If you’re a business owner or an entrepreneur, you’ll understand that your customer is king. But, how do you win customers and, most importantly, keep their business in the long term?
In this blog, I’ll be sharing some of the insights I’ve learnt during my 25-year career in sales and looking at companies that are at the top of their game with exceeding customer expectations.
Go that extra mile
In the corporate world, being ‘customer centric’ is not just about running a customer survey. The customer experience needs to be part of your business DNA as it’s critical to your revenue and future growth.
When I speak at business events, I often tell the following story. Some years ago, a family staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Florida returned home to find that their little boy had left his much-loved toy giraffe ‘Joshie’ behind. Mum phoned the hotel desperate to track him down. Not only did the hotel team locate Joshie, they returned him complete with a photo album of snaps showing the giraffe enjoying his holiday – much to the delight of the little boy. The story, and photos, garnered almost 4,000 views on YouTube, 12,000 likes on Facebook and nearly 5,000 tweets, generating fantastic PR for the hotel.
The Ritz-Carlton team went above and beyond expectations to deliver outstanding customer service that had a real impact, setting the chain apart from its competitors and delivering a memorable experience. Standing out from the crowd and delivering a fantastic experience is just as important whether you’re running a large chain of luxury hotels or an SME. If you want to grow as a business, you need to make your customers feel special.
Get under the skin of your customers
Understanding your customers and finding out what makes them tick is crucial. Think strategically and consider what’s important to them now and in the future. McDonald’s is a great example of this. From a company that offered just ‘burgers and fries’ back in the 80s, McDonald’s listened to its customers and has broadened its offering to include healthy eating options, kids’ menus, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and more. The chain is even piloting a takeaway delivery service in the UK. Crucially, McDonald’s understands the importance of listening to the voice of the customer in shaping its future business strategy.
Listen to your customers
Of course, customer surveys can provide some valuable information. You can gauge customer feedback online, by phone or email – from quick pulse surveys through to longer-term relationship surveys. Email surveys tend to have relatively low response rates as customers are bombarded with similar requests. Telephone surveys often have the highest response rates. Decide which approach will work better for your organisation.
And remember, it’s not just about what matters to your customers; you also need to listen to your employees. Survey your people and find out what they are saying about the business to their friends and families. Look at how internal training and coaching can be improved and turn your employees into brand champions. Happy employees lead to happy customers.
Old Mutual Wealth – an award-winning customer experience
One company that has put this learning into practice is Old Mutual Wealth. In 2016, I was a judge at both the UK Customer Experience and Employee Experience Awards, where the team won accolades in multiple categories.
Christina Dolding, Head of Customer Experience at Old Mutual Wealth, and her team have worked tirelessly to deliver change within the company over the past seven years. Back in 2010, customer satisfaction was in negative figures whereas now it is at an all-time high…and earning industry awards.
Christina talks candidly and passionately about how, at the start of the process, customer feedback was not always acted upon in a consistent way. To address this, the team implemented a multitude of activities, from monthly podcasts (with real customer feedback) through to customer focus groups and a ‘triage’ team to help better understand customers’ issues and resolve any problems more quickly and effectively. They also shared this information with the wider business units to help develop future service offerings.
“We’ve had to take some bold decisions and work within a very limited budget, which has been a challenge at times,” says Christina. “However, over time, these projects have led to a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction scores – testament to the hard work of the team.”
One such project is ‘Magical Moments’, which gives employees the chance to surprise their customers with something special that is directly linked to their reason for getting in touch with Old Mutual Wealth. ‘Magical Moments’ empowers employees to listen to the customer properly and then really take an interest in their lives. Armed with this information, they then do something unexpected to create a moment of joy. This has included surprising a customer who was dealing with a life-threatening illness with their food shop and sending a very special gift to mark an important life event.
“The response from customers has been phenomenal,” says Christina. “We’ve had customers on the phone in tears because they’re so touched by the gifts. It also gives employees the chance to better understand our customers and connect with them on a personal level.”
See your business through your customers’ eyes
The team at Old Mutual Wealth places great importance on seeing things from the customer’s perspective and this is often where other businesses go wrong. In my view, it’s vital to see things through your customers’ eyes and provide an end-to-end service that’s consistent from the moment a customer lands on your website or walks into your office for the first time. As I mentioned at the start, it’s about far more than just customer surveys. Your customers need to have a great experience from start to finish, no matter where they come into contact with your business.
You may well have to challenge traditional assumptions and ways of working. But, if you want to build a sustainable future and keep your customers for the long term, you need to be bold in looking critically at your business and seeing what you can do better.
Kristy Davies-Sumpter
Kristy has built a highly successful career in sales over the past 25 years and worked for some of the biggest names in the hospitality and technology industries. She is MD of Zest Consultancy, which helps companies of all shapes and sizes to win new business and improve their customer experience. Kristy is also a judge at the UK Customer Experience and Employee Experience Awards. To find out how Zest can help you win new business, visit www.zestconsultancy.co.uk or call 02380 001421
In this blog, I’ll be sharing some of the insights I’ve learnt during my 25-year career in sales and looking at companies that are at the top of their game with exceeding customer expectations.
Go that extra mile
In the corporate world, being ‘customer centric’ is not just about running a customer survey. The customer experience needs to be part of your business DNA as it’s critical to your revenue and future growth.
When I speak at business events, I often tell the following story. Some years ago, a family staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Florida returned home to find that their little boy had left his much-loved toy giraffe ‘Joshie’ behind. Mum phoned the hotel desperate to track him down. Not only did the hotel team locate Joshie, they returned him complete with a photo album of snaps showing the giraffe enjoying his holiday – much to the delight of the little boy. The story, and photos, garnered almost 4,000 views on YouTube, 12,000 likes on Facebook and nearly 5,000 tweets, generating fantastic PR for the hotel.
The Ritz-Carlton team went above and beyond expectations to deliver outstanding customer service that had a real impact, setting the chain apart from its competitors and delivering a memorable experience. Standing out from the crowd and delivering a fantastic experience is just as important whether you’re running a large chain of luxury hotels or an SME. If you want to grow as a business, you need to make your customers feel special.
Get under the skin of your customers
Understanding your customers and finding out what makes them tick is crucial. Think strategically and consider what’s important to them now and in the future. McDonald’s is a great example of this. From a company that offered just ‘burgers and fries’ back in the 80s, McDonald’s listened to its customers and has broadened its offering to include healthy eating options, kids’ menus, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and more. The chain is even piloting a takeaway delivery service in the UK. Crucially, McDonald’s understands the importance of listening to the voice of the customer in shaping its future business strategy.
Listen to your customers
Of course, customer surveys can provide some valuable information. You can gauge customer feedback online, by phone or email – from quick pulse surveys through to longer-term relationship surveys. Email surveys tend to have relatively low response rates as customers are bombarded with similar requests. Telephone surveys often have the highest response rates. Decide which approach will work better for your organisation.
And remember, it’s not just about what matters to your customers; you also need to listen to your employees. Survey your people and find out what they are saying about the business to their friends and families. Look at how internal training and coaching can be improved and turn your employees into brand champions. Happy employees lead to happy customers.
Old Mutual Wealth – an award-winning customer experience
One company that has put this learning into practice is Old Mutual Wealth. In 2016, I was a judge at both the UK Customer Experience and Employee Experience Awards, where the team won accolades in multiple categories.
Christina Dolding, Head of Customer Experience at Old Mutual Wealth, and her team have worked tirelessly to deliver change within the company over the past seven years. Back in 2010, customer satisfaction was in negative figures whereas now it is at an all-time high…and earning industry awards.
Christina talks candidly and passionately about how, at the start of the process, customer feedback was not always acted upon in a consistent way. To address this, the team implemented a multitude of activities, from monthly podcasts (with real customer feedback) through to customer focus groups and a ‘triage’ team to help better understand customers’ issues and resolve any problems more quickly and effectively. They also shared this information with the wider business units to help develop future service offerings.
“We’ve had to take some bold decisions and work within a very limited budget, which has been a challenge at times,” says Christina. “However, over time, these projects have led to a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction scores – testament to the hard work of the team.”
One such project is ‘Magical Moments’, which gives employees the chance to surprise their customers with something special that is directly linked to their reason for getting in touch with Old Mutual Wealth. ‘Magical Moments’ empowers employees to listen to the customer properly and then really take an interest in their lives. Armed with this information, they then do something unexpected to create a moment of joy. This has included surprising a customer who was dealing with a life-threatening illness with their food shop and sending a very special gift to mark an important life event.
“The response from customers has been phenomenal,” says Christina. “We’ve had customers on the phone in tears because they’re so touched by the gifts. It also gives employees the chance to better understand our customers and connect with them on a personal level.”
See your business through your customers’ eyes
The team at Old Mutual Wealth places great importance on seeing things from the customer’s perspective and this is often where other businesses go wrong. In my view, it’s vital to see things through your customers’ eyes and provide an end-to-end service that’s consistent from the moment a customer lands on your website or walks into your office for the first time. As I mentioned at the start, it’s about far more than just customer surveys. Your customers need to have a great experience from start to finish, no matter where they come into contact with your business.
You may well have to challenge traditional assumptions and ways of working. But, if you want to build a sustainable future and keep your customers for the long term, you need to be bold in looking critically at your business and seeing what you can do better.
Kristy Davies-Sumpter
Kristy has built a highly successful career in sales over the past 25 years and worked for some of the biggest names in the hospitality and technology industries. She is MD of Zest Consultancy, which helps companies of all shapes and sizes to win new business and improve their customer experience. Kristy is also a judge at the UK Customer Experience and Employee Experience Awards. To find out how Zest can help you win new business, visit www.zestconsultancy.co.uk or call 02380 001421
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