Delivering on a GREAT customer experience is not very different from the Starbuck’s barista delivering the right drink to a regular customer day in and day out. People often think that to be great, a business has to over deliver on customer expectation. “Surprise and delight.” “Go the extra mile.” “Do whatever it takes.”
Forrester recently came out with their 2010 Customer Experience Index. The index was based on three measures: 1) meeting needs; 2) easy to work with; and 3) enjoy-ability. Their CxPi index ranks 133 organizations across 14 industries. Note: there wasn’t a measure on exceeding customer expectation. Meeting customer expectations, and being cheerful when doing it, is all customers want.
Consistency matters most
Several years ago, I worked at Starbucks heading up Starbucks.com. One thing all new (non-retail) employees were required to do was go through an “immersion” where you work in a store for a period of time. The purpose was NOT to learn how to make a perfect cup of coffee (actually the store manager would only let me grind beans and sweep) but to get a rich understanding of the Starbucks culture and customer experience.
For three weeks, I became witness to what makes the Starbucks’ experience so great. It wasn’t a free scone, drink coupon, or magical moment. It was consistency. Starbucks is amazing at setting customer expectation and meeting it throughout the delivery process. Baristas and managers see the same customers each day and know what they expect.
Imagine going to your favorite Starbucks to buy your regular nonfat vanilla latte and instead they serve you a venti caramel macchiato. The barista says, “We value you so much I made you this instead. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay anything extra.” On the next visit, you order your regular drink and instead get a small frap. And this time the barista says nothing.
At Starbucks, some baristas start preparing a customer’s drink before they walk in the door. That’s intimacy based on trust. Customers trust that Starbucks will get it right every time.
Dig into the data
What industries ranked in the top half of the Forrester study? Retailers and Hospitality. What industry ranked at the bottom half? Telcos and Cable providers.
What makes Starbucks able to deliver such consistency? It’s all those baristas and managers who monitor what’s going on in the store, from how long the queue is to when the drip is down, to if tables need to cleaned. It’s THE data they collect.
Most businesses talk about delivering exceptional customer experience, but most barely know what the current experience is. As a result they tend to shoot for the moon; because most times they have no idea what kind of service they are actually delivering.
Experience IS every touch
So if delivering a great customer experience is all about gathering data, why do other industries like telcos rank so low? With so much data (e.g., CDR, billing, purchase, profile, network data, etc.), wireless carriers should have a holistic view of the customer. So why aren’t they delivering a great customer experience?
It’s because when most wireless carriers think of the customer experience, they do so through the very narrow lens of either marketing or customer care.
With the former, customer experience is viewed as a “marketing” thing comparable to loyalty. “Let’s have marketing target customers with offers and upsell. And don’t forget to try to recon them before their contract is up.”
With the latter, customer care is the “spill bucket” capturing all of the customer complaints, and dispensing credits for misalignment in what the customer expects and what is delivered . “I am sorry you were sold our wireless service when we don’t offer coverage in your neighborhood. How about a new handset?”
What carriers often forget is that every interaction adds or detracts from the customer experience. Something as seemingly benign as the bill is the biggest touch point (and symbol of service value) carriers have with their customers. It can either meet a customer’s expectation or smack them in the face with a whopping surprise.
Let’s face it. Even more than your favorite beverage, there is nothing more personal than a customer’s mobile device. Wireless carriers are well poised to deliver that simple experience that delights customers just by doing what they say will each and every time.
The coffee guys have it right. A great customer experience is about doing consistently what the customer expects, delivering it in a personalized way, and without all that marketing fluff.
“Oh, thank you for my nonfat vanilla latte. It’s just the way I like it!”
