How "Delighted" Are Your Customers?

‘Customer Delight’ – what does that mean to you? Does it fill you with dread at the prospect of another consultant ‘buzzword’? I speak at conferences and seminars on customer service and regularly ‘rant on’ about ‘Customer Delight’!  When some people hear the phrase for the first time I often see them grimace and with a look of despair say ‘Oh no, he’s been to Disneyland for his holidays – it’s going to be one of those seminars!’

So, in this article, I thought I’d explain what ‘customer delight’ is, what it isn’t, how it can benefit your business, and maybe ‘prompt’ you to take some action to start making it work in your business! 

First of all, let’s explore what customer delight is NOT! It is not ‘Have a nice day!’ or ‘Buy One, Get 10 Free!’ Obviously, it’s got to make commercial sense (hey, anyone can give things away!)! It’s NOT a gimmick, and it’s definitely NOT a ‘one off’! In truly customer focussed businesses, customer ‘delight’ is part of their culture -  It’s “the way we do things around here”!

So, what exactly is ‘Customer Delight’? Well, my definition is ‘surprising customers with the level of service you provide’ and it’s Characteristic #3 of The 7 Characteristics of 3D Businesses – that is businesses who are ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ from their competitors. It’s about ‘exceeding customer expectations’ and the scary thing is that in many industries, particularly where customer expectations are low (some call centres?), that can simply mean 'dealing’ with customers in a prompt, courteous and friendly way’!

That’s all very well, but why bother with it? Well, here’s a little incentive that might help you consider it.... according to an IPSOS Loyalty Report “In a business to business engagement, ‘delighted’ customers are FIVE TIMES more likely to plan on repurchasing than merely satisfied customers.” Has that got you thinking? 

What does customer delight actually ‘look like’? Well, obviously, it’s different for different types of industries, businesses and, by definition, different types of customers. What would ‘delight’ a corporate client of a large law firm may be very different from something that delights a teenage online shopper!

Although there are lots of ways of ‘delighting’ customers, what I have seen are some common ‘ingredients’ of success. Your challenge is to work out what these ‘ingredients’ look like for your business, and crucially, for your customers!

Let’s look at those ingredients of ‘Customer Delight’:

Ingredient 1: It produces a ‘wow’ reaction!

The level of service provided ‘surprises’ customers – it could be the speed of response, the knowledge and willingness of the call handler, or the way a problem is resolved. It’s not what they expect from your industry sector and not something they’ve experienced from competitors or from you in the past. It’s the returned call at the specified time, it’s the delivery that arrives early, it’s the front line member of staff who deals with your query, your enquiry, or your problem on the spot (and doesn’t have to ask a manager for permission!)

Ingredient 2: It appears spontaneous or unexpected!

‘Customer delight’ by definition is often unexpected. However it’s worth pointing out that some businesses build ‘spontaneity’ into the way they do business! It’s the personalised email that comes from the call handler after your conversation and there’s specific reference to what you chatted about, it’s the car parking space that’s reserved for you when you arrive at your supplier’s offices, it’s the receptionist who’s expecting you, remembers you, and even remembers how you take your tea or coffee (mine’s black, no sugar!), it’s the ‘standard letter’ that says ‘according to our records, you paid us on time – Thank you!’ (It amazes me how many businesses have standard letters for saying ‘you’re 30 days / 60 days / 90 days overdue’, but don’t have one to say thanks for prompt payment!). ‘Planned spontaneity’ can happen anywhere in the customer journey.

Ingredient 3: It’s the personal touch!

3D Businesses know and understand their customers, what’s important to them and what makes them ‘tick’. The key bit is letting your customers know you know this! It’s the unprompted bit of ‘value adding information’ that gets sent to them, it’s the handwritten personalised ps’s on letters, it’s having your number on caller id (in the office as well as mobile) that allows them to recognise you when you call, it’s the team member who know your ‘history’ as a customer and your importance to the business.

Ingredient 4: It makes customers feel ‘valued’

This can often be a simple ‘thank you!’, the email that says ‘Welcome and thank you for your first order’, it’s the recognition from the cal handler who says ‘you’ve now been a customer of ours for 12 months – thank you!’.Sometimes, it’s the quick phone call that says ‘How are things?’ or ‘here’s something I think you might find useful, interesting or helpful’ (it might be something not directly related to your products – an interesting news article, website, case study, lead, or opportunity – as before, the key is making sure it’s ‘relevant’, personalised’ and ‘genuine’!). Scarily, it could be something as simple as your ‘front line staff’ taking an interest in me as a customer, and demonstrating that – listening, smiling and answering my questions!

Ingredient 5: It’s genuine!

The downside of this stuff is that when it’s done badly, it looks false and creepy. I call it ‘scriptease’ – when it’s easier to ‘follow the script’ than it is to interact with and genuinely care for the customer. 3D Businesses empower and encourage their people to take responsibility and to take the initiative. Every employee at Ritz Carlton Hotels is allowed to spend up to $2,000 to solve a customer’s problem without referring to a manager! How ‘empowered’ are your front line people?

And finally....

Ingredient 6: It creates a ‘talking point’!

The power of word of mouth (and ‘word of mouse’!) is getting stronger. However, people only talk about brilliant stuff and poor stuff – they don’t tend to talk about ‘ok stuff’! The challenge therefore is to do stuff that gets people talking (positively please!) and that’s what ‘customer delight’ can do!

‘Customer Delight’ is not a gimmick, and it’s not about ‘covering up’ for poor products and services. It’s a way of ‘enhancing’ the customer experience, and crucially, it’s a great way of ‘engaging’ your people in helping demonstrate to your customers that you do actually care.

How can you do it? Well, a great way to get you started on generating ideas for Customer Delight in your business is to get your team together and complete this sentence. If your customers were to say...  

“They handled my query / call very professionally, but what completely blew me away was...”

What do you need to do to get your customers ‘blown away’?

In the words of Maya Angelou “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”

And that’s the point! ‘Delighted’ customers feel it, they remember it, they talk about it and they come back for more of it! (However, it’s worth pointing out that they do come back with ‘higher expectations’, but that’s another article!).

But until then, 'Missing you already!'