We recently posted a blog on the meaning of customer experience and the value of its improvement. We elaborated on learning to view the design from ‘inside out’ and ‘outside in’ simultaneously. Today we examine the ten laws of consumer experience design.
Learn more specifics: Doctor Customer Experience: Clever Techiques Staff Should Employ
Our team at Digital Spark Marketing often gets asked why to emphasize customer experience design. The answer we believe is pretty simple.
Customers remember and value great experiences that demonstrate deep understanding and respect for their needs.
Many will argue that convenience is part of customer service or the customer experience.
I’ll agree with that, but it is becoming so important, that I’m willing to separate it out. There are businesses that use convenience as their sole differentiator.
What is the best customer experience design you have ever put to work for your business? We would love to hear about it. Would you do us a favor and tell us in the comments section? It would be greatly appreciated by our readers and us.
Businesses learn how to deliver and evolve differentiated experiences. As such, they can build robust and enduring customer relationships that enable business growth.
We have defined ten laws of customer experience design that we use in the process of improving the design of our clients’ customer experience. We give a short discussion of these laws here:
Good customer experience … consistency
The idea is to make things more user-friendly by an aesthetic consistency of style and appearance. We recommend defining and implementing a set of standards here.
Consumer experience.
Co-creation of value
Customer experience innovation is a bottom-up process we believe. Employ your clients in the ideation and design process.
Consumer experience … observations
Frame the experience design in the context of their customers’ actual use. You will receive more ideas by asking what they want.
Customer experience strategy … storytelling
Create better imageries, emotions, and understanding through sharing of stories with your customer communities.
Customer experience features must serve the lower level human needs before the high-level needs can begin to be addressed.
Customer experience design … expectation effect
This law refers to ways in which expectations affect perceptions and behavior. When people are aware of a probable outcome, their attitudes and behaviors are influenced in many respects.
Expectation management should be a key component of the design process.
Exposure effect
To obtain a good exposure effect, find the best stimuli to repeatedly present. Find the ones that are best liked, accepted, and shared.
The strongest types of incentives to consider are photos and meaningful phrases
Hick’s Law
This law states that the time required for a customer to make a decision is a direct function of the number of available choices. Providing too many choices is not a good design.
Immersion
A state of customer mental focus can be so high that the awareness of the ‘real’ world is lost. This immersion results in happiness and satisfaction.
Customer life cycle stages
All customer experiences progress through life cycle stages of existence. They must be understood and designed for.
These stages include awareness, consideration, acquisition, service and warranty, and reconsideration.
What is the best customer insight you have ever put to work for your business? We would love to hear about it. Would you do us a favor and tell us in the comments section? It would be greatly appreciated by our readers and us.
Need some help in building better customer trust from your customer experiences? Creative ideas to help grow your client relationships?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job and pay for results.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that struggle gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas to make your customer experiences better.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer experience from our Library:
Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
Human nature is perpetual — and there are few things in life and in business that we enjoy more than seeing one person helping another. And learning from remarkable customer experience examples.
Truly remarkable customer service goes beyond fixing a bug or handing out discounts. It’s about leaving people with a positive memory of your business.
When a flight attendant goes above and beyond for a frightened passenger, or a fry cook helps an elderly man to his car in a rainstorm, you’re witnessing something more than “good” customer service—the customer getting what they asked for.
You’re witnessing someone going out of their way to make a customer’s day, week, or month, and that’s an important part of customer service that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Read on for remarkable stories of customer experience reps who went the extra mile for their customers.
Customer experience examples … ATM gifts, no ATM fees
It was the height of summer, and at four TD Bank locations across Canada, a group of customers was being invited in to test out a new model of ATM.
When they used the machines, however, they found that these Automated Teller Machines were actually Automated Thanking Machines. Rather than balance checks or cash, they only spat out gifts.
A mother who never had the chance to take her kids to Disneyland received a family-pack of passes to finally go. Another, with a sick daughter in Trinidad, received a plane ticket.
And one lucky Blue Jays fan received an invitation to throw the first pitch at a home game.
They weren’t the only ones to get thanked, however. Over 30,000 TD Bank customers received recognition from TD on #TDThanksYou day.
Every customer in a branch at 2 p.m. received a $20 bill. Customers logging in through their online banking or over the phone were informed that they would receive a direct deposit of $20.
Customer experience examples … how Bob the waiter got a 200,000% tip
This Redditor’s husband, fresh off a root canal operation that left him unable to eat real food for days, was dying for some diner fare. When he finally regained the ability to chew, his wife took him out. She was excited to celebrate his return to the land of real food.
After an unusual wait, the husband and wife were finally seated next to a noisy blender at the end of the bar. Problems with the dinner service cropped up almost immediately.
Their waiter—“Bob”—hurriedly took their drink orders. He didn’t ask if they were ready to order food. When they finally did, Bob brought out one of the side dishes before the entrees themselves arrived. And it was the wrong side dish.
After a few apologies and a “divine” burrito, the husband and wife were ready to pay the check and leave. When they got the check, they first thought the $0.01 listed was a mistake.
Discounts are so often used as last-ditch attempts to salvage a terrible experience that we forget how powerful they can be as preventative maintenance.
Restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose restaurants have consistently beaten the odds in a very rough industry, talks about hospitality in terms of “good” vs. “great.”
With a “good” experience at a store or restaurant, things may go fine. You may get everything you wanted precisely the way you ordered it.
But it’s rare for an employee to make you feel special like they’re on your side. That’s what Bob did here by recognizing something crucial.
Few would expect a discount in this situation. And that’s precisely why the discount is so powerful.
In the end, the family left Bob a $20 tip—or 200,000% of .01. Not bad for Bob!
Customer experience examples … comfort through the turbulence
When Garrick, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant, found himself in the position to help a passenger in need, he went above and beyond the call of duty.
Nine-year-old Gabby, a type 1 diabetic, was severely anxious about being on an airplane. Garrick, a Southwest crew member, worked throughout the flight to make her more comfortable, bringing her special drinks and trying to make her laugh after he noticed her struggling during takeoff.
Meanwhile, when the plane hit a serious patch of turbulence, he let her sit in the empty seat next to him, talked to her about his daughter (the same age as Gabby), about her pets, her school, and even let her grab his arm for comfort.
At the end of the flight, Garrick used the PA to tell the whole plane that his friend — Gabby — had just overcome her fear of flying and that she deserved a round of applause from the whole plane.
“The whole plane clapped for her,” her mother reported afterward, “It was a wonderful experience on Southwest. We are forever grateful to have met such a beautiful, selfless soul.”
“She is a brave girl and it was a pleasure having you and her both on board with us,” Southwest wrote back on her Facebook photo. “Rest assured, we will make sure that Garrick gets the recognition he deserves for his kindness.”
Customer experience examples … the aloha bear
For instance, it’s always nice to see outstanding service recognized by a happy customer. In a heartwarming story shared on Reddit, a service rep tells the tale of an older customer who called in because her netbook wasn’t working.
Having recently suffered two strokes, she explained that she was struggling with writing, and she was forced to call in due to her malfunctioning netbook.
The service rep initially explained that the traditional thing to do was to mail it in for repairs.
The woman grew teary over the news, explaining that this was fine, but that she was dependent on the netbook to communicate with her daughter stationed in Hawaii and her deployed son-in-law.
Knowing that red tape shouldn’t stop her from taking care of a customer in need, the support rep quickly exchanged the netbook for her (sending her a new one). And even spent the extra time helping her set up the old passwords and account names, in addition to re-downloading Skype so she could talk with her family.
Above all, what really makes this a great story, however, is the follow-up. Out of the blue a few months later, our heroic service rep gets called down to the office.
To her surprise, waiting there was the woman on the phone, holding a card and a teddy bear with a hula skirt:
“She says that what I did mean so much to her and her family that she called our corporate office and told them what I did, and that her daughter sent up the card and bear as a thank you.”
Customer experience examples … no shoes, great service
Zappos’ customer service is the stuff of legends. Here’s an example that has some interesting lessons to teach about the dangers of red tape.
A customer was shopping for shoes for her elderly mother. Due to a medical condition, her mother had very sensitive feet and was often in pain when wearing hard-soled shoes.
The customer bought six pairs of shoes from Zappos, and her mother tried them on and found two that she could bear to wear for long periods of time.
When it was time for her mother to return the other four pairs, she called Zappos, and in talking with the employee, this woman discovered that the person on the other end of the line could relate to her plight; the employee’s father had suffered from similar foot problems due to diabetes.
The employee ended the conversation by saying that she would pray for the woman to feel better, but the story doesn’t end there:
“My mom called me to relay the news, and I could hear the smile on her face from 600 miles away. She said that the lovely Zappos person had sent her an enormous bouquet of lilies and roses to let her know she was thinking of her. My sister emailed the company to thank Zappos for taking such good care of my Mom. Two days later, my mom, sister, and I were contacted and told we are now “Zappos VIP Members,” which entitles us to free expedited shipping on all our orders. My sister vows to buy every pair of shoes, from now on, from Zappos.”
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing created by remarkable customer service. And put it to good use.
It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing strategies. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
More reading on Customer Experience from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of a small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Before we continue, let me ask you a question.
What works best for customer experience design in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? Be the one who starts a conversation.
We often get questions and comments on delivering great customer service and experiences. From clients and customers commenting on our blog. Many relate to customer service actions that are reminders of what we already know (but we occasionally forget). These are big enablers of customer service. They usually won’t create Wow service on their own, but their absence is noted by customers and lowers excellent customer service to just good enough or less.
Here are eight well-known customer service actions that are effective in keeping us on track, so we consistently deliver what our customers want from us.
Much of how we help people deliver better customer service is with examples. These are fun and useful because we all have them (since we’re all customers.) And sometimes it helps to look at examples of things we shouldn’t say to customers. That is if we want them to keep coming back.
So, here is my top 10 list of actions not to take or things you should never say to a customer that we often use in client workshops:
Lower customer experience … following a script
Because scripts and checklists are all the rage now, employees are scripted to death. Many feel (and some are told) they are not there to think but to follow the script. And often that’s exactly what they do, even when it makes no sense and wastes the customer’s time.
When I hear a script, I wonder if the person has the capability to help me. Not a confidence builder, is it? If you have a script or checklist, pay attention to the real world too. Your customers will thank you.
Related post: Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience
Never say not my error.
Not my error
Never pass the buck or blame someone else, especially if they’re part of your company. You don’t look any better or smarter by doing so. But you certainly appear uninterested in solving the customer’s problem. Your time is better spent fixing and helping rather than blaming and finger-pointing.
I’m sorry if you feel that way
People often say this as an apology. But it’s not. Because it again shifts the blame to the customer.
If you’re sorry, then say so. Don’t qualify it. When customers hear an apology like this, they understand what you’re doing. You’re saying, “I know I’m supposed to apologize, but I don’t want to.“
Related: Crash Course on How to Apologize to a Customer
A better option is just to say “I’m sorry this happened” or simply “I’m sorry.”
It tells the customer you are sorry for the situation the customer is in without making you responsible for it.
Customer experience optimization … just calm down
Is there ever a situation where this has the intended effect? Not that we can see. It seems like you are tossing gasoline on the fire.
More like they’ll get even angrier while they tell YOU to calm down. They’ll escalate the matter, and they’ll probably become a former customer.
Listen, let them vent, have them talk to someone else if they want. But never tell them to calm down.
Recording: Your call is very important to us.
I hear this so often I ignore it. And that is how it should be. A recorded message is not the place to tell your customers how much you value their business. Do it with a real, live, caring human being. That’s a message your customers will believe (and respond to).
Customer experience strategy … you made a mistake
We all know customers make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. But when you point it out in a direct and blatant way, you risk offending or embarrassing your customer. How would you like it? No blaming is needed. Instead, focus on helping them understand the right way to do things so they won’t make the mistake again.
Talk to corporate office
If a customer has feedback, a request or a complaint, they don’t care who YOU have to forward it to. They don’t care that another person in you organization will deal with it. What they want is for YOU to take the initiative to get the ball rolling. It’s not the customer’s job to go trying to find the exact person who should handle their situation. That’s YOUR job.
Importance of customer experience.
Lower customer experience … it’s our company policy
With too many employees this is just an easy way to get out of doing something they’d rather not do.
If you want to help, then find a way. Don’t hide behind a company policy. And if you can’t work around the policy, offer an alternative or escalate the matter for the customer. If your customers see you are trying to help, they’ll be less disappointed even if they don’t get exactly what they want.
Please take a number (often when you’re the only customer)
If I were the customer in this situation, “huh?” is the only response I’d be able to muster, assuming I didn’t just walk out. But it happens. People get so focused on policies, procedures, systems and rules that they forget about a little tool called “common sense.”
No one else has complained
This one always amazes me. Are we taking a survey? Are we voting on the situation? If enough other customers have a problem then you’ll listen to me (or handle my problem)? Is that really how you want to be perceived?
Of course not, that’s ridiculous. But I’ve heard employees (and managers) say this all too often. The problem is they are focusing on their perspective. They should be focusing on the customer and helping solve a problem.
Remember one simple thing here: all employees need to view themselves as customer advocates, period. Customer service actions that are remarkable get talked about. And getting talked about in this light is a great thing, right? No question.
Do you have a lesson about making your customer experience better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.
It’s up to you to keep improving your customer attention and focus. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Need some help in building better customer trust from your customer experiences? Creative ideas to help grow your customer relationships?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job and pay for results.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas to make your customer experiences better.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer experience from our Library:
Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience
If you were asked to name the top 5-10 items that have the greatest influence on greatcustomer experiencethinking and design improvements, what would your list include? Our agency often runs customer experience/service design workshops, and this question is a key exercise in the workshop.
Customer experience design improvements.
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Before we continue, let me ask you a question.
What works best for value proposition design in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? Be the one who starts a conversation.
How many of you consider customer service or customer experience as elements of your marketing? Consider this … if done well; don’t you think both could create things for customers to talk about? And therefore be enablers for your word of mouth marketing strategy. Let me share a story with you as an example.
Recently I took my sister to our local credit union branch office to take care of three different transactions: getting a credit card reactivated, depositing coins, and ordering checks. The coins required a visit, but the other two transactions could have been done by phone or maybe online. I hoped one visit to a local branch would be easier, but deep down I feared it wouldn’t.
Frankly, I expected we’d be shuttled around the branch to different people to take care of each transaction. Or, worse, told to use the phone to call the credit card support number directly.
Instead, it turned into a quick and extraordinary experience. Because when we entered the branch, a banker warmly greeted us and asked how he could help. After learning what my sister needed to do, he invited us to sit down at his desk.
He then took care of everything: Called the credit card division of Wells Fargo to activate a credit card, took the coins to the teller to make the deposit and returned with a receipt, and ordered new checks. I call attention to the fact that the banker didn’t know us or how much money we had in the credit union
My perspective:
So you see how these events represent a great way to market to customers, don’t you? Think I would talk about my experience with my friends and neighbors? Most definitely.
Here is another example of customer experience design you should consider.
This is a story of JetBlue’s customer experience strategy built on its employee empowermentculture. I experienced it first hand and was duly impressed.
The story started a while back while I was sitting on the runway in Orlando as my homeward-bound Jet Blue flight was about to taxi toward takeoff. Like just about every other flight that hadn’t already been canceled that day on the Eastern seaboard, ours was a couple of hours late departing. The lead flight attendant gets on the P.A. system and says something very close to:
Ladies and Gentlemen, we know we’re late taking off, and even though it’s the weather and not something we caused, we’re going to comp everybody movies for this flight. We know you’ve all had a long day, and we want it to end with something nice and relaxing. And for those of you who were supposed to be on the Continental flight and ended up here, we don’t ever want you to go back.
The mood on the flight which could have been a rather dreary late evening affair took an immediate upswing. People joked and smiled and made eye contact. They were noticeably brighter and calmer as the flight progressed. And I’m writing about the experience today, and business travelers are reading about it.
What enabled this relatively small act of kindness and allowed it to become a major brand statement? Midflight, I went to the back of the plane and asked. I wanted to know the policy that allowed a flight attendant to make such a call.
We’re allowed to make almost any decision, the flight attendant explained, as long as we can justify it by one of the airline’s five core values: Safety, Caring, Integrity, Fun or Passion. If we can tie doing something back to one of these principles, the decision is going to be supported by the company.
My perspective:
What JetBlue is saying to its employees … if you act in support of the values that matter to our business, we want you to take risks to care for our customers.
This is a very simpleconcept, eh? But how many of us put such a thing into practice with our people? Sit down today with your employees and do what Jet Blue did. Start building your employee empowerment culture today.
Create a culture of empowerment based on the values that YOUR business is built on.
OK we have examined two excellent examples, let’s examine nine customer experience and service design truths that we believe are the foundation building blocks of the best experience and service your company can offer:
Related post: RandomActs of Kindness for Customer Experience Improvements
Acknowledge that I am there as soon as possible … if you are busy with another customer; inform me you will be with me shortly.
Be personable … smile and introduce yourself.
Businesses are made up of people … be human and show your personality.
Customer experience principles.
Don’t sell … use your knowledge and experience to help me decide.
Listen to me and help me complete my visit as quickly as possible, without seeking other help, or ‘handing me off’.
Make your conversation and messagerelevantto this particular customer(s).
Be easy to work with and exceed expectations whenever you can. If you don’t have what the customer wants, offer alternatives, including recommendations for other businesses.
Customer experience thinking.
Be honest and always do what you say (promise). Credibility and trust matter.
Always follow through promptly and keep me informed until you can close.
These are things that we already know, of course. They are not rocket science and shouldn’t be.
This list of little things simply reminds us of what we have forgotten. Then it is up to us to put these lessons (or reminders) into daily use through persistence and practice.
Remember … your experience and learning trumps all!
Do you have a story of customer experience and service personalization that you can share with this community?
Need some help in building better customer trust from your customer experiences? Creativeideas to help grow your customer relationships?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job and pay for results.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas to make your customer experiences better.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on customer experience from our Library:
Client Satisfaction …10 Secrets to Improve Customer Experience
Customer Experience Optimization … 10 Employee Actions that Lower It
