The customer pays your salary, not the company
Said me, always
If you have worked with me, you will have heard me say that at some point.
We don’t work for our managers, the CEO is not working for the shareholders.
If the customer does not buy our product or service, we will all be fired (some faster than others!).
The loyalty should therefore lie with them and everyone’s daily work should be how to elevate their experience. Period. I should end this post right here but I cannot stress this enough, so here is more.
We all tend to do our bit in a company and then pass the ball onto the next team.
How many companies assign teams to follow the product from the moment it is getting ready to leave the warehouse to the moment it is delivered, after it has been used, if there is an issue with it, if it is meeting consumer expectations? (More about the product here)
How to make the experience unforgettable?
1. Treat them with respect. On the phone, on the point of sale, online, when they receive your package, surprise them, overdeliver on the experience, give them more than they pay for.
Yes some people have issues and they take them out on your call centre staff and whatever you do, will not be enough. It’s ok, try your best anyway they are probably having a hard time in life.
Don’t take it personally, don’t let it numb your staff’s empathy.
Use the experience to learn something from it.
2. Go through the journey yourself. Go online, place an order, observe the box when you receive it, go to the store, navigate through the assortment, see how easy it is to pick a product, buy something, interact with the staff, ask questions, try to send a request online, chat with customer service, register on your company’s newsletter, read it on your phone and your laptop.
Become your own customer and live through the journey yourself, you will be surprised what you will find out!
Note: I am guilty of it myself. When I launched storiesof.marketing I did not set up the email notification properly so it looked very impersonal to those who signed up for it. I had sign up for it as well so I saw it and immediately fixed it!