Page 79 - Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

Principle 5 Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

and can have lasting consequences for your reputation. A
customer of a major UK internet provider live-tweeted a
four-hour long phone battle to have their service contract
cancelled. In that time, he and his wife were hung up on
several times, spoke to numerous advisors who offered
differing excuses. Not surprisingly, he gave the company a
very hard time on Twitter. The response from the
company was tepid at best and many users openly
resolved to move their business elsewhere. However,
where and when complaints are dealt with
sympathetically and quickly, you can create a WOW from
an OW, often resulting in increased customer loyalty.

2. Meet your customers’ expectations
It’s easy to provide an inconsistent or worse still, consistently
poor, multi-channel experience. This is especially the case if you
only experience your channels from the perspective of the service
provider, rather than the end user. This mistake isn’t confined to
small businesses. Many corporate organisations fail to check their
systems and end up creating a service OW! A survey by Bain and
Company of over 360 companies, showed that while 80% of those
surveyed believed they provided a superior service experience,
only a staggering 8% of customers agreed. Give your channels a
quick tune-up by testing them for ease of use and value.

Do your customers feel they are getting value from using your
channels? While value can be different for each person, it largely
comes down to getting what you need, when you need it, in as
convenient a way as possible. Consumers with higher levels of
confidence or knowledge regarding your service, will often opt for
lower-contact options as they’ll perceive them as being more
convenient. Those with less confidence or knowledge, or even
those who just prefer to be social, will tend to go for channels with
more human contact. This rule of thumb is useful as it helps to
shape what is contained in each service channel you provide.

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