Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Product Sampling

As the owner of a mystery shopping business, I am always on the hunt for excellent service. As a matter of fact, I’m not just looking for excellent; I am looking for WOW! You know what I mean. It’s that little thing that a sales associate does to take a business transaction over the top. Let me give you an example of what I mean.

While on vacation this summer, I decided that I really needed an ice cream cone so I visited a local mom and pop store at the ocean-front community I was visiting on the East Coast.  They had so many of my favorite flavors that I just couldn’t decide! I stood there for what seemed like forever then the sales associate made a great suggestion. She said, “Why not try a sample?” Now a lot of ice cream stores offer samples, but what took this experience over the top for me was that she put the sample into a miniature cone!!! Now that’s the ultimate customer experience!

So as you are considering ways to take your customers’ experiences over the top, be sure to think of little ways that will make the experience memorable. Perhaps a small sample of your product or service will do the trick but then don’t forget to add that little twist that will make the sample memorable.

Here’s to helping you see your business through your customers’ eyes!

Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Communicating Keeps the Competition at Bay

It happens all the time. We get busy with the day-to-day activities of running our businesses (mine happens to be helping clients create fabulous customer experiences for their patrons!) and we forget to remind our customers about all the other services we can provide for them. Then one day we find ourselves in conversation with a client and they tell us they just signed a contract with one of our competitors for a service we are very capable of providing! Our first reaction is usually utter amazement then we usually get angry at ourselves for not being better communicators. The responsibility for letting our clients know about all the products and services we provide rests squarely on our shoulders.

How do we do this? I suggest using a multimedia approach. Some of the tools I like to suggest to clients for keeping in touch with their customers are newsletters and e-zines,  well timed and targeted phone call campaigns, direct mail that includes postcards and letters, and websites that are up-to-date with case studies and testimonials of our most recent accomplishments for our customers.  These are all a part of the ongoing sales process that should be a part of your marketing plan to your existing customer base.

I like the 3-3-3 approach. Make a list of three customers you want to contact. Develop a script that highlights three things your company has done in the last three months that have resulted in success. Now pick up the phone or drop them a line and tell them about it. It may just result in increased business and profitability for your organization!

Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: Competing for Customers – 5 Reason Why It’s a Good Thing

Competition is steep these days, but how does this impact the customer experience? If you have a good idea for a new product or service, it won’t be long before a bunch of competitors will be trying to steal away your market share. But is competition really a bad thing? I spent some time thinking about the impact it’s had on my business and customers over the years are here are five things I’ve come up with that are very positive in nature – and in the long run, have helped me feel better about having to compete.

First, competition makes us take massive action in our businesses. Because competition is a looming threat for all businesses in all industries, it forces us to act quickly to bring new ideas to the market.

Second, competition forces the creation of new products and services. It challenges us to think of ways to improve existing brands in our product/service lines. Without the competition breathing down our necks we may never feel the need to be creative and innovative and many products and services might never make it to market.

Third, competition forces us to take better care of our clients. It impresses upon us the need to keep the customer at the center of our focus every single day. If we’re not taking care of our customers, someone else will.

Fourth, competition keeps us honest and practicing our trades and professions in fair and equitable ways. It gives the customer comparisons so they can make an intelligent choice of which products and services are right for them.

Fifth, competition keeps our sights set on the future – constantly looking for that next idea, next service, next great thing that will improve the lives of our customers and keep them asking for more.

Be good to your customers so your competitors never get the chance to!

Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience: How Much of the Customer Experience is About Choice?

When it comes to the customer experience, I love having choices. Don’t you? It’s one of the things that make for a great experience for me as a consumer. Whether it’s a variety of brands on the shelf, choices within each brand, how I pay the bill, or being given the choice to put my purchase in a paper or plastic sack, I like being the one in control. It makes me feel special and sends a clear signal to me as a consumer that the business I’ve chosen to patronize sees me as an individual. I like that. Think back to the early advertisements of Burger King where the slogan was, “Have it your way.” They understood the importance of giving people choices and were quite successful in luring customers away from the competition with this approach.

But something happened the other day that really disturbed me because it may be a trend that is looming on the horizon. As I was getting ready to make a deposit on some landscaping work I am having done, the owner of the company indicated that he preferred cash. Landscaping is usually a big-ticket expense so I pulled out my credit card to complete the transaction. I know the owner preferred cash, but this is a business transaction and it’s all about me, right? As he was getting ready to swipe the card, he told me there would be an additional charge of 5% for using the card. I couldn’t grab that card out of his hand fast enough!

Another situation I came across last week had to do with some universities in North Carolina that are passing along the credit card fees normally absorbed by the business along to the consumer. If you are a student or supporter of these schools and you use a credit card to make your purchase, you will be charged a fee for the convenience of using that card.

Those who know me, know that I like to take a balanced approach to problem solving. So I looked at this from several different angles. There is no doubt that the use of credit cards increases the cost of products and services in our marketplace and in one sense I like the fact that I am not being asked to subsidize this convenience, but on the other hand I feel like choices are being taken away from me.

There are other ways my landscaper and the Carolina universities could handle this issue. I realize that we’re all looking for ways to streamline and cut costs in this economy. A more positive spin, however, might be to offer a discount if you pay with cash. My fear is that once you provide your customers with choices, taking these away will cause dissatisfaction. Trust me; I’ll be thinking twice about whether or not to use that landscaper again.

So you as look at the choices you offer your customers and how you might go about making changes to these, keep in mind the importance of allowing your customers to “have it their way”. Your ability to attract repeat business may depend on it!

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