By Kristen Hayer
I’m writing this on the plane bound for my first onsite engagement since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ll admit, I’ve been more excited than nervous about this trip. I love visiting customers and traveling to new places, and I’ve really been missing this part of my job.
That said, I’ve spent a lot of time planning all of the details of this trip to make sure that I’m being as safe as possible for our customers, our families and myself. I’ve thought about ways to make the flight as safe as it can be, chosen to drive a rental car instead of using a rideshare, and brought cleaning supplies to touch up the hotel room. Basically, I’ve thought through every step of the journey, every contingency, every weak link. I’ve created an experience of maximum safety.
That got me thinking about customer experiences. If those of us in customer success took the same detailed approach to creating exceptional experiences as I just took to making this trip safe, our programs would be unbeatable. How can you start to think this way about your customer journey? Here are some ideas:
Ask About the Experience – It’s easy to get complacent about asking for feedback, and sometimes we start to rely too heavily on survey results. There is nothing that can replace getting detailed feedback directly from customers. Companies who do this well go far beyond the surface level “How was your experience with our product (or team, or service)?” question. They ask detailed questions that help them uncover how they can improve. Questions that go deeper like, “If there was one thing you could change about our partnership, what would it be?” or “When you talk about our company’s work, what is the first thing you mention?” help to uncover strengths and weaknesses in your current experience.
Think Between the Milestones – While it is important to nail the major milestones in your customer journey, it is also important that all of the little touchpoints support the experience you’re trying to create. You can conduct the best business review of your life, but if your follow up is weak or the executive who got excited about your new solution can’t find information about it on your website, it doesn’t matter how good the meeting was. Every little detail matters. Every weak point in your journey is a potential point of failure as you move toward renewal and growth.
Continually Test and Improve – Your journey will never be perfect because customers are always changing. However, by constantly repeating the first two steps in this article, you’ll be constantly moving toward an optimal experience for your customers. This takes time and a commitment to continual improvement across your program. It also requires testing different approaches to different touchpoints to try and land on the ones that create the best experience. It can be daunting to think about adding this level of detail to your program, but you can approach it incrementally and still see good results.
I’m confident that I’m doing everything possible to keep everyone around me safe during this trip. It should be a great experience. I believe this level of detailed planning can also help you create an exceptional experience for your customers. Stay safe out there!