This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The 1-Page Marketing Plan" by Allan Dib. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What makes a great customer experience? How can you ensure your customers become fans of your brand?
If you want to have dedicated and enthusiastic customers, you must provide great customer experience. In The 1-Page Marketing Plan, Allan Dib offers his best advice for ensuring your customers have a great customer experience every time.
Here are five ways to ensure great customer experience every time.
The Key to Great Customer Experience
The first step in building customer enthusiasm is delivering a great customer experience that helps turn them into superfans. Dib recommends several strategies to ensure a great customer experience every time:
- Ensure the customer gets results from the product. Customers often don’t use a product as intended, then conclude it doesn’t work, and never buy from you again. To retain them as happy customers, walk them through the products’ setup and use; anticipate problems they’ll have and provide solutions. For example, help them set up a new laptop and install software, and show them how to use the key features.
- Innovate to make your product or service entertaining. Customers want to be entertained as well as serviced, so Dib suggests innovating in some aspect of the customer experience—the way it’s delivered, packaged, or supported. For example, when a customer picks up a new car, take photos or video of her in the driver’s seat, which she can share on social media.
- Have effective business systems in place so you can deliver on your promise of a standout customer experience. (Shortform note: In Traction, Gino Wickman explains how to create systems and processes that keep your business running in your absence and make it more valuable if you decide to sell it, because it performs consistently and measurably.)
- Use technology to smooth the customer experience rather than creating frustration—for example, the process of placing an online order, paying, and receiving confirmation and delivery information should be flawless. (Shortform note: Technology problems with customer service are a major source of customer frustration. They include confusing phone menus, long wait times, and dropped calls.)
| Creating a Customer Experience (CX) Strategy The final step to provide a great customer experience is to create a customer experience strategy. Many business consultants recommend creating a customer experience or CX strategy that lays out your approach to creating the best possible customer experience for your product or service. To develop a CX strategy: 1. Create a “customer journey map” of customer interactions with your business. 2. Determine customer expectations. 3. Determine how to solve problems for the customer. 4. Provide self-service options. 5. Train your customer service employees. 6. Regularly collect feedback. 7. Track your performance. Customer experience is a major differentiator for businesses. Further, customers who have great customer experiences are more likely to forgive a company when there’s a problem, are likely to buy more, and have a higher level of trust in the company. |
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Here's what you'll find in our full The 1-Page Marketing Plan summary :
- How to create a marketing plan using a simple template
- A guide to the three customer-focused phases of marketing
- How to create enthusiastic superfans—and why they're essential
