Hooked On Customers: Habits of Legendary Customer-Centric Companies

Hooked On Customers: Habits of Legendary Customer-Centric Companies

Doing CX Right podcast show on Spotify with host Stacy Sherman
DoingCXRight-Podcast-on-Amazon-with-host-Stacy-Sherman.
Doing Customer Experience (CX) Right Podcast - Hosted by Stacy Sherman
Doing CX Right podcast show on iHeart Radio with host Stacy Sherman

What does it mean to be ‘hooked on customers?’ How does it propel businesses into action?

My featured podcast guest, Bob Thompson, author and CEO of Customer Think Corp, and I discuss the importance of being “hooked on customers” based on his best-selling book.  We also explore customer-centric businesses, examine the ways they execute their strategies, and provide actionable recommendations for you to outperform competitors.

Bob explains that “learning to let your actions do the talking can be revolutionary to a company that struggles to create enduring customer relationships. People who own, operate, manage, or otherwise lead a company always look for ways to improve productivity, beat the competition, and ensure long-term success. Talking is cheap. Putting words and ideas into action is the key to success in the business world.” (Kudos to brands transforming customer experiences mentioned: Trader Joes, Southwest Airlines and others.)

Legendary leading customer-centric businesses:

  • LISTEN to their customers’ values and feedback.
  • THINK about the implications of fact-based decisions on customers
  • EMPOWER employees with the freedom they need to please customers
  • CREATE new value for customers without being asked
  • DELIGHT customers by exceeding their expectations

There are no quick fixes.  Customer-centricity takes time, determination, and company-wide commitment.

It must be maintained and constantly pursued to ensure that it becomes part of the fabric of a business. You can have an altruistic company that’s profitable too. One doesn’t replace the other. (Learn more about Both/And Thinking instead of Either/Or mindset).

In the end, the results are well worth it. Hooked on Customers helps leaders not only survive in highly competitive, overcrowded markets but dominate them, creating a legacy of success and inspiration along the way.

Press Play To WATCH Interview:

About Bob Thompson ~”Hooked On Customers” 

Bob Thompson is CEO of CustomerThink Corp., an independent research and publishing firm focused on customer-centric business management, and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of CustomerThink.com, the world’s largest community dedicated to customer-centric business. Thompson is a popular international keynote speaker, blogger and author of Hooked On Customers: The Five Habits of Legendary Customer-Centric Companies (April 2014).

Learn more about Bob on his website.  Connect with him on LinkedIn + Twitter.

About Stacy Sherman: Founder of Doing CX Right®‬

An award-winning certified marketing and customer experience (CX) corporate executive, speaker, author, and podcaster, known for DoingCXRight®. She created a Heart & Science™ framework that accelerates customer loyalty, referrals, and revenue, fueled by engaged employees and customer service representatives. Stacy’s been in the trenches improving experiences as a brand differentiator for 20+ years, working at companies of all sizes and industries, like Liveops, Schindler elevator, Verizon, Martha Steward Craft, AT&T++.   Stacy is on a mission to help people DOING, not just TALKING about CX, so real human connections & happiness exist. Continue reading bio >here.

Experts Share Secrets on How To Delight Customers & Create Loyal Superfans

Experts Share Secrets on How To Delight Customers & Create Loyal Superfans

Showing customer appreciation is one of the best ways to increase brand loyalty and referrals. It sounds obvious yet, many people are not doing the basics right. Perhaps it is because there’s confusion on where to focus, which actions to take to delight customers, and what tools to use.

My wonderful friend, Eric Melchor, reached out to me and 9 other Customer Experience experts to gather secrets about how to delight customers and make them feel special.

Below is a summary (originally posted on Bonjoro website).

Pick your favorite tips and start implementing them, not just talking about customer appreciation.

Stacy Sherman, Vice President Marketing, Agent & Customer Experience, and DoingCXRight®‬ by night.  

Stacy Sherman ~ Doing Customer Experience Right..

3 Easy Ways To Delight Customers and Show You Care About Them

1. Send a thank you note.

“A personalized, handwritten note means a lot, especially in the high technology world we live in. Consider sending a postcard with a few sentences of gratitude. It requires only a few minutes of your time and low postage cost. One of my favorites is Postagram.

2. Pick up the phone, the old fashion way.

People know to call your customer service 800# when they have a problem. Yet, hearing from a company proactively to express words of thanks helps build trust and connections. Reminder: must be genuine and authentic as customers know the difference.

3.  Ask for feedback and close the loop.

Contacting customers and listening to their perspectives demonstrates that they matter. Infusing “voice of customer” (VoC) into your CX practice can actually be your game-changer IF you’re Doing CX Right®‬.

Learn more about Stacy at: DoingCXRight.com

 

Adrian Swinscoe, Author, Advisor and Aspirant Punk

 

Adrian Swinscoe

Do it with care

 

“I don’t think organizations thank their customers or their employees nearly enough.

That doesn’t mean that they are not thankful.

Too often, we get caught up in the doing and measuring of things that we forget to express our thanks and overlook the fact that human beings benefit too from acknowledgment, recognition, gratitude, respect, and love.

So be thankful for your customers and your employees.

Remember to tell them from time to time.

Do it with care and from your heart, whether by email, letter, video, gift, face-to-face, or even by carrier pigeon.

But don’t delegate it.

Don’t automate it

Do it yourself.

But above all else, do it.”

Learn more about Adrian at: adrianswinscoe.com

Listen to Adrian on my DoingCXRight®‬ podcast >HERE.

 

Ben Motteram, CX Thought Leader, Founding Principal of CXpert

 

Ben Motteram

Become a customer of theirs

 

“Thanking customers for choosing to do business with you is a practice I constantly recommend to my clients and one that I happily do with my own consultancy, CXpert. At the beginning of an engagement, when I’m advised that I have won a client’s business, I immediately thank them. I reinforce that by then including “Thank you for your business” at the bottom of my first invoice that is usually sent soon after.

When not in lockdown, I enjoy entertaining clients at sporting events and restaurants and as much as I can, I give back to my customers by becoming customers of theirs. In the past this has happened with energy companies, banks, and telecommunications companies. When it isn’t possible, I become a strong advocate for my customers’ businesses to family, friends, and associates. I genuinely want all of my customers to succeed.”

Learn more about Ben at: cxpert.com.au

 

Blake Morgan, CX Futurist, Keynote Speaker, Author

Blake Morgan

Personalization is key

 

“Thanking customers starts with understanding them and helping them feel valued and seen. What works for one company or even one group of customers at your company won’t work for everyone because every person values different things and has unique priorities. A personalized thank you email or card could be incredibly effective with some customers, while others prefer a discount or free product. You have to know your customers, build relationships, and understand their values and preferences.

But no matter how you deliver gratitude to your customers, personalization is key. Make each customer feel special instead of it seeming like thanking them is just checking a box. When you understand your customers and thank them personally, no matter how it’s done, you create valued and loyal customers and strong relationships.”

Learn more about Blake at: blakemichellemorgan.com

 

Gregorio Uglioni, CX Goal Keeper, Best-selling Author

 

Gregorio Uglioni

Snippets & thank you cards

 

“We are human beings and we often forget how important a THANK YOU is. Only 2 words which have a big impact on others.

Saying thank you is the easiest way to recognize that you appreciate somebody and it doesn’t cost a penny. In addition, it has a big positive effect on the receiver. While we are working we often forget that we are human beings, customers, family members etc… At home we often say “Thank You”. Why not doing the same in the office?

I started writing some thank you cards and you cannot imagine which feedback I am getting!!! I encourage you to try and you will find it out. My clients love using snippets because 1-1 emails can take up a lot of time. Snippets allow you to create a customized and relevant email with just a few clicks. “

Learn more about Gregorio at: cxgoalkeeper.com/aboutme

 

Jeff Sheehan, CX Consultant, Author of Customer Experience Management Field Manual

 

Jeff Sheehan

Moments of Truth

 

“Thanking our customers is a wonderfully powerful and simple act of kindness that has a great deal of positive impact on your customer’s experience. I would go so far as to call it a “moment of truth” because being recognized for their choosing the organization, transacting with the organization, and perhaps being a loyal, long-time customer with the organization all merit this small courtesy. However, it is also noticed when it is absent.

Here are a few ways we show our thanks to our customers:

Greeting customers with a warm welcome. We must acknowledge every customer we encounter with a greeting that acknowledges their presence and appreciates their coming to see/call/interact with us.

  • A fond farewell as they leave us. Offering a sincere and personalized version of “Have a great day, come and see us again” is an excellent peak-end point to give customers. It provides a point of connection with customers because it infers that they are valued today and future.
  • Celebrating with them. Suppose you helped a customer with their home purchase, wedding planning, going on their dream vacation, delivering their baby, buying their car or boat, or helping them achieve any other significant event. In that case, you have a unique opportunity to say thank you for being part of your customer’s journey. I received a hand-written card signed by all of the staff at the veterinary clinic where I had my 21-year-old cat euthanized; it was a significant event for my family and me. That was an unexpected act of compassion that won my loyalty for years.

These are many ways to express thanks to our customers, and most are simple, easy to do and make a powerful impact on people. So whether you are engaging customers over the telephone, face-to-face, or in correspondence, expressions of thanks are always welcome.”

Learn more about Jeff and his CX guide at: mybook.to/CXFieldManual

 

Ankesh Agarwal, Group Senior Manager – CX

 

Ankesh Agarwal

Nice gestures

 

“For us, it all starts from our founder’s vision “My dream is to create great moments for everyone, everyday”, which is a guiding principle for the leadership’s commitment, the management teams’ action plans, and trickles down to empowerment of the customer facing staff.

One of the examples of providing great moments comes from our entertainment business with multiple concepts. Our bowling concept had a huge rush especially during long weekends where customers had to wait for their turn, this feedback was played back by them to our staff.

We explored options and our gaming arena on the floor above seemed to be a good option to keep waiting customers engaged. We handed over free games vouchers for waiting customers. Not only did the team feel empowered from handing over the vouchers, the gesture was much appreciated by our customers.”

Learn more about Ankesh at: LinkedIn

 

Monique Richardson, Customer Service & Service Leadership Expert

 

Monique Richardson

High level personalization

 

“While delighting customers can look different for each industry or organization, as a Customer Service Speaker, Trainer and Coach, I focus on creating moments of delight prior to, during and after the learning engagement and at each touch point. If I had to sum it up one word, it would be high level personalization. The most common feedback from I receive from clients is in regard to the lengths I take to understand the unique needs of their business before I work with them in delivering any learning solutions. Over the years this has involved everything from me getting dressed in the team uniform and working shifts alongside the team, conducting interviews, washing cars and even giving blood to see what the experience is like for customers and the frontline. I will do anything and everything I can to understand the organization and the teams I am working with.

One of my favorite ways to delight prospective and current clients is to also get to know each of them on a personal level and know what is important to them both personally and professionally. It creating emotional connections and demonstrating care and empathy that builds long-term relationships. Whether it is by remembering the names of their children, favorite sports team, or sending a meaningful gift or a book I know they would love, in our fast-paced busy world, it is human connection and genuine interest in another person that can create the biggest and most memorable moments of delight.”

Learn more about Monique at: Moniquerichardson.com.au

 

Gustavo Imhof, Director

Gustavo Imhof

“We heard you”

 

Nothing says more “I appreciate you” than closing the loop with your customers. We’re all used to those surveys we get from brands after an interaction or on an annual basis, but how many of us can pinpoint that one time a brand reached out and said “We heard you”? Unfortunately, the answer is very few of us can name even one brand. There’s something incredibly powerful about going back to those customers who gave you ways to improve and going to them and tell them what you did about it.

It doesn’t cost you much (provided you actually listened, that is!) and while it should be common currency, it makes you stand out from the crowd and makes you memorable. After all, what do we, as humans, crave more than hearing “you matter”? In my book, that’s the most cost effective way of showing appreciation!

Learn more about Gustavo at: Cxahead.com

 

Nate Brown, Senior Director of CX at Arise, Co-Founder of CX Accelerator

 

Nate Brown

Help your customers learn something new

 

“As in any relationship, expressing our gratitude towards customers is an essential part of building loyalty. They are the hero of this story after all! We get to position ourselves as a grateful guide.

One way to do just that is using a platform called ‘Thnks‘. It used to be that sending things in the mail was such a massive hassle (especially with people working from home these days) but Thnks truly makes it easy. All that’s needed is the recipient’s email address. You will find several items here that are sure to be a wonderful surprise! Any customer will be blown away by a thoughtful and personalized gift.

Another great way to say thank you is to help your customer to learn something new! Are you reading an amazing book that is relevant to customers? SHARE with them the book and its amazing take-aways. Suddenly, you are growing smarter together, which is one of the galvanizing, loyalty-generating, forces in the world.”

Learn more about Nate at: Cxaccelerator.com

Want more actionable customer experience (CX) best practices?

Join my conversations on social media and get my newsletter (links below). There’s no cost, only valuable free content to help take your skills to the next level.

What It Takes To Keep Loyal Fans – CX Advice From A Rockstar

What It Takes To Keep Loyal Fans – CX Advice From A Rockstar

Doing CX Right podcast show on Spotify with host Stacy Sherman
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Doing Customer Experience (CX) Right Podcast - Hosted by Stacy Sherman
Doing CX Right podcast show on iHeart Radio with host Stacy Sherman

How do you turn customers into loyal fans? What are customer experience lessons that business leaders can benefit from the music industry?

My featured guest, James Dodkins, CX Author and Evangelist at Pegasystems, used to be an actual award-winning rockstar. He played guitar in a heavy metal band and released albums all over the world.

James shares strategies and tactical ways companies can create their own ‘Hyperfans’ who keep coming back to buy and tell others too.  Not only will you be entertained from this episode but also learn actionable best practices to keep your fans happy in 2022 and beyond.

Watch Stacy Sherman’s Interviews on Youtube

About James Dodkins: Turning Customers into Fans

James used to be an actual, real-life, legitimate, award-winning rockstar. He played guitar in a heavy metal band, released albums, and “tore up stages” all over the world, James is now the CX Evangelist at Pegasystams where he researches extreme fandoms to understand how companies can create their own ‘Hyperfans’. He shares those strategies through transformative training, engaging video content and inspiring keynote talks.

James was awarded The UK’s #1 CX Influencer by Customer Experience Magazine in 2020, The UK’s Most Outstanding CX Keynote Speaker by Corporate Vision Magazine in 2021, The World’s #10 Customer Service Guru by Global Gurus in 2021, as well as countless other notable mentions in industry publications like Business Insider, The Times and Forbes.

James is also a two-time #1 Best Selling Author and the Ex-host of Amazon Prime’s weekly topical CX show, ‘This Week In CX’. Learn more about James on his Website

Twitter: @jdodkins LinkedIn: in/jamesdodkins Instagram: @thecxrockstar

 

About Stacy Sherman: Founder of Doing CX Right®‬

An award-winning certified marketing and customer experience (CX) corporate executive, speaker, author, and podcaster, known for DoingCXRight®. She created a Heart & Science™ framework that accelerates customer loyalty, referrals, and revenue, fueled by engaged employees and customer service representatives. Stacy’s been in the trenches improving experiences as a brand differentiator for 20+ years, working at companies of all sizes and industries, like Liveops, Schindler elevator, Verizon, Martha Steward Craft, AT&T++.   Stacy is on a mission to help people DOING, not just TALKING about CX, so real human connections & happiness exist. Continue reading bio >here.

How To Create & Lead A Customer-Centric Workplace

How To Create & Lead A Customer-Centric Workplace

Doing CX Right podcast show on Spotify with host Stacy Sherman
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Doing Customer Experience (CX) Right Podcast - Hosted by Stacy Sherman
Doing CX Right podcast show on iHeart Radio with host Stacy Sherman

Stacy Sherman interviews Ashok RamachandranCEO and President at Schindler Elevator Corporation-India , known for leading organizations to achieve profitable success while building and maintaining a customer-centric workplace.

 

 

During the episode, you’ll hear and learn:

  • How to get employees to deliver customer excellence even when no one is watching
  • Proven tactics and skills to achieve revenue growth while leading with a heart
  • Examples of brands doing experiences right  that you can do too
  • How different generations (Gen X, Gen Z, etc) and cultures can better work together
  • What he’d tell his younger self if he could go back in time 

About Ashok Ramachandran

Highly passionate, customer-centric, and result-driven top talent general management professional with varied experience from leading business in mature markets to fast-growing developing markets. His achievements include developing and coaching talents, creating and driving strategy, sales management, end to end successful P & L Management, and achieving results in varied markets and environments

Linkedin here.
Twitter + Instagram  @ramachandran

 

Watch 1-minute preview

Transcript- Creating a & Leading a Customer-Centric Workplace

Stacy Sherman 00:04

Welcome to Doing CX Right a podcast where we discuss how to differentiate brands by doing customer experience right, and that’s fueled by happy, valued employees. I’m your host, Stacy Sherman, an author award-winning blogger and keynote speaker, passionate to help you humanize business to achieve real results.

On today’s episode, you’ll hear my guest, who is the president and CEO of Schindler, India, who Ibelieve is a great example of doing leadership right, not just checking boxes and saying what to do. He’s walking the talk and shares actionable tips to support your success no matter what country you reside or company you work for, let’s get on with the show.

Hello, Ash. I’m so happy to have you on my show today. Good morning. Good night to you and good morning to me.

Ashok Ramachandran 00:59

Yes, Good morning, Stacy. And wherever people are watching from. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

Stacy Sherman 01:06

Exactly. Yes, that’s most important. I’m really happy to be talking to you today because you are a true, inspiring leader, both in the corporate world.

And also as a human being, who’s on a mission to inspire people. And I want to get to that because it’s all about experiences, employee experiences, customer experiences, and also we’reall working with different generations, gen Z, gen X, millennials, and so how do we all work together? So let’s dive deep and start with who are you? Tell listeners who you are and a fun fact.

Ashok Ramachandran 01:45

Sure. So, you know, I know when people asked me to introduce myself, I always say that my name is Ashok Ramachandran,, and I am here to create an army of leaders. And by the way, I happen to be the head of the Schindler operation in India, which for me is more of what I do more than why I do what I do.

So what I do is being running a company, but why do I do it to create an army of leaders? So that’s in a very brief nutshell, but just to give us a little bit more perspective, I was born and raised in India. And then I went to Australia to do my highest studies masters and then migrated to Australia.

So now I’m an Australian citizen expat rating in India with my family here. And, I’m, I’m enjoying running the organization here. A fun fact, a recent fun fact. I can call it that. About two months ago, I became a content sharing person. I don’t want to call myself content creator because I don’t have to create content.

I have a lot of content. I just need to share it with people. With the goal of helping, especially the 18 to 35 year olds who are impacted by pandemic severely. I was talking with one of my colleagues overseas in France. And she was in fact telling me that one of her neighbors daughtercommitted suicide in France because of COVID anxiety and stuff.

So I got a lot of people messaging me and asking me to share my wisdom, my experience, my knowledge to help them achieve success, become more stronger. So a recent fun fact is that I’m active on social media, sharing my experience and content to people to consume.

Stacy Sherman 03:42

So let’s break that apart for a second, cause that’s really powerful.

So one, you really know your, why. And so many people go through life, not really knowing why they do what they do. And so I love your sense of purpose and you’re a tremendous leader in a very important company. We happen to share that in common, the company, but it’s the fact thatyou, as a leader, are bringing your whole self to work.

Yeah. And that’s so important for leaders, anyone listening, and whether you have a leader in your title or not, you need to bring your whole self to work. So when you and I talked not long ago, you were on your way, or actually you had just finished going to some local offices. Talk about that because it’s a beautiful story about driving the employee culture.

Ashok Ramachandran 04:46

You know, I’m Stacy I’m sure you’ll agree that action in any organization doesn’t happen in a corner c-suite office. It doesn’t happen in that 46 floor overlooking Manhattan, you know, looking at the beautiful high-rises and maybe the water beyond that, I often believe that this is ivory tower that we can get stuck in.

So I’m a firm believer of being out there, talking to people. In fact, as the head of the company, I spend 70% of my time with people on people, topics, or along with people, because I firmly believe that, you know, when you drive people engagement or employee experience automatically you get customer experience, financial freedom, all kinds of results that you are trying to drive as an organization has achieved.

So of course, because the pandemic, I’m not able to do it too often, these days physically, but I happen to between some breaks of the COVID waves, I call it, when the wave took a break, I just need to do the break of the COVID wave and visit the nearest office, I could go and spend time with the team.

And usually we are used to doing business reviews. That’s what leaders do right? When you go to a branch. But this time my local regional head and myself decided to do something different. And what we did was we started the morning meeting 15 of his newly recruited talents who had just joined Schindler in the last three to six months.

And I got a chance to spend time with them, understanding their aspirations and goals and how can Schindler help them achieve their objectives. And after my team had arranged a workshop on the future of service business of elevators in India. And it was again, a group of experienced and young talents who were split into three teams and they had to present futuristic abilities of the service business. So it was again spent on talent discussions, innovation discussions. So I really enjoy it. And that’s all I did, you know, the whole day was spent on meeting them and then having lunch with the team. So my goal was to inspire them, to make them excited so that they can run the rest of the year chasing targets and numbers without feeling stress.

Stacy Sherman 07:11

Do you believe that culture starts at the top?

Ashok Ramachandran 07:14

All the time. There’s in fact, you know, a lot of people say, for example, Schindler is a great company. Or Schindler is a lousy company, whatever use objectives they use, what is Schindler? Schindler is not a person, right? It is not even a building.

In fact, if you think about it, it’s a paper registration, right? Schindler is a registered company under the companies act in various countries. So Schindler in US would be registered in the U S companies act or whatever is a local regulations as you call it. I often tell people what is Schindler? When you come and say, Schindler is so difficult or Schindler is so good. I said, it’s us. We are Schindler. You know, it is not an entity that we don’t know it. If you say that Schindler is not listening to people, look at yourself, are you listening to people? So that’s where anything has to be driven, whether it is employee culture or any culture, right. Customer culture. It’s always like that.

Right. What the boss wants. Everybody wants to do that.

So it’s that it is about the people. And that’s any listener anywhere you work. Big company or small company, it starts with. And that’s why I always say over and over again to everyone who will listen, you have a customer experience job, whether you realize it or not. And oftentimes people will say, no, I don’t. I’m the back office. I say, yes you do because what you do enables the frontline to be able to do what they do. Without you, they can’t. What are your thoughts?

You know, it reminds me Stacy of the good old story of NASA. I’m sure you know, this, you know, the guy who was sweeping the floors and NASA, when he was asked, what’s your job.

He said, I’m helping NASA to put a man on the moon.

Right. And, and that’s what it is. You know, if he can sweep the floors, clean people can come and have a good experience of working in Nasa. And then, it motivates them to get the technology required to put a man on the moon and that’s what the Americans did, like Neil Armstrong. So that’s what I’ve been.

I often talk about it, even in my intellect in India, for example, you know, we have people, we havehelpers, right? We have helpers at work who come and serve coffee and tea. You know, they arrange the rooms and which we don’t have the luxury in developed countries, so I often tell the person serving tea.

I said, you are as important as me. If you don’t serve tea and coffee to people on time, they’re not energized to continue working with full concentration so they can achieve the company’s objectives.

Stacy Sherman 10:03

I write and talk a lot about doing customer experience right, otherwise known as CX right. What does that mean to you? What best practices are you doing and leading others to do for customers? What does it mean to you?

Ashok Ramachandran 10:21

Doing CX Right starts with just listening to customers. If we can really and when I’m talking about listening, it’s not listening to reply, it’s listening to understand and you know, even yesterday, this happened. We were pitching to a new customer and this was a very big project coming up in Southern part of India. And my team started for the first 30 minutes, we were just going on and on and on about how good Schindler is. I would have liked the first half hour be thatwe started talking to them about the project, about questioning them, asking them to share. What are they looking for? What are their troubles? What are their past troubles? Then we go and pitch what we can do. Right? So we don’t do that enough. It’s about listening to understand what the customer needs. If you want to buy a digital screen, let’s say for example, you have a choice of iPhone, iPad, iMac. Now I can sell you an iMac because I will get a lot of money from you, but maybe you don’t need iMac.

Maybe you, all you need is an iPhone. So why do we not listen and understand what really the client wants? It starts from that. Right? And I think when you talk about doing CX right, 15 years ago, and now it’s completely changed, customer expectations are very, very different. So you need to understand what agenda we call as common core, but what I call as basics, you know, just do the basics, right? And a lot of people don’t even understand what is basic. We need to get that to understand, right? I mean, a customer calling you, for example, if you haven’t delivered a benchmark that you have said, they will call you to follow up. And a lot of times what we tend to do is to deflect the blame to them and blame it on something else rather than saying Yes, I’m doing it. And a lot of times it is as simple as communication, which we don’t like to do. Right. Bad news. So for example, you’ve called the plumber’s home. If he or she can’t make it at 10 o’clock, at least can they call you and tell you at 9 45 that they can’t make it, you know, maybe the car broke down, whatever.

I’ve heard these excuses people. Saying that, oh, you know, but I didn’t realize the petrol was going to be over. I didn’t realize my daughter had to be dropped in school. I’m like all that is fine, but just let me know, communicate with me. Talk to me, tell me what’s going on because I’m waiting for you. So for me, that’s the basic

Stacy Sherman 13:06

Yes.. And what I love doing is speaking to people in different roles and actually having them walk in the customer’s shoes and paint a picture and then say, how would you feel? How would you feel if your washing machine is broken and mechanic comes, walks right through your door, doesn’t say, hello, dressed inappropriately, drags mud on your floor. Does the job. Doesn’t tell you what was done, sends you a bill. How do you feel? It’s amazing when you put it in that context, people then get it, and like you said, and myself, you don’t need many degrees and academics to know that we must get the basics right.

Ashok Ramachandran 13:58

Is it the same in the US, like in India, you know, we have this corner shops. It’s now extinct getting extinct very quick, right? It’s not, I mean, there’s not a lot of them left anymore, but theseare, I think I’ve heard in Australia, for example, the good old bread and milk shops that used to be in your neighborhood, your neighborhood stores, the small stores, not the Walmarts and the, the big chain.

These guys, they know us so well. You know, they know your family, they know your brother, yoursister, where you’re studying. I mean, you know, I still, when I go back to Chennai where I grew up, the lady who used to sell flowers still is there, you know, she’s not become a grandmother. When I met her, when I was growing up, she was like a young girl.

Now she got married, she’s got a daughter who’s got married and she knows everything about us, right. That is customer service. And she’s not educated. She’s not even going to school.

Stacy Sherman 14:54

Yes. I love that example. So there are becoming less of those. They still exist, and we obviously need to support those local businesses at the same time like you said earlier, it’s about people. So even if it’s Starbucks, which is a corporate chain, but they are customer centric, you do walk in, especially locally they know before I walk in their door. I mean, the app is very intuitive. I walk in the door, they say, hello, if there’s a mistake, they don’t ask questions. They just do it over again. And the whole experience, which is why I pay extra than McDonalds. So the point to this, it’s a great topic because you can be a small local shop or you could be a big corporate brand. People are people, people buy from people they like and trust.

Ashok Ramachandran 15:54

Correct. Well, you mentioned about any best practices. I want to even not share as a best practice, but a very simple thing that I have implemented in my organization here. Every customer deserves a proactive communication at least once a month from us, not when there’s a problem when, when there’s no problem. And yesterday, in fact, one of my branch managers, Chad, shared a customer’s message. It was an angry customer a year ago. You know, he managed to fix the problems. But the funny thing is, after that every month he drops the customer a WhatsApp message. Just taking on the customer. Hey, Mr. Customer, is everything fine? Is there anything that is worrying you about the lifts that I need to be aware of?

So he was doing it every month. The customer is replying. Now two days ago here, again, messaged for this month for July. And the customer sent him leads for about 30, 40 elevators. You know, I mean, like that’s what I tell them, you know, just. Share even a small little message. Hey, Mr. Customer, I’m thinking of you. That’s all. And you saw that other day on LinkedIn. I posted about the salesperson, you know, the small, small things he used to do. Just drop a cake when it’s auntie Suzy’s birthday you know who’s a member of the building society. Small things go a long way. So that’s what I would call. I don’t even want to call it a best practice, but I want tocall it as basics that we can do really well.

Stacy Sherman 17:27

Yes. And I also call it humanizing business. It’s not hard. It doesn’t cost any money to say, thank you. It’s seconds to say thank you. It’s seconds to say. I haven’t forgotten about you. And I believe somebody today listening to this will actually do it and because it’s a low level of effort, as I like to say in customer experience metrics and such.

So, two more questions going back to gen Z, gen X, all these different generations. How do we work together because we are used to email, they don’t read email. They’re about texting and Snapchat and everything. So, what’s your views on how do we all work together because we canlearn from them and they can learn from us.

Ashok Ramachandran 18:22

I think the most important thing, Stacy is not to have any ego, any bias on, I know more than you and you know, more than me those days, you know, whenever you talk to these experienced people, they will start off with, or during my time and, and things like that.

Right? So this can be very irritating for the younger generation. And one of the things I’ve learned, Stacy is no one. Everybody is behaving. The way they are. That’s it. And what I mean by that, you know, the experiences that you have had, the upbringing that you have had, the life thatyou have experienced is molding your personality, you know, Indra, Nooyi the previous CEO of Pepsi worldwide, who lives in. I’m sure you must’ve heard of Nooyi. She speaks about this. That everyone is a victim of our upbringing, which means that. So let’s say that somebody feels that Stacy is, is a very angry person. Now it’s not like you wake up in the morning and decide that I’m going to be angry, right?

No one desides to be the way they are. It’s their life experiences. So if we have to survive and thrive, not only survive, I think we need to appreciate and look at people from a space of non-judgment from a space of acceptance. And then I think this will all close easily.

Stacy Sherman 20:00

I also love talking about diversity, inclusion, equity. I also going back to what you said about communication. We need to communicate the way others want to be communicated to. So we have to be mindful when we’re talking to older, younger generations. If we want to make a difference, we have to go and meet them where they want to be met.

So the last question today, cause I could go for hours with you. I love talking to you. If you could go back in time to your younger self, let’s say 20 years old. What would you tell you that you know now?

Ashok Ramachandran  20:42

I would tell myself to get a lot of life experiences, number one, and not try to box myself to do just one thing. And not to be impatient to try and get ahead in life.

I think this generation during at least my time, we were so much about getting a job and moving on today’s generation. I’m so envious. Right? They’re trying different things. They’re dabbling ondifferent things. They’re studying, they’re working, they’re doing a startup stuff. They’re on social media.

That’s the first thing. Right? Try different experiences. Never be shy of that. When you’re doing that, it’s about acquiring more skills, varieties of skills. I would tell my younger self to travel a lot and know the world break barriers of culture and everything else. Right. I mean, we need to be more worldly, I would say than I think the world’s becoming more and more parochial, which is a bit scary.

Right. There’s a lot of nationalistic spirit happening in every country in the world. Now everybodywants to kind of, you know, they say like, be in thereby Indian or be American by American. I think we need to be a bit more accepting of everyone. So that could be one another thing that I would like to tell myself, travel more, accept people, everyone, and try to, I think, try to live happyand not worry about tomorrow all the time.

Stacy Sherman 22:11

That’s beautiful. I would add one more thing, which is to pay attention, but don’t let the naysayers get in the way. The people that tell, you no. Be mindful. Cause there’s a lot out there. There’s more people that tell you no than celebrate your successes. And I’ve seen that over my lifetime. So I think that’s important for listeners because when there’s a will, there’s a way and being fearless yet sensitive to where you live and the political environment is smart.

Well, thank you so much for being with me today. And I know that our listeners are going to get so much value. Where can they find you after this session that they hear?

So they can find me on LinkedIn as , or they can find me on Instagram and Twitter as Ash Ramachandran. And I have a YouTube channel as well.

And, I will add the links in the show notes. So it’s easy. We’ll make it a low level of effort for people to find you. Have a wonderful day.

Ashok Ramachandran 23:26

Thank you so much for inviting me to this session. I hope the viewers are going to enjoy listening to us, and if they have any questions, they can connect with us and ask any followup questions.

Stacy Sherman 23:36

Thank you so much for joining today. I hope you will apply the lessons shared and also requesting if you would leave a review on apple. Head over to Doing CX Right to learn more waysto connect with me and improve your CX until next time. I’m Stacy Sherman, Doing CX Right.

How To Bring Customers Back (Podcast Summary)

How To Bring Customers Back (Podcast Summary)

Doing CX Right podcast show on Spotify with host Stacy Sherman
DoingCXRight-Podcast-on-Amazon-with-host-Stacy-Sherman.
Doing Customer Experience (CX) Right Podcast - Hosted by Stacy Sherman
Doing CX Right podcast show on iHeart Radio with host Stacy Sherman
DoingCXRight on Google Podcasts with host Stacy-Sherman.
Doing CX Right on Listen Notes with host Stacy Sherman

I recently featured Shep Hyken, a customer service, and customer experience expert, on my podcast about how to get and keep loyal customers. One of the most fundamental rules of business is that it is much better to have a customer come back five times than to have five one-time customers. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Here are a few tips on how to transform your company’s customer experience and grow a loyal customer base.

Repeat Business is Not Loyal Business

Some companies tend to confuse and equate these two terms. We’ve all heard of “loyalty” programs at places like grocery stores or dining establishments. However, it’s not a loyalty program; it is a marketing program. If you were to take away those perks associated with the loyalty program, would they come back? The answer is likely no. Shep discussed that “Repeat customers are gold. Loyal customers are sacred.” The goal is to create a loyal customer who wants to give you their business again and again while talking about your business to their friends and families, whether they are being incentivized or not.

How do you get loyal customers?

Hyken shared that companies must be “Always Friendly, Always Knowledgeable, Always Helpful.” Your customers need to be confident that they can always count on you to fix problems that may arise for them. The most important measurement in determining the success of your efforts to gain loyal customers is, “Do they come back?” Somebody that comes back is more likely to spend more, trust you more, and turn into a loyal customer. Look at the data, be the expert resource to solve their problems, and loyal customers will come.

Find Out Your Why

CX leaders agree that finding out your why regarding customers coming back or not is a vital piece of success in gaining loyal customers. You need to listen to what your customer is saying on the front line and use it to improve your customer experience processes. For a great example of this, look no further than Bill Gates himself, who decided to spend a day taking customer service calls to learn more about what his consumers were saying about Microsoft. Understanding your why as a business is a crucial step to gaining loyalty from your customers.

Get Your Employees Engaged

We’ve all heard about the importance of fostering company culture. However, so many companies struggle to succeed at doing this. First and foremost, you need to instill a clear, defined vision of what your customer experience is supposed to be. Think about the Ritz Carlton for example. Their customer experience mission statement very simply states, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” The easier the customer experience statement is to understand, the easier it will be for your employees to enact it. Constantly communicate this vision and train your staff on it, and loyal customers will follow.

Acknowledge Customer Experience Accomplishments

Remember to congratulate and acknowledge customer experience accomplishments. Too many
companies fall into the trap of thinking that positive feedback from customers is the “expectation,” while pointing a magnifying glass at the negatives. The best company cultures that foster loyal customers are the ones that acknowledge and reward a good customer experience from their staff to help incentivize them to do those great things again and again. As Shep Hyken agrees, the difference between being a shipping company and being Amazon is in the ability to foster loyal customers.

Get More Tips About Bringing Customers Back

Listen to Shep Hyken and Stacy Sherman’s full discussion on DoingCXRight®‬ Podcast HERE. Also available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, GoogleiHeart Radio +

 

Check out Stacy Sherman’s Two Episodes on Shep Hyken’s Amazing Business Radio Show

Creating Wow Moments By Simply Being Human 

Diversity and Inclusion within CX