Page 66 - Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

Principle 4 Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

Tuning into your customer’s wavelength

All customers are tuned in to their very own radio station called
WIIFM…What’s In It For Me! If you want to retain your current
customers and make them massive fans, you have to find ways to
anticipate and exceed their expectations by tuning into what they
want or finding ways of keeping your finger on their pulse.
Some years ago I was at a presentation for Investors in People in
London and David Fairhurst, who was then the Vice President for
People at McDonalds gave his simple success formula for creating
exceptional customer service:
2
L (C+E)+R

The translation? Listen a lot to customers and employees and
respond. Its brilliance is in its simplicity. It’s about being
INTERESTED, rather than being INTERESTING! However, as with all
things simple, they sometimes aren’t quite so easy to achieve and
require a good deal of effort, commitment and application from
everyone in your organisation.

You work in the people business, so everything you do must be
influenced by what you and your people want. Principle 2 looked
at the importance of working with a team of staff and suppliers
who share your values, ambition and work ethic. Are you taking
the time to find out and to really listen and respond
appropriately? Staff and customer attrition figures are useful
indicators of satisfaction and worth exploring via exit surveys to
uncover their motives for taking their expertise or business
elsewhere.

How well do you know your clients - their pain, challenges and
issues? Client’s priorities will fluctuate, and some will be sector
specific. You need to keep in touch with your competition and
your target audience to identify your ideal customer, be aware of
market trends and pre-empt what the customer needs.

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