Low-tech CX tip I learned from Keith Urban

Happy Tuesday, and a very warm welcome to all the new friends I made last week at the BIG I Oklahoma Conference in OKC and Furniture Today’s Bedding Conference in Orlando!?

Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Smart guy, that Einstein. He was right.

At its core, Customer Experience is about connecting with customers and exceeding their expectations. You can’t know for sure if you’re exceeding customers’ expectations unless you measure their feedback in some way. Metrics like NPS (Net Promoter Score), CSAT (Customer Satisfaction), CES (Customer Effort Score), and EGR (Earned Growth Rate) are all helpful in many situations, especially to track changes in customer sentiment over time. While these are the gold standard, you can also go low-tech to track effectiveness.?

Is the phrase “low tech” music to your ears? If so, you’ll love this easy cheat sheet I’m sharing in today’s newsletter.

Cheers!

Brittany

Here is a tactic you can use to begin “measuring”CX? today, no calculators or computer programs needed. I designed this method because, as someone who cried every night during my semester of Advanced Statistics in grad school, uncomplicated formulas are all I can condone in good conscience.?

Here’s the formula: For every one-to-one interaction you have, there are three possible outcomes for the other person. At the end of the exchange, they’ll feel better, worse, or the same as they did before. I refer to these outcomes as the Net Positive (better), Net Negative (worse), and Net Neutral (same) Effects.

?Here’s a secret not just to great customer experience, but to making your entire life better: Try to make as many interactions as possible net positive experiences. If you can do that, so many of the other things will fall into place.

?If people leave most interactions with you feeling better than when they came, you will naturally build a reputation as someone people want to do business with. Your customers, your colleagues, your vendors, and even acquaintances will want to work with you more because they feel better by doing so.

Think about your own interactions with people. Isn’t it true that you find yourself naturally gravitating toward interactions where you feel better at the end? Consider your friend group. We’ve all got those friends who are just emotionally draining. They only call when they want or need something. We groan when we see their numbers on our phones because we know they’re calling to suck up energy. While it’s possible we’ll get out of it in net neutral shape, it’s highly unlikely.

?Business is no different. People will remember the companies, colleagues, and associates who make things easy. They’ll say things like, “Wow, that was so much faster than I expected!” or, “You took care of it so quickly.” Making interactions feel as effortless as possible not only exceeds expectations but also increases the likelihood customers will come back or tell their friends… maybe even that one friend who only ever calls when they need something!

?Can you turn every interaction into a net positive? No. You will inevitably find yourself in situations where you must deliver bad news. But, if you can focus on having a net neutral outcome instead of a net negative one, you will come out ahead in the long run. Work hard to leave a path of net positive experiences in your wake.

?You may never realize the impact some of your net positive interactions have on your customers and colleagues. Three days after I quit my well-paying job in advertising to launch my first startup, I had a phone interview scheduled with Keith Urban for a project I was working on for the Academy of Country Music Awards.

?After we finished our conversation, I thanked Keith for his time and gave him the Cliff’s Notes version of what the interview had been for. He seemed genuinely interested and graciously asked several follow-up questions about my new venture. I admitted he was the first artist I’d talked to, this was the first major project, and I was more than a bit nervous about life as an entrepreneur.

?He gave me some words of encouragement, including telling me what a great idea he thought the company was, and wished me well on the journey.? His encouragement helped me through the tough weeks and months that followed as I questioned the viability of my young company.

About five years later, I was interviewing Keith again — this time, in person for a Forbes story — and I told him how much his words had meant years earlier. He shared a story with me about receiving a similar confidence boost in the early days of his career, when it seemed no label in Nashville would take a chance on him. He said he replayed those kind words in his head in many dark hours.

You may never see or even know the enormous impact a few kind words can have on others, whether you’re in their life for years or just a few minutes. Work to leave a path of net positive experiences in your wake. It doesn’t cost anything and can be a priceless gift to someone when you least expect it.

For tips on how your team can avoid negative, or even neutral experiences, read my blog article, 5 Words That Kill Customer Service Communication.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."? - Warren Buffet