Let the Wookiee Win! – A Strategy for Designing Your Customer Experience
by Frank Schneider, Regional Vice President – Sales, Eastern US
Now hear me out. I realize comparing your customer to an eight foot shag carpet could alarm you on the surface, but who wouldn’t want Chewbacca as a customer, let alone a friend?
- Chewbacca is loyal, like your customers, who are 24% more likely to seek you out for two or more years if you provide them with a great customer experience.
- Chewbacca is trustworthy and like your customers will share his good experiences with others. Your customers will do this 87% of the time.
- Chewbacca gets things done. In the human world, this translates into shopping and your customers will purchase more from a company that provides them with a superior customer experiences 52% of the time.
Sure all these stats might be interesting and my Chewbacca analogy entertaining, but I’m not trying to speak Wookiee. So how does that translate for you?
In plain English, this means that instead of servicing your customers in the way you think they want to be helped, you must service them in the way your customer wants to be helped. It’s interesting to note that most companies see customer experience as a top priority, but many fail to understand that service options are not one size fits all. Customers want options and many of them are clamoring for self-service tools that provide them with access to information anytime, anyplace. In fact, according to Forrester, almost ¾ of your customers will attempt some form of web-based self-service as the first method to resolve their issue.
Are your self-service tools meeting this preference? Here’s how to assess if you are:
- Provide anytime, anyplace service: Customers want access to help in less than 12 parsecs. (Get too nerdy there for you? Sorry.) As we’ve previously posted on our blog, they want help as close to immediately as possible. So give it to them! Make sure you have an online service tool available 24/7! Customers want to ask questions whenever and however they want and find the right answer. If they don’t get it from you, they may get it from somewhere else.
- Go beyond the basics. FAQs and search are not cutting it in today’s galaxy. Your customers want the C-3PO-like experience. Fluent in six million forms of communication? Intuitively understand user intent? Know the customer and his/her preferences? All those boxes checked for Luke’s trusted assistant…and your self-service tool should be able to do the same. Fortunately, intelligent virtual assistants leverage 21st century technology tapping into your knowledgebase and delivering fast, accurate information to your customer in any language – yes, even Wookiee.
- Design for customers on the go. Whether in the aisles of Target buying a router, on the lot at a car dealership, or having a beverage at a tavern in Tatooine, your customers are mobile and want access to answers that will accommodate their lifestyle. They want to be able to buy the supported wireless modem for their ISP, transfer the down payment for that car, and check-in with their friends 500 miles away as they are sipping on a cold beverage. And this they want in real time without ever speaking to another human being.
The world has evolved, but what once was science fiction in the mind of George Lucas, has become a sharp reality for businesses around the world. Solutions that put the power of customer experience in the capable hands of the customer will drive wins for consumers and the enterprise. So as you are thinking about your customer experience strategy, start with this one question – “How will you let the Wookiee win?”
