Being in business, and also a consumer, I am still amazed at the extent some companies go to, in what I can only assume is an attempt, to push me away (and I'm sure other consumers) from wanting to do business with them.
You know what I mean... you ring up and go through the tedious IVR or menu driven system where you put in your selection for the service you need, input your account details, then listen to some God awful music on hold interspersed with a message saying "Your call is important to us. Please hold the line and one of our consultants will be with you shortly."
Can I can hear the groan now as you recall the last 45 minute wait dangling at the end of the telephone wondering if your call was so important why the hell haven't they spoken to me yet???
Then your message changes, "You are being transferred to a consultant, please have your account information ready." Woohoo! Sure enough the consultant comes onto the phone and the first thing they say is "Hi my name is (let's call them Ted), can I ask who I am speaking to?"
Now I seem to recall inputting this information earlier, so I'm now a little concerned. So I tell Ted my name wondering if this was a test, and then Ted asks me a range of tedious questions to confirm I am who I say I am. After passing the identification test, the next question is "How can I help you?"
Hmmm, I'm pretty sure this was one of the many questions I answered through the menu driven labyrinth at the start of my call which having successfully passed enabled me to talk to Ted. So why must I relay my needs all over again?
After a deep sigh, I explain my needs and Ted dutifully attempts to help me. Surprisingly, Ted seems to have no knowledge or awareness of previous calls I have made nor any insights about who I am and what my needs might be. So after being a customer for many, many years, I have had to navigate a cumbersome maze to get to speak to someone (that's Ted), and when I finally get there, I'm treated like a stranger... sob! They told me they cared, they said I was special... I feel so used.
I guess it seems a little petty that I should feel unloved as I'm sure the company is very busy and has much more important things to worry about, like their share price, performance to budget or how much market share they have.
But you see, as a customer none of those things are important to me. As selfish as it may seem my needs are what's important and I'm paying for them to be met. So I expect the companies I do business with to remember me. I expect them to value me, especially when I hand over my hard earned cash to them. I expect them to know what's important to me and empathise with me.
Simply, I expect them to care about me and want to help me. Every time we talk or interact is an opportunity for them to convince me what I great decision I made to be one of their customers.
So does your business have the customer as it's focus? Or is it more about financial metrics and internal goals? What should it be?
That's right - the customer.... Be the customer!
I'm sure that you have experienced similar frustrations as a customer and would not want one of your customers to experience those frustrations or feelings of unimportance. How does your business interface with your customers?
The best way to find out how your company is treating your customers is to spend some time in their shoes - you might be surprised by what you learn. And if your customers are happy and being looked after, the rest of your business metrics will quickly sort themselves out.
