When a customer asks you a question, do you double-check your assumptions about their intended outcome? So often we take customer inquiries at face value, or simply assume we know what is meant. No matter what your job, you have customers, and clarifying your customers’ intended outcome is smart business. Examining Customer’s Intended Outcomes An [...] Read More…
Category Archive Listen to Customers
The Art of Listening, for Customer Experience Improvement 10 / 5 / 09
Curiosity is the key to great listening skills that improve customer experience. When you’re truly curious about your customer’s opinions, expectations and requests, you’ll find the customer to be more pleasant, interesting and fulfilling to you as well. Get Over Me-Focused Listening! It’s easy to tell yourself you’re listening when in reality you’re focused on yourself. Whenever [...] Read More…
Inventing Great Customer Experiences 7 / 10 / 09
Every person in an organization is needed for customer experience innovation. That’s because customer expectations and competitive offerings are always on the rise. Your processes, policies, skills, and motivations have a lot to do with keeping customers coming back — and even more to do with customers deciding not to come back. Think of [...] Read More…
Customer Complaints: Sour or Sweet? 3 / 13 / 09
CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST VERSION (3:28) Negative customer feedback is a lot like biting into a lemon — the bitterness is hard to love — unless you give the lemon a good squeeze and some sugar, and transform it into refreshing and healthy lemonade. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, so those lemons [...] Read More…
Customer Experience Insights by Stepping into Customers’ Shoes 3 / 4 / 09
CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST VERSION (3:37) If we could ‘be a fly on the wall’ observing customers’ experiences what a treasure trove of wisdom we’d have! Surveys, user groups and advisory boards are common tools for understanding customers — but what is their scope? Do we have a comprehensive suite of tools for stepping [...] Read More…
Customer Service: ‘Wow’ versus ‘Ow’ 2 / 27 / 09
CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST VERSION (3:32) What’s the difference between ‘wow’ and ‘ow’ (as in ‘ouch’) service? Willingness to check for understanding. It’s doing the whole job, with the customer sensing your overriding wish for his or her well-being. When you check for understanding, the customer’s woes dissolve, they appreciate your wisdom, and [...] Read More…