CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE

We've taken it to the homes and streets of New Zealand and asked real people from a range of backgrounds about their own good and bad experiences, and what they'll need and value this year - more than any normal year. A common thread in what they told us was that getting the basics right is what really counts. Your customers may not consciously understand the lengths you've gone to in order to design a great experience, why should they? Their perspective is significantly different to yours (and that of your staff) and it's worth reminding yourself of this regularly. When customers engage your business they will measure it in simple terms - was the experience good or bad? How did it make them feel? Were their needs and wants satiated? How did their experience compare with what your competitors offer?

Most importantly Customer Experience is not the icing on the cake, it's all the ingredients that make up the recipe. To get the recipe right you need to understand what kind of cake your customers are looking for.

Bottom line: The customer experience you offer must to be based on meaningful customer insights and value so you can deliver an integrated experience that is optimised for them - not you.

There are 7 helpful questions you can consider when designing and delivering experiences to meet the needs of your customers:

1. Do you balance your customer's needs with your businesses needs?
   Start by really listening to your customers - then, and only then should look at what can you do to address imbalances between what your customers 'really' want and what you've ended up offering them. It sounds obvious but way too many businesses have stopped doing just this.
2. Do you know the true cost to your business in delivering a good customer experience?
   Most companies don't. They can tell you the cost of their constant scramble to acquire customers - and yet find it hard to define the effort, investment or cost of retention. Look for ways to make it easier for your employees to do the right things when acquiring and keeping customers - the wrong things can cost a whole lot more.
3. Do you under-spend on training your staff on what matters most for your customers?
   When your staff are motivated, empowered and engaged - great customer experiences are like money in the bank. When they are able to learn and deliver what matters to customers great - but when they are disconnected from your customers needs, and wants, or are unable to help them because of your priorities or processes then you'll find it really hard to satisfy either your staff or your customers.
4. How well do you really know your customers?
   Truly, most people don't, and that's because it either seems too hard because there are too many of them they are all different - or you are making good money anyway - even without knowing. You can't deliver the products and services they want, if you don't truly understand who you're dealing with and what they value. Get to know your customers faster than your competitors - getting this right might just give you an edge - in most sectors the benchmarks for value and service delivery are rising fast.
5. Are you sure you are committed to customer experience?
   It doesn't matter what you say, it's what you do that counts - if you think you are delivering a valuable experience, be sure to regularly check you are getting the most important things most right. If you're not committed to customer experience, that's fine - just don't over promise. If you think you don't need to deliver better experiences than your competitor's fine, amplify the factors you do lead in or are committed to - the worst things to do are oversell and underperform…be that on price, range, access - or experience.
6. How hard is it for you to make things easy?
   Well that depends on what easy means…customers generally want a clear simple and valuable service and experiences, whether it's buying and airline ticket, deciding which credit card to apply for of choosing which carpet cleaner is the best product at the best price. You may think you are making it easy for your customers - but too many businesses don't as it takes time and costs money. Talk to your customers, identify the size of the gap as they see it - and then try to make the shift from self-centeredness to customer centeredness, it may just end up saving you.
7. Do you help your people help your customers?
   Once you really know your customers, make sure your people do too - understanding 'who' you are doing it for and 'why' you're doing something makes the 'how' easier. Most employees want to make your customers happy, try to give them permission and the scope to relate better and satisfy your customers in each and every interaction.

Want more? Visit our Future Insight feature page where we offer seven insights in to getting closer to your customers - this just might be what to look for and focus on in the year ahead. Add these seven steps together and you will deliver an integrated experience based on meaningful customer insights. We believe this approach is just as crucial to helping your business ride out the current financial storm as any 'batten down the hatches' strategy. Crucially, it could also be the platform for setting you up for a stronger future.

At DNA we're looking to the future and constantly thinking about the issues and challenges that might present for our clients - and we've developed a powerful set of solutions to help deal with what you face.

To find out more about our approach view our services, results or view a range of DNA client case studies.

More information

For more information about Brand strategy and Creation contact:
Aaron Carson on 09 375 1592 or Gill Coltart on 04 499 0828

For more information about Web and Online services contact:
Hayden Vink on 09 375 1592 or Katherine Allan on 04 499 0828

For more information about Retail and Customer Touch point Optimisation services contact: Martin Grant on 09 375 1592