Delivering Great Customer Experience

You either get it …or you don’t

I recently purchased a new car (from a certain German brand) and whilst their cars and their technology are amazing, it is so sad to see that, when it comes to people, they just don’t get it.

Delivering great Customer Experience is not about throwing money at it and introducing processes which employees have to follow rigorously (yes, process do have a key role to play, but only on the back of the right ethos and when used with employees who get it, and work in a culture where the organisation genuinely understands it’s Customers).

In my recent car buying experience, it was all about the product, the process and the sale. There was very little, if any, thought given to how the Customer was being made to feel at each stage of the sale.

I was told the car would be delivered to the dealership on ‘X’ day and would be ready for collection a few days later. As ‘X’ day approaches, how is the Customer feeling? Excited, curious, eager. Yes, and much more. So when ‘X’ day arrives and there is no call to say the car has arrived (or not arrived), how then does this make the Customer feel? And when, at ‘X’ + 1 days, there is still no call, where do the Customer’s emotions go then?

At ‘X’ + 2, I made the call to see where my car was. ‘Oh, no one has told me it has arrived’ was the response from the salesman I was dealing with. ‘I will go and check and come back to you’. Ownership? Empathy? In tune with the Customer’s emotions? I think not.

The story continued in this vain and I will spare you the detail and take you to collection day . (which was some three weeks after it arrived at the dealership, but let’s not even go there!!!)

The day before collection. Again, how is the Customer feeling? You will be collecting your shiny new car in less than 24 hours. This is a big moment. You did your research, you thought about it, you planned it, you placed your order, you waited for the car to come in, you waited for the car to be ready and finally, it is going to happen. You are going to go and collect your lovely new car and drive it home.

If you think about this from the Customer’s perspective, this should be all about them. All about how to make the event a great one for them, one they will enjoy, cherish and remember forever. One which will mean they will want to come back to your organisation time & time again to re-purchase. One they will tell all their friends & family about, bringing new, additional business to your company.

This is the exact email I received to arrange collection of my car:

Hi Steve,

I just wanted to plan my weekend as I am only in on Saturday and have some appointments already. Would you be available at 9am to collect tomorrow? Please let me know.

Whose agenda are we on here? Have we thought about the significance of this event for the Customer?

How did that make me feel? Valued? Cared about? Important? I think not.

These are the emotions which Customers want (and need) to feel. Great organisations will understand this and will plan how to make their Customers feel like this at each stage of the experience. That is what drives loyalty and keeps Customers coming back, time and time again.

Where do you think I might buy my next car?