
Be an enemy of the status quo.
Get this, 44% of customers say the majority of their customer experiences are bland.
You may have heard of the Pareto Principle, which says that in most situations roughly 80% of effects come from only 20% of the causes.
Back in the 1790s, Vilfredo Pareto observed this nonlinear pattern in Italy, he found that 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the people. More recently, Joseph Moses Juran, one of the fathers of the quality movement, called the insight the “Pareto Principle” and applied it beyond economics.
In fact Juran wrote about it in The Quality Control Handbook, he called it “The Law of the Vital Few.” His observation was that you could massively improve the quality of a product/service by resolving a ‘tiny fraction’ of the problems. His first edition of the book attracted the attention of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers, which invited him to Japan. Until then, Japan had a reputation for producing low-cost, low-quality goods. By adopting the quality processes, the phrase “Made in Japan” gained a totally new meaning. He added value. And gradually, the quality revolution led to Japan’s rise as a global economic power.
So how do we apply this to our own organisations? Simply by focusing our energies on the ‘tiny fraction’ of our own problems.
How do we apply this to customer experiences…
Princeton Universities Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman believes people perceive their experiences largely based on what happens between the peak level of pain or pleasure (e.g. the moment of truth) and the end of an experience.
As a result, organisations can drastically improve their customer experiences by focusing on the crucial touch points, so stand in your own queues, ring your office, identify your barriers to giving a great experience.
If you want to get people talking about you and ultimately telling all their friends you need to be constantly looking for ways to add that little bit extra. It doesn’t have to be lavish, just that extra inch. Make yours and your team’s personality your point of differentiation. Personalise your messages by sharing your story, your values, or something about your team.
It’s certainly the personal touches that can make an average encounter into a truly memorable one. People want to be made to feel at home and that alone can help convert a one-time buyer into a loyal repeat customer.
If you are looking at ways that can help drive revenue and profit, feel free to give us a call for a casual chat on 1300 235 378.