The Hidden Power of Your Customers: Four Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

UNCOVER THE BEST EXPERIENCE

Your customers are comparing experiences as they deal with top-notch customer-focused organizations. It is important to determine how your organization's customer experience stacks up against those other experiences your customers are having on both the business and the consumer sides. The following three steps will help you begin to plan the best experience for your customers:

Step 1: Look to your customers. By this, I mean find out what your customers expect from you and from other companies. What do they consider to be great customer service? What sets one experience apart from another in their minds? If you don't know the answers to these questions, ask! Your customers will tell you which companies they believe provide stellar (and not-so-stellar) customer experiences.

Step 2: Look in the mirror. Do detective work within your organization. What does it feel like to be your customer? Either do some “mystery shopping” or bring someone in who can do it for you with an unbiased perspective. Start with these questions:

• What is your organization's customer experience? Will it meet or exceed customer expectations?
• What happens when you call your customer service department?
• Where does the phone number listed in your marketing campaign really connect to?
• Do your Web sites direct customers to the right places?
• Are your social media activities creating an experience that is consistent with the rest of your brand?

Step 3: Look at competitors from your customer's ...