 |
The Customer Experience Payoff
Author: Bill Zipp  | Posted: 18-10-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 5 | Rating: (52)  (?) 
 Here is the brutal reality: It's not enough anymore to JUST provide customer service.
When my mother grew up and it was her birthday, her mother went to the store and bought flour, sugar, milk, and eggs; came home and baked a birthday cake. When it was my birthday, my mom went to the store, bought a cake mix and baked me a birthday cake.
When my kids? birthday came, I did neither of those things. For about ten bucks I went to the store and bought a pre-made cake complete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on top. However when parents prepare for their children?s birthday today, a cake is not enough. There must be a party with games, prizes, balloons, and a clown.
This is what Harvard researchers Joseph Pine and James Gilmore call The Experience Economy. It is a fundamental shift in the marketplace where ?work is theater and every business a stage.?
In other words, people come to businesses today with dramatically different expectations than they did even a few years ago. They don?t want an ordinary product or run-of-the mill service, they want an experience.
This is what will keep your customers coming back to your business again and again and again, the exceptional experience you provide. Or the lack of it that will drive them away.
THREE ESSENTIALS TO EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Here?s how you can make every customer?s contact with your business an exceptional experience:
1. Cast Your VISION
It?s a quaint, yet insightful story told of a Londoner taking a walk downtown at the turn of the last century. He came upon laborers working on a construction project and asked one of the men, ?What are you doing??
He answered, ?I?m layin? bricks.?
Continuing down the block a bit, he asked a second worker the same question, and the man answered, ?I?m buildin? a wall.?
To a third a bit further down he posed the same question. The man stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and looked to the sky saying, ?I?m building a great cathedral!?
Getting very, very clear about the vision of your work, the great cathedral that you are building, has a powerful effect on people. It transforms ordinary, routine jobs, like laying bricks, into a cause. And when people are committed to a cause, nothing can stand in their way.
In short, vision creates passion. And passion for one?s work is what delivers exceptional customer experience that is so critical to succeeding in this experience economy.
2. Empower Your PEOPLE
The carrot and the stick have proven to be poor motivators in the workplace because they do not move people from within. Positive input, encouragement, and genuine appreciation, however, communicate to people their value and worth and motivates them from the inside out.
When provided on a regular basis, work becomes a place people enjoy coming to instead of just putting in their time.
?Because of its power, ridiculously low cost and rarity, praise and recognition is one of the greatest lost opportunities in the business world today,? write Gallup researchers in 12: The Elements of Great Managing.
In other words, your employees are your internal customer. When their experience working for you is affirming and energizing, that positive emotion overflows to your customers creating the exceptional experience you seek.
3. Live Your VALUES
One of the most infuriating customer experiences is to be told by someone that your reasonable request cannot be met because, ?It?s not our policy.? Many companies develop policy manuals as a rule book to keep people in line and keep customers from stepping out of line.
Leading companies, however, do not do this. They teach people values and how those values apply to the many, and varied, situations that may arise with customers.
Visit any Marriott® hotel and you will experience this phenomenon. ?Do whatever it takes to take care of the customer? is their mantra and they live it every day.
The heroes at Marriott® are frontline employees who give money out of their own pocket to help with a guest?s cab fare or take special care of a package so that a traveler?s child receives it on their birthday. Here is a customer experience that is truly exceptional!
Not surprisingly, this also impacts the bottom line. Marriott® consistently stands as one of the most profitable businesses in the hospitality industry and in 2005 won an award for best customer service for any hotel chain in the United States.
THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PAYOFF
When I visit Washington, D.C., there is only one hotel I will stay at, The Willard Intercontinental.
Why?
Not because of the complementary bottle of wine that was in my room. Or because when I arrived bleary-eyed from the west coast in the dead of night, the manager came out to greet me. All nice touches!
It is because of a cleaning lady.
I conducted a leadership seminar at The Willard Intercontinental and took off without the power cord from my laptop. Replacing one of those is a pain in the neck, not to mention living with a dead computer until you do.
But on my way to the airport I received a call from, you guessed it, the cleaning lady who found it and took the time to figure out that it was my power cord. She then OVERNIGHTED the cord to me and I had it to use the next day.
What an exceptional customer experience!
Yes, there are much cheaper hotels in Washington D.C., but the experience I had there was unmatched. Why would I want to stay anywhere else? You see, that?s how the experience economy works.
Would somebody get me a piece of birthday cake.
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/the-customer-experience-payoff-240082.html
About the Author:Bill Zipp, President of Leadership Link, Inc., is a seasoned small business specialist. Bill has spent thousands of hours working with hundreds of business leaders, and his proven program, The Business Fitness
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Related Articles
Surviving Technology - 5 Tips to Keep Your Customers From Firing You..
By: Sandy Reed | 28/02/2008 | Business
Building successful customer relationships has much more to do with people helping people than with using the latest technology. Here's one example of how to utilize great customer care strategies.
The Abc of Superlative Leadership
By: Eric Garner | 10/10/2007 | Self Improvement
A is for Appreciative Cultures, the end result of a leader’s work, when the culture he or she fosters becomes an appreciative value of the company.
5 Golden Online/Offline Business Rules To LIVE Or DIE By
By: Dan Preston | 26/02/2006 | ECommerce
Whether online or off, discover how the way you treat your customers can make or break your business.
Time Management or Procrastination – you Choose
By: Bob Pearce | 03/07/2007 | Small Business
The true path to success is one that follows goals with bite sized timelines. Effective time management provides the basis for setting those goals.
Knowing What Counts Above Everything Else
By: Gerri D Smith | 11/05/2008 | Careers
Your emotions are powerful. What are the positive values you consider worthwhile in your life? Do they serve to elevate your self-confidence? Your spiritual values and the manner in which you hold yourself accountable for your actions, influences others and can be positive values for them, also.
Easy Strategic Planning for Beginning Business Owners
By: Sharon Marsh | 14/10/2007 | Business
With this easy to follow, 8-step method, you have a strategic plan that any new business owner can immediately refer to for guidance and decision making criteria.
The Unbeatable Laws of Customer Service
By: Eric Garner | 10/10/2007 | Self Improvement
1. Roll Out The Red Carpet For Everyone. If there’s one thing people hate about poor service, it’s getting treated differently from others. It makes them feel inferior and second-class.
Building Personal Leadership - Planning Needed
By: Joe Farcht | 15/12/2006 | Self Help
The Perfect Time for Planning: December is the perfect time to review your year's goals and accomplishments noting the progress you have made. It is also the perfect time to fine tune your Vision, Purpose, Mission, Values and create a Goal Plan for the coming New Year. This article will describe how you can accomplish this important activity.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
I would like to know more about this youth camp ...
By: grmata | 19-07-2008
I would like to know more about this youth camp for youth since youth from my church are attending it in August 2008
Value of Byzantine coins (2)
By: Darrell Walters | 18-07-2008
what is the value of Byzantine gold Romanus III 1028-1034 AD and a byzantine gold Constantine IX 1042-1035 AD Can you let me know what the value of each of the coins
No left perifial vision in both eyes
By: Phyllis | 18-07-2008
My husband is 50 years old and has juvinile diabeties and high blood pressure. He has recently started fainting and losing his left perifial vision in both of his eyes....also flashing lights. As of today, he cannot focus on anything and can't walk without holding or following someone.
Is there a website that I can go to to construct a ...
By: Nee | 18-07-2008
Is there a website that I can go to to construct a free onine vision board?
IRS back taxes and accidental life insurance payout
By: rufus959 | 17-07-2008
my mom passed and left me a small amount on an accidental life insurance policy. i owe IRS back taxes, can they take this money she left me before i even receive it?E59RR
Discontinued cosmetic lines
By: Alexisashley | 17-07-2008
I know Wet and Wild tried to sue Wild and Crazy cosmetics, owned by Mirage cosmetics. Does anyone know if Wild and Crazy is coming back with their line, and if so will it be under the same name?
Q&A Powered by: 
Latest Business Articles
Customer Service Toolkit
By: Drew Stevens | 25/07/2008
All businesses make money, yet those that are customer focused are more profitable.
Top 10 Brain Training Future Trends: New Mind/body Focus, Brain Trainers, and More
By: Alvaro Fernandez | 25/07/2008
In an emerging, dynamic, high growth market, like brain training, it is difficult to make precise projections. But, we can observe a number of trends that executives, consumers, public policy makers, and the media should watch closely in the coming years, as brain fitness and training becomes mainstream, new brain trainers appear, and an ecosystem grows around it. Here you have the Top Ten trends I predict.
Commercial Loans and Working Capital Financing Special Reports
By: Steve Bush | 25/07/2008
A prudent approach to working capital management is becoming more difficult for most commercial borrowers. Commercial loans have always been more complicated than realized by most business owners. Recent financing difficulties involving commercial mortgages, SBA loans and business cash advances have added significantly to the complexity of the entire commercial...
Collecting Survey Data That Meets Your Objectives
By: Ryan J Bell | 25/07/2008
Creating a survey should be done only after considering your objectives for the data. The data you collect can offer a valuable glimpse into the perspective of your customers, employees, vendors, or any other party to which your organization is exposed. But, if the survey is designed or executed poorly,...
Using a 360 Degree Feedback System
By: Ryan J Bell | 25/07/2008
A 360 degree feedback survey is conducted internally within a company or organization. Its purpose is to provide participants (i.e. employees) with peer and manager feedback. This feedback is delivered anonymously and describes a participant's strengths and weaknesses. Like most surveys, the usefulness of a 360 feedback system depends upon...
What is Your Prospect's Problem?
By: Jody Gabourie | 25/07/2008
The secret to crafting a compelling marketing message that makes your potential clients sit up and take notice is to clearly identify the problems they are facing.
Asia ' the Biggest Consumer Market
By: Paul Hata | 25/07/2008
Countries like China,India,Japan,Korea,Singapore and Taiwan have sent many unknowing stock market players into silence in recent years because of the dramatic rise in their economic conditions. Each of these countries presents different investment opportunities for investors and the range of their expertise has narrowed down.
How to Successfully Submit Content to Article Directories
By: Anthony Harriis | 24/07/2008
Since the inception of the internet, webmasters have drawn prospective customers to their sites by providing worthwhile information to their guests. This information based marketing is a proven technique for targeting interested individuals and bringing them to a website, then turning those visitors into paying clients.
Today, the same marketing technique...
More from Bill Zipp
Don't Advertise! Answer These Three Questions First
By: Bill Zipp | 09/11/2007 | Business
When it comes to advertising, most small businesses are like a house without a foundation. Instead of doing the groundwork necessary for success, they go out and build their building: advertising here, advertising there, with varying degrees of success. Thousands and thousands of dollars later, they have no idea if any of this expensive advertising had any impact at all.
Don't Multiply your Business Times Zero! Keep your Cool in Conflict
By: Bill Zipp | 17/10/2007 | Business
I have seen talented, gifted, and brilliant leaders do the same thing to their business, multiply all its incredible potential times zero, by failing to do one thing: keeping their cool in conflict. Angry words and emotional outbursts may feel good at the time, but they destroy our relationships with people. And it is people, energized, empowered, and inspired people, who bring us the success we seek.
Successful Sales Without Selling your Soul
By: Bill Zipp | 05/10/2007 | Business
Effective selling is about finding the specific steps of action that apply to the customer you are trying to reach and taking those actions over and over and over again. That is what I have learned about sales. If I can clearly identify the people who are most likely to use my products and services and reach out to them in a consistent, systematic way, success is possible without selling mysoul.
Got Goals? Get Smart!
By: Bill Zipp | 29/08/2007 | Business
I have set a lot of stupid goals in my life. Goals made in the rush of excitement with little thought to how they were going to get done or how they fit with the other priorities of my life. Goal setting, however, is still an important part of my life. But a certain kind of goal setting, SMART goal setting. Goals are SMART when they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant to current business objectives, and Time bound.
Has your Dream Become a Nightmare? Here’s the Key to a Better Business and a Better Life
By: Bill Zipp | 20/08/2007 | Small Business
It’s the ultimate dream! Owning your own business, being your own boss, making lots of money. It’s why you decided to start your own small business.
For most, however, the dream becomes a nightmare. According to the Wall Street Journal® there were 572,900 small business births in 2004 and 554,800 deaths, a business mortality rate of 97%.
The human cost of this statistic is even more staggering: families, friends, personal savings, and even physical health.
There is hope, however.
Break the Death Grip of Delegation Dysfunction and Enjoy the Real Dream of Owning your Own Business
By: Bill Zipp | 20/08/2007 | Small Business
Delegation dysfunction plagues most small businesses.
Here’s how it works: You give something to someone else to do. They put it on the bottom of their pile. You check on it and discover that it’s not done. You press them on it, and it finally gets done (with rolled eyes and cold stares).
But it’s not done right and you end up doing it yourself. That is the definition of dysfunction!
|
|
Business 
