Step 5 of 7 in Seven Steps to Thrive in a Down Economy: Customer Experience

Step 5: Look at Your Customer Experience

The last newsletter was Step 4 - Re-Evaluate Your Products & Services. In that article, I discussed how important it is to make sure you are making a profit on each item by evaluating your individual product pricing on a regular basis. Then, when you know which items are most profitable, it's important to promote those items in your marketing efforts.

Now it's time to make sure that your customer experience is in line to grow your business.

First, Look at Your Operations & Systems

The average McDonalds restaurant sells $1.3 million dollars worth of food each year and their net profit margin is 37%. That's a $481,000 profit each year - far exceeding most small businesses. Why is McDonalds one of the most profitable small businesses in the world? There are probably several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is their systems.

They have simplified their operations to run with a small, unsophisticated, low cost workforce that delivers the same customer experience over and over again. They may not make the best food, but we always know what to expect!

Are you delivering a consistent customer experience? If not, it's probably because you haven't made much effort to create and perfect your systems for each step of your customer contact. One great tool to do that is to use "post-it" notes. Grab a stack of post-it notes and decide which part of your customer experience you'd like to systemize. Write down each step (one per post-it note) and stick the individual sheets to your wall in order of your process. Now step back and review the order. Could it be done more efficiently with less steps? Once you've finalized the process, write it down, train your team and go on to the next area of your customer experience you'd like to systemize.

Second, What Low Cost Innovations Could You Introduce?

Jay Conrad Levinson - author of Guerilla Marketing said, "If your business isn't remarkable, you're invisible." What are you doing to be remarkable?

Unfortunately, many of us don't take the time to consider what truly sets us apart. Instead we have created products, advertising and customer experiences that look very much like our competitors. If you don't think so, ask yourself this question: What is it about my business that is unique, and don't use the same old tired answer of "my customer service." Are you stuck? If you are, I guarantee it's lowering your sales and is a problem that you need to remedy.

In our current economy having a unique product, service, or experience is particularly important to show value. For instance, let's compare the experience of buying fruits and vegetables at a regular grocery store versus Papa Joe's Fruit Market in Rochester. When you arrive at Papa Joe's music floats through the parking lot from hidden speakers. Once inside, brightly colored displays of beautiful pastries and flowers are a feast for your eyes. Patrons stroll casually with glasses of wine (in real glass) as they fill their carts. Viewing the produce itself is like taking a trip around the world with interesting items that you've never seen before.

If the prices are slightly higher compared to your regular grocery store - where would you enjoy shopping more? This is an extreme case, but you should begin to see that if you are selling pretty much the same product as your competitor, you must find ways to differentiate yourself besides lower prices.

Third, Have the Right People & Culture

Once you have determined your unique and ideal customer experience, and have systemized it for consistent delivery, it's time to make sure you have the right people and organizational culture to foster great customer service. To do that you should follow these steps:

1. Write a culture statement that includes employee traits to cultivate great customer service.
2. Include interview questions that will uncover these traits.
3. Coach poorer performing employees or replace them as needed.
4. Reward outstanding customer service performers.

Bottom Line: Another way that you can increase profits is by providing a unique and purposeful customer experience that works consistently well through systems and great employees.

The next step in our series - Step Six: Trim the Fat (coming in two weeks!)

To Your Success,

Dawn Drozd