How to hug your customers - without getting close
I received a parcel from Etsy this week. The item, a gift for a friend, was lovingly hand crafted by an independent creative. It was so beautifully and carefully packaged in soft tissue paper, sealed with a branded sticker and accompanied by a handwritten thank you postcard - and a little packet of sweets! It was clear that the seller took as much pride in packaging the item as they did in making it.
The whole experience of opening the package filled me with joy. It was like a hug in a box!
This is exactly the kind of exceptional customer experience I want the UK to be renowned for.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been reflecting a lot on this aspiration, which (shameless plug!) led me to write my book on the subject - due to be published summer 2021.
Most of the amazing hotels and impressive businesses I’ve worked with over the years are super serious about their customers and creating incredible experiences for them. Yet as a customer I think there’s still a long way to go to get service right across the board.
Frustrating customer experiences
As customers, we’ve all been in these frustrating situations:
Being on hold forever whilst listening to an automated message saying your call is important!
Calling at a petrol station where the person serving is rude and doesn’t make eye contact
Visiting a coffee shop where the barista doesn’t even say ‘Thank you’
I’m sure you can think of many more!
What these businesses promise and deliver are two very different things.
Personal connections drive loyalty
Building personal connections with your customers drives loyalty and recommendation. In turn, this contributes to business success and provides job security. Personalised, considered service and delivering on your promises is what will keep businesses buoyant.
A friend shared a great example of how this works in practice.
He regularly treats himself to clothing from a small boutique menswear shop in Aberdeen called Kafka. He’s never actually visited the shop, choosing to buy online instead. When we chatted, he’d recently received a delivery which contained a personalised note to him - a regular feature of his orders. The notes make him feel as though they know him, even though he’s never met them.
What’s amazing is that he told me about his experience and now I’m telling you! This is proof that little thoughtful things make a HUGE difference. Had they simply posted his items with no personalised note, it would have just been an emotionless transaction. The retailer chose to make it a transformational, memorable experience that will make my friend buy from them time and time again.
Affordable, achievable, accessible customer service training
Building personal connections is one of the themes we cover in our Exceptional Service Makes Sense programme. It’s such a valuable programme and we want businesses that truly value their customers to be able to access it. This is why we’ve made it available as an affordable and achievable open programme. It’s open for anyone anywhere to reap the benefits of truly understanding what exceptional service is and how to make it happen consistently, to drive customer loyalty and build a positive reputation.
The programme is delivered remotely over three half-day sessions for just £75+VAT per person. It’s a small investment with the potential to create a massive impact on your customer journey. To really make your product or service stand from the crowd.
It takes time and commitment to get it right
The programme creates a customer-first mindset by giving you a clear understanding of what exceptional service looks and feels like. Dealing with customers is tricky and complex. We all have different needs and expectations when it comes to parting with our hard-earned money. By setting up your team and business for success you have the opportunity to make each and every interaction with your customer as positive as possible.
If you’d like to know more, let’s arrange a call. Or maybe register for a free 45-minute taster session to see if it’s right for you.
Let’s make a difference and drive economic growth
The pandemic has demonstrated how important it is to be serious about our customers - to show them how much we value them and want to make a positive difference when they choose us. It’s what will drive growth and keep businesses buoyant into the future.
The return of high street retail, leisure and indoor hospitality is an excellent opportunity to get customer experience right - to help customers feel satisfied, safe and secure when interacting with your business.
We’ve all missed hugs over the last year. Now that we’re allowed to hug again, isn’t it time you wrapped your arms around your customers with the feeling of a warm, friendly and memorable customer experience next time they visit.