Customer Experience is the New Competitive Advantage

Construction Worker on iPadIn the modern time of convenience and instant gratification, more and more people are focusing their daily routines, schedules and decisions on what is easiest for them or what requires the least amount of work. When faced with a business interaction or a consumer decision, people will almost always choose the path of least resistance. Nowadays, the businesses that understand this idea and adapt their model to fit it are the ones that realize the most success.

David Avrin of Visibility International discussed this changing concept of customer experience at World of Asphalt 2019. Avrin provided attendees three areas of focus to create customer experiences worth talking about:

  1. Have a flawless contact system
  2. Know your customers to the best of your ability
  3. Have an efficient customer service program
By mastering these areas, you will eliminate barriers, engage prospects and acquire new customers.

Fix Anything and Everything

The greatest source of lost revenue for your business is the prospect you never knew about. They clicked away without buying, drove past without stopping in, or hung up on your voicemail system. Worse yet, you have no idea who they were, or how many there were.

The first step in enhancing a customer’s experience is identifying any flaws in your company’s contact systems, whether it is on your website, via social media or through a phone call. The best way to avoid flaws in the aforementioned systems is to design it in a way that makes life great for customers.

Great is a characteristic that is defined by customers, not the business. It doesn’t matter what you think of your website, Avrin said, it matters what the customers think of it. Look at every touch point in the system – call your own office or go on your own website and ask yourself: Was this easy to navigate?

Sometimes, we design our systems and processes because it’s how we want our customers to do business with us. This is no longer an option. Businesses must design their systems to optimize the customer experience, and by doing this, they can fix anything and everything that might achieve the opposite.

Know Your Customers Better

Next, you need to recognize and understand the unique attributes of your customers. What is a day in the life of your customers like? This is the ultimate question, and one that can be answered. Avrin suggests companies create personas for their buyers in order to define who their ideal customer is and is not.

To create a persona, list what your customers dislike, love, need and fear. Repeat this process as many times as necessary. Depending on the size of your business, you may only have a few personas or many.

The goal of this exercise, Avrin claimed, is to get an idea of what customers want from your business to make it a fantastic experience for them. There is no need to over complicate things; know your customers and know what they want.

5 Traits of a Successful Customer Service Program

While there are an ample number of traits that signify a successful or efficient customer service program, Avrin argues that these five top the list:
1. Immediacy

Only 16 percent of companies in America have adopted an “always online” business model to support their always-connected customers. The customers of those companies always feel important and always feel that their issues are given a sense of urgency, which makes their experience infinitely better.

2. Individuality

No customer wants to feel like they are just another person in line, waiting for that automated or scripted response. The “one-size fits all” model is for the company’s benefit, not the customer’s. Avrin says that providing flexibility and accommodating more based on the individual customer will increase loyalty and guarantee a great experience.

3. Humanity

The only way to treat customers is with the utmost respect. Avrin argues that people shouldn’t be made to beg for the things they need. Likewise, internally, don’t allow the company to get so stuck in processes that exceptions cannot be made. Humanity is a necessity for the operations of the business.

4. Consistency

Consistency in any company or business is of peak importance. No business will be known for its customer service or experience if they are inconsistent with their strategies, behavior or service.

5. Promotability

Give people something to talk about. Social proof is everything, Avrin argued. Without raving reviews, potential customers might never find their way to your company.

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