CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

I refer to anything associated with shaping positive experiences for our customers as the ‘human to human business’. It doesn’t matter how much we cling to technology, bots, or mobiles most people still want to deal with people at some stage of ‘the experience’.

This is often forgotten when automation and digital solutions are driven through organisations in the name of cost savings. Don’t get me wrong, striving for efficiency is not bad but ‘customer obsessed’ companies do it so well that it is either a mix of automation and a ‘real’ person or they make the automation so personalised you actually ‘feel’ (and yes it is a feeling) that you are experiencing a ‘human intervention’. As an example, My Food Bag does this very well. When you phone their 0800 number you are greeted by Nadia’s bubbly voice talking you through the phone options. All their texts and communications have this same positive tone so that you ‘believe’ you are almost talking to the Cooking Queen herself.

However, what you are actually experiencing is their brand. Their brand has been assimilated into every touch point – that healthy dose of Kiwi goodness is present at each tap, slide or click. Companies often forget this when pursuing improved productivity – and we unfortunately default to customer mapping with a Siri or Alexa-like mentality. Instead let your customer experiences, including those first moments and impressions, be driven by who you are as a company, your brand values and personality so they engage…. forever to return!