I started my first blog based on examples of bad customer service because of my passion for providing exceptional experiences for customers. That was nearly 15 years ago and not much has changed in the overall level of customer service, it still is not very good. Especially after the horrible economic times, we faced from 2008 through 2014. It always strikes me odd that when a company starts to struggle the first thing they do is cut out things that make the overall customer experience better. Safety, training, appreciation events or any other type of team member or customer recognition. I could write a book just on the things companies get wrong when it comes to finding areas to try saving money when things get tight. But that is not what I want to discuss today. No, today I want to talk about the future.
Since the inception of social media, companies have been held to a level of accountability like no other time before. In the past, if you didn’t hear anything bad, then you felt like you were doing well. That was a big mistake! Studies have shown that when someone has a bad experience they are unlikely to say anything about it, they will just stop patronizing that company. But in today’s world of social media everyone is a customer experience expert, a food critic, or a focus group and will affect your future business. It doesn’t matter if you are a restaurant, a coffee house, a publisher or anyone who offers a product or service. You are susceptible to any customer’s comments on social media sites. The biggest difference between the inception of social media and now, is that people are now listening to those comments.
With sites such as Yelp and Google, you can find out about any restaurant or service long before you ever turn over a single dollar. With sites like glass door and others, your overall company culture is exposed whether you like it or not. And once more, with companies like Home Advisor, Expedia, and Amazon, they have turned many services into a commodity, the same as a straw you would use for a drink. No one puts much thought into buying a straw; I mean heck, a straw is a straw right? In the future, if you are not the cheapest price, the only thing that will set you apart in this connected world will be the customer experience. How much do people like doing business with you? Available to all, in one site, you can see reviews, prices, and other determinable information to help steer you in the right direction. Side note; I would warn most consumers not to trust everything you see since much of the information is based on how much each company is willing to spend, you could end up with what you thought was the right provider only to find out none of the information you obtained was accurate. You have to remember that the internet is based on the information people provide, and you need to question people’s motives. But all in all these sites are great tools for gaining information and hopefully getting a better buying experience.
Fueled by all this information at your fingertips, is why I feel we are on the precipice of a customer service revolution. In the future, you will have no choice but to provide exceptional customer service if you want to compete in a connected world. You will be required to not only understand all the things that go into exceptional customer service such as leadership, great work environment, and a service company that really cares about its team and customers but also know how to measure, manage and improve the customer experience.
I have attended many CX workshops over the past few years, and I will tell you the attendance is going up. I see companies I have never seen at a CX workshop, like pharmaceutical companies, and convenience stores. Again in the past, the idea was a convenience, you didn’t have to have great customer service, the only thing you needed was to be convenient. But now, with a convenience store on every corner, you need to be better than the others and provide a memorable customer interaction to stand out. In other words, to stand out in the future, you will need to be outstanding.
So how can you prepare for this revolution? I am glad you asked. You need to start with leadership. This is the most common thing I see missing whenever I do any consulting work. Without strong leadership, it is nearly impossible to create an exceptional customer experience for your customers. Leadership touches everything in your company. You need to be innovative, you need to have a harmonious work environment, you need to have solid business processes and procedures, and you must truly care about your team and your customers. All these are natural traits of a great leader. If you have to pick one thing to start with, make sure you have great leaders. The rest gets easier if you have the proper leadership in place.
With all this said I hope you are prepared for what is coming. You will need to be quick, innovative, in-tune with your customer’s wants and needs, and able to adapt to ever-changing situations and technologies. In the end, you will have to have all these things to be successful because let’s face it, if you are not willing to, your competition will be more than happy to oblige!
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