Turning your customers into raving fans means not just providing them with products and services that satisfy. In order to ensure that your customers are attracted, delighted and above all, retained, you also have to make their purchase journey as painless as possible.
You already know that customers today use far more touchpoints than in the past. And that their path to purchase can be quite long for many of the products and services they buy. So how can you make it both seamless and effortless? I have five ideas for you:
- Include all the possible contact points that your customers are likely to use and then map out their total journey. An incomplete model will no doubt lead to customer frustration, as you will not be reflecting how they really buy. If you’re not sure if you have included them all, do idea #5 below.
- If you mess things up along the way – and this will undoubtedly happen – admit it AND correct it. An apology for a mistake is not its resolution. When your company slips up, find a solution that is acceptable to your customer, not just the quick fix that suits you. Now is your chance to not only satisfy, but to surprise and delight your customers too. This turns a bad memory into a great one; one they will undoubtedly share both online and offline!
- Then follow up to make sure the customer is happy. As I mentioned, don’t just satisfy them, surprise and delight your customers too. Go above and beyond what they believe you will do. Replacing a faulty product or service is what our customers expect. Offering free samples, a further discount, express delivery or additional attention is not. These are the small touches that surprise and delight. They are also the things that your customers will share with friends and family, if not the whole world through social media. Suddenly you have gone from being the bad company to the cool brand.
- Track the emotional state of your customers at each point of interaction on their purchase journey. This is a simple but powerful addition to your mapping exercise and quickly shows where you need to improve. If your customers are unhappy with their experience at a touchpoint, do something to improve the situation. Make their journey as painless as possible.
- The quickest way to understand your customers’ journey is to actually become your customer. Go out and buy what you are selling. Experience different outlets, different buying experiences, covering as many, if not all, of the touchpoints. You will learn a lot and will also have some fun experiences. Like learning about your competitors’ weaknesses, not just your own.
These five ideas are just some of the tips and tools included in my program on customer journey mapping. Contact me for more details.
