(By Pat Bryson) I have the privilege of working with some very good sales staffs. Over the years, we have progressed from learning the basics to polishing our diamonds. One of our latest initiatives is moving from good customer service to a great customer experience.
In case you don’t know the difference, customer service is usually initiated by the customer. They contact us needing something. Are they able to connect with us easily? Is our receptionist (are there still any of these left?) or our voicemail efficient? Did they need an invoice or copy? Did we take diligent care of their needs? We’ve all experienced good customer service and bad customer service.
Have we had a great customer experience? The “customer experience” involves what happens before and after customer service. It is every contact a potential customer has with our brand. Creating a great “customer experience” becomes a new mountain to climb.
One of my salespeople recently sent me a note about a customer experience she had had. I was more than impressed.
This lady has two dogs that are the light of her life. One of the dogs, Annie, was a blue heeler that had reached 105 in human years. Since 2018, Cheryl had ordered dog food from Chewy. Over the past few years, Annie required medication which she also bought from Chewy. She always experienced rapid delivery, correct orders, ease of purchase. She got good customer service.
Recently Annie passed on. This was a challenging time: Annie was a member of the family, and the remaining pup was lost without her.
Cheryl called to cancel Annie’s medicine and part of the monthly dog food. The last order had already been mailed, but Chewy refunded her money and told her to donate the product to the local animal shelter. That’s very nice, in itself.
What happened next comes under the heading of “great customer experience.”
Cheryl received a flower arrangement from Chewy. The people at Chewy chose a local florist (who happens to be one of our clients) to deliver the flowers. They included a genuinely nice note recognizing the grief pet owners feel when they lose one. When you think about how many pets must pass on monthly whose owners buy from Chewy, this becomes even more extraordinary. Cheryl’s comment, “They have a customer for life!”
How can WE raise our customers’ experience to new levels? What do we do now? What can we do? This would be a great topic for a staff meeting. Creating an extraordinary customer experience requires the participation of everyone in our stations. I’d enjoy hearing your ideas. My email is [email protected].
Creating an extraordinary customer experience will create customers for life.
Happy Servicing and Happy Selling!
Pat Bryson is the CEO of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with sales managers and salespeople to raise revenue. She is the author of two books, “A Road Map to Success in High-Dollar Broadcast Sales” and “Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change” available on her website. Read Pat’s Radio Ink archives here.
