Are we a part of our customers wildest dreams??

Six basic rules to master the art of customer engagement

1.      Are we in our customers wildest dreams?

As corporates we believe that the customer is deeply connected with us but there is someone else in their wildest dreams. We need to figure out ways to be a part of our customers wildest dreams. This is what makes people stand in queues at 2am in the morning to buy the next version of their favorite gadget.

There are an estimated 300 million companies in the world today that's 300 million brands. Some brands as big as Apple and Amazon others much smaller. With so many brands in the world how do we create a brand for ourselves that engages the customer at the emotional level.

Companies like Apple, Starbucks and Tesla have aced this proposition. How have they managed to be a part of their customers wildest dreams? I believe that they have mastered the customers language. It is simple logic. When customers don’t understand, they don’t buy. These companies have realized that speaking the customer’s language shows that they know a lot about them and they empathize with the customer.

2.      Sell “Peace of Mind”

We need to position ourselves as sellers of peace of mind. We need to view ourselves as customer service providers instead of manufacturers of certain products or services. Southwest is one of the most well-known airlines in the U.S. Here’s what they think about themselves “We like to think of ourselves as a Customer Service company that happens to fly airplanes.”

Last week Apple announced that it will repair some Apple Watch Series 2 devices that suffer from defects. They extended the warranty from 1 year to 3 years. This happened last year too for certain Apple Series 1 devices. You may think there is something wrong in their technology. But from the consumer stand point the peace of mind that they buy ensures no bumps in performance. As a customer we buy peace of mind and not products or services.

3.      ENGAGE WITH A SHARED PURPOSE

Instead of bombarding customers with deals and offers that purely look at generating revenues it is very important for us to engage the customer with a shared purpose.

A contrary example to an engaging purpose is the mission of a popular fast food joint “to deliver superior quality products and services for our guests and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships”. I have eaten here many times. And in all my visits I never felt that what I was engaging in was an example of leadership, innovation and partnerships. I was looking forward to doughnuts and coffee.

A purpose-oriented organization has another advantage which is, more engaged employees. Employees who believe their work positively impacts the world are more loyal and more productive. Apple stores generate almost twice as much revenue per square foot than any other store. Apple is not a retailer. It is a technology company with a purpose of democratizing personal computers with exquisite and esoteric styling.

 4.      Embark on the journey beyond transactions

We need to look beyond transactions and start making deeper connections with the customer. Instead of a siloed approach of making every experience a WOW experience for the customer we need to look at the end to end user experience.

Uber has demystified this concept. As a customer we want to travel from point A to point B with convenience viz. our location, our time and transparent pricing. Uber has eliminated the friction in transportation. Today we do not need to align with bus or train schedules. We just press the app and the ride finds us anywhere and at any time.

5.      Love Hate philosophy

Leverage the love hate philosophy to polarize people and ensure that customers who love us keep us in their hearts.

As William Shakespeare once rightly said Love me or hate me, both are in my favor…If you love me, I’ll always be in your heart…If you hate me, I’ll always be in your mind

Products like the I-phone and Harley Davidson segregate customers into natural lovers or haters. If we really pivot ourselves with something, we always run a risk of alienating a certain segment. Case in point Ryan Air which stands for the cheapest possible airline fares but don’t expect anything more than that. Which means people looking for comfort and experience may hate traveling with Ryan Air. This has worked for them in a big way.

6.      Right message at the Right time

Customers never pay us what we’re worth. They only pay us what they think we're worth. Hence it is imperative for us to clearly define and articulate our value so that we are remunerated well.

Insurance companies since inception have been threatening people with dire consequences to sell policies. They have failed at creating any sort of pull in the minds of the customer. But Oscar, a health insurance company from New York uses very simple website experience and jargon free language that the customer relates to. Oscar is a roaring success with all financial metrics going off the roof, clearly demonstrating that right messaging at the right time is crucial for customer engagement.