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Inconsistent customer service can have a long lasting impact; sometimes it’s important to sweat the small stuff, writes Choice Aggregation Services CEO Stephen Moore.
As consultants at global management consulting firm McKinsey and Company put it, there are three Cs of customer satisfaction – consistency, consistency and consistency. “It may not seem sexy, but consistency is the secret ingredient to making customers happy.”
On a recent holiday at the coast, my wife and I found ourselves in an enjoyable morning routine. Leisurely beach walk followed by a read of the papers and a coffee at one of the local cafes we had developed quite a taking to. The service was great – the staff were friendly and efficient, the coffee was always spot on with the added bonus of being accompanied by a home-made biscuit. It was basic really, but this café had all of the small things down pat, which saw us return there day after day.
Until, that is, about six days into our holiday, when our coffees arrived without a trace of a sweet treat in sight. It sounds trivial, but the biscuit we’d grown so accustomed to was missing and we couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. The following day, we decided to try somewhere new.
In my last blog I wrote about the importance of customer experience and how expanding your thinking beyond basic customer service to a much broader ‘experience’ approach can take your value proposition to a whole new level. An exceptional customer experience is not just about responding to client emails on time, it’s about delivering an enjoyable experience at every point of their involvement with you and your business.
Often it is the smallest of details that shape a standout experience. But as this story clearly illustrates, once you raise the bar, failing to keep it there can be your undoing.
Consistency checklist
- Commit to it - As customer expectations continue to rise, and competition between brokers intensifies, committing to an outstanding customer experience needs to be a top priority for any broker looking to develop or maintain a competitive advantage. A compelling customer experience needs to be executed day in and day out by each and every member of the team if it is to truly drive results.
- Get your staff on board - If you’re reviewing your customer experience proposition be sure in your implementation to secure buy-in from your whole team. Welcome their input and offer rewards to encourage commitment. And make no excuses – as demonstrated above, just one slip-up can damage the client experience.
- Be realistic – It’s good to be enthusiastic but you also need to be realistic about the customer experience you can provide. Consistency is most important, so if you can’t commit to something due to the cost or time involved, perhaps it’s something to put on the shelf, until the business has the resources for it.
- Monitor it - There is no point implementing a customer experience strategy if you fail to review it. Schedule regular time in to your diary to stop and assess whether the process is working and where improvements might need to be made. This should also involve seeking feedback from your team, as well as clients.
- Be a leader - the best customer experience starts at the top. Lead by example and showcase your commitment to outstanding customer experience.
