Attempting to Fix Your Customer Experience Problems by Improving Systems? You Might Be Doing It Wrong!

In today's marketplace, customers obviously have more choices than ever before. They can easily switch to a competitor if they have a bad experience with a company. (And many do!) This is the primary reason why it's so critical for businesses to focus on providing the Ultimate Customer Experience.?

Businesses often aim to enhance the customer experience by implementing new or extra systems. However, the solution is not to simply pour money into technology. In reality, this approach frequently causes more issues than it resolves.

Here are a few reasons why trying to fix customer experience problems with systems is the wrong way to do it:

• Systems can't replace human interaction.?No matter how sophisticated your system might be, it can't replace the human touch. Customers want to interact with real people who can empathize with their needs and help them solve their problems.
• Systems can be difficult to use.?If a system is too complicated or challenging to use, customers just quit and go elsewhere. This is why it's important to make certain that any new systems you implement are easy to use and intuitive.
• Systems can create new problems.?Sometimes, new systems can actually produce new problems. For example, if a system is not properly integrated with other systems, it can lead to data duplication and errors.

If you're looking to improve your customer experience, the best thing you can do is focus on your people!

Invest in educating your employees so that they can provide excellent customer service. And make sure that your employees have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs effectively. By focusing on your people, you can create a customer experience that will keep customers coming back for more.

• My research and experience in the field with organizations from diverse industries and a myriad of sizes suggest that CX leaders (and those higher up in the organization) often fail to teach frontline team members the most basic of the skills required to create an ultimate experience for the customer.

For example, one of the chapters in my forthcoming book, “The Ultimate Customer Experience,” deals with a simple issue: taking personal responsibility for the customer’s experience with your organization. I’ve found many – if not most – frontline team members have never been taught –

1. It’s essential that they do not pass the customer’s problem around. Customers can get lost in the shuffle or become irritated at the time involved and the lack of concern about their issue, and,
2. HOW they should take responsibility and solve the customer's issue.

If you have a team member who doesn’t know it’s important to own the customer’s problem – and they do not know how to do it – you have frontline problems that no system will resolve.

(The new book contains the five basic steps that every employee must know to deliver the type of customer experience that ensures customers will repeat their business and refer their friends and colleagues to you. YOU must be sure that EVERY employee knows and executes these five steps.)

Here are four additional tips for improving the customer experience:

• Listen to your customers.?The best way to improve your customer experience is to ask for feedback. Talk to your customers about what they like and don't like about your company. And be sure to act on their feedback.
• Be proactive.?Don't wait for customers to complain before you take action. Be proactive in identifying and resolving customer issues.
• Personalize the experience.?Customers want to feel like they're more than just a number. Personalize the experience for each customer by using their name, remembering their preferences, and offering relevant products and services.
• Go the extra mile.?Sometimes, the best way to improve your customer experience is to simply go the extra mile. Do something unexpected and above and beyond to make your customers happy.

The Ultimate Customer Experience will create distinction for your company and set you apart from the competition...meaning more profitability as a result.