If not, you should be! The common thread throughout the rich tapestry woven earlier this month at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit was simple and absolute. Gone are the days of making something for one dollar and selling it for two. Commodities on the market that are not married to an exemplary customer experience and/or service are sitting ducks waiting to be devoured by competitors who are in a long committed relationship to said attributes.
Opening keynote speaker Jim Knight, Owner & Founder of Knight Speaker, revered Starbucks as a glittering example of a company that's taken this to heart to become a global brand, changing the way we purchase and “experience” our daily cup of coffee. Jim noted, "If you ask (Starbucks founder) Howard Schultz what business he's in, he won't say the coffee business. He'd say the experience business." Boom, there it is!
Lou Carbone, Author and Lecturer, noted the importance of understanding that the true value of your product is the experience your customer has when interacting with it and the emotion that is derived from this interaction. Beware of the dangerous trap of chipping away at its delicate parts for the sake of the bottom line. Such disregard may get you caught in a downward spiral.
I’ll Have What She’s Having
Make it memorable – people crave differentiation! Consider being unpredictable. With some brands delivering the same ol’-same ol’, inspiring a shoulder shrug and a meek “meh,” there is always room for something fantastic and new. Executed well, differentiation creates a refreshing experience that fosters customer loyalty, because you are filling an emotional niche that no one else can deliver.
Paula or Simon?
Most brands aren’t like American Idol where conflicting personalities are fun. Make sure you have the right people in place. Each member of your team is a brand ambassador who sings your brand promise from the rooftops. Are they all on key? Provide your team members with a cohesive message, the tools to amplify it and the empowerment to do so during all touch points of your customer experience.
Steps to Success:
- Boil it down to knowing exactly what your customers want.
- Discern the employee behaviors that drive customer satisfaction.
- Recruit for personalities that can consistently deliver these behaviors.
- Train employees to exhibit these behaviors.
- Measure the in-store experience to determine what is actually occurring at the store level, and how it is affecting the customer experience.
- Tweak if necessary.
- Rinse and repeat.
Customers can be fickle; continue this process or be left behind!
How Many Licks Does it Take to get to the Center of the Customer Experience?
Don’t create a hard shell around the yummy goodness, the center of the universe – your customers! Micah Solomon, Author and Consultant, highlighted how essential it is to ensure your customers remain front and center stage. He underscored the following:
- Provide the perfect product.
- Deliver on time, every time.
- Regardless of the size of your business, recognize your customers as individuals.
- Make it your mission to anticipate the desires of your customers before they are aware of them.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Let’s take a moment and really consider the idea behind a memorable experience. Specifically, how can an organization anticipate the desires of their customers before they are aware of them? At TrendSource we naturally tend to analyze our shopping experiences through a microscope, so we decided to start regularly sharing our own employees’ experiences. Stay tuned!
