Does Your CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Build TRUST?

KEY POINT: The EXPERIENCE you deliver to your customers (and others) either BUILDS TRUST, or it ERODES TRUST. There is no neutral ground. And their EXPERIENCE is one of the most vital components to determine whether your customers TRUST YOU or not. It is one of the most critical components necessary to go BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION?.

KEY QUESTION: Would your customers say the EXPERIENCE they receive from your organization BUILDS MORE TRUST or ERODES MORE TRUST? ?

The SECOND CORNERSTONE an organization needs to have to GO BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION? is an incredibly awesome and amazing CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE…a WOW EXPERIENCE.

To be viewed as THE ONLY ONE a customer wants to work with or buy from, customers must FEEL SPECIAL AND IMPORTANT. When a customer feels like THEY MATTER, they reward you…not just with their LOYALTY, but with ADVOCACY …telling others you are THE ONLY ONE they would work with or buy from. Word-of-mouth is the ultimate compliment or reward for any business.

When a customer doesn’t receive a MEMORABLE experience that makes you stand out, you are viewed as a COMMODITY …nothing special in your customer's eyes. The ultimate loss is the profitability and stability of your customer base.

When customers (and others) view you as a COMMODITY, it means you don’t stand out in their eyes…you aren't DIFFERENTIATED. They choose to do business with you based on PRICE, TERMS, AVAILABILITY, and/or LOCATION.

If there were ONE STRATEGY a company could deploy that would CHANGE THEIR BUSINESS quickly, it would be to do everything possible to avoid being viewed as a commodity.

QUESTION: How would your business change if your customers didn't view you as "just like everyone else" in your industry? If you didn't compete on the four COMMODITY FACTORS (Price, Terms, Availability, and Location), how much could you increase in PROFITABILITY, GROWTH, SCALE, and ENTERPRISE VALUE?

Having an incredibly awesome and amazing WOW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE changes the game. Customers (and others) see you as entirely DIFFERENT from your competitors…in a separate class.

I want to give you a simple yet powerful exercise you can do with your leadership team at your next meeting or planning session. Here's what to do…

EXERCISE: Reverse your role from being a leader to being a customer of your company.

Once you have your "customer hat" on, walk through your ENTIRE BUSINESS from beginning to end. Start as if you are a new customer who just heard about your business. What do you do next? Here are some steps to get you started with this exercise…

·????????Start by checking out your website…learn more about what you tell your audience when they first visit your company (most new customers start with your website). Does your website speak to you as a customer (outwardly focused)? Does it talk about what's important to you and how you can address your specific issues? Or does it primarily tell your audience your history and what products and services you offer (inwardly focused)? Customers are selfish…they want you to speak to them and tell them specifically how you can solve their problems. When they feel like you understand them and their issues, then, and only then, do they want to know more about you. This is the first part of building a WOW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. How did this first step work out for your company?

·????????Call your business…this shows you exactly what your customers (and potential customers) are hearing and feeling the first time they meet you. For the entire duration of the call, stop and ask yourself, "How did they make me FEEL?" Did you feel SPECIAL and IMPORTANT and like you truly MATTERED to them…or were you just another annoying call they wanted to move on to somewhere else? Were they more interested in selling you something or listening to your issues and needs? This conversation sets the tone for every employee interaction your company has going forward. Did it leave you "10 points up" or "10 points down" in the customer's mind?

·????????Buy Something…this will show you how easy or difficult it is to work with your business. Was this a smooth, helpful, and exciting process? Or did it leave you feeling frustrated, confused, or unhappy at the end of the transaction? Whatever happens to you happens to all your customers…every day!! Multiply this out over a year, which will tell you how much this is happening. Do you like what you are experiencing? Did it make you feel like you wanted to make more purchases or leave you never wanting to buy from your company again? Evaluate each department involved in the transaction and the overall experience to help you identify critical areas that need additional attention.

·????????Call with a problem, a return, or a question…this will show you what it's like to deal with your company when there are issues. Did they make you feel welcomed? Were they anxious to help you resolve your issue? Or did they make you feel guilty for calling or like an idiot because you didn't know certain things or that you were an annoyance? This is one of the most critical components of any customer experience. Change this component to being "over the top friendly and helpful," and you will get fantastic loyalty and advocacy. More customers are "won over" based on how you handle these difficult situations than any other interaction they may have with your business.

·????????Ask to speak to a leader in the business…this is an excellent test for any company. What happens if a customer asked to talk to you, one of your business's top leaders (or owner)? How do you handle this today? What would happen if you told the customer, "Sure, I'd be happy to connect you." First, they would be in total shock because it rarely happens. Second, they would immediately feel like they mattered to your business and were important. Since very few customers ever ask for this, why not make it happen… it's a game-changer.

While there are many other TOUCHPOINTS that are fun and interesting to check out, these will get you started. They will give you more information about your business than you know today…guaranteed! They will most likely be eye-opening and maybe even a bit shocking. But they will also give you incredible feedback about your business and your CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

This will give you a good indicator of whether you are BUILDING TRUST or ERODING TRUST with your audience. This exercise will clearly show you what areas need focus if you want to become "REMARK" able? and GO BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION?…becoming THE ONLY ONE your customers talk about. Give it a shot…you have everything to gain!!

What to do next…

Hold a leadership meeting and review this post. Have your team read it in advance and come prepared to discuss. Don't give in to pressure not to do the exercise… that's a cop-out. The leaders who say they already know what will happen are those who haven't got a clue what is happening in your business. The ones supporting this are looking for ways to improve the business…take note of who is in what camp. This will give you a new level of insight into your leadership team!

Do the exercise…completely. Don't skip a step, and don't add any steps. Start basic and add more after learning things from this first round.

As always, you can read much more about BUILDING TRUST by giving your audience a WOW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE on my website (WOM10.com ), from my books , the hundreds of blog posts , and all the other information on the site. My goal is laser-focused…helping leaders better understand what it takes to GO BEYOND DIFFERENTIATION? and become "REMARK" able?…THE ONLY ONE your audience talks about and goes out of their way to tell others about. When you reach this level, you will have an army of ADVOCATES AND MARKETING AGENTS? (your customers and others) talking about your company. You can (and will) become the leader in your industry…guaranteed. And that's where I want you to be… let's do that!!