What is up, WebPunch nation? This is your professor, Matt Jones, coming at you from Denver, Colorado, here to drop some knowledge about what’s going on in the world of reputation management and how you can make things better for your business. First and foremost, what is up with my fabulous mustache? Let me show you what’s going on with this nonsense. I don’t know. You know, I was shaving the other day and I just thought, “Gosh. I look even more silly and more ridiculous than I usually do so I might as well just live with that. Enjoy that for a few more days.” So, that’s what we’ve got to do as men and entertain ourselves with the things that grow from our bodies. Anyway, don’t think too much about that.
Let’s get into it. I know there are so many of you right now who are like, “Gosh. I’m sitting here. How can I make my business better? What kind of new products can I make? How can I make my software better?” I know a lot of you are sweating about that today – and that’s a good thing to sweat about. But let’s talk a little bit about what you can do to stand apart in the marketplace.
Stats don’t lie. Well, actually, they kind of do. Anyone who’s taken a stats class knows that things can be manipulated. But some stats really do feel intuitive. Let’s talk about number one. Eighty-eight percent of customers prefer customer service over a company that has the latest and greatest products. That’s from a study done by the Harris Interactive. Another stat said 69% of customers switch brands because of customer service and that was a study done by Michaels & Associates. Sometimes, I’ve to cram things on the board so they all fit.
Those stats say that people are really interested in having an amazing customer experience over products.Also, if the customer experience isn’t there, then that’s a big reason. Sixty-nine percent said that they switched to a different brand because they weren’t getting good customer experience or getting good customer service. Sometimes, those things are the same, and sometimes…or, actually, a lot of times they should be…there are some distinguishing factors in each, let’s just say that.
So, I want to say that right now, there are tons of great products, right? I’ve got the cool little drone, a little DJI that I love. We’ve got the Pocket Fisherman. Who can forget the Ron Popeil Pocket Fisherman? That thing was amazing. We’ve got so many things. You guys remember the Flowbee? It was like this tube vacuum cleaner that you could cut your hair with. If I had hair, I would definitely be styling my do with my Flowbee. So, there are things out there that are really great. But how many of you can name a customer experience that wowed you, or made you feel special, or was really thoughtful, or distinguishing in the last two years of your life? A lot of you would have a hard time thinking of that.
I know off the top of my head companies like Nordstrom, Zappos, REI, JetBlue, Southwest are companies that are known for being really, really thoughtful in the way that they deal with customers and also really flexible in allowing the customer to kind of go the way they want to go and have that experience that makes them feel comfortable. Those companies have really set themselves apart in the marketplace. All those companies did really, really well in that 2008 bubble when the real estate market crashed and everyone was freaking out and there were a lot of problems. A lot of companies were shrinking and just trying to batten down the hatches so they could survive and make payroll.
Well, these companies, the ones I just named, on average, increased their company by 18% during that same tumultuous time. So people are still willing to pay, even when things get tough, for an amazing customer experience and they want to work with a company that’s going to wow them, that’s going to listen to them, that’s going to make life easy for them, and solve the problems and issues that they have in the most effective, easy, and fun way possible.
So, what can you do as a brand? What can your company do? Well, really focus on that customer journey. Really map out, “Where does the customer’s journey begin? How are they interacting with our brand? How are we getting feedback about the typical and current experience that we’re offering them? And how can we gather feedback that’s really specific along that journey that will help us make better strategic decisions, so that their customer experience is better and distinguishable in the marketplace?” Really map out that journey, really get that down and figure out when you’re gathering customer feedback on that journey and what kind of feedback you’re getting.
Also, I just want to say that the CEO of Mercedes Benz said that customer experience is the new marketing and I can’t disagree with that. I really think that delivering and understanding your customer by delivering that wow, that excellent customer experience can really set you apart in a marketplace. Maybe you want to think, “Our product or service is really great right now, but how can we make that customer experience better?” Because that’s one way that you can really set yourself apart from your competition and get the upper hand in the marketplace.
