Think “Soft” and Differentiate Yourself

As we evaluate a company, we can easily separate their value proposition into two parts. Their tangible or “hard” side which includes product diversity, quality, price, warranty, ease of access, and services provided. The other part is the “soft” side which is less tangible and has to do more with how companies conduct their business and treat their customers. Do they have a customer mindset; placing a high value on meeting or exceeding customer expectations? Do they respond appropriately and in a timely manner to customer requests, and what kind of customer experience are they creating?

With so many purchasing options available to today’s customer, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for companies to compete on the “hard” side. This is especially true during tough economic times when customers are cutting back and are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on price. Companies are fighting it out in the isles by offering coupons, rebates, special financing and discounts to survive. Unfortunately, the long-term effect of these discounts often results in cuts being made in parts of the company which have a direct impact on the “soft” services, ultimately driving customer satisfaction down.

So what’s a company to do?

Think “Soft!”

If you do not offer a unique product or service and choose not to compete on price, your greatest opportunity for success is to differentiate yourself with your “soft” services. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on where your company lies in this spectrum, there is a lot of room for improvement of “soft” services in virtually every industry. I would like to recommend every company go out of their way to push the boundaries toward great customer service regardless of the economic climate and here are a few pointers to start.

1. Make it enjoyable and memorable to do business with you - Not every customer experience can be a “Disney” experience but that should be the goal. Customers today have enough stress in their lives. They’re looking for a diversion, something other than the norm and if you can offer that at your place of business customers may be more likely to stay regardless of your price. Make it enjoyable to do business with you, insure your customers leave your place of business with a smile on their face. Give them a reason to want to come back. More importantly, give them a reason to praise and tell others about their experience with your company.

2. Show your customer how important they are - The increased cost of developing new customers over driving business from current ones is well documented. Reach out to your current customers; thank them for their prior business. Something as simple as sending a hand written note wishing them well or congratulating them on something that has changed in their personal or work life instead of the “Monthly Check in” email can help set you apart from the crowd. Loyalty programs that are truly designed to reward customers for their business and not simply string them along are always a good option as well.

3. Make your customer the hero - Customers come to you because they have a problem to solve. The problem may have originated with them but more often than not, the person you are working directly with was given the responsibility to solve the problem by a superior and they’ve now entrusted you to help them be successful. It’s your job to make them look like a hero in their superiors’ eyes. 

4. WOW them - Everybody likes a surprise, provided it’s a good one. WOW moments are those times where you provide something to the customer of value that they were not expecting. It’s not the tossing in of a free item the customer has no use for as is often the case. It’s a dry cleaning attendant fixing a loose button that was found during the cleaning process free of charge or the coffee barista giving you a free cookie to go along with your beverage just because it looked like you were having a bad day or the delivery of treats to a clients office just because, no strings attached. Little things like these cause your customers to pause and take notice.

The actions you take in each of these areas is going to be different based on your industry, customer base, company size, type of product or services offered, the point I’m trying to make here is that even small steps in these areas can help differentiate you from your competition. Small steps lead to bigger ones and soon you’re on your way toward customer service excellence.