Why most can’t keep the customers happy and how to make your customers say ‘wow’?

Would you be able to turn your customers into your fans and keep them coming back to you?

“How to make our customers happy and keep them praising our brand?” The answer is not always in business strategies but mostly in psychology.

If you know what makes your customers delighted, you will enjoy running your business.?And, your customers will spread good words around about you.

Here’s how some of the best companies provide great customer service experience. You will know what makes your customers say ‘Wow’.

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What if you could predict what’s going to happen next?

This superpower is among many of us. If someone asks you, “who is one of the best footballers in the world in the last 20 years?” If you follow even slightest of the football, you will think of Christiano Ronaldo along with few others. He is probably the richest footballer in the world.

Any idea of how he became the best?

In 2011, Castrol launched its product called ‘Castrol Edge’. Castrol produced a global documentary-film starring it’s ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo. The documentary saw Ronaldo pushed to his limit through a series of scientific tests. Ronaldo was tested for his strength, speed and technique. One of the tests was conducted in a lab, where the ball was shot towards Ronaldo.?

But they did something unusual.

They switched off their lights as soon as they hit the ball. An ordinary footballer wouldn’t be able to find out where the ball is coming from and where it will go. But Ronaldo could figure out the movement of the ball even in the complete darkness.?And this is what makes him great!?He developed the ability to predict the movement of the ball. It’s this skill that separates him from the rest.?

What can we learn from Ronaldo?

Not only, Ronaldo, but almost all great companies also develop the same skill that makes them the best in their industry.?They focus on predicting with a precision of what’s going to happen next. The best businesses have a competitive advantage due to their ability to focus on how to delight or should we say surprise the customers with the best experience.?

No strategy or tactics would work if you don’t know how to make your customers happy.

No business can ever grow with Ra Ra motivational talks, willpower or fancy marketing gimmicks. The health of the business is relying on the number of happy customers you have. Let’s find out how we can make our customers happy.

In this podcast episode, we are going to discuss three things.

1. Why do you need to predict the customers’ action accurately?
2. How to understand customers’ action easily?
3. How to get your customers to say ‘wow’?

Why ‘the Grand Del Mar Hotel’ is one of the best hotels in the world?

They don’t rely only on the traditional customer service approach of being nice with customers, clean rooms or faster internet.?But they do something even better. They predict what the customer wants and will deliver even before the customers ask for it. They notice the customers very carefully and anticipate what they are going to do next. Most of the times, they are right.

There are hundreds of great reviews you can read on the internet but here’s the best one.

A writer at Forbes magazine, Carmine Gallo, shared his experience staying there. Let me share his words, “My daughters discovered a small sand area near the pool. Within seconds—not minutes—a staff member casually walked by and, without saying a word, dropped off sand toys for the kids. The kids looked up and there they were, seemingly out of nowhere.”

Where most people ask you to listen to your customers, ‘The grand del mar hotel’ does differently.

They anticipate the needs of the guest. It makes them stand out from the competition. This level of service leaves a positive impression. If you study the best brands in the area of customer service and all of them train employees to anticipate unexpressed wishes. It’s a key component to an exceptional customer experience. The best business is the best because they deliver the best customer service.

Listening is overrated when it comes to creating an exceptional customer experience.

Your customers will only tell you what they think they need, but how you meet their unexpressed needs makes all the difference. You don’t need a special superpower to know this. It’s possible.?Let’s find out the second part of this podcast, how to do it easily, shall we?

Have you wondered why someone yawn or laugh, you also yawn or laugh?

You’re walking through a park when out of nowhere, the man in front of you falls down and injures badly. The blood is coming out of his nose. Automatically, you recoil in sympathy. Or you’re watching a race, and you feel your own heart racing with excitement as the runners battle to cross the finish line first. Or you see a woman smell some unfamiliar food and find the food disgusting. Suddenly, your own stomach turns at the thought of the meal.

It’s because of mirror neurons.

For years, such experiences have puzzled psychologists, neuroscientists and philosophers, who’ve wondered why we react at such a gut level to other people’s actions. How do we understand, so immediately and instinctively, their thoughts, feelings and intentions? Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that respond equally when we perform an action and when we observe someone else perform the same action.?

It’s proved via some experiments.

In the 1990s, neurophysiologist Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues placed electrodes in the brains of monkeys to study which neurons specialized in the hand and mouth movement. And quite by accident, they found that the same neurons fired up when the monkeys picked up a banana or when they observed someone else picking up a banana! If watching action and performing that action can activate the same parts of the brain in monkeys–down to a single neuron–then it makes sense that watching action and performing an action could also trigger the same feelings in people.

Our mind can not differentiate between what you do and what you see.

There is a part of our brain that does not distinguish between action and observation! For these neurons, seeing and doing is processed in the same way. And this has made learning possible.

These mirror neurons make us anticipate other people’s needs.

It makes us empathize with others. It is what makes yawning or laughing contagious. And it all happens automatically, without our conscious input. Simply on observation.?

That’s how Christiano Ronaldo learned to be the best footballer.

We discussed in this beginning that Ronaldo developed the skill to predict the movement of the ball. When the sports scientists put on an eye tracker on Ronaldo’s head while he was playing, they found something amazing. Most players track the ball while playing football. But Ronaldo tracks the hips and legs of the person who has the ball.

That was his superpower. He could predict the next movement of the others.

He can then know where the ball will go. Instead of focusing on the ball, he was focusing on the movements of the player who holds the ball.?

Why would he do that?

By focusing on the player’s movement, something magical happens. Mirror neurons fire up. And he could predict the movement of the players. He is better at anticipating where the player will move and direct the ball. This ability to read others makes him great at anticipating where the ball will go.?But, how to know or anticipate precisely and deliver the ‘wow’ experience to your customers? Let’s find out in the third part of this podcast.

Why did Steve Jobs send the store managers to learn from a hotel?

Steve Jobs asked his store managers to attend a hospitality training session with the hotel ‘Ritz Carlton’. He wanted to create a great customer experience at his stores. To deliver the ‘wow’ experience, he asked his colleagues about the place they had a ‘wow’ service experience. Most of them suggested the ‘Ritz Carlton’ hotel.

What did he want the store managers to learn specifically?

One of the consistent steps of the Apple Store customer service model is three key things Ritz Carlton Hotel was doing. First, Welcome with a warm and sincere greeting with unconditional love and respect. Second, Anticipate each guest’s needs- Means listen for and resolve expressed and unexpressed needs. And third, End with a fond farewell.

Ritz Carlton trains their new employees for 250 hours.

But for what? They teach their employees to anticipate the need of the guests. They train their staff to listen to what their customers say and don’t say. Their employees are told to pay attention to every detail about a guest. They teach the staff in lots of scenarios to find out the information. And then, they show how to use that information to deliver the ‘wow’ experience to their guests.?

What can you do from now on to deliver ‘wow’ experience to your customers?

You have to be alert and note down what your customers like and what they don’t like. You may also find out what they absolutely don’t like. Understand the pattern and journey of your customers. Then anticipate what they will do next. And then make things easy for them.

It’s your job to minimize the pain and obstacles for your customers.

The staff at Ritz Carlton hotel put extra efforts for their customers.?When a person leaves Ritz Carlton, they will be asked if they have their travel documents with them. If it’s a guest’s birthday, they will be surprised with a cake. If a person is going to leave very early, they will be asked if they would like a hot pot of coffee delivered to their room before checking out. That takes us to the end of the podcast.??

Let’s summarise and find out, what are you going to do next?

We started with how Christiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers. He doesn’t track the ball, he tracks the player. You need to look at what your customers are doing and what they are going to do next. Then use that information and make it easy or better for them.?Surprise them with your action they didn’t expect. It’s like you are reading their brain. They will appreciate your deep level of understanding their needs, desire and pain.

Most good hotels track the ball.

They focus on a clean room, nice furniture or wifi. They focus on regular operations only. A few select ones will even ask their guests if there is anything else they can do to make their stay comfortable. They will listen and respond.?

That’s not enough.

The exceptional hotels such as Ritz Carlton and The Grand Del Mar hotel go beyond that and track the player. They train their staff to observe the guests and anticipate their needs. You don’t have to focus on the ball, you have to focus on the player and anticipate. Identify their likely movements based on observation. It will become your second nature if you do it repeatedly.

It will work wonderfully.

You need to observe your customers precisely and you will easily predict their behaviour automatically. But, you need to be completely aware of focus. Practice will give you the superpower called ‘the intuition.

So, what’s the recipe to deliver world-class service to the customers? Observe, anticipate, and deliver the ‘wow’ experience