Be everywhere, do everything, and never fail to astonish the customer. What do you consider your most important factor that defines brand identity?
Could one of several things, right? In this article, we will tell you how to make customer service this critical factor. But before we begin we want to tell you an important story. Let’s get started.
One of the things about the modern world is instantly recognized brands. For people who travel a lot, these brands make the world a much smaller and more convenient place.
In most of my career, I traveled to Washington DC a lot, as my company’s headquarters was located there. The last year before my retirement, I was in suburban Washington DC. I needed to accomplish two tasks that I could have easily done at home. However, the businesses I needed were not located in my area.
Without two large, well-known brands I might have spent a lot of time running around Rockville, Md. Instead, I stopped at the local branches of two companies I’ve used many times during my visits.
Both visits needed to be completed that evening for my briefing at headquarters the next day.
My two experiences could not have been more different.
The first was a clothing store, the Men’s Wearhouse. This was a quick errand because all I needed were two collar stays.
When I arrived at the store, I noted all the staff was busy in what appeared to be a meeting. Before I could say anything, two people flew out of their chairs simultaneously asking how they could help me.
It was almost scary how fast and naturally they responded. It was not at all what I expected.
One of the salespeople hurried to get some collar stays. The other chatted with me. Not once did any of them act like I had interrupted their meeting.
Instead, they made me feel welcome and comfortable like I was a lifelong customer or a good friend.
I never told them I was a Men’s Wearhouse customer. They had no idea, and they didn’t seem to care. Their entire focus was on helping me any way they could. I entered the store needing two collars stays.
I left with a handful of collar stays and one more great reason to remain a loyal and enthusiastic customer of this company.
My next task at the local FedEx Kinko’s store didn’t go nearly as smoothly.I had a 30-page briefing, and I needed eight copies.
At the counter, there were no other customers were waiting. After a couple of minutes, an employee approached and asked what I needed. I told him, and he replied “no problem: tomorrow morning okay?”
I explained that my job could not wait and I said I was hoping to get it done tonight, while I waited.
“No problem,” he said. “You can print it yourself on our laser printer over there.” He pointed toward some cubicles. “Just put your CD in one of the computers. You can do it yourself in a couple of minutes.”
After a few minutes on the task, I realized the price per page was 49 cents if I printed it myself. For 240 pages, that would be close to $120. That seemed high, even for Washington DC.
So I went back to the same employee and asked him about the pricing. He confirmed the 49 cents rate per page. He also confirmed that it would cost about $10 total if I had them print it.
“That’s a big difference in cost” I suggested to him. No response. Nothing.
“Tell you what,” I said. “That’s a little more than I wanted to pay. How about if you go ahead and print the document? I need it tonight.”
Instead of responding, he walked away to talk to another employee. When he came back, he said: “the best we can do is 8:00.”
Wanting to be 100% clear, I asked “8:00 tonight?” “Yep,” he said.
It was 6:30 so I said that’d be fine. I could kill an hour or so by grabbing dinner and a newspaper.
By 7:40, I was back at the FedEx Kinko’s store. After waiting at the customer service counter for a couple of minutes, someone asked what they could help me with.
I explained my situation, and he went to look for my print job.
“It’s not here” he yelled to no one in particular.
I got his attention, and I pointed to the employee who helped me earlier. They convened a quick meeting and determined that the job was not done. In fact, it had not yet been started. It was 7:50 pm.
I asked if there was anything I could do to help. The one who wrote up my print job 90 minutes ago, grunted in reply. He went to work on it. It took less than five minutes to print.
By 8:00 I left the store with my printed document and with a new opinion of FedEx Kinko’s. And it was not a new and improved opinion either. It was vastly inferior to my previous perception.
Two simple tasks with two major brands. And two vastly different experiences. Experiences that created two lasting memories to influence my future buying decisions.
Don’t stand by while your competitors beat you to the best brand loyalty. Brand loyalty depends on a remarkable brand experience every time.
Here’s how to do it
It is a simple 3 step process:
Capture customer’s hearts in the first 30 seconds
What are you doing to make their first 30 seconds on your platform extraordinary? If you can’t answer this question, you need to start here. First impressions are everything.
Show customers that you care
Make them feel something. If you want to grab my attention on social media, make me laugh. Make me cry. Make me feel something, anything.
When I have a super busy day, and I am engaging customers, I have no choice. No choice due to the amount of them and time constraints choosing where and when I am going to respond.
It is an easy choice for me. I respond to the people who grab my attention.
The people who are nice, who make me feel good. The people who are genuine. The people who make me laugh. Pull an emotional chord.
Don’t send snarky tweets trying to get attention. Most people can see right thru the snark and won’t respond.
I ignore the trolls and the folks looking only for attention. Be genuine and offer something of emotional value.
Defines brand identity … go the extra mile
Consumers always enjoy good stories and helpful information that educates.
Use social media primarily to educate fans about your products and services. Watch the engagement you receive to see what their followers want.
When you publish something that’s educational, you should expect an average of three to seven responses.
The bottom line
No one has all the answers. A company where only management makes decisions is a surefire way to send A and B players away to other companies.
As some companies get bigger, they tend to limit employee freedom. The employees are less and less involved in key decisions and their impact on the business is drowned out. It becomes a part of the culture. Employees go to work, do what they’re told, and just help someone else achieve their dream. The worker’s impact on the business is minimal and they become “just another employee at just another company.” And for some people, it’s all they want: go into work, take orders, do the job, and wait for the clock to hit 5:00 P.M.
But this is not what the best employees want.
Listen more than you talk. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn about your audience when you shut up. Shut up, listen, and then flawlessly execute. Try it, and you will be amazed by the results.
