Creating a Consistent Customer Experience

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When you hear of a business that offers a good customer experience, you first think of their quality and their service.  Within those two characteristics lies a third one: consistency.  Your quality and your service are only as good as their consistency.

Systematic consistency…

In Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth, he discusses how this consistency can make or break a legion of devotees.  He gives the example of his barber.  He goes to get his haircut and is always offered a cup of coffee, consistently handed the newspaper, and systematically offered “the usual”.  He loves his barber.  He consistently receives this high level of service.  He gladly refers this business because he knows his friends will be treated the same as he is treated.  His friends will be attended to, flawlessly.

Your best hotel stay…

Think about your best hotel stay.  What was that like?  Chances are, during your stay, there was a level of consistency you could expect every day.  For me, it was a stay last fall at Fiesta Americana Hotel in Cancun.  The level was unparalleled to anything I had ever experienced.  Every single person in that hotel was attentive to my needs.  From the server at the bar, to the lady sweeping the patio, to the gal at registration…. every single person acknowledged and serviced me.  And, that consistency was even extended to my 1-year-old daughter.  I could not believe that they serviced her at the same level as they serviced her grandfather.

Creating your customer’s consistent experience…

We are often so caught up in making the sale, and getting the proposal, that we don’t always create “the experience”.  What is your customer’s experience working with your business?  Is it happenstance?  Or, have you intentionally created their customer experience?  Is this experience consistent for every person with which you meet?  Or, do you forget to be consistent because you are just trying to make it through the day?

Here are some tips for creating a customer experience:

• Create a script or process of what happens during a consult.  This will give you a starting point on which to build your consistent customer experience.  Also, by writing it down you are creating a systematic approach to consistency.
• Decide how you want to “treat” the customer.  Sometimes simple touches like offering a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening go a long way.  Be intentional, not happenstance.
• What are the questions you ask of your customer and their event?  Are you consistently listening?  Are you consistently interested in what they tell you?
• Do you have specific music to get them “in the mood”?  Mood music is powerful.  When I worked for a French clothing importer, we always played a range of French music to get them inspired to buy for their stores.  We created a French experience which they then took to their boutiques.
• If you have employees, ensure that each one of them has been educated on your company’s customer experience.
• If you don’t meet with clients at your office, where are you meeting them?  Is it conducive to the experience you want to create?
• Are you taking care of customer needs?
• Do you clearly explain your process so that they know what to anticipate?  This is key in molding your clients’ expectations.
• Love the experience.  If you don’t like it, you won’t do it.  If you are bored with it, you need to redefine it.  You need to love providing the experience or it won’t happen.
• Have fun with it!  What are some creative ways you can create a unique experience?

Lather, rinse, repeat…

Consistency is all about repetition.  Once you define “the experience” you must consistently present this to all clients.  People will come to expect it and that is a GOOD thing.  This is what repeat and referral business is all about.  I know I’ll be heading south to Cancun soon… and I’ve got my eye on that Fiesta Americana Hotel!

Come on back tomorrow… we’ll continue talking about consults… and discuss some “RED FLAGS” (how to identify problematic customers).