Why Your Customers' Experience Matters More than What You Sell

"Elegant decay."

That's how my wife described Venice where we just spent our honeymoon. Anyone who's been there knows it's a pretty accurate description of this beautiful, yet degrading, city rich in history.

I spent most of the time there with my mouth agape and taking way too many pictures, marveling at this new (to me) Old world.

One of the things that left me with a dangling jaw, and unfortunately not in a good way, was our experience as a customer, at one restaurant in particular.

We went out to dinner and found this trattoria by the Grand Canal. The place had outdoor seating, with a cool breeze, beautiful scenery, and surrounded by awe-inspiring history.

The wine was spot-on. I am no no wine connoisseur, but I know what I like.

The food was delicious. We had linguine with shrimps and breaded lemon chicken. We were pretty much licking off the plate.

Even the price for the entire meal was quite affordable.

Yet we will never go there again, nor recommend it to any of our friends. The reason why: the experience.

Our experience constantly took a hit by the various signals we got from the staff. The waiter threw the check at us. One of them burped in my face while laying down my dish. Even the owner gave us a look that said, We can't wait for you to leave.

It didn't matter that everything we bought from them was well done; we simply would never recommend the same experience to anyone we cared about.

For what it's worth, I know how difficult it can be to work in a tourist hot spot. I grew up in a beach town in Mexico founded on American tourism. I learned that being a tourist requires that you respect the land you're on and the people you are sharing it with. I try to do this every where I go.

But this post isn't about Venice, or about that restaurant, or about what to order (pizza and risotto will never let you down). It's about what happens when you have a great product or service to sell and stop there.

When a customer buys from someone, they are not only buying the product or service, but the entire experience.

When a business sells to someone, it's not just about the transaction and the goods, but about how they make the customer feel once they become a customer.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou

Your customers keep coming back to you because they like what you sell and love the customer experience.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the only way to keep a customer is by constantly climbing their hierarchy of needs. In this age of abundant choice and increasing competition, it's no longer enough to have a great product or service; you need to build a great experience and a personal connection, too.

Businesses (as small as a trattoria and as a big as a retail chain) need to go beyond what they put on the plate and on their shelves. The customer experience is what will make any business stand out among the numerous other options available. Truly caring about your customer's experience is the true sign of exceptional customer service.

Customers have long-term memory, so while many may remember the quality and beauty of what they bought from you, everyone will remember how you made them feel. And that's where they will begin and end the conversation whenever someone asks them, So how did you like buying/working with them?