20. CX Made Simple
Sunny. 85 degrees. Warm breeze.
I recently visited an Air Force Academy classmate in Key West and tasted a slice of heaven.
As part of our girls’ weekend, we had our nails done.
Try as I might, it’s hard to turn off my brain that observes processes and people.
So, it was instructive to watch the nail technicians handle prospective customers walking in the door.
“We’d love to help and are fully booked. Please take a card and call our offsite scheduler to find a time that works best for you.”
After the 3rd customer left, one technician relayed they use this approach to ensure they focus on the customer in front of them - instead of stopping services, accessing the computer, scheduling, etc.
It’s a win – win. Both customers feel valued.
Their strategy was tested when a woman dashed in, “I need my nail fixed now.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, we’re booked but if you take a card….”
The irate woman cried, “It’s an emergency. I will pay for everyone here for my nails to be done first.”
Well, other than having an actual nail embedded in your nail, it’s hard for me to call this an emergency, but we weren’t going to pass up the offer.
Only when the technicians had agreement from initial customers did they shift gears. And their approach doesn’t just apply to the nail salon.
Here are 3 simple CX strategies as your business scales and grows.
1. Focus on the customer in front of you – It’s tempting to be in constant business development mode. The best way to hone products and services is to deliver to your current client base and deliver well. A recent Master of Scale episode on the origins of Air BnB captures this well.
2. Make it easy to engage – Many businesses think people know what you do and how to work with you. They don’t. People are busy. Give them a step-by-step process for how to engage.
3. Standardize your approach– First create processes and then train your workforce to ensure a consistent experience. Each technician gave the same spiel. In fact, they would decide before the prospective customer entered who would engage. When they did, it was identical.
So, what does it look like for your business?
How do you approach customer experience?
Which strategy is the hardest to implement??
What is one thing you can do today to drive greater clarity?
I help small technology and professional services businesses scale and grow.
This means leaders work ON the business instead of IN the business. Whether it's a 10-year vision, 3-year strategy, or 90-day action plan - we partner to achieve your goals. If you want to break through to the next level in your business, drop me a message, and we'll arrange a 15-min call to see if I can help.
To your success
~Susan
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