The Ideal Customer Experience

By John Duever

Joshua G asked: Can you describe what the ideal customer experience should feel like, from start to finish?

Great question, Joshua, thank you.

There are a lot of factors that come into play with customer experience and the one thing that has always stuck out to me with this topic is something one of my business advisors told me many years ago. He said "Your goal with customer experience is to provide such a positive experience that they want to tell the world how great your company is before they even pull out of your parking lot. You want them so happy that they feel obligated to leave you a review or share how great the experience was with everyone they know."

I am a huge fan of reverse engineering everything in my life and business. I find the end goal and reverse engineer the entire process back to the basics, the ground level if you will, which in the client experience case would be the very first time you or your team has the opportunity to communicate with the client. This can come in many different avenues.

Quite possibly the most common avenue for a client to reach out to you is via phone, this is your very first opportunity to make an impression and build rapport with your client.

Everyone on your team should answer the phone in the same manner with the same word track.

At Vinyl Images, our word track is this: "Thank you for calling Vinyl Images, this is (person answering the phone's name) how can I help you?" I cannot express how important it is to greet the person calling in with a positive tone to your voice and inflection that you are excited to speak to them about their project. Believe it or not, smiling before you answer the phone is very important as it subconsciously sets the tone of happiness and changes the tone of your voice as opposed to being stressed about your day and answering the phone and allowing your stress to be felt through the tone of your voice. People feel this and it is important to make them feel wanted and welcomed.

Another aspect that we are serious about at Vinyl Images is to answer the phone in NO MORE than 2 rings. Our team understands that if the phone rings more than 2 times it is everyone's responsibility to grab that call and make the client feel needed. There is nothing more annoying to me than to call a company and have the phone ring and ring and ring. Do you even care that I'm calling? Do you not want my business? Answer the phone promptly and politely and you will close more leads. One thing that I am seeing more and more of is automated answering service. You know the one where you call and it says "Please press 1 to speak to John, please press 2 to speak to Destiney, and so on and so on." I personally do not prefer this method and the human interaction of a real person answering the phone is far more valuable than an automated answering service. I'm not saying this is wrong, I am simply saying that I would much rather speak to someone directly than a computer. Human interactions are becoming less and less nowadays and any chance I can get to have my team speak directly to the client I take. and we make the most of that interaction.

Another very common way for clients to reach out to you is through social media or email. Both of which should be looked at in the same manner. The goal is to get these clients on the phone to speak to them about their projects. If a client refuses to get on a call then it typically is not a client that I want to work with as going back and forth via messenger or email is insanely inefficient and at the end of the day you can accomplish a lot more in a 5-10 minute phone conversation that you can go back and forth via messenger or email 5 times.

After you have spoken to the client about their project you need to clearly set the expectation of the scope of the job by educating the client as much as possible on the entire process from scheduling, drop off, installation, realistic timeframe, pick up, aftercare and warranty. The more information you can provide the client the less there will be surprises along the path from start to finish. Truth be told, most clients have no idea what you do or the process that must be abided by in order to produce the best finished product for them. Setting expectations by educating the client on all aspects is crucial to the client experience. When you educate your client you gain more and more trust and respect which in turn leads to a much more positive experience and return business.

I believe in communicating with clients while I have their vehicle in my care, custody and control. Send them an updated picture of their project, and shoot them a text or email letting them know how amazing the project is turning out. This adds to the anticipation of the pickup and creates a sense of excitement for the client. You're getting in their feels and this only adds a positive note to the overall experience.

At the time of the project being picked up, it is imperative that you or someone on your team goes over the details of the project with the client to ensure 100% approval and happiness. Walk around their vehicle with them and talk them through how the installation went and ensure 100% happiness. Don't shy away from any reluctance the client has, dig into any issue and make sure the client is 100% satisfied with the finished product. If you set the expectations at the beginning this should be a very smooth interaction however if you did not set the right expectations then this could not be a positive interaction. Learn as you go and you will succeed.

After our clients leave with their finished product, every client receives a handwritten thank you card. We have been doing this as long as I can remember and if there is one thing that I get compliments on from clients it is the handwritten thank you card. It is such a small gesture but with the overuse of technology, when the client gets these it feels special and makes them feel appreciated in a way that an email or social media message or post cannot.

The overall goal of the positive client experience is to make sure the client feels appreciated and they get what they want. By setting goals and following through with the expectations discussed you can assure that the client will have nothing but positive things to say about you to everyone they come in contact with you. Happy clients are your biggest sales tool when it comes to referrals and continued business.

John Duever

John@wrapiq.com

Co-Owner/Operator, Vinyl Images Founder/CEO, WrapIQ

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