Creating Lasting Customer Experiences

I recently came across a quote that stuck with me..

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel

Maya Angelou

Pick any industry and you’ll find that people have a plethora of options to choose from. While having the luxury of choice is a nice problem to have for the consumer, it’s not that great for companies.

Startups especially have their work cut out for them. How do you go against the establishment? Some create a completely new market for themselves and thrive in that uncontested space. But that’s the difficult route. The majority still compete against the behemoths in their industry (read more about the blue ocean vs. red ocean strategy here). The age-old companies have the “unfair” advantage of the trust that they have built over the years. And honestly, that’s hard to compete against. Startups have to therefore think of alternate ways to get business – that may be by reducing prices (at the cost of early profitability) or creating/offering something new and different and unique from what the rest of the industry is doing (how long will that differentiator last though? Companies with deep pockets and resources are bound to catch up.)

I believe this is where customer experience levels the playing field.

You can be a 2 member company working out of a garage or you can be a 100,000 employee multi-national conglomerate. Delivering great customer experience is in your hands.

I was thinking through all the instances where I have been the benefactor of a great customer experience. There are three major themes that I have come across –

1. Solve a Genuine Problem that makes life easier
2. Go Above and Beyond by providing world-class support
3. Dazzle the Consumer with a quality offering

Solve a Genuine Problem that makes life easier

I used to order groceries frequently and Amazon Prime Now was my go-to app. The app was doing most things perfectly well, except for one – it was selling things in bulk. I was ordering groceries only for myself and had to end up buying a lot more than I actually needed.

Enter Instacart. Now, this was a relatively smaller company and had only been in business for a few years. But there was this one thing that they had nailed down – the ability to sell me the 2 onions and 3 potatoes I needed instead of the huge bags Amazon wanted me to buy. It just seemed like they understood my needs better. They solved a real genuine problem I had and it was difficult moving away from Instacart after that.

Another amazing feature Instacart offered was the ability to chat (and shop) in real-time with the person who was picking up your order. This also meant that if a particular item was unavailable, the shopper would recommend a close replacement. It was like I was shopping myself!

Bonus Example – Check- in lines in Vegas are notoriously loooooong, especially in peak season. While I was at MGM Resorts, one of the things the team was working on was mobile check-in, allowing customers the ability to go straight to their room and get in using a digital key on their MGM app. Everyone knew this was going to be a game-changer. Imagine never having to queue up at the hotel lobby. Ever.

Go Above and Beyond by providing world-class support

I have Uber-ed a LOT! (read about my analysis on the $7,443 I spent on Uber rides below). One of my early standout moments with Uber was the first time I raised a support ticket with them. I had been charged for a ride I did not take. I raised a ticket, fully expecting this to drag on. I was instead issued a refund in minutes, literally minutes. They didn’t ask any questions, didn’t say anything about needing more proof, and didn’t reply back saying they’ll get back to me in 3-5 business days. They just simply checked things on their end and green-lighted my refund. In my book, they had definitely gone above and beyond in solving my problem. I instantly knew this was a company I could trust.

Bonus Example – Almost all of my laptop and phone purchases have happened at Best Buy. Mostly because I prefer playing around with the product before making any buying decision, but also because of their excellent in-store support. I have always walked into a Best Buy store knowing I can ask for help and advice if I wanted to. But Best Buy is an excellent case study in itself. Here’s a great video on how the company turned itself around and was able to hold its ground in a market that Amazon was starting to dominate.

Dazzle the Consumer with a quality offering

Nothing beats Vegas when it comes to putting on a show. The larger-than-life spectacle transports you to a whole new world – be it the Bellagio fountains or the Eiffel Tower or the gondola rides at the Venetian.

The one that genuinely blew me away though was The Beatles LOVE by Cirque Du Soleil

I have always liked theatre, but Cirque was different. Bringing alive some of the best Beatles’ numbers, and importantly doing justice to them, isn’t easy. It was the perfect amalgamation of music, colour, acrobatics, creativity, and the occasional wow element. I remember being genuinely happy that I was able to witness all this unfolding in front of my eyes.

Cirque shows are not inexpensive but my Beatles LOVE experience was so amazing, that I eventually ended up going to pretty much all the shows they had in Vegas – O at the Bellagio, Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay, KA at MGM Grand and RUN at Luxor

Here’s a great read from HBR that describes how Cirque carved out a blue ocean for itself.

Bonus Example – I am genuinely impressed with how well the MyJio app has been built and the overall experience with using JioFiber. Every single thing is well laid out, making payments is easy, it works seamlessly and provides all important information upfront. Pretty much ticks all boxes.

While most of our experiences are positive, there’s bound to be a negative experience somewhere. Some companies simply don’t care enough and won’t go out of their way to help you out. I have found that companies that truly care about the customer experience, know that a bad experience often equates to lost business. Couple that with negative word of mouth and you are very likely dissuading potential future customers as well. These are the companies that will try and turn things around. And they definitely definitely should.

Why? The peak-end rule. I’ll steal the definition from the Nielsen Norman Group website – “The peak–end rule is a cognitive bias that impacts how people remember past events. Intense positive or negative moments (the “peaks”) and the final moments of an experience (the “end”) are heavily weighted in our mental calculus.”

I recently went to a buffet. Excellent spread right until the point when it was time for desserts. Every time I think about that visit, the first thing that pops into my head is how disappointing the desserts were. I haven’t been there since. Wonder if this is the peak-end rule at play?