A DIFFERENT VIEW: Part I Us vs them

We can safely assume most owners/leaders view their businesses differently than their customers, but why does this difference exist?

Product quality, customer service, operational efficiencies, etc. should be practically identical and in line with the customers needs right?

There's definitely a challenge regarding what management believes and knows to be true about their operations, and what customers believe and more importantly experience when they engage with the business as a customer or as a prospect. These differences (perceived or real) can result in lost opportunities, customer dissatisfaction and ultimately lost revenue and lost customers. Unfortunately there is usually no single solution, however as we’ve discussed previously, discovering the differences and how the differences can be resolved will ultimately close the gap between the business, the product and the customers perspective.

This week we will address the most important side of the viewpoint:

Customer Expectations & Experiences

Small businesses need customers in order to grow and become sustainable (Come on Matt, tell me something I don’t know)

Ok, how about this? When it comes to the Customer Experience, what “makes sense” to you will almost never guarantee success with your customer, your opinion doesn’t really matter, that is unless you are thinking like your ideal customer and not the business owner. This is one of those times where you have to understand what problem you are solving or what service you are providing as a business but focus on the customers side of doing business with you.

What makes it fun?

Customers’ perspectives are mainly shaped by the quality of the services or products they receive, the ease of communicating with the business, and the overall feeling they have during their engagement. This is what we call “The Customer Experience.” A few key elements from a customer’s viewpoint are:

Quality

Quality of products or services is crucial for a customer. This includes the reliability of the product, how the service meets their expectations, how the sandwich tastes all point directly to the value received for the money spent. Consistency is essential as customers expect a certain result or solution each time they interact with the business. Any variation in product or service quality can essentially cause dissatisfaction regardless of behind-the-scenes challenges the business may face. If you become a returning customer (client) of a business it’s because your getting consistent results that provide value for your money and you enjoy doing business with them.

Customer Service and Communication

Another factor is the degree of customer service regardless of the size of the business. This encompasses having knowledgeable employees with helpful and proactive attitudes and handling inquiries or complaints quickly. Any disconnect in communication such as difficult return policies, billing errors, slow responses to requests, etc. all lead to customer frustration. We tell our customer to “please complain” we welcome complaints and invite them to complain so we can do better. If they complain to us early and often we can fix it before they complain to someone else.

Convenience and Accessibility

Customers mentally rate businesses on convenience: that is, how simple the purchase process is, how accessible customer service is, how easy the website is to navigate, etc. Challenges in any of these areas can result in unhappiness and discontent or simply lost opportunity. If a customer is in need of one of the services you provide but perceive doing business with you as inconvenient they will move on to someone else. Most people prefer to click on a link to get things moving. Make sure they can do that whenever possible.

Brand Image and Reputation

This is a BIG one. Customers develop opinions about a business based on its brand image and reputation. This includes social media presence, internet reviews, community involvement, vehicle and property signage, location, and the physical appearances of the representatives they interact with. For the potential customer, brand identity represents the company’s products and services. Management might have a different branding focus, but for the customer, perception is reality. The old adage of “you only get on chance to make a first impression” doesn’t apply to us. Not in the way it does with a job interview or a first date.

As a business and as business owners we are always being interviewed, every day and at every customer interaction. Image is everything. There is really no such thing as a “repeat customer” in the early stages of a business relationship. You can’t create that on purpose, or can you? See repeating is automatic or guaranteed, like setting a song on repeat. Is autonomous or programmed to repeat, like a “no brainer.” But before we can create a repeat customer we need to get them to want to return. Are they going to come back again? Did they have the kind of experience that would make them want to come back?

What we really want is to ensure our customers “return.” If we do everything right and build trust along the way, they will decide to return next time or next season. We want our customers to drive out of their way to come see us just as much as we want them to chose us because we are convenient. We want to be the service provider of choice. When they have a choice, they choose us. They return because of the excellent service they received and they bring their friends and family back with them, then they do it again, and again because it’s always good to work with us.

They become repeat customer because the experience they have is consistent and they enjoy it.

You can’t make them come back, but you can give them a million reasons to want to, or one big reason not to.

Next week we’ll discuss Management Perspectives: Challenges and Focus

~MB