Mike Clark's Business Bites: Coveted customer experience needs thought

The initial customer service experience often sets the bar for what you are looking at. Photo / Unsplash

How would you rate your customer service out of 10? What factors do you consider when deciding this score?

Are we getting fussier as a society? Have our standards risen or is it marketing that is driving our increasingly high expectation of service?

We were greeted at a local restaurant by an unsmiling young lady apologising for how long we had to wait and complaining about how far she had to walk to seat people at the back of the restaurant. Every 101 of customer service would mark such a experience as off to a bad start.

The challenge, of course, is that this makes customers focus on other aspects of the service to confirm or deny that this is the service standard. You tend to get more of what you look for. The initial experience sets the bar for what you are looking at.

When people go out to spend money there is increasing expectation that in addition to whatever they are buying they will also have a great experience. This focus on the customer experience is becoming so essential that many larger businesses have a role to cover it.

The increasing rise of online reviews is further driving this as people share their experiences, thoughts and opinions. When was the last time you checked your online reviews? What are people saying about you – what do they like and dislike?

What experience can people expect to have when buying from you? Is this something you have crafted or did it "just sort of evolve"? Can your team recreate it if you are not there?

As the amount of choice people have continues to grow, with online retail reaching record heights of trade, the need to create an experience worth talking about, and coming back for, is both a necessity and potentially huge point of difference.

Crafting a customer experience starts with seeking to fully understand your customers. The better you understand them the better you can serve them. What do they want, need, hope for and expect when engaging in your service and/or product? What else is offered in a similar place? Could you be the best at something that really matters to your clients and can you create a way to deliver this consistently?

Excelling in an area that your clients find important is what creates an experience people are willing to pay for. Take time to define this and train your team to deliver under all conditions, every day and you will move closer from customer service to the coveted customer experience.

Here's to your success.

+ Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.