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I live in a small, quaint town called Trumbull, Connecticut. Just off Main Street, we are blessed with Gaetano’s Deli.
Truth be told, Gaetano’s is not selling anything different than any other deli in the world. And yet there is often a line of eager customers stretching out the door.
Why?
Because the people are not there for the food—they come out in droves for the love.
The team behind the counter is funny, super nice, carefree, and fun. They know your name and understand what you want. It is a place where everyone belongs, everyone is someone, and the hero sandwiches and cold cuts are an added benefit.
You see, there are only two constants in the world.
The first is change—you, I, and the world around us are changing every moment.
The second is every individual’s desire for happiness, respect, and—yes—love.
Now, you may ask: How does a business win a client’s heart?
Here are five quick, simple ways to answer that very question…
Think like the customer
Customer experience really boils down to the perception the customer has of your brand.
You may think your brand and customer experience is best in class, but if the customer perceives it differently that is what truly matters. Your opinion is moot.
So, listen to your customers well. Seek out truthtellers in the client’s organization—i.e., leaders who are open and honest and tell you what you are doing well, what you “stink” at, and where you need to improve.
Though the unvarnished truth can hurt, it could very well save your business and help you grow.
Another way to obtain honest feedback from your customers is to develop customer surveys that are short, simple, and provide an incentive. Quote-unquote “cranky customers” may be difficult to deal with, but they are a great source of truth to identify customer experience areas that need improvement.
Want to nurture positive customer perception?
- Don’t make false or inflated promises.
- Communicate quickly, clearly, and frequently.
- Never get complacent.
- Always keep pushing forward with new ideas, suggestions, and innovations to engage clients.
Keep it simple
Simplicity begins with a clean, clear, intuitive design requiring few mouse clicks or screen touches to meet the needs of the customer.
The main functionalities are easy to find and well explained: The language is concise, simple, and easy to understand.
Apple, for example, offers a wide range of products aimed at different customers, but its product information and support websites use a very clean, pared-down design with key information presented clearly and additional detail available with a minimum number of clicks.
In financial services, companies such as PayPal have dramatically simplified online payments, in many cases requiring only the recipient’s email address or mobile phone
number as identification.
These organizations show they care for their customers by making it easier for them to conduct transactions and saving them precious time.
Caring/loving makes great business sense.
Seducing Your Customer
Enticing your customers to fall in love with your products and services is not unlike a romantic seduction.
The art of seduction requires careful planning, skill, and understanding.
This is to say, we need to help our clients understand who their ideal customers are.
If you want to give your customers and prospects what they want most, you must first find out what they want, when they want it, at what price point, and on what channel—and then give it to them at the right time with the right message.
This is where data and data analytics are critical.
Leveraging the power of data using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and customer information, we can build an accurate profile of the desires of our customers before they ask for what they want.
I call this the mom effort.
Every mom knows what her children want for their birthdays. Kids don’t have to ask or say anything, mom just knows on the day of the birthday the gift they receive is the one they wanted.
Likewise, it becomes important to thoroughly understand the minds of our client’s customers and deliver what they need and desire most in as seamless a way as possible. The more detailed and data-driven the customer profiles, the more useful for effective engagement.
Surprise
An organization exists to make a profit. However, every now and then it doesn’t hurt to show a little love and offer something extra as part of the digital experience—say, waive a fee, offer a discount, or give the product away free—without your client having to ask.
The critical point is to delight and surprise your clients with unexpected and unprecedented service all the time, every time.
Reciprocate your customer’s love
There are many ways to show our love in the real world—through a hug, a kiss, flowers, a message—but in the digital world, the greatest proof of organizational love is the customers who keep coming back.
Another sign is when customers showcase their love of your product and/or service on social media—Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs—and yet another is positive word of mouth.
Each of these activities should be captured, monitored, and studied in the digital customer journey to understand who the customers are and what they expect from the organization.
All organizations are driven by new opportunities and profitability, but finally, it is the quality of human-to-human interaction that determines their fate.
We may adopt all the latest technologies in the world and be clever with our business strategies. Unless, however, we are driven by human values such as care and empathy, we will fail to make a real connection with our customers.
And without happy customers, our businesses will not profit or grow.
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