The last word for leaders

How do organisations such as Disney, Harley-Davidson and Amazon continually score highest in the world for excellent customer experiences and sales? How do Irish companies such as the Credit Union, Primark and Specsavers achieve similar accolades? It starts at the top. The common denominator is that their leaders know customer experience is the new battleground, and it’s a top priority for them. I have no doubt that this applies to B2B companies too. Here are my last words as a message to business leaders.

1 Set a vision for your business that puts customer experience at the heart of all decision-making. Work with your teams to agree ‘what good looks like’ at every touchpoint in your customer’s journey.

2 Recognise that your people have the biggest part to play in delivering this. Hire people that share this as a value. Take time to communicate your expectations to everyone. Train and retrain on the skills.

3 Be a role-model for great customer service yourself.

4 Look to overcome whatever obstacles are preventing great customer experiences.

5 To ensure consistency 24/7, monitor and take corrective actions. I’m firmly convinced that when customers get a great experience, they’re more likely to buy from you today, come back in the future and recommend you to a friend. The numbers shown in Module 1 also illustrate the impact on your sales. The ideas here do not have to cost much money. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that excellent customer experience is just for the top hotels or companies with deep pockets. It’s a proven enabler of success for businesses across all industries and all sizes. Excellence is a relative term, so if your profile is to be 2-,3,4or 5-star, be the best you can be in your space.