Author Archives: Shep Hyken

About Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times, bestselling business author. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Will Artificial Intelligence Make Us Stupid?

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Will Artificial Intelligence Make Us Stupid?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

I was just at an industry conference focusing on AI (Artificial Intelligence). Someone commented, “AI is going to make us stupid.” Elaborating on that statement, the commenter’s reasoning was that it takes thinking and problem-solving out of the process. We will be given the answer and won’t have to know anything else.

I can see his point, but there is another way of looking at this. In the form of a question, “Did calculators make us dumb?”

I remembered getting a calculator and was excited that I could do long division by just pushing the buttons on the calculator. Even though it gave me the correct answer, I still had to know what to do with it. It didn’t make me dumb. It made me more efficient.

I liken this to my school days when the teacher said we could bring our books and notes to the final exam. Specifically, I remember my college algebra teacher saying, “I don’t care if you memorize formulas or not. What I care about is that you know how to use the formulas. So, on your way out of today’s class, you will receive a sheet with all the formulas you need to solve the problems on the test.”

Believe me when I tell you that having the formulas didn’t make taking the test easier. However, it did make studying easier. I didn’t have to spend time memorizing formulas. Instead, I focused on how to use the information to efficiently get the correct answer.

Shep Hyken Artificial Intelligence Cartoon

So, how does this apply to customer service? Many people think that AI will be used to replace customer support agents – and even salespeople. They believe all customer questions can be answered digitally with AI-infused technology. That may work for basic questions. For higher-level questions and problems, we still need experts. But there is much more.

AI can’t build relationships. Humans can. So, imagine the customer service agent or salesperson using AI to help them solve problems and get the best answers for their customers. But rather than just reciting the information in front of them, they put their personality into the responses. They communicate the information in a way their customers understand and can relate to. They answer additional and clarifying questions. They can even make suggestions outside of the original intent of the customer’s call. This mixes the best of both worlds: almost instantly accessible, accurate information with a live person’s relationship- and credibility-building skills. That’s a winning combination.

No, AI won’t make us dumb unless we let it. Instead, AI will help us be more efficient and effective. And it could even make us appear to be smarter!

Image Credits: Shep Hyken, Pixabay

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Customer Service is Never Out of Your Control

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Customer Service is Never Out of Your Control

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Last month I was in Las Vegas for a major convention. I stayed at a very nice hotel, and each night I tried to fall and stay asleep. I emphasize the word tried because, unfortunately, there was non-stop, 24-hour-a-day road construction outside the hotel, as the city of Las Vegas is preparing for the Formula One race later this year. All night, there was jackhammering and bulldozing on the streets where the cars will be racing.

Upon checkout, I was asked, “How was your stay?”

I responded, “I love this hotel. It’s too bad about all that noise from the road construction.”

The front desk employee practically cut me off and curtly stated, “It’s out of our control.”

Of course, I knew it wasn’t the hotel’s fault. I didn’t blame them, but she was quick to point that out anyway. I can only imagine how many similar complaints she has heard from numerous guests over the past few weeks and will hear from many more until the project is over. She obviously has become annoyed by hearing the same complaint again and again, and somehow lost empathy or sympathy for her guests.

So how do you communicate something like this, that’s “out of your control?” Here are a few ideas using the hotel as an example:

  1. Respond With Empathy – First, respond to any and every comment about it with sympathy and empathy. Act like you care. You could say something like, “I understand how you feel about the noise. I wish we could do something about it, but the city of Las Vegas is preparing for the big race later this year. I’m sorry this happened.”
  2. Apologize – It may not have been your fault, but that doesn’t mean you can’t say, “I’m sorry this happened,” which is how I ended the empathy statement above.
  3. Be Proactive – If enough guests are complaining about something that is completely out of your control and you know the problem is going to continue, proactively inform them when they check in. You can even put a note in the room to warn them about the problem that really is out of your control.
  4. Come Up With a Solution – This may or may not be possible. In this example, the hotel could offer free earplugs. While it’s not their fault and really is out of their control, they could show a sign of effort to manage the problem, even if it isn’t the perfect solution.

A problem may be out of your control. That’s okay. What’s not okay is to use “It’s out of my control” as an excuse. Instead, see it as an opportunity to show empathy and care for your customers. It’s the words you use and the way you say them that counts.

Image Credits: Shep Hyken, Pexels

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Meeting Expectations Versus Managing Hope

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Meeting Expectations Versus Managing Hope

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

At a recent customer service presentation, the speaker who preceded me said that we must do better than simply meeting our customers’ expectations, and he shared some stories of truly amazing service experiences. Then it was my turn to speak. I didn’t want to contradict him, but I needed the audience to understand that it is impossible to go above and beyond with customers at every interaction. Sometimes meeting expectations is a perfect experience.

In my customer service keynote speeches, I talk about ‘Managing the Moment’. The idea comes from Jan Carlson, and if you’ve been following me, you will recognize this concept. Every interaction customers have with you or your company gives them the opportunity to form an impression. Understanding this simple idea is a good start to developing and/or maintaining your customer service and CX strategy.

I believe you must manage expectations, and if you are even the tiniest bit above average in doing what customers expect, your customers will love you, give you high ratings, and refer you to their colleagues and friends. The key to being successful with this idea is to be consistent. You want customers to say things like, “They always are knowledgeable,” or “They are always so helpful.” The word always followed by something positive, typically an expectation is what you’re going for.

Shep Hyken Expectations Cartoon

So back to the idea of just meeting expectations. Some people confuse expectations with hope. Here’s what I mean by this. If I call someone for help and leave a message, I expect them to call me back, and I hope they will return the call sooner rather than later.

Let’s say I’m called back within an hour. I’m pleasantly surprised because the person met my expectation of the callback and did it in the timeframe I hoped they would – maybe even a little sooner.

Most customers won’t analyze the experience quite this way, but it is exactly what they want – or hope for. They will, however, notice that the call was returned quickly and may say, “Thanks for calling me back so quickly.” The returned call was expected. The comment about “quickly” indicates their expectations were met or slightly exceeded. And if you do that every time, the customer will use the always when they talk about you and describe the experience by saying, “They always call me back quickly.”

Let’s flip this around. I believe most customers hope for a great experience, but not necessarily an over-the-top or above-and-beyond experience. And based on their typical experience with service laggards, they, unfortunately, don’t have high expectations. So, whenever you meet or just ever so slightly exceed what your customers hope for, you’ve created a positive experience that gets them to say, “I’ll be back!”

Image Credits: Shep Hyken

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The Real Reasons Employees Stay Or Leave

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Hint: It’s about more than money

The Real Reasons Employees Stay Or Leave

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

What if every great employee you (or your company) hired never left? Of course, that’s unrealistic … or is it? Joey Coleman is one of the brightest authors and speakers on the planet. His first book, Never Lose a Customer Again, is one of the very best books I’ve read on how to keep your customers coming back. He’s now taken some of the same ideas that worked for customer retention and written a second book, just as brilliant, Never Lose an Employee Again.

Coleman studied and researched organizations worldwide, and he found that 50% of hourly employees quit before their 100-day anniversary. For non-hourly or salaried employees, it’s 20%. I interviewed Coleman on Amazing Business Radio to learn how we can keep good employees.

“How we onboard employees and make them feel part of our community can differentiate whether they will be long-time employees or leave almost as fast as they came,” Coleman said. “The first 100 days are the most important time in the entire relationship with an employee because this is where the foundation is laid.”

So, why do employees leave? Contrary to popular belief, the No. 1 reason an employee leaves to work elsewhere is not money. In the traditional exit interview, where an employee talks to their employer face-to-face, money is the easiest and safest excuse for an exit. The true reasons for leaving are more telling—and can help prevent an employee from going, even if offered more money somewhere else. Coleman cites the Work Institute employee retention study, sharing the top five reasons employees leave:

  1. No clear career path — This is the top reason employees leave. Nearly one-quarter (24%) don’t see future opportunities in the organization. Most employees want to advance their careers and learn new skills. Laying out a potential path for an employee from the very beginning of their employment with you can have long-term benefits.
  2. Stress or lack of resources — Not providing employees with the tools they need or giving them too heavy of a workload can impact their emotional health, which could lead them to find work at another company.
  3. Health and family matters — As much as an employee may love working with your organization, personal health, a sick child or an aging parent can interfere with their ability to work. Regarding the latter, Coleman says, “Just as some employers provide daycare for young children, some employers in the future will also provide an eldercare program.”
  4. Work/life balance — The job has to fit the employee’s lifestyle. Something as seemingly insignificant as a long commute can negatively impact the employee’s personal life so much that they leave.
  5. Money — Almost one in 10 (9%) leave because of money. That means nine out of 10 leave for other reasons, often within our control.

After reading the reasons listed above, here is Coleman’s top advice:

  • Affirm the employee made the right decision to come to work at your organization — The concept of affirm is one of the eight phases of the first 100 days Coleman covers in his book. There is a scientifically proven emotional reaction in which a new employee begins to doubt their decision to accept your job offer. It is called “new hire’s remorse,” which happens between when they accept the job offer and their first day. Reaffirm your new employee’s decision to accept your job offer. Establish a personal and emotional connection even before their first day.
  • On-boarding must be practiced at a higher level — Don’t just onboard the first day or two (or even a week or two). Coleman says, “If you’re not painting a clear path for your people but expecting them to manage and figure out their careers on their own, then you deserve to lose them.” The amount of time you spend with employees over the first 100 days directly correlates to how long they will stay.
  • The employee’s personal life is important — Notice that three of the five reasons people leave the organization are personal. Coleman says, “You need to know what’s going on between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. as much as you are interested in what’s happening between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. What are your people doing and dealing with when they are not at work?”

I’ve often said that you won’t have a business without customers. Coleman makes the case that the same applies to employees. Much of what gets customers to come back is a great customer experience. You can’t deliver a great CX without a great employee experience on the inside of your organization. Coleman says, “People think that customer experience and employee experience are two different silos. The better way to look at this is that they are two sides of the same coin. We must work on both!”

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

Image Credits: Shep Hyken

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Simple Sells

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How Simple Can You Make Your Business?

Simple Sells - How Simple Can You Make Your Business?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

I love good barbeque. I live in St. Louis, which is famous for some of the best BBQs in the world! Really! We have a number of restaurants that have competed in worldwide competitions and come back with the first-place trophy.

My friend Norman Beck loves BBQ, too. Living in Texas, he’s also exposed to some of the best BBQ in the world, although I’ll argue it’s second to St. Louis. He teased me the other day by sending pictures of dinners featuring brisket, ribs, sausage and delicious side dishes from award-winning Hutchins BBQ in North Texas. He also included a description of its marketing plan.

According to Beck, the marketing plan is simple:

  1. Cook the best BBQ in Texas. My comment: Always do your best. Beck said the owner has one goal, “Be a little better today than you were yesterday.” That’s a great goal. Even if you don’t hit it, trying makes a big difference.
  2. Sell it at a fair price. My comment: A fair price doesn’t mean the lowest price. When you sell a good product, the price is less relevant.
  3. Be nice to everyone. My comment: This is customer service 101. It’s the basics. If you have the best BBQ but treat people with disrespect, you won’t be nearly as successful. And when you combine friendly service with a great product, price becomes even less relevant. People will pay more for the best of both worlds!
  4. Close when you sell out. My comment: I love the law of scarcity. When people know they have to “act now,” or they may miss out, they make more of an effort to do business with you.
  5. Repeat. My comment: If it works, just keep doing it!

The other thing you’ll notice about Hutchins (and most other BBQ restaurants), is they don’t spend a lot of money on ambiance. Many BBQ “joints” have wooden tables and chairs. The restaurants are set for function. In other words, no fancy light fixtures or expensive plates. They keep the place clean, and that’s about it.

The point of all of this is simplicity. You don’t go to a BBQ restaurant unless you want BBQ. The choices are limited, and so are the quantities. The BBQ chefs know how much to prepare every day, and when they run out, they close for the night. Customers know this and don’t expect anything more.

Simple Sells Cartoon by Shep Hyken

Most likely, your business has a few more “moving parts” than a BBQ restaurant. That doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to simplify the customer experience, your internal processes, and more. Go through an exercise in simplification by asking questions like these:

  1. Is any part of the process of our customer experience (or employee experience) redundant?
  2. Is there anything in our process that is unnecessary?
  3. Is every touchpoint our customers experience with us optimized for ease and efficiency?
  4. What could we do to make it easier to do business with us?

Asking questions like these and implementing the answers will help you simplify your business.

Image Credits: Shep Hyken, Unsplash

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Baseball Has Gone Bananas

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Baseball Has Gone Bananas

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Jesse Cole is an anomaly. He has turned the Savannah Bananas, a minor league exhibition baseball team, into a world-class case study in marketing and customer experience. At game time, Grayson Stadium is packed. In fact, every game the Bananas play is sold out. Remember, this is an exhibition team playing in a small stadium that holds just 4,000 fans. They have a waitlist of 550,000 fans hoping to get tickets, and the number of people joining this list grows by 3,000 daily. Add to that a social media presence with millions of followers, and you have a marketing machine fueled by the team’s reputation that lives up to and exceeds the expectations of its fans.

The Savannah Bananas are being studied by other baseball teams as well as almost every major sport at the highest professional level. And, business leaders who hear of Jesse Cole and his Savannah Bananas are taking notice. It all comes down to Cole’s philosophy, which is, “Imagine what the best possible fan experience is and do that. Don’t settle for the way things have been done before.”

That may sound simple, but there is so much to delivering on that philosophy. Cole not only changed the way fans are treated, but he also changed the rules of baseball. The new rules are referred to as Banana Ball, which is the name of Cole’s latest book that includes his business philosophy and the history of the team.

In my recent interview with Cole, he said that the biggest complaint about attending a major league baseball game is how much time it takes. I confirmed this with an informal survey by asking a number of friends the question, “What do you think is the biggest complaint about a major league baseball game?” Everyone responded, “It takes too long.”

Cole’s Banana Ball rules eliminate the complaint. For example, some of the rules that speed up the game include:

  • A two-hour time limit on games.
  • Batters are not allowed to step out of the batter’s box, or it is an automatic strike.
  • No mound visits by the catcher or any other players are allowed.
  • If a foul ball is caught by a fan in the stands, the player is automatically out.
  • At the end of nine innings, if there is a tie, rather than extra innings, there is a flurry of exciting activity in the form of a “one-on-one showdown,” which is similar to a shoot-out in soccer or hockey and lasts at least three rounds.

In addition to speeding up the game with a new set of rules, the entire experience is a show. Players perform line dances to popular songs from Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and other musical stars. They have a senior citizen women’s dance group, the Banana Nanas, which is akin to a cheerleading squad. They have the world’s only dancing umpire who will dance and twerk when he calls a player out. One of the coaches, Maceo Harrison, does a breakdance or “moonwalk” before giving a sign to the hitter. The list of antics goes on and on.

But none of this works without Cole’s vision, which puts the fan experience above anything else. It’s more than making the game move faster. He takes inspiration from what other sports teams and companies are doing wrong, and then does the opposite. He recognizes that a fan’s last impression of their experience leaves a lasting impression. Cole wants his customers’ experience to be a celebration they will never forget.

Cole hires the best people, and just as there are fans on a waiting list to get tickets to a Bananas game, he has a waiting list of potential employees. Cole says, “Everyone talks about recruiting great talent. Don’t recruit, attract great talent. Build a culture that people want to be a part of. It’s the culture that keeps people.”

Cole knows that if everyone in your business makes the customers the stars and you give them the red-carpet treatment, you’ll make those customers feel like a million bucks. It changes everything for the customer, and your employees will be more fulfilled and take pride in their work.

If you want to dig into the marketing lessons that Cole used to turn a minor league exhibition team into a sensation, you can start by reading Cole’s latest book. Better yet, score some tickets to a Savannah Bananas game. You’ll be glad you did!

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

Image Credits: Savannah Bananas

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Learning From the Customer Service Debacles of Others

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Learning From the Customer Service Debacles of Others

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

In 1996 the U.S. hosted the Summer Olympics. I’ll never forget reading about this story. Wade Miller, a Santa Fe, New Mexico, resident, tried to buy tickets to the volleyball match from the Summer Olympics ticket office in Atlanta. When the agent found out he lived in New Mexico, she refused to sell him a ticket, claiming she couldn’t sell tickets to anyone outside the United States. He appealed to the agent’s supervisor, who also believed that New Mexico was not part of the United States, even though New Mexico became the 47th state in 1912.

There is a happy ending to the story. Miller eventually bought tickets, and Scott Anderson, managing director of the games, promised it wouldn’t happen again. He said, “Obviously, we made a mistake, and we want to apologize to everybody out in New Mexico. The good news is that of all the mistakes we could make, this one is at least easily fixable.”

And there is a similar story that happened just a few weeks ago. A Puerto Rican family traveling from the United States to Puerto Rico was denied boarding a plane because their infant child did not have a U.S. passport. Despite the family pleading their case, the most the agent offered to do was refund the ticket or reschedule them to a later flight after they could acquire a passport for their child. The family eventually walked over to the JetBlue ticket counter, where they were told what they already knew: passports are not required to travel between the U.S. mainland and U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico.

Shep Hyken Communication Failure Cartoon

From these stories – and there are plenty more just like them – here are three (3) lessons we can take away:

1. Customer Service Training: Many problems can be avoided with good customer service training. There is the soft-skill side of customer service, being friendly and empathetic. Then there is the technical side that covers anything specific to what the company does, which can include basic geography. That makes me wonder, how can someone in the airline industry not understand the requirements for different countries – or at least know where to go to get the correct information?

2. It’s Okay to Get Help: If a customer and agent are at an impasse that doesn’t look like it can be resolved, the agent needs to know when to say, “I’ll be right back,” and find someone who can help. It’s okay to get help!

3. Recovery is Key: While not part of these two stories, it’s still important to recognize that how someone apologizes, and the actions they take do two things. First, it shows empathy and care for the customer and the situation. Second, when the problem is resolved to the customer’s complete satisfaction, it may renew the customer’s confidence in the company to come back next time.

There are more lessons and examples like these. I wanted to share these two for two reasons: one, they are entertaining examples that not only make you smile but also make you think. And two, it proves a point that I often make: common sense isn’t always so common!

Image Credits: Shep Hyken, Unsplash

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Growing Your Business with Customer Obsession

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Growing Your Business with Customer Obsession

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

A 21-year-old college senior and his roommate started a business that stored students’ belongings over the summer. They rented a warehouse and hired a local trucking company to pick up items at the dorms and take them to the warehouse to store for the summer. The company was becoming a college business success story. Then, in the middle of final exam week, the trucking company quit the project with 84 more pickups and customers left to service.

What does an entrepreneurial senior in the middle of final exams do? If he’s customer-focused (and he is), he stays up all night studying and doing pickups himself, honoring his commitment to these 84 students and still passing his exams!

That’s the beginning of Mark Ang’s story. Today, just six years later, Ang is the CEO and co-founder of GoBolt, which has evolved into a successful logistics company from what he and his roommate, Heindrik Bernabe, started in college. That company has gone beyond serving college students and now provides logistics and “last mile” delivery services for many businesses and well-known brands. Currently, they have over 1,500 employees, 14 warehouses and hundreds of trucks across the U.S. and Canada. The company is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, a multi-year winner of Deloitte’s Fast 50 and a recipient of the SupplyTech Breakthrough Award for Last Mile Solution Providers.

I interviewed Ang for Amazing Business Radio, and we talked about the secret of his success. Today, his company continues to grow at an exponential rate. The secret, according to Ang, is to live by these three main principles:

1. Customer Obsession

Just as he honored his commitments to his customers during his final exam week in college, he continues to obsess over making sure his customers are taken care of in a manner that will grow their trust and confidence in the organization.

2. Failure Is Not an Option

Ang would not accept defeat when the trucking company he hired in college broke their agreement. He figured out how to juggle school and business and came out on top of both, and he continues to focus on this principle today.

3. An Insatiable Desire to Win

This is where “Failure Is Not an Option” comes to life. Combining this principle with a love and obsession for your customers gives you a formula for success.

Even with these three principles in play, you must still be smart about running a business. These principles serve as a backdrop to many of Ang’s processes, strategies and tactics for running the company. Here are some of his customer-obsessed strategies that have helped him grow the business to where it is today:

Availability: A brand needs to be available to its customers 24/7. While not all businesses need around-the-clock support, his company does. Technology can answer the most basic questions at any time of day. Ang and his partner, co-founder and CTO of the company, leverage technology to deliver the best customer service.

Communication: Brands must provide communication channels that are convenient for customers. The customers will reach out by phone, email, chat, social media and other channels, and the company must be there to listen and respond.

Get It Right the First Time: This is another way of saying first-contact resolution. If agents have the correct customer information in front of them, they should be able to handle questions, problems or complaints on the first call. No customer should have to call back again and again to get an issue resolved.

Proactive Customer Support: If there is a problem the company knows about, reach out to customers before they call in. The credibility and trust that builds is huge. For example, a shipment might get delayed because of the weather. Ang believes (and he’s correct) that the right thing to do is to immediately inform the customer. It may not be good news, but it is information that the customer needs.

Ang’s final comments in our interview were to invest the time needed to create the optimal experience. Customer support, by nature, is reactive. It’s easy to get inundated with activity as you work in your business and not on your business. Take time to learn about what your customers want, research the right technology for your business and spend time with your team to understand what they need to be a customer-obsessed organization.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

Image Credit: Shep Hyken

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Making Your Customer the Hero

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Making Your Customer the Hero

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

“What we say doesn’t matter. What our customers say is what matters!”

Those are the words of Ragy Thomas, founder and CEO of Sprinklr, a customer experience software platform used by an incredible list of clients that includes nine of the 10 most valuable brands in the world and whose mission is to enable every organization on the planet to make their customers happier.

I had the chance to interview Thomas at a recent conference in Dubai. We began by discussing the company’s vision, which he conceived in 2009 and is just as appropriate today as it was back then: To be the world’s most loved enterprise software company.

Now, that’s a pretty lofty vision, and I love it. Some might even refer to it as a goal. I can envision Sprinklr’s leadership team meeting to discuss new ideas and products and how this vision might come up in the discussion. I can picture Thomas asking the question behind his vision, “Is what you’re proposing going to help us continue to be the most loved enterprise software company in the world?”

Phrasing the vision in the form of a question can help reveal the opportunities and pitfalls of a new idea. It’s obvious that if the answer is “No,” the discussion changes the approach to the new idea. It could even stop the discussion altogether. But if an idea is in sync with the vision, the question fuels the conversation.

So, how do you define what customers love? The answer comes in the form of feedback. And here is where Thomas shared another concept: The customer is always the hero.

Specifically, Thomas referred to how Sprinklr gets feedback and sums it up by saying, “What we say doesn’t matter. What our customers say is what matters.”

So, I asked, what kind of feedback works? I was surprised to hear Thomas stays away from the Net Promoter Score (NPS) question, which is: On a scale from zero to 10, what’s the likelihood that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague? Thomas said, “The NPS question makes the company the hero. It is a little presumptuous to be asking customers if they would recommend us, which means we get to be the hero again.”

Of course, Thomas would love for customers to recommend them, but he wants the focus to be 100% on the customer. He wants to make them the heroes, and what he cares about is knowing the customer is happy. It’s that simple, which is why he believes the right question for Sprinklr is: On a scale of one to 10, how happy are you with us?

So, if a customer rates the Sprinklr product and experience as any number less than 10, there is a follow-up question: What three things could we do to get you to give us a 10?

And if you didn’t already notice, the customer’s happiness is tied to their vision. They want their customers to love the company, so much so that Thomas believes that a score of 10 is the only acceptable score. If the customer were to rate them less than a nine or 10, Thomas and his team want to know why and what they can do to improve the product or experience.

Some may argue that any simple feedback question similar to NPS, CSAT or any other rating gives you a base to know the overall customer sentiment. I don’t disagree, but I do like that Thomas and his team are purposeful about always putting the customer first and their desire to get them to love Sprinklr at the center of the conversation. In the end, it may not matter what words Sprinklr uses to create feedback questions. What matters is knowing that they are achieving their vision, which is worth repeating: To be the world’s most loved enterprise software company.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

Image Credit: Pixabay

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Customer Service is Like Being Married

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Customer Service is Like Being Married

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

The buying cycle for a customer typically includes a little research, talking to a salesperson, making the purchase, and whatever happens after the sale. That could include a follow-up from the salesperson, dealing with customer service for a problem, or any other interaction you have with the company or brand after the sale is made.

Many companies spend a lot of money and expend tremendous effort to get you in the door or to their website. They entice you with marketing messages, advertising, and anything else that could tip the scale to move a customer from thinking about buying to actually making the purchase.

Marketing messages and advertising campaigns create credibility. A salesperson’s promises make you feel good about doing business with them and their company. And if all goes well, eventually, a sale is made.

Some refer to this moment as “closing the deal.” I always joke about that phrase. “Closing the deal” signifies an ending, but in reality, it’s the beginning of the financial relationship. To put it in dating terms, everything else was courting the customer. Once the customer decides to buy, it’s like you proposed to them, and they said, “Yes.” And when the sale is finally made, it’s like getting married. And that is far from the end. It’s actually the beginning.

Once you can officially call someone a customer (versus a prospect), it’s time to keep them. In other words, you want to make the relationship last.

According to the American Psychological Association, in 2022, approximately 40-50% of first marriages end in divorce. And the No. 1 reason for divorce is simple: a lack of commitment. So, my question to a business is, “What percentage of your customers churn out after the first sale?” In other words, what’s the divorce rate of your customers?

Once the sale is made, there is the honeymoon phase, in which the customer is excited about the purchase, and you let the customer know how excited you are about doing business with them. How long does that last? Ideally, the honeymoon phase should never end. While the excitement compared to the first time doing business may ebb and flow, the customer should always feel appreciated and, in marital terms, loved.

So what do you do to court your customers and, more importantly, keep your customers in the honeymoon phase? You don’t need to answer me. Spend time with your team and discuss what you do after the sale is made to keep your clients from divorcing you and starting a new relationship with a competitor.

Image Credit: Pixabay

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