How do you define great customer service? Chances are good that it is easier to describe situations where you have received less than great customer service. That is a bit of a quandry for those that are dedicated to a culture of good customer service.
The other day on Amazon, I picked up a free copy of the leadership book How to Design a Great Customer Experience by Fred Wiersema. I don’t really know much about Wiersema outside of his bio that says he is a business strategist and works with lots of companies to help them refine their customer service efforts. However, I do think a lot of what he has to say in his book rings true, so I thought I’d share his thoughts with you.
I am privileged to serve as the high school principal at North Cobb Christian School. In a private Christian school, we have a lot of different dynamics taking place because we are both a school and a business and neither are mutually-exclusive. For instance, our families (customers) typically choose to return to our school year after year because of the great experiences they have had with our faculty and staff. However, there are those isolated situations where people have not had the best “customer” experience and it has taken a good bit of effort to repair that relationship and restore that sense of belonging to our community.
I read this book with the hope of picking up a few thoughts to share with our staff as we daily run hard after Christ and his challenge to us to serve others. Our theme verse for this year is 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.”
Please see the list below of thoughts that I highlighted while reading How to Design a Great Customer Experience. I picked up up while Amazon was offering it for free on Kindle. This week I think the cost is something closer to $3, but still definitely worth a quick read.
- It’s only after they have a full understanding of their own experiences as customers that I ask them to imagine what their own customers go through.
- The key is to get it right up front, rather than having to do remedial work later.
- Because prospective customers make instant judgments, you must pay special attention to the first impression you make. You have to look at your operation with an approaching customer’s eye and make sure his or her instant judgment will be positive—and that goes double for your Web site.
- Go through your customers’ experience moment by moment. Is the process smooth and predictable? Or are you jolted, slowed, or asked for new bits of information out of sequence? Are you losing sales and antagonizing potential customers without even knowing it by interrupting their momentum?
- All the market research tells us that people want simplicity, reliability, and ease of use.
- Do you show your customers a united front? Be consistent in all your dealings with every client.