Earlier this year, I wrote an article about the hard work required to make something look effortless.
I quoted several people from sports, entertainment, and business. The gist of the article was that we work hard to make doing business with us easy. Consider the quote I used from Steve Jobs of Apple, who said, “It takes a lot of hard work to make something look simple.”
Notice that Jobs’ quote uses the word simple. Sometimes, people confuse simple with easy, and it’s essential to recognise the difference between the two words.
So, let’s take this concept to the next level. It’s not only about making something look easy. It’s about simplifying the complicated.
When I’m asked to give a customer experience keynote speech, one of the points I like to make is the importance of simplifying the complicated.
All my books are easy to read. Some say the concepts are simple, but the reality is that they are often not. They are just presented in a way that simplifies the concepts for the reader. And we must do the same in business.
Customers don’t want or like complication, confusion, or friction. They want a customer-friendly experience, but they also want the overall experience to be convenient.
My annual customer service and experience research includes some very compelling findings that will make you want to simplify your customers’ experience.
For example, 94 per cent of the more than 1,000 consumers we surveyed said convenience is important, 87 per cent of customers will recommend a convenient company or brand, and 70 per cent will pay more for convenience.
As important as convenience is to the customer experience, there is more to ‘de-complicating’ the overall experience.
For example, how clear are your marketing messages and product descriptions? I’ve been to websites where, after reading everything on the company’s home page, I still don’t know exactly what they do! They’ve complicated their message.
The concept of simplicity is financially powerful. Siegel+Gale is a consulting firm that specialises in making brands simple.
Research shows a financial benefit to creating simplicity. In 2009, if you invested in a group of companies recognised for simplicity, you would have dramatically outperformed the stock market by a whopping 1,600 per cent - proving that simplicity delivers in return on investment.
It’s important to remember that simple does not always mean easy. You can have a very complicated and technical product.
My sister used to work with companies to rewrite complicated software manuals so that the average person could understand them. That’s a perfect example of simplifying the complicated.
Consider the following analogy to simplify a complex subject.
I was talking to a friend the other day, and he purchased an expensive new car. Unfortunately, the car was a ‘lemon’.
The car has spent more time at the mechanics than in his garage. If it were me, I’d ask the dealer to replace it. He has more patience than I and gave the dealer another chance to fix the car.
It made me think that what looks good on the outside may be better on the inside.
Unfortunately, some businesses fall into the same category as my friend’s automobile. They look good on the outside, with fantastic marketing and advertising, a fancy website, and a beautiful building; however, when it comes to caring for the customer, they fail.
This made me think further about how cars are maintained. It’s not much different from how you would want to run your business.
Reliability: Assuming you have a good product, you want to create processes that are customer and employee friendly. The experience must, at minimum, meet your customers’ expectations. That builds confidence and customer satisfaction.
Routine maintenance: You want to keep your car properly maintained with routine maintenance. In the customer service world, we could consider this ongoing training that keeps your employees sharp with the latest tools and technology.
Alignment: I wrote about focusing on employees first a few years ago. My weekly cartoon included the caption, “If an employee’s experience isn’t at least as good as the customer’s, the customer’s experience can be shaky, and the entire company can suffer.”
In other words, there needs to be alignment between the customer experience and the employee experience.
Feedback: When we take our car to a dealer, a mechanic hooks a computer up to perform a diagnostic check.
In the business world, this is akin to your customers' feedback. You must have a system that collects feedback and allows you to repair and maintain the experience so it continues to meet, if not exceed your customer’s expectations.
Update: New vehicles offer an updated look in addition to updates under the hood, which could include more efficient engines, the latest technology, and more. Product improvements, new technology, new processes, and more can give your customers a fresh experience.
Like maintaining a car, fine-tuning your customer service and experience ensures your business runs smoothly.
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