Are You Delivering a Great Experience?

Intro by Skip Cohen

In a world where customers have hundreds, if not thousands, of choices to make in how, when, and who they purchase products and services from, your not-so-secret weapon is Customer Service.

Shep Hyken is one of the best authorities in the world regarding every aspect of Customer Service. In this recent archived post, he shares ten reasons why you should deliver outstanding service.

While each reason stands completely on its own, think about your own experiences over the years. I had a cell phone with Verizon for over a decade. Why? Because I had a problem early on and found the email address for the Chairman of the Board.

Think about how frustrated I must have been to write to the Chairman of the Board at Verizon Global because of a problem with their store in Santa Monica, CA with a couple of phones. It was a Friday night when I wrote to him. He not only responded within hours of my complaint but had his assistant contact me that Monday morning. She updated our phones and then addressed the issues with the store directly. She couldn’t have been more empathetic and supportive.

Great service from any company plants the seed for loyalty. Look back on companies you like to work with today – in every case; there’s going to be something tying back to great service and exceeding expectations.

We’re a word-of-mouth industry, and happy customers tell their friends. Those friends become clients, and suddenly, a small community grows. That community drives your business.

The best part of Shep’s list is that it’s not rocket science, but it does take focus and consistency. You know how to hold focus with your camera; now it’s time to hold focus on service to your customers!

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Copyright © MMXXIII, Shep Hyken – Used with Permission

Ten years ago, I wrote an article about why delivering an amazing customer experience is important. While many of those concepts are still valid today, it’s time to modify the list and give a few of the original reasons a facelift to bring them into current times.

First, a reminder that an amazing customer experience isn’t about being over the top. It’s simply consistently meeting or (ever so slightly) exceeding expectations. It’s the consistent and predictable experience that makes customers trust you and come back.

So, here are today’s 10 reasons why you should deliver an amazing customer service experience:

Creating customer service builds trust, credibility and confidence. Our customer experience research found that 83% of people trust a company or brand more if it delivers good customer service. The benefit of building trust is potential customer loyalty.
Your happy customers become the best members of your marketing department. The right customer experience gets customers to talk about you, refer you and evangelize your brand.
Delivering an amazing customer experience makes price less relevant. Fifty-eight percent of customers we surveyed said excellent customer service is more important than price.
A great customer experience goes hand-in-hand with a great employee experience. It’s no surprise that the best customer-focused companies are also some of the best places to work. Just compare a list of companies that provide the highest levels of customer satisfaction with the list of the best places to work on www.GlassDoor.com. It’s no coincidence that many of the same companies appear at the top of both lists.
Customers who typically receive excellent customer service from you will be more willing to provide honest feedback when there is a problem or complaint because they trust that you will fix the problem. And when you do, they come back. 
Seventy-eight percent of the customers we surveyed said they would go out of their way to do business with a company that delivers a better customer service experience. 
You can’t afford not to deliver a strong customer service experience. Seventy-four percent of customers would switch to a business that provides better customer service.
A good customer service experience leads to higher customer retention and customer lifetime value (CLV).
An amazing customer service experience begets positive comments and reviews.
Finally, do it because it’s the right thing to do! If you want customers to do business with you, you must treat them in a way that makes them want to do so. Don’t expect them to be loyal to you until you show loyalty to them. That comes in the form of delivering an amazing customer experience.