The Challenge

Bad customer experiences could cost organizations throughout the world $3.7 trillion annually. That’s according to new research by the experience management company Qualtrics. 

In 2024, 88% of customers think customer service is more important than ever. That’s up from 83% in 2022 and 2023. In 2010, major consulting firms (Walker, Forrester, Bain and others) started predicting that within 10 years, the customer experience would be as important—if not more so—than the product. Of course, the product has to work, but comparable products can usually be purchased from numerous retailers or vendors.

Forbes…Shep Hyken 03/2024

Take aways…

So, what do these findings mean for your organization? Put simply you are presented a couple of  choices; A) choose to ignore it and not dive into the causes or… B) look for and understand those causes and do something to fight against it.

According to Mr Shep Hyken In 2024, the top three reasons customers come back to a company are helpful, knowledgeable and friendly employees. Customer service doesn’t have to be complicated. How hard is it for people to be helpful and friendly? Well apparently if his data holds true and the financial losses are to be believed…it can sometimes be very difficult and challenging.

However being knowledgeable is a function of training and education and both can go along ways towards mitigating if not eliminating those difficult challenges. These three together create a powerful experience that gets customers to come back and evangelize a company or brand.

These findings are meant to make you think about the advantages and disadvantages of delivering an excellent experience. I’ve always preached that customer service is common sense—that’s not always so common. 

Customer experience includes service, but there’s more to it as you look beyond the traditional human-to-human contact, and instead, analyze every interaction the customer has with your organization. 

To eliminate some of the complications and confusion, start with the end in mind, which is to understand your customers’ “journey” and what you must do to meet their needs and expectations. 

Build out the experience from there—an experience that doesn’t push them to the competition, but instead gets them to say, “I’ll be back.”

My own thoughts…

There are tons of data and metrics and endless spread sheets with cost analysis pointing towards the same direction… Poor Customer Service leads to long term negative effects to your business, your brand and your bottom line.

Lets ask the first question: How and why does poor customer service exits?

• Lack of empathy
• Delayed or no response
• Providing no or inaccurate information
• Poor customer interaction-lack of de-escalation training 
• Lack of role modeling from all levels of management
• Non-existent positive/incentivized reenforcement from management

Defined

A lack of empathy is simply the ability or the choice (in most cases) of one person failing to see what another person is having an issue with.

A delayed/no response is an organizations failure to respond to a customers concerns… regardless of the answer.

Offering no, or worse… inaccurate information to a customer or potential new customer is a needless breakdown in an organizations function.

Poor customer service usually stems from all of the above breaking down and failing to provide the customer with some options or better yet, a solution.

In order to be successful on all of the above an organization (mid-level and senior management) must demonstrate/employ/practice the very same expectations with their very own employees as they expect from their employees in dealing with their customers… who knew : )

The implementation of employee recognition and if possible incentivized encouragement from an organizations management to its employees to fight against all of the above should actively work towards rewarding positive outcomes.

Remedies

Provide employees with real examples of what customers had to experience from their organization. Identify their customers main pain points, both the merited ones and the non-merited. These will change often or (worse) be repeated, but regular internal reminders (training) is crucial to fight apathy.

Implement expectations of employees to respond to any and all customer complaints and queries (regardless of the answer) is important.  Employees need to know what is expected of them and how to be prepared to meet those expectations.

Ensure employees are knowledgeable of what they should know about the services/products offered by their organization. This is often taken for granted/overlooked and not provided for new employees when they are on-boarded. The worst thing to encounter is a customer who knows your Terms of Service, Products, Services and Promises better than you.

In dealing with customers virtually or in person and being able to provide the above is a start, but also knowing how to understand the customers source of frustration and focus on how to help that customer reach a solution is the goal. 

-Of course an employee is not a doormat and should not be subject to physical or verbal abuse. Letting the customer know this is important for both the customer and the employee. 

–Understanding a few de-escalation techniques is crucial and every employee has their unique threshold… but always pushing to take the high road and doing your best to not let your own buttons be pushed is important. 

–Employees should share their individual stories (on a regular basis) which can help create solutions they may not have thought of and serve as a reminder that there not the only one dealing with these challenges. This helps mitigate that feeling that it’s ever personal.