INSIGHT business coaching
Design an Outstanding Customer Experience
Communication, transparency and being upfront with clients will lead to fewer problems and higher client satisfaction
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BY LUANN NIGARA
love my window treatments! The installation was impeccable! The customer service was stellar! I would use this company again and I will recommend them to my family and friends!
Home run, right? How do we hit it out of the park with our customers so we earn rave reviews like these? These are gold because they generate repeat and referral customers, which propels our business and grows our profits. If you are in business for any length of time, you already know that it takes everything from hello to goodbye to create a loyal customer who also becomes your cheerleader. Our first impression, product knowledge, the product quality, timely delivery, installation quality, repair and service guarantees all contribute to a customer’s overall satisfaction and will inform their opinion of us and our company. However, possibly the most important things we can do to design an outstanding customer experience happen before we turn a prospect into a customer.
ESTABLISH THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 22 | wf-vision.com | Sept + Oct 2018
At the very beginning of the relationship with our potential customer, we must provide crystal clear information about our order process and what they can expect from us and our company. Please take note: I used the phrase “potential customer.” To truly set the stage for an outstanding customer experience, we must start long before the contract is signed. For mutual understanding and agreement to be of any value, it must happen when both parties still have the opportunity to decline engagement or to negotiate the terms of engagement. It is our responsibility to establish the terms, not our customers responsibility. In fact, we want to be the one to set the stage because as important as it is to be honest about what we will do for them, it is also critical we express what we will not do for them. The client experience is built on a foundation of respect, transparency and trust. When we set up our customers’ expectations before the contract, they can evaluate if they can see themselves in our process and consciously agree to it. Once we have agreement it enables us to avoid much of the conflict that occurs in the order process.
