How to create experiences your customers will love
We all want to do a great job for our customers. Few people would say they intend to serve their customers poorly. But if you aren't mindful and strategic, it's easy to end up with a customer whose experience is poor. You may be setting yourself up for failure if your business or ministry does not have a strategy to ensure quality customer experiences across your entire organization.
In recent years, companies are turning to a discipline called “customer experience management.” When they evaluate their position in the market, many realize technology is moving faster than they can manage. Competitors quickly emerge on the scene from every angle. And they find their only advantage is in how well they engage with their customer. Customer experience management ensures a business or organization is doing what it says it will do in a way that evokes positive memories and perceptions in the mind of the customer. When this happens, your “brand promise” is delivered.
Companies excel when leadership takes a close look at their brand promise to the customer. (They look closely at their business model (operations, customer service, product quality and relevance, marketing, delivery model and financial model). Then they compare the two to see how well they meet customer needs with their current approaches.
Many companies find their target audiences have aged. They are trying desperately to cultivate new and younger audiences, sometimes not realizing this audience holds a different mentality and sentiment. They wonder how they can attract both without offending the existing customer base. With Gen X and Millennials gaining in their spending potential, companies once focused solely on Boomers and Elders are struggling with the need to change.
Long standing businesses are not the only ones affected. New businesses, ministries, and churches are also impacted. In 2020, more people are changing their spending habits [1]. Fear and employment uncertainty have gripped consumers. COVID, social unrest, and the political climate have turned the world upside down. Companies that can deliver and add value to their customers are the ones that will overcome these challenges.
Our world's tumultuous reality makes it even more critical companies offer products with appeal beyond simple functionality. Companies and organizations must connect with customers and donors. It’s essential to become part of their lives - a connection so deep that they can't live without having your products and services by their side. This connection does not happen by accident. Memorable experiences require intentionality. They require in-depth, cross-functional understanding of what's working and not working for the customer. They require intentional relationship cultivation and nurturing to stand out.
Your desired success requires you fine-tune your entire business to meet customer expectations. When operations are not scalable and customers are unhappy, growth is hindered. To reshape your customers' perception of your business, you must focus on your delivery model as well as your employees’ experiences in addition to your brand promise.
Over the last 20 years, the Simmons Strategy Group team has led several transformational customer experience management projects. We've seen first-hand how companies and organizations have struggled to grow or scale under poor customer experiences. We now lead our clients through the changes needed to deliver on their brand promise with great customer experiences. Clients' teams are led by us to ensure they have a good flow of operations, clear and concise marketing messages and solutions to meet their customers' needs. Our process is rooted in faith and we enjoy helping faith-powered business owners and ministry leaders accomplish their goals.
If you are interested in learning more about our transformation model for your business or ministry, schedule a call with Pearlina Simmons. Let’s chat for a few minutes about your goals and where you are compared to where you want to be.