Four Steps To Becoming A Priceless Experience Company

All the experts agree that creating good customer experiences is the key to business success. In fact a Deloitte & Touche study of 900 manufacturers determined that customer-centric companies not only have more loyal and satisfied customers they are sixty percent more profitable than companies that are more internally focused. In Priceless:Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences, published by Harvard Business School Press, authors Diana LaSalle and Terry A. Britton show how any company can deliver exceptional customer experiences beginning with these four steps.

See your products and services through the customer’s eyes

We’re all familiar with those barrel shaped shop vacuums that have a hose protruding out of its top-mounted motor. Nearly every handyman at one time or another has used the hose to pull the vacuum across the floor, tipping the machine on its side. It doesn’t matter to the customer that the manual says not to do this. It’s what feels right. After years of spilled sawdust, manufacturers finally recognized this experience disconnect and changed the design. Today millions of people are happily and successfully pulling on shop vacuum hoses. When we see our products and services through the customer’s eyes, we often find that what we intended is not what the customer wants. When you change your point of view everyone wins.

Identify and communicate the value of your product or service

Most companies look at what a product or services does, but real value lies in what it offers to enhance a customer’s life. A local swimming instructor was having trouble filling her children’s classes until she mounted this campaign: “Swimming, the only sport that can save your life.” Parents immediately saw the value and the instructor now has a waiting list for her classes. When we identify what our products and services offer in terms of value and then communicate those values, customers can make good buying decisions that provide satisfaction long after the initial purchase is made.

Realize you’re not alone

Experience is a two way and sometimes even a three-way street. There’s the company who makes or delivers a product or service, the customer who buys and uses the offering and often a distributor, retailer or other third party that also participates. Every step of the way, each participant in an experience has the opportunity to influence the outcome. One consumer went to a popular specialty store to buy a Good Grips can opener only to find the product shelved several feet above her head. The company didn’t intend for the product to be difficult to reach but it was. Now the consumer had to make a choice—find someone to get it down for her or buy something closer to the ground. The biggest mistake any company can make is to think they are completely in control of the customer experience. Everyone involved with experience delivery must be committed to creating the best possible experience or you’ll never be better than ordinary.

Be willing to watch, listen and learn

Customers are only too happy to show you the way to a priceless experience even when they can’t always articulate it. Some years ago Nissan Design's president Jerry Hirshberg was driving down the street when he noticed a couple on the side of the road. They were trying to cram a piece of furniture into their minivan. The curious exec stopped to talk to them and they told him they had purchased the van for just such a purpose. In order to take advantage of the cargo space, however, they had to remoe the seats. Eventually this chance meeting led to the idea for using six-foot runners so the van's backseat could fold up, quickly freeing the cargo space. This design innovation revolutionized the min-van and later the SUV category all because someone observed, listened to and learned from the customer.

These are just a few of the steps a company can take on their journey to becoming a true customer experience success, but any business willing to begin with these four will be headed in the right direction—one that ultimately is good for everyone involved.