It means you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Everything begins and ends with person-to-person contact. That simple act of reaching out, of taking someone's hand and saying "hello" - that momentary, face-to-face contact - is the bread and butter of any operation. It's what keeps you in business. If you know that person, you just reinforced your relationship. If it's a person you don't know … you just started one. The point is it's an experience that matters and has an impact from here on.
There are feelings and emotions attached to it.
There are opinions and impressions that come out of it.
There are literally billions of dollars in revenue that change hands each day as a result of it. Wham, we’ve created a market, an industry and positive relationships with millions of loyal customers.
Of Course We Can’t Go Door-To-Door Shaking Hands
That’s the role of marketing. Whether it’s a box on a shelf, a retail store, a hotel, traditional or digital marketing the ultimate goal is the same – to make meaningful person-to-person contact and motivate that individual to do what you’d like him or her to do. When it works your organization increases revenue, profitability and market share. And, after all, market share is only a term for getting more of the money that’s in people’s wallets.
No Business Is Better Than The Last Customer Experience
Quality, value, excellent customer service and convenience have become commodity phrases. What company would not promise them to consumers or end-users? They are a given and not a point of differentiation.
The total customer experience goes beyond customer service. Only a positive, enjoyable total experience can create high loyalty and lead to increased revenues. The key question is how do we provide a chain of compelling experiences that create lasting, positive memories and long-term relationships? The answer is really very simple. You can sum it all up this way: "Make the customer happier than the competition does, every time."
Who Owns The Experience?
Part of the challenge is that each customer or end-user defines his or her own experience … just as every customer defines value. So, does this mean that incomparable customer experiences just happen … strike like lightning … by luck or coincidence? A Great Experience isn't an accident, it's created as the result of a strategy and design and it can be managed just like any other function of your organization.
A Great Experience is a 360-degree experience. Everything that touches the customer, consumer or client creates it. In other words, customers, consumers and clients don’t come to you for products and services. They come because they like the experience of buying products and services from you and your people. A Great Experience becomes your "competitive protection."
Your Biggest Competitive Issue
Providing a compelling, incomparable customer experience will give you the competitive advantage. It is a constantly moving target because you have to assume that everyone in the market is trying to do the same thing.
Delivering on your experience promise is the never ending Q&A. How does it feel to be your customer? What works and doesn't work for that person? What did that customer hope to experience, and what did you deliver? How did your experience compare with your competition? How can you be different in ways that really matter? The goal is "To create customer demand and loyalty and enhance your distinctive brand position to drive profitable revenue growth."
The Great Experience Means Empowerment And Achievement
Since customer experiences come out of your business model, they can be managed just like any other function of your organization. Here's how you manage experiences.
#1. Execute for the experience and not just efficiency.
#2. Make your organization “easy to buy.” If you have a choice between easy to sell and easy to buy, go with easy to buy.
#3. Define a customer experience that builds revenue and loyalty and make it a priority.
It’s up to you to define and deliver a great customer experience. It isn’t going to happen by chance. You design it; train for it and management it. In fact it may be the most important thing you manage over time.
• Customer demand and loyalty mean owning the customer.
• Distinctive brand position means owning the brand.
• Profitable revenue growth means owning the total customer experience.
It's all about empowerment and achievement. Make sure you understand what the customer wants and expects. Then, make a genuine attempt to do your best and deliver them. If you do that the majority of the time, you'll deliver good customer service and a Great Experience. Plus your customers, clients and consumers will be constantly delighted and look forward to doing business with you again.
I’m reminded of the words of a crusty, old Washington, D.C., cab driver. Every day, the cabbie drove tourists past the National Archives Building where the words “The Past is Prologue” are carved in stone over the door. Passengers would often ask him, “What does that mean?” And the cabbie’s reply would be, “It means you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
Plan, manage and provide all the aspects of a Great Experience and you be able to say the same thing.
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences. Positive business results are the objective. He believes that one of the most important results is an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Andy is a principal partner at Think! Consulting Group and The Idea Group.
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