Great Expectations isn’t just a Dickens novel

How picky are you? What do you expect from the companies that serve you? If you are like me, you have pretty high expectations. You are disappointed when those expectations aren’t met. And if that disappointment doesn’t set you searching for a better alternative, it at least makes you more receptive to competing goods or services.

I am more than averagely tall, and require extra-long ties on those occasions when I have to wear one. Recently I walked into Macy's and asked where their extra-long ties were. “We don’t sell any big or tall products” the clerk said without apology. He then proceeded to tell me that Dillard’s (a different department store) sells them. What a missed opportunity! I understand how “turn” affects inventory costs. But a big company like Macy’s could at least offer XL ties over the internet (saving the sale). Instead this clerk directed me to the competition!

Wait, it gets worse! Before I went to Dillards, this experience prompted me to look on the internet, where I subsequently bought just what I wanted at SaveOnTies for half the price and $.99 shipping (less than the cost of the gas I burned getting to Macy’s). So now it’s not just Macy’s that’s lost me—it’s the whole department store distribution channel.

Every business is probably doing some things that disappoint their customers. (Yes, even yours!) If customers complain, I’m sure you try to make them happy. But most don’t complain—they simply leave. And it is difficult (and expensive) to get them back again.

It just hasn’t soaked in for most businesses just how much choice their prospects and customers have today, and just how easy it is to find someone else who wants their business. Many businesses still behave as though customers continue to have the same limited choice as before the Internet radically enlarged the competitive environment.

Executives talk about how they want to provide a great customer experience, but most still don’t put any real effort into developing or delivering that experience.

The bad news? Given the amount of choice available today, you need to provide an acceptable experience just to be a commodity, and an exceptional experience to be a preferred vendor.
The good news? Most experiences are so lousy, it doesn’t take that much (yet) to be considered exceptional.

So what’s my point? Make sure that interacting with your company is an acceptable or (preferably) exceptional experience. Unless you have a monopoly on a “must-have” product (like Ma Bell did in the old days), the customer experience is a make-or-break factor. Until you’re providing a good experience, you will be wasting any money you spend on marketing.

Prospecting? Why would I want to buy from you if you’re difficult to do business with?

Cross-selling? Why would I buy something else from you if I was unhappy with my first experience?

Retention? Why would I come back or stay if I don’t like doing business with you?

If you’d like some help in evaluating and upgrading your customer experiences, give Your CMO a call. I will try to make that experience a pleasant one!