Your Business Rises and Falls on Customer Experience

Focus on the customer, not your own needs.

7 Essentials of Great Customer Service

Image credit: Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

To paraphrase something Steve Jobs once said, you have to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology if you're looking to sell $8 or $10 billion of product a year.

This statement is profound and can be so impactful in all of our businesses, with a few minor tweaks.

Long ago, when I was just starting my first few businesses, I would spend dozens of hours dreaming about the business, how it would operate and how we'd turn a profit. I would plan out marketing and sales, the layout of the building I needed, our hours of operation and everything I needed to start and run this new business -- except the one thing I needed to know most, which was how the customer experience was going to be.

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In the past, I didn't plot about how easy a process would be for customers, but rather how efficient it would be for my team or myself. I didn't worry about building a relationship with customers because I thought I was the best at my trade, so of course, they'd come back and do business with me. I didn't put real effort into referrals, because, again, I was the best, so of course, customers would refer others to me. Even my marketing was somewhat focused on me instead of the customer.

If you take a second and look at businesses around you, you'll see this is exactly how virtually all of them operate. Here are a few easy examples.

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I recently got a nine-hour window for the cable company to come by and fix a problem with their outside wiring. They don't care about customer experience -- socialism and monopolies will do that to you. The cable company's idea of a good experience is to have the driver call you from a blocked number 20 minutes before they arrive, and if you don't answer or can't make it within the 20 minutes, your appointment has to be rescheduled. Crazy.

I have an ex-client right now who hired a new consultant (and as a side note, be careful who you hire and take advice from, because many consultants have no clue what they are talking about), and this consultant's advice was to go all digital on everything and cancel most marketing, because this business doesn't need marketing unless it is very cheap or free. You'd literally get better advice from my 11-year-old on running and marketing a business, but that aside, this advice was likely given so the consultant could show a quick and easy win of how much money he saved his new client. Unfortunately, though, when you stop marketing, you may make a little more cash now, but you will ultimately see a swift decline in new customers and a decline in revenue to follow ... dumb.

I could go on, but the bigger question is, in what areas of your business are you not focused on the customer experience, but instead focused on your own needs?

Customer experience also has a massive impact on referrals. If it is difficult to do business with you, then when a customer does refer, they always add in, "This guy is great, but Bertha at the front desk is a nightmare," or "Expect to wait 20 minutes to been seen." When someone gives you a referral and adds a "but" at the end of it, followed by a negative comment, do you think people are going to charge in to do business with you?

The overall customer experience includes every interaction -- from the phones and reception area to the way your office looks, how they are treated and the results they get. Customer experience and overall satisfaction includes everything in and around your business. If you're not getting the number of referrals you feel you should be, there is a good chance one problem is customer experience. It's likely you have other problems, like relationships and trust, but without a good experience, you'll always be limited on the number of referrals you can get.

If we go back to the Steve Jobs quote I paraphrased at the beginning of the article, he said something else profound. Here's the exact quote:

"The hardest thing is, how does that fit into a cohesive, larger vision that's going to allow you to sell 8 billion dollars -- 10 billion dollars -- of product a year? ... [You've] got to start with the customer experience and work backward for the technology." -- Steve Jobs

This is worth looking at if you're looking to sell eight or 10 billion dollars' worth of product a year.

The video this quote is taken from was filmed in 1997, the first year Steve Jobs was back as CEO of Apple. Steve wasn't thinking small; he wasn't thinking about growing sales five percent -- he wanted to add billions in new sales. Although you and I may have different goals, far too many of us still don't think big enough. We think about adding small percentage increases in revenue -- five percent growth, 10 percent growth. At five percent, you're barely keeping up with inflation and pay raises -- and maybe not even keeping up.

Are you thinking big enough? Are you pushing yourself? Is that new product or service going to allow you to achieve the growth you desire? How will that product or service affect experience? Are you trying to sell something that people feel should be included in your service?

These are the questions I see so few people asking.

Now, I know many people feel that they are big enough, that they don't need to grow more and that they are happy with their income. Great, glad for you, but what happens when the next 2008–2011 rolls around? Nearly everyone takes a hit in a recession.

Now is the time to invest and grow your savings, offerings, relationships, and customers. It is those who invest now, when times are at least average, that will make it through the next storm. I don't mean to be all doom and gloom here, but recessions happen every 10–15 years or so, which begs the question: Are you investing in relationships?

Do you have a referral culture? Are customers loyal to you or just the lowest price? Is Amazon going to put you out of business because you're just a commodity? If you're on the wrong end of any of those answers, now is the time to fix it, when things are good.

I believe that it's the questions you ask that determine the answers you get, so I want to close with two questions I hope you'll ponder.

Everyone says that customers are the priority, but when are your actions going to match the redirect?
What change are you going to make today to improve customer experience?

The choice is ultimately yours.

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November 22, 2017

5 Ways You're Wasting Your Customer's Time on the Phone

Every hassle a person has when they call for help poisons how they feel about your company.

5 Lessons on Writing Sales Proposals Gleaned From the Competition for Amazon's New Headquarters

Image credit: graphicstock

Grant Cardone • VIP Contributor

It was a crisp later winter morning in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bell said into a phone "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."

The call was short and to the point, right? The very first phone call in history just goes to show the phone wasn't created for the primary purpose of idle conversation. The is supposed to save time. Customers call your business because they want to save time, not waste time.

Here are five ways most businesses waste people's time on the phone:

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Phone Time Waster #1: Long wait on hold

Have you ever been asked, "Can you hold please?" and before you can even answer they've already put you on hold? Twentyfive percent of customers switch because they are tired of being put on hold. Sevetyone percent of customers say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do, and 69 percent of customers say they are being put on hold for too long.

Do you put people on hold? How long do you put them on hold?

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I called my company once and asked for my top manager. I was put on hold for 18 seconds and became so furious I hung up. I called back and told them never to put me on hold for longer than 15 seconds without getting back to me. Fifteen seconds feels like a long time when you are on hold. Have you walked into a restaurant and a sign says "Please wait to be seated" but the place is empty? What are you waiting to be seated for? Why should I be put on hold when I walk in?

The world is going fast folks. My money is bored. After keeping a client on hold, always check back in after 15 seconds. The second time checking back in, get their contact information and promise to call them back. Make it clear to the customer that you don't want to waste their time on hold.

Phone Time Waster #2: Being disconnected, then unable to reach the same rep.

People don't like starting over with someone else. If you're going to make sales, you need to deliver better customer service than you're getting elsewhere. The fact that you don't get good customer service almost everywhere else doesn't mean you shouldn't deliver it. Your value in the marketplace depends on your ability to deliver customer service that nobody else delivers.

Fiftythree percent of customers switch companies because they feel unappreciated. Why would I go someplace to feel unappreciated? Seventyone percent of customers say valuing their time is most important. You need to be efficient. Who wants to wait these days? The solution is to always get the direct cell phone number when you're on a phone call so that you don't get disconnected. "Let me get your cell in case we get disconnected."

Phone Time Waster #3: Transferred to representative who can't help or is wrong.

Have you been there and done that? I have. Seventytwo percent blame their bad customer service experience on having to explain their problem to multiple people. Nobody wants to talk to someone who can't solve their problem. Employees need the authority to solve the problem without going to a supervisor. Don't confuse giving things away with solving problems. Free things don't solve problems. Service solves problems.

Why did they come to your company in the first place? People come to my company because they want us to help them sell more, brand and market themselves better, or help with social media. Me lowering the price does not get them what they want. I have to help them make more sales and increase their income -- that solves their problem. If it is apparent that you are unable to help the client, you should escalate to the next level to someone who can. I never say "no" until I have to.

Phone Time Waster #4: Too many phone steps.

Automated phone systems drive people crazy. Hit number one for this, hit number two for that, hit number three -- I can't even remember all the options. Seventy percent are extremely frustrated contacting a company that complicates customer service. Nobody wants to go through a tree of options before speaking to a person.

Sixtyeight percent of customers have switched due to poor customer experience, and 95 percent of those dissatisfied tell others about their bad experience. Make it easy for people. Eliminate all unnecessary steps when a customer calls in.

Phone Time Waster #5: Repeatedly asked for same information.

Eighty percent of customers say the company does not have the context of their last conversation. As a policy, have a standard process for collecting data at the beginning of the interaction. You should have a CRM and be entering data -- why they called, what they want, what problem they are trying to solve, who they are and what their position is.

You want data in a CRM so you can quickly pull it up when they call again. There is no reason any customer should have to start over. Most companies just don't have a commitment to loading information into a CRM with the content of the earlier conversation. If you don't have a policy of doing always, you will end up with nevers. Customer service costs nothing other than commitment.

Instead of wasting your customer's time on the phone, commit to becoming great on the phone. Don't avoid the phone altogether like some companies do. A company that doesn't provide, or hides, a customer service phone number is not really wanting to service customers.

You want to make it easy for a client to get the information they need. Where's the phone number? Is the phone number on every web page? Thirtyseven percent abandon purchases because they have questions and can't find the answer. Eightythree percent of customers shopping online need support to make a purchase. How easy can you make it for people to find the data?

Make it easy by being everywhere. Be on different social media channels, provide contact information -- these things don't cost money. What costs money is not acquiring new customers. The phone is there for you to make money, it's not a thing to avoid!

Your Business Rises and Falls on Customer Experience

Focus on the customer, not your own needs.

7 Essentials of Great Customer Service

Image credit: Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Shaun Buck • VIP Contributor

To paraphrase something Steve Jobs once said, you have to start with the customer experience and work backward to the technology if you're looking to sell $8 or $10 billion of product a year.

This statement is profound and can be so impactful in all of our businesses, with a few minor tweaks.

ADVERTISING

If you take a second and look at businesses around you, you'll see this is exactly how virtually all of them operate. Here are a few easy examples.

Sponsored Content

Branding Your Business for Maximum Exposure

By Staples

Sponsored Content

How These Entrepreneurs Attracted an Army of Loyal Customers

By Staples

Sponsored Content

Office Goals on the Road: From Ugly to Organized

By Staples

I could go on, but the bigger question is, in what areas of your business are you not focused on the customer experience, but instead focused on your own needs?

If we go back to the Steve Jobs quote I paraphrased at the beginning of the article, he said something else profound. Here's the exact quote:

This is worth looking at if you're looking to sell eight or 10 billion dollars' worth of product a year.

These are the questions I see so few people asking.

I believe that it's the questions you ask that determine the answers you get, so I want to close with two questions I hope you'll ponder.

Everyone says that customers are the priority, but when are your actions going to match the redirect?
What change are you going to make today to improve customer experience?

The choice is ultimately yours.