OpenMarket – August 18, 2018
Great customer experience doesn’t have to be memorable.
Nobody sets out to make a forgettable company.
The most successful businesses tend to be the most memorable in their sectors – and that’s no coincidence.
But not every interaction your customer has with you is going to be memorable. Nor should it be.
The wrong kind of memorable
We all know the stories of when customer experience goes horribly wrong.
Like when Dr David Dao was forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight in 2017 after refusing to give up his seat.
Not only will that be the most memorable flight of his life, it was memorable for people all over the world that heard the story.
But bad customer experiences aren’t always the result of customer disregard. They’re often the result of trying so hard you get in the customer’s way.
For instance, you want them to know that you care about them, so you message them frequently, keeping them up to date with offers. You don’t know which medium they prefer, so you send an email. And an SMS. And then you follow up with a voice interaction.
Not only are you wasting valuable resources, you’re overloading your customer. You might’ve aimed for ‘attentive and committed’ but you landed on ‘spammy’.
And there’s a very good reason for why this happens. Both in the extreme and minor cases.
A lack of empathy.
Brilliantly forgettable
It’s a noble goal to want to deliver an excellent customer experience every time, but very often, the ‘best experience’ isn’t about remembering your brand.
Sometimes people just want to get stuff done.
- When you order a delivery, you just want to know when it’s going to reach you.
- When you go to the airport, you just want a text to let you know which gate you’re boarding at.
- When you’re planning a trip to a restaurant, you don’t want to have to jump through hoops to confirm you’ll be there.
These moments are the silent heroes of your overall customer experience. They keep customers moving and business flowing.
They don’t need to be showy or loud or headline-grabbing. They just need to be smart, empathetic and helpful.
By being the company that your customer ‘doesn’t have to think about’ you become the company your customer can’t live without.
Isn’t that how you want to be remembered?
Want to learn more about how to boost your empathy? Check out The Empathetic Interaction eBook.