Improving the Customer Experience

In any interaction with a customer, there is an exchange of some kind. Sometimes, there is a cost for the customer when buying a service or product. Other times, it might be giving advice, instruction, or a tip. Whatever it might be, it has to be the right thing for them, which lends to a great customer experience.

Author of The E-Myth, Michael E Gerber, explains that in a business, you take on 3 roles: Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician. As a technician in your business, you are doing the job, and it isn’t as simple as just fulfilling the service requirements at hand. It’s more than ticking a box on a checklist and giving the customer what they need. It’s about delivering a great customer experience in an effortless and authentic way. We can help you be a great technician so that you can focus on growing your business (being an Entrepreneur) and performing the day-to-day tasks (being the Manager).

We’ve spoken to consumers, looked at our own buying experiences, and found that the interactions with businesses are ok at best. The general feeling is that as consumers, we’re not treated as individuals but rather just a “sale”.

The following verbatims are from customers who engaged with a business and had a negative experience:

“I called a business asking about their services, and for a few minutes, they told me about their processes and expectations and told me I had to pay upfront. Thus, I felt uncomfortable and didn’t book an appointment. I called a different business and had a similar conversation. Except they didn’t tell me about all the rules, which made talking to them so much better. The person I spoke with asked me questions, I felt welcome, and they explained the next steps. Then, I booked an appointment straight away.”

“I needed help booking an appointment at a wellness centre. The person I spoke to told me about their processes and that I had to pay upfront. I refrained from making an appointment since I was uncomfortable paying for something upfront. Then, I called a different business and had a similar conversation. They didn’t tell me about all the rules, which made talking to them so much better. The person I spoke with asked me questions, I felt welcome, and they explained the next steps thoroughly. I booked an appointment straight away.”

“I recently found out that I was paying for insurance on a home that I no longer owned or lived in, even though I had called to cancel the policy. When I called the insurance company, I spoke to 5 people before anyone understood, took responsibility, and arranged for a refund of 12 months worth of payments. I should’ve picked this up earlier, so I was feeling pretty low about it and actually felt worse after speaking to people in customer service who were supposed to help me.”

Some questions to consider:

How are you helping customers?

What are you doing to make the customer’s process/inquiry/interaction easy?

What can you do on the next call that will create a great experience for the customer?

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Share with us your customer experience and how you feel about it!

We can help turn negative customer experiences around through the:

• Training delivery.
• Coaching for sales, performance, leadership, coach the coach.
• Quality assurance through call recording and compliance.
• Change management to facilitate team alignment and improve workplace culture.
• Instructional design of new and existing training programs. This includes self-paced learning via online modules, Facilitator Guides, Participant Guides, online assessments, content curation and content review.
• Discovery workshops to define values and goals.

Visit our blog for more tips or check out our training courses.