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Check out a few of Brittany’s most recently published blogs and kickstart your superfan strategy!
Your Customer Experience Game Plan: Olympics Edition
We’re only three days away from the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I always enjoy watching the opening ceremony because it’s fascinating to see what each country chooses to put forward to represent itself. It’s a fun study in branding. What would you choose to represent your brand and share its story on a global scale? For example, Team Brazil plans to wear denim jackets adorned with the country’s native animals, while team USA is leaning into the “All-American” look by pairing Ralph Lauren jackets with casual jeans. Team Mongolia is already being praised as a winner for its traditional deels with beautifully embroidered details and pointed hats. It’s not just the branding that captivates my attention, though. The Olympics offers profound insights into what it takes to achieve greatness. What daily habits and mindset shifts separate the elite from the ordinary? I firmly believe that we can (and should!) find inspiration for our businesses from any industry. If a brand or entrepreneur is dominant at what they do, they’re probably doing a lot of things right… including things worth studying and emulating. So, let’s explore how the principles that drive Olympians to the pinnacle of success can inspire and elevate our approach to delivering exceptional customer experience (CX). Check out my five golden takeaways that will help you achieve medal-worthy CX.🏅 CX is the ultimate individual and team sport. One of my favorite Olympic sports is gymnastics because it’s both an individual and team sport. Each gymnast has to train and perform at an elite level, but it takes collective dominance to attain the coveted team gold medal. Similarly, CX is both an individual and company-wide pursuit. Every employee is in the experience department. In my Six Weeks to Superfans Masterclass, I introduce the ACE rule, which states: YOU, at any given time, are the Acting Chief of Experience (ACE) for your entire company. When you ACE the interaction (or routine 😉), customers will remember the experience. However, customer centricity isn’t something that can just be left to a few all-stars—it’s got to be instilled, enabled, and executed at each level of the organization. When the entire company rallies around the ACE rule, you will create world-class CX. Go all in on what you do best. Olympians are quite literally the best in the world at what they do. Usually, they aren’t just known for their sport, but a specific element of their sport that they particularly excel at. In my storytelling workshops, I ask entrepreneurs to identify what they’re the best at and why that matters to their prospects. The truth is, if you aren’t clear on this answer, your customers won’t be either. Any good marketer will tell you that when you try to attract everyone, you engage no one. And yet that’s what so many brands and businesspeople do: craft forgettable messages for mass consumption by large, general audiences. Go all in on what you do best. Don’t be a generalist who’s okay at a lot of things. Be the Olympian at your one thing, and you’ll attract the ideal customers for your business (and the right players for your team!). Customer experience is a daily discipline. Olympic athletes dedicate their lives to their sport – usually without much money or notoriety. While many fans may learn of the Olympians’ names and backstories during the competitions or at the medal ceremonies, these athletes have been training and competing for their ticket to Paris for years. Similarly, world-class customer experience is not just the flashy gestures that happen on stage in front of the customer. Creating superfans is something you’ve got to make a daily practice if you want to see results. As Christopher McCormick said, “A lot of people have fancy things to say about customer service, but it’s just a day-in, day-out, ongoing, never-ending, persevering, compassionate kind of activity.” Repetition is critical for amazing customer experience. The more systems and processes you create to ensure predictably positive outcomes for your customers, the better your reputation will be. Don’t leave the opportunity to “wow” a customer to chance; figure out how to make “wow” the standard, and then make it as easy as possible to replicate and iterate. Traditions can boost loyalty. Part of why the Olympics is so special is because it’s a tradition that dates back 3,000 years! Many historians believe the first games were held in 776 BC in Ancient Greece. Interestingly, they occurred every four years because time was counted in “Olympiads” (the term for a four-year interval) rather than years. In 1896, the “modern era” of the Olympics started. One company that is built around tradition is Rhea Lana’s. Rhea Lana’s is a semi-annual children’s consignment event. They sell used children’s clothing, but it’s not your average store like a Once Upon A Child. Franchise owners create highly anticipated events for their communities that act as much like biannual reunions as they do shopping trips. They work tirelessly throughout the year to engage with consignors, collect inventory, and set up shop in a rented warehouse space. Shoppers and consignors count down the days until they reconnect with each other and buy new pieces of clothing for the upcoming season. You may not be able to model your entire business around tradition, but I challenge you to think of one tactic you can implement to drum up excitement, gather your community, and stay top-of-mind with your customers. For example: Such traditions and shared memories help your customers feel included in your success and can boost retention and loyalty. Team morale helps you win. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Olympics is the power of team morale. Watching an entire nation come together to cheer for its athletes and celebrate their achievements showcases the strength of unity and shared purpose. The Olympics unites the world, celebrating diversity while highlighting our shared humanity. In business, fostering a sense of belonging and enthusiasm among employees can lead to remarkable outcomes. Are your
Want to Improve Your Customer Experience? Act Like A Shark!
Let’s add some bite to your CX In case you haven’t heard, it’s Shark Week!🦈 The annual phenomenon was first introduced by Discovery Channel in 1988 (long before I had cable TV) and has, of course, become a cultural juggernaut in the decades since. There are lots of CX-adjacent lessons we could dive into (ha, ha) around the fascinating and successful history of Shark Week. We could discuss the importance of consistency (reliability builds trust!), storytelling (start with your story!), or even innovation (the Internet! Cell phones! Social media! It’s definitely not 1988 anymore). We could talk about the importance of anticipation (hype-building for months!) or engagement (Shark superfans? Yes, please!) Those are all alluring, indeed. But instead, this week, I’m writing about the sharks themselves. After all, it’s Shark Week, not Shark Week Week. Learning about sharks and CX at the same time? Talk about a win-win! And, as it turns out, embracing some shark-like characteristics may be exactly what you need to make your CX truly fin-tastic. Here are the top five: 1. Adaptability Because I have two young sons, I have several books about sharks and know there are more than 500 species of sharks in the oceans currently. And, because I’ve watched the shark 4D movie at the Nashville Zoo at least a zillion times, I know that one of those species — the epaulette shark — can walk on land. Yes, it’s as terrifying as it sounds. The shark has adapted to low tide conditions by using its fins as rudimentary legs, just as other shark species have adapted in crazy ways to survive in various aquatic environments. “Adapt or die” is applicable in many places in life, and CX is no exception. What was good enough three years ago won’t cut it today, and what’s good enough today won’t be good enough in three years. And what works in one location may not work quite as well in others. Sharks have thrived for hundreds of millions of years by adapting to changing conditions. Do the same, always keeping your customers at the center of your attention, and you’ll thrive, too.TL;dr: be like sharks, not dinosaurs! 2. Sharp Senses Sharks possess a superpower called “electroreception,” which is the ability to perceive natural electrical stimuli. It’s a bit like an underwater “Spidey sense” that allows them to detect the slightest movements and changes in their surroundings. It’s great for hunting and a great model for businesses to emulate. How perceptive are you to your customers’ nonverbal cues? Paying attention to customer feedback goes way beyond reading what customers write on surveys or taking their one-word responses at face value. A fully-developed system of managing customer feedback tracks ~vibes~, too. Utilize data analytics and real-world conversations to glean deeper insights into customer needs, preferences, and pain points. Combining high-tech and high-touch mechanisms gives you a more complete picture and will allow you to make better decisions than either method alone. 3. Persistence Sharks are known for their relentless nature. They never give up until they catch their prey. They demonstrate extraordinary perseverance, often traveling great distances and enduring challenging conditions in pursuit of a meal. How determined are you when it comes to enhancing customer experience? Relentlessly pursue excellence by constantly seeking ways to improve and innovate your products and your services. And, more importantly, focus on the experiences those products and services are wrapped in. Don’t settle for good enough; strive for greatness by regularly refining your processes, products, and services. Keep pushing forward, and your persistence will pay off in customer loyalty and satisfaction. 4. Speed and Agility The mako shark can swim at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. I assume it gets its name from, “I’m going to mak-o any fish I want my lunch today.” (It does not, surprisingly.) How quickly can your business respond to customer needs? Speed and agility are crucial for meeting and exceeding customer expectations, as my friend Jay Baer talks about in his brilliant (and quick!) read, The Time To Win. Implement efficient communication channels, such as live chat and social media, and empower your team to make quick decisions that leadership will stand by. Whether an employee is in a call center or behind a register, they should be able to give real-time advice and support. By being responsive and agile, you will enhance overall satisfaction and experience for your customers and your employees. 5. Fearlessness Sharks have earned a reputation as fearless predators — and not just the TV venture capital ones, although I know a bit about those, too. Sharks aren’t afraid to explore new territories in search of prey. Businesses can learn from this by being fearless in their approach to innovation… both as it relates to CX, and more generally. Don’t be afraid to try new things, take calculated risks, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in customer experience. For your business, it might mean being fearless in experimenting with AI (with guardrails!) or fearless in launching new limited-time products. Embrace your inner shark and try something new ~fearlessly~ this week. And for anyone asking, “Wait, didn’t you tell us a few weeks ago that cicadas could teach us about CX?” Yes. Yes, I did. It turns out that lots of things in nature are rooting for a more customer-centric world. But my money’s on sharks if these two ever go head to head. 🙂
Eliminate Inconveniences For Your Customers With These 5 Tips
When it comes to creating an exceptional customer experience, businesses often focus on the big gestures – impressive loyalty programs, flashy gifts, and over-the-top service at one or two big moments. While these things are important, there’s an often overlooked component that can make a massive difference. Now more than ever, it’s critical to eliminate inconveniences for your customers. Have you ever chosen one business over another simply because the first place allowed you to make an online appointment, and the other required a phone call? I know I have. More times than I can count. And, these days, if a site isn’t mobile optimized for me to complete a task in three screens or less, there’s a good chance I’m out. If I’m trying a new product, I’m likely ordering from Amazon because I know the return process is beyond simple. I don’t need a box or a label, and I’ll get my money back as soon as that barcode is scanned at UPS. Printing return slips, taping up boxes, or maybe even (gasp!) paying for returns? Ain’t nobody got time for that. According to Klarna, 62% of shoppers won’t buy from a retailer that doesn’t offer free returns. Moreover, 84% of shoppers won’t buy from the same retailer again after a poor returns experience If you can make your customers think, “Wow, that was really easy!”, you’ll be well on your way to retaining them, and eventually turning them into superfans. On the other hand, unintentionally creating frustrating moments for your customers could be seriously eating at your bottom line. Customers decide that finding a different solution would be faster — or less frustrating — than dealing with your subpar process again. My Inconvenient Experience As A Customer Last month, I had a full week at home without any traveling for keynotes, which is pretty rare. I had the week marked on my calendar to knock out my annual medical check-ups. And, because I recently turned 40, a new annual exam (mammogram) was on the list. A medical hat trick, if you will. Because all three appointments were with the same medical group — and all of them scheduled months in advance — I expected the pre-visit experience to be pretty seamless. Nope! Receiving the text and email reminders for each visit in triplicate reminded me of those old-school carbon copy forms. It was annoying, but I thought, “Okay, I get it. It’s three visits. Once I knock out all the medical history stuff for the first visit, it will auto-populate for the next two.” Wrong again! I spent nearly 25 minutes filling out patient history forms in an online records portal. Why? Because the questionnaire for all three appointments WAS IDENTICAL! As I answered the background questions for the first appointment I thought, “This is annoying. I’ve been going to the same doctor for years. My history hasn’t changed.” But, I slogged through page after page of questions. A few minutes later, when I clicked into the second appointment page, I found the EXACT SAME series of questions waiting for me. And then again a third time! Isn’t there a holistic view of my medical records shared among my doctors? Wouldn’t that be the benefit of choosing three providers in the same hospital system? 🤔 Am I responsible for retaining and relaying all of the medical jargon from doctor A to doctor B? Not only is this a frustrating experience, but it makes me question the medical system’s competence in other areas. If they can’t even get the intake forms right, can they be trusted with things like bloodwork and medical tests? Something as (seemingly!) simple as intake forms tainted my experience and made me second-guess every other part of the organization. And if you’re not careful, the same thing could happen in your business. When you eliminate inconveniences along your customer journey, it will boost your retention and reputation. So, how do you do it? Eliminate Inconveniences For Your Customers There are countless touchpoints in any customer journey, so identifying areas of improvement across the board can feel overwhelming. Here are five quick things to audit to reduce friction and eliminate inconveniences for your customers: Speed up your sign-up process Every quarter, audit your onboarding or check-out process for customers. How many steps does it take? How many minutes? Is there anything you can eliminate to cut down on time by 30 seconds, or ask 2 fewer questions? Every click counts. Pro tip: offering the “sign up with your Google account” option will instantly reduce effort for your customers. Update your contact information There’s nothing worse than showing up to a business that says it’s open on Google, only to find that no one is there. Talk about wasting your customers’ time! Ensure your contact details are consistently displayed across all platforms so that you aren’t frustrating your prospects and customers with inaccurate listings. Set a reminder in your calendar to audit this information at least quarterly on your site, your socials, and search engines. Over-communicate Be super clear about your timelines, processes, and fees upfront so that prospects know what to expect before they decide to work with you. When your customers are prepared for a longer turnaround time or added charges, they will feel less blindsided. Audit your follow-up strategy Are you constantly reaching out to customers to try to upsell them or upgrade their accounts? When are you asking for feedback, and how many times are you asking? If these touchpoints are not timed properly (or if you’re reaching out every other day!), you’re going to annoy your customers real quick. Ensure they’ve had enough time to use your product or service before asking them to make another purchase or leave a review. Be flexible Your customers want to know that they matter as much to you as you do to them. One of the most infuriating sentences to hear from a customer service associate is “That’s our company policy, and there’s
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