Customer Service (CS) & Customer Experience (CX) should not be confused. During my discussion with David Anderson this was the first point that we cleared up. I met David Anderson a number of years ago, and he always struck me a man of integrity and professionalism. He is a bastion of real CS & CX, and in my opinion has his work cut out for him

The Chat.

When it’s your job to evaluate, critique, and “find holes” in a business it cannot be an easy task. David approaches his task from a point of support for the business that has employed him. It must be difficult to return to the client with news that is not always positive. At least we know that business that recruit Insight6 show that there is an appetite to improve.

In an effort to explain the difference between CS & CX David gave us this analogy.

Customer Service is the conclusion of your sales process. If there is a problem with your purchase, how you then are treated is Customer Experience. David described numerous anecdotes of poor customer service, but was careful to balance the conversation with accounts of excellent customer service.

What we learned.

• Not having a personalised voicemail is a bad first impression, and sets the tone for the overall customer experience. I personally cannot understand why some of us choose to advertise our vendor on our voicemail, rather than out business.
• As a general rule, we don’t complain. We just don’t go back.
• Only 7% of Law firms will return an enquiry.
• The aftersales and services will soon replace price in consumer loyalty.
• We should demand excellent customer experience. It is built into the price.
• The reasons for poor customer experience are apathy, and lack of training.
• As consumers we need to accept some of the blame for poor customer service.

Top 5 top tips for excellent CS & CX.

1. Get your 1^st impressions right.
2. Measure your customer service.
3. Provide name badges for all customer facing employees.
4. Follow up on all enquiries.
5. P.M.M.F.S (Please Make Me Feel Special). This is what our potential clients are saying to us when we first engage with them.

It is my opinion that you should reply to all reviews and comments on your business. David’s opinion on customer reviews was that it is out of your control, and is an individual’s opinion. By replying to these reviews, it may turn into a mud- slinging event. When you reply keep it professional, and be able to back up your opinions.

Lastly, I asked David “why should we improve our Customer Experience?

Instead of offering his opinion, David produces facts.

Where excellent Customer Experience is concerned the effect on the business is as follows:

42% improvement on Customer Retention

33% improvement on Customer Satisfaction

32% increase on cross-selling and up-selling.

Thank you for your insights David.