ELISE’S NOTE

Reading this piece, I found myself nodding along more than once. We all know what it feels like when a business gets it right – that small moment of delight when everything just works. And yet, as the author points out, those moments are still surprisingly rare. At its core, the piece is a reminder that committing to being easy to do business with requires support and alignment across the entire operation. As you read through the summary, you might find yourself noticing where your own organisation could remove a little friction or add a bit more clarity and simplicity for customers. In an increasingly hectic world, the real competitive advantage may be becoming the business that gives people one less thing to worry about.

WHY READ THIS
Learn how focusing on a smoother, more positive customer experience can strengthen your business.

IN BRIEF
Many customer experiences are still far more frustrating than they need to be. Examples of common issues include banks insisting on in-person visits to complete a process even after passing security checks online, dentists asking you to fill in lengthy forms just to confirm that there has been no changes to your medical history, retail sites that are hard to navigate or have inaccurate stock levels, and car dealerships that aren’t prepared when customers arrive to pick up their vehicles.

KEY POINTS

• Successful companies are those that make customer experience a priority. The aim is to make all interactions with your company as easy as possible for all of your customers. This starts with design through to ordering, production and scheduling. This should not just be a priority for those in customer-facing departments.

• Businesses need to measure customer success. Data should include information such as the length of a customer cycle (how quickly or slowly a customer is processed), how long customers spend navigating stores or websites before they make a purchase, and how quickly a company responds to customers’ queries or issues. Customer surveys tend to be less helpful because you often only hear from the least satisfied and most satisfied customers.

• Listening to your customers is a key characteristic of successful firms. It is also important that employees are given the power to solve problems on their own and that employee morale is high. If productivity is good, then leaders will have more time to engage with both employees and customers when needed.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The benefits of getting the customer experience right are many - fewer complaints, happier customers and less staff churn. Leaders can start by asking whether their website, product information, and in-person experience are easy to navigate and designed for customer flow. The goal is clarity, simplicity, and helping customers get what they want when they want it.