Technology Is Not Always the Answer!

Companies from every industry under the sun are trying to find ways to improve the Customer experience and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Technology companies and consultants are becoming the greatest victor in this process as they sell the latest in technology to better understand your Customer. You will gain incredible new insight from your Customers by implementing all these amazing tools! Or will you?

I have always stated that Customer experience is not a stand alone department but rather a mindset that must permeate throughout your organization. It is a piece of every decision you make. These tools or consultants will not be able to give you that, unless it is what you desire for yourself. Customers often desire simplicity, but instead we offer greater and greater complexity. Complexity allows us to "sneak" things past our Customer, which in turn we hope leads to greater profit. Of course that is short term profit, with a great expense of trust. Complexity also happens because of individuals or the organization have a desire to show the world how smart they are. The fact is simplicity is much more difficult to accomplish, so in reality you are taking shortcuts. I am sure that is not the message you want to send, but most companies send that message often.

You can learn a great deal from your Customers, but does it require you to send me another survey that I have to ignore? Why not just talk to me? I would be happy to help but all these surveys are simply annoying me anymore. I also doubt you will get the full insight possible because I do not know what I want, but rather I am grading you on my expectation compared to what you delivered. Observations, surveys and other metrics for your Customer are helpful to a degree but if you do not have the right mindset, the value may not be what you expect. Of course that vendor has a white paper that provides some glorious examples. Believe what you wish!

We are all Customers which provide us a unique perspective. I have always found this to be beneficial in relating to the Customer experience. As I look around the globe, I think we have far to go to achieve what is possible but there are interesting things we can watch and learn from each day. Here are a few key steps you may want to consider prior to buying all those tools or hiring the consultants:

Ask your employees two questions - Often what people think of your company can easily be seen internally. Is your organization highly complex? It is human nature to want to put there own stamp on things, so what companies like this often generate are complex experiences that do not add value to the Customer. Of course it all depends on the way your employees think, so ask them. Ask them what they honestly think of Customers and also what they think of your products. Often you will find keys to what is wrong in your business or with your own products. If your employees see the Customer as an enemy, I am sure your Customers feel that way. If your own employee do not like your products, or services, how do you think your Customers feel. Your employees have many answers, if you are willing to hear them

How do you handle things when something goes wrong? - When something goes wrong with a product it becomes an inflection point that can permanently change the relationship with a brand. I have 3 quick examples to share. The first was a hand held vacuum that went bad on the second use. It required multiple calls then I had to mail in an affidavit of the problem, and was told by the representative that I better do it certified. Compare that to Deckorators, a maker of deck supplies. I had a problem with 3 of 7 solar lights. I sent an email to find out what I would need to do. While awaiting a response, I was gathering receipts and all the other documentation. They wrote back to say the replacement were on the way. I was expecting the worst and got the best. I had another example recently regarding my Apple computer. I received an email that the computer hard drive in my 2012 is not up to their standards so they are replacing it for free. This may not seem like a big deal, but the reality is most companies, once the warranty period is over do not take such action. Apple is, and they did not wait to see if the hard drive went bad. It is nice to see a company own a problem even before I know about it.

The Greatest Failure of Businesses Is - We like to look everywhere to place blame but often it is right in front of our eyes. Every company has terms and conditions that seem endless and no Customer seems to read. We do it to cover every possibility under the sun. What do you think these multiple page documents say to your Customers? Often nothing because we do not look anyway, or we do not trust our Customers. We have to find ways to speak very differently. Expectations are often built up by the company through marketing efforts, but does your marketing match up to the experience? If not, you are sending a message to your Customers that you probably do not intend. A common failure in communication is also regarding your desire to attract new Customers. These endless advertisements at lower rates than existing Customers send an awful message to your Customer. If you do not think they do, how do you feel about TV rates advertised by your cable or satellite provider? Imagine your own Customers feeling the same way. Communication, communication, communication!

In the early days of social media we saw all kinds of tools and firms promise the world, but at the end of the day many failed to deliver on their promise. Today we are seeing the same thing with Customer experience. Experts galore and the tools to match up to every magical need. This does not mean that I think all consultants are bad, because I don't. I have a great deal of respect for Don Peppers, Shep Hyken, Bruce Tempkin, Colin Shaw, and many others. The key is people who have been through CX long before it was considered CX. They understand the holistic changes that must happen in your business and how to help you get there.

The key to creating the right Customer experience is opening your eyes and being willing to see the reality of your business from your Customer's perspective.