Customer Service vs. Customer Experience | Part One

When I graduated from college, I went to work for Nordstrom as a Special Event Planner.  Part of my training included the legendary customer service for which Nordstrom is known and eventually became a part of my DNA and branding to this day.

As my experience and business evolved, I noticed that there was a deeper aspect to "customer service".  Everyone thinks they know what customer service is.  It's typically seen as giving the customer what they want. Maybe even "exceeding expectations".  But what does"exceeding expectations" really mean? For example, it is nice and it is "exceeding expectations" to contract with a client for a 100 person reception and on the day of the event, have complimentary champagne and strawberries sent to their hotel room.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But the customer experience goes much further and deeper than that and if a business is to evolve, it must constantly be aware of the difference- the nuances- between simply "customer service" and the "customer experience".

The customer experience is simply this: it requires us as the service provider to anticipate what the customer will need even before they do and then create it for them in the form of an experience.

Over the course of the next month or so, we will be continuing this topic and taking a look at the various ways one can pay attention to the customer experience as a way to not just stay in business and excel, but a way to build your brand, make it stronger and through the customer experience, turn your customers into walking advertisements (read in between the lines here: at no cost) for you.

Before we can get to the "experience" "out there", we need to first go inward to look at that which is the foundation for providing the experience for our guests "out there".  Two great starting points include:

1.  Observing Current Customer Feedback and Experiences
2.   Creating a Collaborative Environment with your Staff

Observing Current Customer Experiences
Firstly, you must know who your customer actually is.  Don't assume you already know.  You may have a current customer service or marketing strategy in place that at one time was applicable but did not keep up with your changing customer and is now catering to an extinct customer base.  Go to whatever length you have to for customer feedback.  Sending surveys or asking for reviews online after a customer has gone is simply not enough.  Whether it's face-to-face research, providing a means by which for your clients to contact you throughout their experience with you (online feedback, phone calls, emails, etc) and listening intently to everything that is shared.  One of the most commonly overlooked ways of getting crucial feedback is to talk to your employees who are on the front lines and "in the trenches" with the customers.  Ask those employees what they see/hear/experience every day.  No one knows better than they do what goes on.

In your social media, you must engage and pay attention to what is being said.  Don't just post status updates that are strictly promotional in nature.  Ask what we call "Listening Posts"- that is, a question or statement to get your followers to engage with their thoughts so you can listen to what the demand is and who they are.  Don't presume to know what your customer wants.  Social media provides the perfect arena for interaction and building relationships.

Create a Collaborative Environment with Staff
Every employee of yours is a Brand Ambassador.  They have the power to build brand loyalty and create the customer experience.  Cultivate alternative thinking in your team.  Create a "collaborative culture" which will provide a steady incoming flow of ideas based on the real life current customer you have defined from item number 1 above.  Let your team know that anything that was not working in the past is simply what Walt Disney always called "successful failures".  That is, if an idea in the past (or currently) does not bring the desired result, learn from it.  True success means constantly trying something new.

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Check back soon for Customer Service vs. Customer Experience Part Two