If you look at the mission statements and about us pages of most company websites, they’re all almost certainly going to include something about ‘great customer service’, ‘exceeding expectations’ or ‘delivering excellence’.
This probably isn’t a surprise to you. After all, more of us than ever before are supposed to be customer focused. But there’s a mismatch between companies and customers. According to Bain & Company, 95% of management teams say they are customer focused. And, while 80% reported that they believe they delivered a “superior experience” to their customers, only 8% of customers agree.
How can this mismatch happen?
Here’s the deal, we’ve fallen on tough times. They’re tough because everything is shifting. What was once the standard for great customer experience is now only the price of entry. Power is moving towards your customers – and they know it.
It’s not always clear, in practical terms, what these shifts mean. When big changes are happening, it’s easy to see them in hindsight, but not necessarily at the time. The problem is we use our old way of explaining, measuring and capturing customer feedback, but we’re facing new ways of doing business (and the expectations that come along with this).
So what needs to happen now?
Our whole approach to customer experience needs to change with the times. It's no longer enough to just have a customer experience programme in place - brands need to go one step further and deliver an experience to their customers that makes their customers realise that they care.
Without that 'care' being clear to customers, you can bet they'll find it elsewhere and go and spend their money with one of your competitors.
So, the question here is, does you customer experience programme shape up? If not, you might need to have a think about what it is you need to do to improve on this, before it's too late!
Take a look at our new eBook: The Anatomy of a Great Customer Experience, to find out more:
