What were you afraid of this Halloween? That the customers might disappear like ghosts? That your competitors might pick them off like vultures? It's all likely to drive you batty? Within the spirit of All Hallows' Eve, Watermark Consulting brings you- The Top 10 Methods to Spook Your Customers:
10. Respond to customer requests just like a zombie.
Are your responses to customer inquiries heavily scripted like they left some low-budget horror movie? Might your customers seem like, regardless of what they say, they get form letters and teleprompter-like messages in reaction? Remove active listening, critical thinking and personalized problem solving out of your front-line and also you miss an enormous opportunity to impress your customer. If your front-line personnel perform like zombies, you can guarantee that customers will run from their store.
9. Communicate in gobbledygook (or, on Halloween, goblin-dygook).
Having trouble reading a billing statement? Or perhaps your health insurer's explanation of benefits? Or correspondence out of your lender? Most. Businesspeople are steeped in the practices and language of the respective industries. As such, they often forget to translate their communications for easy public consumption. Instead, they convey their messages using jargon, terminology and acronyms that make their customers head for the hills.
8. Cut expenses and operate with a skeleton staff.
Particularly when in economic distress, many companies' first reaction is to slash investments in post-sale operations, because these areas are not viewed as revenue-driving and therefore become easy targets when profits have to be propped up. But while skeleton staffs might offer some immediate gratification in expense reduction, additionally they foster negative impressions that could snuff out your company's true brand. Simplistic operations translate into long checkout lines, miserable 800-line hold times, overall inattentive service and visibly overworked and irritated employees – characteristics that are hardly the best ingredients for great customer experiences.
7. Embark on monstrous transformation projects.
Business transformation is overrated. It's good to have high aspirations and stretch goals, but you've got to consume the elephant one bite at a time. Big, hairy, audacious projects tend to be ill-defined and extremely difficult to manage. Plus, most companies suffer from “organizational A.D.D.” and have trouble staying centered on a three-month project, let alone a three-year one. Transformational projects alllow for good annual report copy, however they often neglect to deliver valuable improvements to employees and customers. (Sometimes, all they deliver is disruption and dissatisfaction.) Yes, possess a long-term vision – but never underestimate the ability and efficiency of incremental advances toward that destination.
6. Never do a post-mortem.
In the whirlwind of daily business activities, people rarely take time to dissect and diagnose customer annoyances. Customer complaints present a wonderful chance to not just recover gracefully (and perhaps regain a consumer's loyalty), but to also dig up the main of a problem and connect it, for good. What's even rarer than post-mortems on customer complaints? Post-mortems on customer compliments. There's great value in pinpointing what employee or practice generated customer delight and then determining how you can replicate that outcome more routinely. Post-mortems can yield silver bullet-like learnings that forever eradicate customer frustrations or permanently institutionalize loyalty-enhancing business practices.
5. Create a workplace that sucks the lifeblood from people.
To create happy, satisfied and loyal customers, you need happy, satisfied and engaged employees. Produce a work environment where employees don't feel appreciated, respected or well-equipped to complete their jobs – and you are guaranteed to make their energy and fervour disappear faster than the usual vampire at dawn. And if you do not think your visitors will observe that difference in your staff, then you definitely really are beginning to hallucinate.
4. Don't tell your customers what's lurking around the corner.
Creating satisfied, loyal customers will be a lot about managing expectations. People's frustration (or delight) having a clients are closely associated with the expectations they had of that interaction. Customers don't like ambiguity or unpleasant surprises. If you do not tell them what to expect – how long they will be on hold before speaking to a live person, how much paperwork they'll have to complete for a mortgage application, what information they'll have to provide to get an insurance quote, etc. – then they're more likely to be annoyed when the interaction is not as quick, simple or straightforward as they anticipated.
3. Give your customers tricks rather than treats.
Do customers leave behind dealings together with your business feeling good about the interaction? Will they get what they expected; will they feel like they were given a great value? For lots of businesses, the reply is no. Customers will rarely tell you just how, choosing instead to simply vote with their feet (and wallet) and do business elsewhere. From items that don't work just as expected, to special offers that exclude desirable merchandise, to small print that can't even be understood – they are examples of “tricks of the trade” that could draw consumers in momentarily but certainly won't create a foundation on which to build loyal customer relationships. Contrast by using the indelible positive impressions left on customers who experience treats – pleasant surprises and private touches that they never expected or anticipated. That's what legendary, customer-centric brands are constructed with.
2. Avoid ownership and accountability like the plague.
A gruesome ailment has descended on the world of business, eradicating all vestiges of ownership and accountability. Customer calls are not promptly (if ever) returned. Commitments aren't kept. Obligations are forgotten. Here is a little secret: Customers don't care in case your store is immaculate, in case your employees have smiles, should you send them fancy newsletters or any one of that fluff in case your product fails as advertised and your people don't follow-through on their own promises. Want to create a brand experience that outshines all others? Start by nailing these basics and ensuring your visitors feel cared for.
1. Put scary people in your front line.
Who's getting together with your visitors on a daily basis? Is your front-line composed of superheroes who go the extra mile for the customers, or soulless automatons who frighten your visitors with their discourtesy, uselessness and utter wherewithal to deliver on promises? No matter how sophisticated your crm systems are, or how spectacular your retail store looks, or how advanced your customer segmentation technique is – it means nothing when the people interacting with your customers are not professional, responsible and genuinely helpful.
***
No right-minded business sets out to spook its customers. But that's inevitably the outcome when companies forget what's important and valuable to the people they serve.
Are you haunted through the prospect of the customers defecting to some competitor? Do something about it before your worst nightmares be realized. Let these 10 tips serve as your guide, and, before you know it, you will be casting a spell in your customers that'll have them coming back for more.
