1. Be awesome.
2. Repeat.
More and more we are playing on a global scale. Even when buying from the shop on the corner, there’s nothing to prevent that corner from being in a different state, country, or hemisphere.
With a smart phone in hand consumers can quickly and easily compare prices while in the store. Love the product, but hesitant on the price? A quick picture of the barcode will turn up the best prices available. I’ve recently been seeing concern that people will use local stores to find the perfect item, size, etc. and then order from elsewhere. This has always happened, it’s just easier than ever now.
I recently upgraded the brakes on my mountain bike. I purchased an American brand of brakes (buy American!) that were made in Taiwan (buy American?) from a store in the UK (wait a minute…). This was the first time I’d purchased from a store outside the country, but I believe we’ll be seeing more and more of it. There were no currency issues – their website showed prices in US Dollars based on the current exchange rate and the credit card works everywhere. Unlike the big box store that made it seem like a major hassle to order an out of stock laptop they were running a special on, this store made it as easy as possible to purchase. Finally, on top of a great price, they shipped for free and it only took a week to get it once it shipped.
Yes, there are downsides. It would be a pain if I had to return anything, it took a little longer to get than if I’d ordered from somewhere in the States (in fairness, the holidays probably slowed things down a bit), and I’m not supporting a local business (but then, I still wouldn’t be if I’d ordered from an internet retailer in the US).
Would I purchase from them again? Probably. I enjoy variety and having access to quality brands that are uncommon in the US. I’m amused by the idea of shopping in a foreign store. More important, they are getting it right. Even five years ago it would have been a real pain to order internationally. Today it’s as easy as any internet purchase. Where other businesses would shy away from international business – dealing with currency, taxes, shipping, and customs on top of long-distance customer service – this business decided to become the largest internet bicycle retailer. They have the volume to offer better pricing and invested in the effort to sort the customer service side of things.
This isn’t about bicycle parts, foreign stores, or my desire to be a little quirky. This is where the world is heading. Competing on price is difficult because there is always someone cheaper somewhere. For most businesses, especially local ones, the differentiator is really understanding the customers’ needs, service, follow-up, convenience, a cool vibe or good feeling, great people, extensive knowledge, problem solving focus, etc.
Your business is now competing with every other business on the planet. You probably won’t win on price (though you do need to be in the ballpark), but what makes your business stand out is simply: 1) how easy and pleasant is it to shop and purchase from you; and 2) how good are your people at solving the customer’s problems? It all comes down to processes and people. What is your business investing in?
We all know that customer service – whether the customers are external or internal – is crucial. But stating that raises an important question: “What, exactly, is customer service?”
The answer is: “Solving the customer’s problems.” That’s it. And we tend to forget that. Then we focus on creating structures and processes to provide “customer service” and forget the reason behind the structures and processes. Companies with great customer service invariably have strong processes, but processes alone ensure nothing.
Solving problems is more than structures and processes. In fact, great customer service is hard. It requires thinking. It requires being creative. It requires really understanding the customer’s needs. It might even mean sending the customer to (gasp!) a competitor. But here’s what the customer remembers: you solved their problem. Or: you didn’t solve their problem. Or: you prevented them from solving their problem.
I was once trying to return home from a business trip in Europe. A flight attendants’ strike in Berlin delayed my flight from Spain to Frankfurt enough to cause me to miss my connecting flight back to the States. The flight from Spain was on a small, economy carrier and Frankfurt to home was on Lufthansa. Even though it was not Lufthansa’s fault, they VOLUNTARILY (I did not have to ask) booked me on the first flight out the next day, paid for a hotel room, and gave me meal vouchers for my dinner. Maybe they did that for everyone because of the strike, maybe it was because I was flying Business Class – maybe I don’t really care. They solved a big problem without me asking. Any guesses which airline is my absolute favorite?
Here’s the example that sparked this posting. I recently broke some important parts off my mountain bike. When I went in to the local bike shop I was told that the part I needed was backorded for at least a month. Their tone and expression suggested that the “month” was going to be a lot longer than 30 days. They said they could order the part and let me know when it came in or I could try eBay. Not wanting to wait, I scoured eBay, even resorting to looking at eBay pages in Europe (international shipping can’t be that much extra, right?). A friend who currently lives 2000 miles away and runs a small bike shop offered to help. He contacted some folks at the manufacturer and found they had the part I needed still attached to a frame that had been sent back on warranty. Two days later the part is in his hand. Could my local bike shop have done that? Absolutely! Did they? Nope. They probably thought they had provided good customer service by being honest, offering to order the part, and suggesting other solutions. Truly, it was better than most shops, but they failed to solve my problem when another solved it easily.
This struck a huge chord with me from an HR perspective. How often does HR offer the bare minimum of service (“Read the employee handbook.”)? How often do we stop at the policy or just shrug shoulders and say, “Sorry, we can’t do that.”? How often do we forget that our customers are looking to us for help and guidance? How often do we treat our internal customers – the managers and employees – like actual customers who have a choice in whether they spend money with us? (By the way, they do have a choice. It’s called outsourcing. If HR isn’t providing real value by solving problems, it deserves to be disbanded and hired out to a vendor.)
So what are some of the basic tenants that make a person stand out as providing excellent customer service? Here are some thoughts in no particular order. These aren’t customer service secrets, just some observations from over the years:
Actually, I’ve probably overcomplicated it. Maybe it’s as simple as: help them solve their problem and treat them the way you’d want to be treated while you do .
Technology should simplify and make things easier for the customer/end user. There’s really no other purpose. Technology for the sake of technology is, well, annoying at best. But then anything for the sake of itself is inefficient, ineffective, and dumb. Case in point: my local newspaper recently ran an article on a program to encourage shopping at local businesses. It sounded like a cool program, but if I wanted to find out more about how to participate or which businesses were involved I had to either go to a website or use my smartphone to scan a QR code. Dumb, dumber, and desperate. Too much, too late.
I get that this is a multimedia world, but there is one basic tenant of business success that should never be overlooked: make it as easy and simple as possible for customers to give you their money. Amazon, Apple, etc. are all great businesses, but their genius is (say it with me) making it as easy and simple as possible for their customers to give them their money. It’s not the books that set Amazon apart, and I’d argue that it’s not even really the prices (although those help), it’s that they make it really freakin’ easy to buy a book. Ditto iTunes. This is really what innovation is all about – making it easier for people to solve their problems (even the problems they didn’t know they had).
There is a minimart/gas station near my house that I buy 80% of my gas from even though it is 1) out of my way; and 2) more expensive. So what’s their competitive advantage? I don’t have to pre-pay. I can pull up to the pump, fill my tank, grab my favorite source of carbonated caffeine, pay all at once, and leave. Every other place makes me pay first, which means that I either have to do two transactions, and, if I’m paying cash, walk back and forth to the cashier a couple of times. I will pay more because they have made it as easy and simple as possible for me to give them my money.
So the newspaper, in a very misguided effort to be relevant, has made it more difficult for me to get the information I need. I instantly stopped caring about a program I’d otherwise be curious about. Them forcing me to go to my phone is just as silly as, say, Amazon’s Kindle telling me to go find a dictionary when I ask it to look up a word. But we can learn from this editor’s mistakes. In an ideal world, everyone would be forced to voluntarily use their own products and services to experience it from the customer/end users point of view.
If you’re in HR, just how easy is it to apply for a job at your company? Are there any hoops you’re making folks jump through that could be put off until later? (For example, do you really, truly need to get everyone’s SSN on their initial application? Here’s a hint – the answer is no and you’re driving away top candidates if your automated process insists on it.) Do you actively seek ways to make it easier for candidates? Do you explain the process to them up front? Do you keep them informed and regularly updated on their status or do you force them to waste their (and your) time by initiating all communication with you?
If you’re a small business, do you accept all forms of payment? If you can’t process credit and debit cards, you’re not really serious about being in business. (No, seriously, these businesses exist.)
If someone calls your business, do they talk to a person who can actually resolve their problem/concern/request/order/desperate attempt to buy something from you? Or, and I’m thinking about the freight company that made a concerted effort to not deliver my new bicycle, do you have an automated voice “recognition” system that doesn’t actually recognize voice commands and eventually connects you with a minimally trained and hard to understand person who insists on reading the script even when the script doesn’t apply?
Does your website load superfast and is it easy to navigate? No matter how cool the graphics are, many of your potential customers have about a 1.6 second attention span. Too slow? Too hard to figure out how to get the right info? Good bye.
Examples go on and on. The principle is simple, but easy to get wrong when we think about what would make the shopping/buying/applying/etc. process most easiest for the company instead of what would make it most useful to the customer.
Last night I spent (way too much) time looking for a set of pedals for my new mountain bike. I finally tracked down a brand new set I wanted on ebay in a color that was ok and at the cheapest price I’d found anywhere. I could “Buy It Now” and get free priority shipping. Awesome. Yeah, ebay!
Then, right after I completed the transaction, the bottom of the page filled up with suggested items. I forget the heading, but it was something like, “You might also be interested in…” The VERY first thing shown was the same brand and model of pedal, in the color scheme I really wanted, for less. Three seconds ago I was happy and satisfied. Now, I’m irritated and kicking myself for not finding it in the search. Too late. Instant buyer’s remorse.
When is the last time that you – as a customer – were completely blown away by the unexpected value a business provided? I don’t mean that you were happy with the service or product. I mean that you were so delighted that you wouldn’t shut up about it. You told everyone in earshot, called up friends, emailed, posted it on Facebook. You went in expecting X and got X+10.
Now the tough question: when was the last time that you delivered that level of unexpected value to your customers?
Last week I came across a video on YouTube that caught me so off guard I’ve been annoying my friends with it, spending money on iTunes, and it has caused me to rethink my day job. I hesitate to share it because I realize that not everyone will, um, appreciate it as much as me, but even if you hate the video, the idea holds true.
Here’s the backstory: Grave Digger is a metal band from Germany founded in the early ‘80s. They never made it big in the US but were very successful in Europe. They were invited to play the 2010 Wacken Open Air Festival – an enormous 4-day event with 80,000 attendees, over 120 bands, and 6 stages. It’s kind of a big deal. They played on the main stage and chose to play their most popular album in its entirety.
That’s huge, but how do you stand out further? There’re a lot of other and bigger name bands, so what do you do to please your customer? You close with a crowd-favorite anthem about the Scottish rebellion (think Braveheart) AND you invite Van Canto, an A cappella metal band (don’t ask – it works for them) to open the song AND you invite the singer for Blind Guardian (another band barely known in the US and legendary in Europe) to sing with you AND you bring bagpipers on stage. It is so amazingly over the top, but I’m afraid that if, for some strange reason, one wasn’t into German heavy metal , the impact of it would be lost. The video link is at the bottom. Watch and enjoy if you want, but my point isn’t about music at all.
Maybe this will capture the impact: Imagine that you were a huge tech conference and excited about hearing Bill Gates speak. As he nears the end he surprises the crowd by bringing Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg out to offer their thoughts on the topic. That’s the kind of value it is for the customers. Would it have been a good show without all the others? Sure. But it wouldn’t have been you-must-see-this amazing.
My point? If you’re not surprising your customers, leaving them dumfounded, amazed, and dying to tell their friends about your products or services, you’re a commodity. I can get Italian food from dozens of restaurants; what makes your restaurant better? Realtor? Hundreds to choose from, why do I care about you? Car dealer? Yawn – there’re 17 others lined up right next to you. Competing on price? I’m a loyal customer until your competitor has a sale. C’mon. Do better.
What? The music festival story doesn’t work for your business. You’re lying to yourself. Try harder. It doesn’t have to be festival big. Little things make a huge difference. Do you greet every customer? Not the, “WelcometoblahblahblahI’monlysayingthisbecausemyjerkfacebossisforcingmeto.” that even mini-marts are doing. I mean a look-you-in-the-eye-shake-your-hand-sincerely-I’m-pleased-you’re-here hello. There are businesses that do it; a few of them. They really, really stand out. And it costs them NOTHING.
My favorite Realtor in the whole world consistently amazed me with his uncanny in-depth knowledge of the market and area, connections to very high quality repairmen, and tons of little touches. After we sold our house he gave us a $50 gift card to our favorite restaurant. Pleased? Surprised? Thrilled? Absolutely. Small touch, big impact, class act.
My favorite motorcycle jacket is an Aerostitch. I didn’t know I was going to buy one, but I happened to see their shop from the highway one day when I happened to be in Duluth (who happens to be in Duluth?). I went in on a whim and after chatting for a few minutes with the clerk, he INSISTED that we take a tour of the factory. The jackets were assembled on-site and I got to see crashed jackets that were being repaired, meet the people sewing them together, and yes, I bought a jacket. And for days after I purchased it I kept finding new pockets and features that only a very serious motorcyclist would have thought to include. There are a lot of ways they could have cheaped out, but that wouldn’t have inspired me to make a $400 impulse purpose at a time when I was making about $7 an hour. And it wouldn’t have inspired me to brag on the company 15 years later.
This is a long post, but an important one. Are you offering as much delight and value as your competition? Yes? Then you are instantly replaceable. Do better.
I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and blog postings lately on innovation. There’s lots of interest and everyone wants to be known as an innovator. Innovation is a nice buzzword and I suspect it will be a moneymaker for consultants over the next few years. But like all buzzwords, it misses the point.
Why do we want to innovate? No, really – why? Other than it’s fun to be different, the only business reason that comes to mind is to gain a competitive advantage; to offer customers something they can’t get elsewhere. When talking about innovative companies, the focus is almost always on the product.The problem is that novel ideas are easily copied and improved upon. What makes the innovative companies innovative is rarely the product itself.
What really seems to set innovative companies apart is the execution of their products and services and their focus on the customer. They have high attention to detail and design their products and services around how the customer wants to use them. Apple is a great example (no, you can’t write about innovation without mentioning Apple). What set the iPod apart from all the other MP3 players on the market? It was really, really easy to use, distinctive looking (who knew refrigerator white could be a cool color?), and had plenty of accessories available both from Apple and the aftermarket. But what blew everyone away was iTunes. We take iTunes for granted now, but it showed that Apple really understood how the customer would want to use an MP3 player from start to finish. They understood that customers didn’t want an MP3 player – they wanted a simple and easy way to find, purchase, and listen to music.
And then there is the ubiquitous iPhone. Sure the iPhone is neat, but here’s an example of the level of thought Apple put into the details and understanding the customer’s experience from start to finish. What’s the very first thing the customer experiences when they purchase an iPhone? The packaging. It is elegant, intricate, minimal, and shows amazing attention to detail. It contains everything needed to get started yet is tiny and easy to store. It also benefits Apple. Less packaging means lower materials costs, lower shipping costs, lower storage costs, and higher profits. Everyone benefits. That’s innovation! Apple didn’t invent boxes, they just did a far better job of executing. And, no, the box isn’t the most innovative thing about the product and no one is going to buy a phone because it has great packaging (we don’t even see the box until we’re handing over our money). It is just an example of the attention to detail given to every aspect of the product. Too many companies focus solely on the product and overlook all the ways that the customer uses and interacts with the product, from the very beginning to the very end.
All of which has me wondering how can HR give the employees they serve a better overall experience like Apple does? There’s an old adage that engineers should be forced to use the products that they design. Unless they do, they never truly understand how the customer uses the product. Too often we only focus on how we interact with the customer and completely ignore how the customer interacts with us. You want innovative HR? Try using your services like a customer from start to finish:
Obviously, this is just one aspect of HR. This same process can be applied to all HR services and processes.
Innovation isn’t for the creatively blessed. Innovation can be had by anyone willing to pay attention to details and understand things from the customer’s perspective. How innovative are you? How well do you understand your customer’s experience? Don’t just ask the questions, try out your own processes from the user’s perspective.
fool (with a plan) 