These days, it seems everyone wants to be known for the customer experience they deliver; which makes sense, right? It is, after all, quickly becoming a significant brand differentiator and a serious driver of business growth. And we’re not talking small potatoes growth here; according to Gartner’s Customer Experience Innovation 2017 survey, 58% of organizations reported measurable ROI as a result of customer experience projects, with 27% reporting that they expect to see ROI in the near future. That’s exciting stuff!
But there’s a problem too, and it’s a pretty big one. With organizations focusing on one-off customer experience “projects” or “initiatives,” they’re likely going to miss a significant, long-term critical success factor: consistency.
Delivering a top-notch experience once or twice is easy; anyone can surprise and delight a customer every now and again. But the real champions of customer experience, the ones who are truly knocking it out of the park? They’re the ones who have not only managed to make that top-notch experience an expectation, they’ve built their entire business around it.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you need to tear everything down and start over. But it does mean that if you want to deliver a consistently great experience to your customers, you have to build systems and processes to support it.
Wow, how boring! Systems and processes for surprise and delight? Can’t I just, you know, send them birthday gifts or something?
Sure, you can. And it might even work – you just might delight your customers and improve their experience. But if you want to have a significant, widespread impact on the experience your customers are having with your business, you need to weave that into everything your company does. So where do you start?
Step 1 – Your Values
The first step is the most important: clearly defining your core values. Your customer experience should be built off of those values, they should serve as your foundation, so it’s important to start there.
Once armed with your values, you can begin incorporating them into everything you do. It’s not enough to simply write them down, the entire team—starting with leadership—must be fully bought-in and embodying those values daily.
Defining your values is fairly simple: What do you stand for? If you could be known for nothing else as a business, what would you choose?
If you’ve never sat down and defined the core values that drive your business, do so! If you have, but perhaps haven’t felt as excited by or connected to those values as you once did, consider giving them a refresh. Businesses change, and it’s important to make sure your company’s values are aligned with your vision.
Step 2 – Incent, Inspire, Empower™
Once your values are in place, and you’re feeling energized by them, it’s time to get team members connected and fully bought in. That’s where Incent, Inspire, Empower™ comes in.
Ruby Receptionist’s method for aligning employees with our mission, Incent, Inspire, Empower™ is a simple way for any business—regardless of size or industry—to engage their employees in a meaningful way.
Start by incenting the behavior you want to encourage. Focus on actions that tie directly back to your core values; the goal is to keep the team’s attention on those at all times, so make the connection clear. Transparency is key!
These incentives don’t have to come at a huge cost, either. Cash prizes are typically well-liked, but so are days off, lunches with the boss, and recognition. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
Next, inspire your team by sharing stories publicly. Employees love hearing the results of their work and this is a great way to bring it home for them. That means you want to do more than simply share stories of a job well done (though those are great too); you specifically want to share stories that allow you to highlight the results of a team member’s actions.
Say, for instance, that an employee received a handwritten thank you card directly from a customer acknowledging them for going above and beyond. Rather than simply sharing how they went above and beyond, highlight the impact on the customer, and the specific results of their good work. In other words, focus on outcomes. We made a customer so happy that they couldn’t help but write us a thank you note – and it’s all thanks to your dedication to our core values!
Lastly, empower team members to do just that—go above and beyond—in an effort to deliver an exceptional customer experience. This can take shape in any number of forms, depending on what works best for your business. You may allow staff to give out ‘freebies’ to customers anytime, or even allow them to purchase gifts for customers. However you choose to approach it, put the power to connect directly into your team’s hands. That’s the beauty of a culture of empowerment: it motivates employees while helping them feel more connected to your vision. Win-win!
Step 3 – A Roadmap for Employee Success
As you build out systems for improved engagement, don’t forget to systematize another critical success factor: clear expectations for employees. Employees can’t feel engaged, connected, and motivated without a clear definition of success, and that needs to come from leadership. Don’t leave your team hanging!
Make organizational expectations transparent with another tool from the Ruby toolkit; a clearly defined roadmap for success that all employees can look to. Make everyone’s goals are simple and attainable by aligning your roadmap directly to your core values. It may seem like a small or unnecessary gesture, but something as simple as the Ruby Service Pyramid—which allows all employees to engage in our mission, regardless of department, tenure, or position—can be monumental when it comes to driving meaning and purpose for all team members.
I like to remind people to treat their employees the way they want their customers to be treated, and a roadmap for success is a great example. You wouldn’t deliver a product or service to customers without instructions to help them be successful, so make sure you’re doing the same for your employees. They’ll feel happier and more engaged, and as a result, they’ll deliver an even better customer experience. It’s a true win-win!
Whatever you do, don’t drag your feet when it comes to rolling out a company culture focused on customer experience. Consumers shop for experiences, they make purchasing decisions based on how they feel, and if you’re not delivering…they’ll find someone who will.