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The Secret to Improving Customer Experience

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Think better service processes are the key to customer delight? Think again…

I’m not telling you to stop bringing your A+++ game when it comes to building better processes…BUT better products, faster delivery, and easy-to-use systems are no longer the differentiator they once were.

What makes you stand out today is taking into account how your customer experiences your service process.

Competition-busting BREAKTHROUGHS happen when you and team get serious about answering this question – “What is the customer’s experience of what we do?”

I encourage everyone to step into the customer’s shoes to understand what they are PERCEIVING as they experience your organization’s processes. And when you find the moments where those perceptions are unsatisfying, these are the points where improvements can and should be made.

Added bonus – these are also the improvements that make the BIGGEST IMPACT on your customer experience.

So start seeing your processes through your customer’s eyes…and your organization will know JUST how to make the upgrades that your customers will appreciate and remember. Watch the video for 2 examples of how this works…

#VideoPosts #CustomerService #ServiceImprovement

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Below is an Autogenerated Transcript

It’s a different view on service because from the inside, let’s say employees are executing processes and they are doing one after the other based on scripts or information that they get, but as a customer, as you said, all the different customers perceive in a different way, the experience that they are facing. And therefore, also, could you elaborate a bit on this difference between service process and service perceptions? Because within a company you have clear KPIs, you need to do that, quick. Blah, blah, bump, bump. However the perception of the customer is different. Exactly. So the fundamental distinction is the service process is everything you do. The service perception is everything that they experience. Everything that they notice, everything that they like or don’t like, and they’re not exactly the same. Now, for sure, the service process influences the service perception, but there are times when you can improve the service perception and it’s not something that has to do with the process. Let me give you an example. You could have a bank that has a certain KPI, and let’s say the internal service process for approving a large loan. Let’s say someone wants to buy a house or they want an equity line of credit or whatever it may be, and you say, “Okay, our internal KPI is that we will get back to that person within seven days, ten days, Well, if you’re the person who submits all the documents and four, five, six, seven days have gone by and you’ve heard nothing from the bank, are you sitting here going, “Gee, I feel great about this loan application.”? No, you’re sitting there wondering what’s happening. So, what would make more sense is for the bank to say, “From the moment we get all of the documents, number one, we’re going to send them a confirmation to let them know every one of the documents has been received.” We’re now going into this period of, let’s say, At 3 or 4 days in, it might be very appropriate to send another message, it could even be automatic, that says, “Hi, we’re touching base to let you know that the review of your loan application is in process. And so far, everything is going smoothly. As promised, you’ll be hearing from us within the 7 to 10 day period.” Now, that didn’t change anything about the status of the application, but the fact that you added that additional moment of communication. How does that feel to the customer who made the application? They’re not sitting there wondering, wondering, wondering. They’re “Oh, there on it. They’ve got it. These guys are great.” And then, you know what? When you actually do respond to the application, let’s say within 7 or 10 days, what a perfect situation. By the way, if your KPI was 7 days, I would tell them 7 to 10 days so that on the 7th day you’re able to say, “We promised you 7 to 10. Here we are on the first of those three days and we’ve got an answer for your application.” Were you able to follow that one, Gregorio? Yes, it totally makes sense. And at the end, this, as you mentioned, it could be an automatic information, but the customer perceptions is it’s personalized because it’s related to the case. It takes care about me and it’s proactive. I am not asking and calling, “Where does the where is my loan?” But I get proactive information that the company is caring about me. Now let’s go to a B2B situation where it’s not just a loan application, like it must be a, maybe a much larger, more complex or more expensive purchase between a vendor, a supplier and an end customer situation, and you could even have multiple points of contact between these two organizations. And if you ask from the customer side, some of those people might very much appreciate being updated each step along the way. Other people might appreciate not being bothered unless something is going to be late. And then there may be other people who say, “Well, I just want to know at certain key milestones.”, let’s agree what those milestones are. So, if you’re the company that’s serving this large B2B client, you cannot just show up with your process and say, “This is how we’re going to keep you informed.” and expect on a client side for them to say that that was excellent service. It might be adequate service, it might be an expected level of service because you have your standards and your process and your own KPIs. But if you don’t ask the customer, “How would you like to be informed?”, then you’re just going to be executing your process without being fully aware of how to create an excellent service perception. It totally makes sense, and I think even more in B2B is important because for these big contracts that get renewed each 5 or 10 years, it’s extremely important to work throughout the journey of the relationship. And not only coming two days before the contract renewal place signing and we continue working together. And that certainly makes sense and it’s extremely important. And yes. And if it’s 3 to 5 years in between each repurchase or renewal, the person that was on the client side last time may not be the same person. Exactly. Right. So, let’s let us not assume let us inquire.

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Ron Kaufman
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Here’s what’s next…

Check your email for the welcome we just sent – and reply to let us know you received it!

We’ve included some useful resources 
for you to explore…

…and we’ll be in touch to share more ideas 
and invitations for you.