Luxury companies this year had a major wake up call, when the majority of complaints from their customers was their CX or what is known in our business as Customer Experience. The #1 rated company for customer service by Forrester (an independent rating company) was not the usual suspects of Apple, Mercedes, or Nordstroms. It was Trader Joe's.
Customer experience is often mistaken for social media extravaganzas. No one spends more on videos than the big brands. They often use Hollywood stars, directors, producers, cinematographers and editors. They hire influencers to blog about their products and pay them handsomely. They have staffs to post on every conceivable social media outlet, 24/7...
Their websites are constantly optimized by the savviest SEO's know to mankind. They appear with back links, and keywords in every nation where their goods are sold. The customer can even create their wish lists, alerts for products, their own mini website etc.. They pay for placement of their products in movies, television, and in books. They have the biggest and best software for CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which for the most part involves sending their customers emails and sale notifications...
No doubt, those companies are wondering, after all we do, how dare customers complain about their experience? In a luxury conference we attended, one of the executives of a big conglomerate of luxury brands mentioned that the most difficult challenge they face is customer experience across the various locations globally. One of our friends loves one of their brands, but instead of buying it in her home store, she flies to Las Vegas to buy there, because of the personalize superb service she gets there.
How dare you compare us to Trader Joe's?
Trader Joe’s is not a luxury brand. It is a luxury experience. For instance, unlike any wine store, if you buy a wine, taste it and don't like it, you can return it for a full refund--no explanations necessary! That simple gesture has added to their wine and spirits sales so much that the cost of the returned bottle is negligible. And that applies that to every item in the store. Their human touch is unparalleled. One of the guys that works there heard us mention that it was our anniversary. As we checked out, he came over and handed us a big bouquet of flowers, and said Happy Anniversary...
Why focus and spend on customer experience
Exceptional services increases the bottom line and the referrals. Studies have shown that:
52% of customers will buy more and pay more because of good customer experience. Every1$ invested yields $3.
85% will pay up to 25% more to ensure superior service
82% of people have stopped doing business with a company due to bad customer service
85% of customers who have a bad experience want to warn others from doing business with that company
If you are not focused on customer service, the gap between you and your competitor will increase.
The human touch is your most precious asset, use it as much as possible and remember although the Internet is a wonderful addition to our lives, the human touch cannot ever be replaced by software.