![\"Untitled-1\"](\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Untitled-11.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cWell, when you guys tell her, she’s not just finding out about the accident. She’s finding out that her life is basically a setup.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Henry, \u201c50 First Dates,\u201d 2004, Columbia Pictures<\/strong><\/p>\nDespite what Amazon, Google, Yahoo and Facebook do to convince companies that they represent the pathway to the future; the success\/failure of a company is not about the mindless pursuit of data.<\/p>\n
Successful companies \u2013 really successful companies \u2013 focus on the creative interaction individuals have with individuals.<\/p>\n
You know day-in, day-out; all the time, every time.<\/p>\n
Here are two examples (one storefront, one ecommerce):<\/p>\n
– My wife just bought a new car from the same manufacturer we\u2019ve dealt with for 20+ years \u2026 worst experience in her\/my life!
\n– A client CEO sends me customer comments not about their great product but on their sales\/service experience. He also sends them to everyone in the organization \u2026 subtle reinforcement of what counts!<\/p>\n
The Auto Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s unfair to pick on cars; after all, they only represent your second biggest expense so should it really be pleasant?<\/p>\n \u2022 If it was her car, you would think they would talk to her instead of me \u2026 I\u2019m just along for the ride. I won\u2019t name names because I was used to the ongoing joking, \u201cYou really need two cars \u2013 one to drive while the other is in for repairs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I was used to 2-3 visits to the service department to solve one problem. They always find a new issue that\u2019s \u2026 not covered by\/out of warranty!<\/p>\n When Ford owned the brand, quality was improved but the channel remained the same.<\/p>\n Because of the experience, I have to find another brand when I begin my search for a new set of wheels.<\/p>\n That ticks me off!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Ula\u2019s kid observed, \u201cBut your stitches are bleeding.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n They couldn\u2019t believe the female in the family makes the final decision.<\/p>\n If the guy made the decision, most of the cars on the road would be burnt orange convertibles.<\/p>\n Instead, they\u2019re black, white, silver 4-doors or miniSUVs.<\/p>\n You know \u2026 practical.<\/p>\n Guys may \u201cbuy\u201d the car but wives \u201clet \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to figure out how family purchases work.<\/p>\n Maybe Tesla\u2019s Musk had a similar experience and said, \u201cNot on my watch!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Monitored, Circulated Feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n The CEO I mentioned – we\u2019ll call him Larry – reads almost every prospect, customer comment\/feedback posted on the web site and social media.<\/p>\n He\u2019s been doing it since he started the business more than 25 years ago.<\/p>\n Compliments go to everyone \u2013 in every area<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n – Saying you\u2019re a social, customer-centric business is easy. Recognition is more powerful than money, free time, a new title or a bigger desk!<\/p>\n \u201cI give a dam about you\u201d<\/em> trumps Likes, CRM systems and Big Data, analytics every day of the week!<\/p>\n As Henry said, \u201cAppreciate your time. Not everybody would have stopped like you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Success is measured by creative human activity and interaction, not by data hoarding.<\/p>\n Consumers aren\u2019t stupid.<\/p>\n They\u2019re not targets of opportunity.<\/p>\n They have the same tools a company has to evaluate manufacturers, products, reputations \u2026 and they use them.<\/p>\n Companies that don\u2019t build strong communities can\u2019t achieve their full potential without reaching and empowering everyone in the solution chain, including channel partners and customers.<\/p>\n As Stewart Brand said in the late \u201860s, \u201cOn the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it’s so valuable.<\/p>\n The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free,\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing is more valuable than customer feedback.<\/p>\n Nothing is more expensive than feedback that isn\u2019t shared.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s always-on, always-connected world it\u2019s not difficult to figure out the consumer.<\/p>\n He\/she will tell you!<\/p>\n When Lucy hears, sees, reads the response she says, \u201cNot good enough.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Today\u2019s customer has big expectations that manufacturers \u2013 and their channel partners \u2013 have to address every day of the week.<\/p>\n Every step of the customer journey, from consideration all the way through the post-sales service phase, isn\u2019t just important \u2026 it\u2019s mandatory.<\/p>\n Gone are the days of 24-48 hour response times.<\/p>\n Consumers expect instant interaction, action.<\/p>\n Delivering on consumer expectations of immediacy requires:<\/p>\n – Managed automation that immediately delivers routine product information Simply getting more social business tools and analytics won\u2019t deliver solutions to the expanding, changing networks of connected people.<\/p>\n<\/a>Still:<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Why call me on the \u201corientation\/delivery\u201d day\/time? I don\u2019t keep her calendar.
\n\u2022 If she was verbally promised protective rubber floor mats, why didn\u2019t it happen? \u201cThey didn\u2019t make enough money on the car\u201d<\/em> \u2013 really?
\n\u2022 Why would the sales person who was going to give her the orientation pass her off to another person because someone came who had missed his<\/em><\/strong> initial appointment?
\n\u2022 Orientation — 15-minutes of instructions, a 16-page \u201cquick study guide\u201d and a \u201chave fun.\u201d
\n\u2022 After getting home, she called to ask why the new car registration slip wasn\u2019t placed in the front window. Kinda\u2019 normal but was told, \u201cIt\u2019s O.K., you don\u2019t really need it anyway.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2022 I received the email new customer experience evaluation form and forwarded it to her \u2026 it wasn\u2019t nice; but obviously, no one read it because she received as a form email \u2026 \u201cGee we tried!\u201d<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Issues, questions go to the appropriate people.<\/p>\n
\n– Hiring the best people possible who have a customer focus is difficult \u2013 not impossible, just difficult.
\n– Guiding, training, assisting team members to focus on the customer is a never-ending process \u2013 people get overworked, stressed, stuff happens
\n– Nothing reinforces the importance of the customer like congratulating individuals in private and publicly.<\/p>\n<\/a>Social and data silos don\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n<\/a>Earn It<\/strong> \u2013 If you\u2019re interested in building a strong, lasting relationship with customers \u2013 business and consumer \u2013 all you have to do is ask them \u2026 they\u2019ll tell you. Or, you can do something even more difficult \u2013 ask yourself what you would want if you were sitting on the other side of the desk or screen.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n– Presence with the customer across the entire purchase cycle
\n– Transparent, constant sharing of information across the manufacturer\/consumer ecosystem<\/p>\n