal too!

Your 3D Thoughts For 16th August – No Complaints Please!

Here’s this week’s 3D Thoughts in 3 minutes! Enjoy:

Click below on the links:

Institute Of Customer Service report           ABTA customer complaints      Previous 3D Thoughts

Hear how Asda handled this complaint:

Customers Just Won’t Stand For It!

Here’s more news of increasing customer expectations! According to a report from Barclaycard, the longest time UK’s shoppers are prepared to queue is two minutes, down from five minutes only six years ago!

I know for a fact that I am also among the two thirds of us who have, according to the report, walked away from buying something because we weren’t prepared to wait.

It’s a great example of ever increasing customer expectations – people just won’t stand for it anymore, literally! I believe it goes further than that: it’s not just queing, it’s waiting for the phone to be answered, it’s waiting for people to get back to us, it’s the time it takes for a webpage to download – we want things quicker, we want them NOW!

In my presentations and training, I often suggest people ‘stand in their own queues’ to find out what it’s like to be a customer of theirs. By that I mean, ring up your own business, go into reception, email an enquiry, visit your own website, request some information and find out what it’s like to ‘stand in your own queues’.

So, why not do that yourself? How do you measure up? Would YOU stand for it?

It Pays To Delight Those Customers!

More than 50%  of UK customers will spend more on products and services if the service experience was guaranteed to be first class. That’s the headline result from a recent survey by American Express!  The report provides a striking insight into customer behaviour and is well worth a read. A couple of ‘nuggets’ from it:

When asked, UK customers said: ‘Customer Service Experiences Generally….’

• Exceed Expectations – 2%
• Meet Expectations – 62%
• Miss Expectations – 32%
• (4% weren’t sure!)

The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer shows that on average, UK consumers will pay a premium of 7% for the privilege of good customer service and 70 per cent state they would do more business with an organisation that offered decent customer care. Interestingly, in the US, it’s 9% and it’s 11% in India!

So, as ever, the message is a simple one – do all you can to ‘exceed those expectations’ and ‘delight’ your customers! It’s clear that many still aren’t doing it which means that’s an opportunity for those who do!

Apple’s ‘Slow Response’ To Problems – It’s All ‘Relative’!

Admitting you’ve got things wrong and doing something about it is a mark of a truly customer focussed business. Apple’s ‘problem’ with it’s 4G phone has been an interesting one.

I do feel that the ‘initial’ response to the ‘complaints’ and issues raised didn’t seem to be addressed in a way that I would expect of Apple – there was talk of them subverting ‘web chat’ about it, and then Steve Jobs apparantly ‘trivialised’ the issues raised when he was queried about the ‘reception problems’ when it was held in a certain way by saying ‘”Just avoid holding it that way“.

Apple have now reverted to type, and taken action – they are offering everyone a ‘bumper case’ that solves the problem with every phone purchased. They are also offering one to all those who have purchased 4G’s previously, and crucially, offering ‘refunds’ to those who did actually buy the ‘bumper’ when they bought their phones originally.

But, have they ‘reacted’ quickly enough? I can’t help thinking  that because of the ‘high expectations’ many of us have with Apple, their response appears a little slow – I suspect that there may be many ‘devoted’ customers who were ‘disappointed’ with the ‘poor experience’. 

If any other organisation where, perhaps there aren’t such ‘high expectations’,  had responded in such a way, it may well have been seen as a real positive – by ‘exceeding expectations’ they would have had many ‘delighted’ customers.

It’s all ‘relative’. If you create ‘high expectations’, you have to ‘deliver’…. consistently.

“We want to take care of everyone. We want every user to be happy” said Steve Jobs. Apple have estimated that it has cost them $175 million in deferred revenue as a result of this – the interesting thing will be to see what the ‘cost’ is to their ‘brand’ and ‘reputation’ in the marketplace longer term. 

Raising expectations (which is a good thing) has to be supported by a consistently ‘great’ experience, even when things do go wrong!

Your customers expectations and the way you respond to problkems will determine whether they are ‘delighted’ or ‘disappointed’ – it’s all relative!

Premier Inn Really Are Premier!!!!

The Premier Inn chain have really ‘got it’. I think they’re a great example of a business that has focussed on what it’s about and worked hard to demonstrate that in their marketing, their operations and their people.

I stayed at the Premier Inn in Welwyn Garden City yesterday before speaking at a conference there and was very pleasantly surprised. It’s a ‘solid’, no – nonsense approach that focuses on the ‘core’ offering of simplicity, comfort, consistency and good value. I can’t help thinking that they work hard on managing customer expectations and do simple little things to reinforce that – consistently.

The staff were very welcoming and helpful, check in was simple and swift, the room was nice and spacious,  facilities were clean and comforting, and even the signs helped reinforce their ‘warmth’!

From their ‘up front’ TV advertising campaing with Lenny Henry, to very clear and upfront pricing, they also offer a ‘Guarantee of a good night’s sleep’ to back it all up! It’s a great example of ‘positioning’.

No, this is not an paid advertisement for Premier Inns, it’s just a great example of a business that has ‘set it’s stall out’ and concentrated on doing those things right.

The result? People like me tell other people like you!

So, a couple of questions for you:

• What does your business ‘stand for’?
• How do you demonstrate that in all your activities?

Yes….  I said ALL of your activities!

I Still Can’t Find What I’m Looking For!

This post brings together the previous two: The World Cup and being ‘easy to buy from’. The Netherlands vs Brazil game is currently underway and it’s being broadcast live on ITV here in the UK. I went on their website to watch it (all for ‘research purposes’ of course!) and it took me over 15 minutes to find it!

On a very ‘crowded’ and ‘noisy’ website, I eventually found the ‘watch and chat’ bit. When I clicked on the ’watch’ bit up came what turned out to be advert followed by 2 more, with no real indication that I had clicked the right area.

Nothing against adverts at all – after all, that’s what funds ITV – but please ‘MAKE IT EASY FOR US TO BUY FROM YOU!’ – In this case, let me find what I want on the site (the match itself) and at least let me know that the ‘streaming of the match’ will follow after the ‘short advertising break’.

So, I’ll reiterate the point – customer focused businesses create a customer experience that makes them ‘easy to do business with’ – online and offline. How easy are you to do business with?

Right, back to my ‘research’!

Be Easy To Buy From – Online Or Offline!

One of the key principles that I ‘rant’ about in my seminars and presentations is ‘Be easy to buy from’. It’s about being totally customer focussed and ensuring that there are no barriers to customers getting what they want – whether it’s your systems, your procedures or your people. We call them ‘The Sales Prevention Officers’. The challenge for any customer focussed business is to identify and Remove The Sales Prevention Officers.

A new report has just highlighted that ‘usability’ is the number 1 factor in what customers look for.

According to the “Revolutionizing Website Design” report from digital marketing agency Oneupweb, clearly presented pricing and shipping information, for example, is the most important feature of e-commerce sites, followed by indications of credibility and trustworthiness. Visual appeal and functionality like cost calculators and search were also relatively important. But advanced features such as live chat and social hooks were important to but a small minority of respondents.

So, I’ll keep saying it! Online or offline – BE EASY TO BUY FROM!

More ‘Juice’ On Customer Service!

I love finding ‘juicy’ information I can use in my presentations and seminars. Following yesterday’s post about advertising money being wasted by poor customer experiences, here’s another bit of ‘juice’!

Almost half of consumers (49%) see personal recommendations from friends, family or colleagues as the most trustworthy source of information.  This research, carried out by Satmetrix, shows that much of the £14 billion spent on advertising each year in the UK would be better spent on delivering a higher quality customer experience. In fact, apparently, only 2% of respondents trust advertising the most as a source of information when choosing a product or service.  

The key message clearly is ‘do stuff worth talking about!’ Give people  a reason to tell others about you. (It might be obvious, but make sure it’s ’good stuff’ please!!!!)

Creating Great Customer Experiences – It’s As Easy As ABC……

If you want to learn a new language you have to work at it. To create consistently great customer experiences you have to work at that too! Those that work on it and practise consistently are the ones that become ‘fluent’ in it.  The basic foundation of any language is its alphabet, and it’s the ability to combine the right letters in that alphabet that helps people to ‘master’ the language. So I thought I’d try and develop an alphabet for customer service!

Are you ‘completely happy’? Yes or No – A great question to ask your customers

Be prepared to do something as a result of their response

Champion your champions – recognise and reward those who deliver great service in your business (and while you’re at it, ‘Challenge your Challengers’ – those that don’t!)

Delight your customers – strive to ‘exceed their expectations’

Empower your people – give them permission, encouragement and training to deliver a great service

Find your customers’ problems and solve them

Get ‘personal’ – make sure that customers recognise you care by tailoring things specifically to them

High expectations – your job is to keep raising your customers’ expectations and then continually strive to exceed them. It’s never ending (Hey, I never said this was easy!)

Incentivise your people – what’s the reward in your business for ‘going the extra mile’? In too many businesses, the ‘reward’ is more work!

Just ring up a customer and ask ‘how are things?’

Keep in touch – but make it ‘two- way’. Think ‘Dialogue, not Diatribes’!

Listen to your customers….. this is a follow on to ‘Keeping in Touch. Do it properly please – no Lip service and please pass on what you hear to others in the business

Memorable stuff is what gets customers talking. Be memorable! (In a good way please!!!)

Never underestimate the power of a simple smile or acknowledgement

Old fashioned ways can work – write personal notes to your customers and your staff (I emphasise ‘write’, not ‘type’)

Planned spontaneity – build ‘surprises’ into your processes to make your customers feel good (Again, It’s ‘good’ surprises only please!)

Queues – Stand in your own. What’s it like to be a customer of your business?

Ring up your own business too, and while you’re at it, go on your own website, visit your own depot and sit in your own reception – what sort of ‘experience’ do your customers get?

Sales Prevention Officers – the things, systems, processes and people that irritate or annoy your customers – identify and eliminate them!

Thank you – say it to your customers (and your people)

Understand why your customers choose you and buy from you. If you don’t know, ask them!

Valued – make your customers feel ‘valued’ –go out of your way to demonstrate you care

Wow reactions – that’s what you’re aiming for. What do you do to ‘wow’ your customers?

Xterminate ‘scriptease’ – when it’s easier to follow the script than to engage and interact with customers (find out how here)

You are a role model – It’s not what you say, it’s what you ‘do’ that counts! What do your people see you doing (or not doing)?

Zappos – see how they do it, and learn from them.

This is clearly the alphabet according to Andy Hanselman here in Sheffield in the UK!  I’d love to hear from anyone else around the world about their ‘interpretation’ of the letters. We could maybe create a multi-lingual version! Please let me know what you think!

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