Many years ago, the words “customer service” generated a feeling of comfort that someone at a company was personally handling a concern or other issue. The representatives usually made you feel that your issue was of paramount importance and needed to be resolved – to your satisfaction, if not delight – as soon as possible.
Ask someone about the same phrase today and it will likely elicit a groan, an eye-roll, and unpleasant story about weaving through a phone tree for 20 minutes desperately trying to find a human to resolve a problem. Customers end up frustrated and feeling as if the company couldn’t care less if the issue is resolved.
The approach a brand takes with regards to customer service evoke real feelings in the end user – feelings that have a great deal of influence on purchasing decisions, both positive and negative. Brands that enjoy wild success create much more than a positive customer experience; they execute an internal contract of client-specific expectations on which they continually deliver.
There are the four elements to creating a memorable client contract that will create a unique voice for your brand:
Curiosity as a Mindset – Brands that deepen relationships through a client experience think differently. Their vision, mission, and values revolve around serving others – both internally and externally. Brands that create differentiation through client experiences are continually curious. That curiosity drives these companies to experiment with new and different ways of delivering value to the end user. It’s anticipating pain points and creating solutions to challenges that have yet to exist. In other words, they are constantly seeking to help.
Culture of Client – Each touch point – from sales to marketing to billing to collections to customer service – is opportunity to reinforce your client contract. Brands that are focused on executing a client-specific contract create a culture where the values of everyone in the organization are completely in sync and where everyone is a brand ambassador. When things go wrong (and they will go wrong), the simple act of empowering associates at every level to make independent decisions with the client experience in mind will yield dramatic and positive feelings with the client. Everything begins with culture because the culture creates the environment where ideas, innovation, and ownership can flourish.
Seek Honest Feedback – Most organizations tolerate feedback. Brands that consider feedback a gift are the ones that create a truly magical client experience. A recent Pivot study showed that 76% of companies feel they know what their customers want, but only 34% have asked them what they want. Leverage online surveys to collect direct feedback, randomly call clients after delivery to ask them about their experience with your company from idea to delivery, or have a meeting to have an honest conversation about what they want from a client experience. Stop assuming that you know what your clients want – you don’t. Ask them and learn from the answers.
Agility through Empowerment – The promotional products landscape is rapidly and continually evolving. Mobile technology, the Internet, and increasing influence of social platforms are shaping buying behaviors. Customers are empowered with more information than ever and brands are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. Brands that seek to create differentiation through a client contract need to empower their employees. Empowered associates are far more likely to collaborate and share insights learned from client interactions, allowing them to be both nimble and flexible when responding to rapidly evolving client needs.
Creating a culture where every employee is focused on executing a client-centric contract at every touch point requires leadership and investment. Investing in a memorable client experience contract allows a brand to differentiate from the competition and build their business around the element that matters most: loyalty.