Great Customer Experiences are a marathon, not a sprint

Posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 by Empathica

As I’ve written about here and there, I’ve been spending the summer trying to fine tune my fitness and running regimen.

In doing so, I’ve come to realize that many of the best practices associated with fitness can also be applied to the world of customer experience. One example that comes to mind is an adaptation of a saying I hear quite often in my running group – great customer experiences are a marathon, not a sprint.

In this context, the retailers that are able to deliver class leading experiences, know that doing so means delivering what customers have come to expect for each and every visit in a consistent manner. It’s only with that consistency built up over the lifespan of the customer relationship can lasting loyalty be built – the type of loyalty that can translate into brand building advocacy.

One of the keys to ensuring this consistent execution lies in the hands of retail store managers. Store managers are busy and tasked with juggling many responsibilities at once. Customer experience is one area where arming them with the appropriate tools can yield big dividends, allowing them to get the insights they need quickly, so they can focus their energies on other pressing tasks.

Modern location manager focused tools should be able to provide them with:

• An easy way to understand what’s most important to their customers without requiring them to wade through mountains of data
• The ability to track their team’s improvement progress against the areas they need to focus on for any given time period
• A view into what may be working best for their peers at other locations

Most retailers understand the basic drivers of loyalty for their customers. However being able to consistently deliver on those expectations time and time again is rarely as easy as it sounds. Brands first need a deeper understanding of the intricacies of what loyalty means to their customers, and equally importantly the ability to arm their front line staff and the management teams that guide them with tools providing clear and focused actions.

Winning the loyalty race is a marathon, not a sprint.

This entry was posted in How do I Build Loyalty, Advocacy & Acquire More Customers? and tagged advocacy, CEM, CEM program, customer experience, Retail. Bookmark the permalink.