I was talking to a friend the other day. He purchased an expensive new car just eight months ago. Unfortunately, the car turned out to be a “lemon,” and he has taken it back to the dealer multiple times for various problems. The car has spent more time at the repair center than in his garage. If it were me, I’d ask the dealer to replace the car. Apparently, he has more patience than I do and was giving the dealer another chance to fix the car. Regardless, it made me think that what looks good on the outside may not be so good on the inside.
Unfortunately, there are businesses that fall into the same category as my friend’s automobile. They look good on the outside, with amazing marketing and advertising, a beautiful website, a beautiful building, etc., but when it comes to taking care of the customer, they fail.
This made me think further about how cars are maintained, and it’s not much different from how you would want to run your business. Consider these five ideas:
Reliability: First, you want to build a car that works. Assuming you have a good product, you want to create processes that are customer- and employee-friendly. The experience must, at a minimum, meet your customers’ expectations. That creates confidence and increases overall customer satisfaction.
Routine Maintenance: You want to keep your car properly maintained with routine maintenance. In the customer service world, we could consider this to be ongoing training that keeps your employees sharp with the latest tools and technology to help provide the best possible support and experience.
Alignment: We want to keep the car in alignment. A few years ago, I wrote about focusing on employees first. My weekly cartoon included the caption, If an employee’s experience isn’t at least as good as the customer’s, the customer’s experience can be shaky, and the entire company can suffer.
In other words, there needs to be alignment between the CX and the EX.
Feedback: When we take our car to a dealer or repair center, a mechanic hooks a computer up to the car to perform a “diagnostic check.” The computer can deliver feedback on many issues, from the electronics to how soon the brakes need to be replaced. In the business world, this is akin to the feedback your customers give you. You must have a system that collects feedback and gives you a chance to repair and maintain the experience so it continues to meet, if not exceed, your customer’s expectations.
Update: Most cars don’t last forever. At some point, you need to replace them. New cars offer an updated look in addition to updates under the hood, which could include more efficient engines, the latest technology, and more. Your business is the same. Product improvements, new technology, new processes, and more can give your customers a fresh experience.
Just like maintaining a car, fine-tuning your customer service and CX ensures your business runs smoothly, remains competitive, and gets your customers to say, I’ll be back!
Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.
Shep Hyken
Shepard Presentations, LLC.
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