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How bad customer experience increases customer service calls

If your customers have a bad experience with your brand, they will call customer service. And if your customer service can’t help, say goodbye to having repeat customers. 

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you applied for a specific service.

There is a waiting period for you to get it approved and processed.

They come back to you via your preferred method of communication, email, to let you know that there are some missing documents or information to process your application.

You proactively update all the information and send it back.

Then you wait.

Nothing happens.

You start wondering, Did they see my update? What happens now?

You exercise your patience.

Until one day, you have had it.

And so you recheck your email to see any sign to communicate back with them.

The email they sent you is a “No-Reply” email so when you try to reply and ask about the progress, the email delivery fails.

You notice that there is a note that tells you, “If you require assistance, please contact X.”

Then you find no mention to X’s email or any contact information.

You get frustrated.

Then, you pick up the phone and call customer service.

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What does customer experience mean?

I was chatting with my friend’s mom when she asked me, “what do you do?”

And then I was, hmmm… That would take some time to explain.

“I am a management consultant. I work in customer experience,” I said.

She looked at me with a perplexed look that tells me what does that even mean.

I guess so many people don’t know what does customer experience really means. Is it customer service? Marketing? Sales? Strategy? Operations? Wait… Designer?

And no, it’s none of the above, and yet we do touch upon all of the above.

Wait, what?

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Is Customer Experience the same as Customer Service?

I am often asked if Customer Experience is the same as Customer Service when I tell people what I do. 

The short answer is: No. They are not the same. 

Customer service is only one aspect of the customer experience. It’s one interaction with the customer. Customer experience, however, is everything the customer goes through when interacting with a brand. 

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Resistance: The secret that stops you from doing what you really want to do

If you are a creative person, chances are you have read “The Art of War” by Steven Pressfield. And if you didn’t, you might want to give it a read.

Art and war? How would these two come together?

The reason Steven Pressfield associated art with war, is that internal struggle. Yes, there is a war, but not with the external world. It’s from within. It’s from within us.

Steven Pressfield explains how resistance keeps us from doing the things that will elevate our souls.

“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t know. And the secret is this: it’s not the writing that’s hard. It’s the sitting down to write—and what keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”
-Steven Pressfield.

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Do you focus on the future or in the present?

We shall find the balance between seeing the “big picture” and being in the “present.”

It’s true. We could only be fueled by vision when it’s in sync with our values, which could only happen when we take a step back and look at the “big picture.”

But then, the “big picture” must be removed from our conscious. Because when we only focus on it, we tend to think about the different possible “future scenarios.” And we won’t be able to get ourselves off the thinking track of “What if? What could be? What’s possible?”

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Focus and trust the process

All the time in the world won’t help if you can’t focus, especially when you know what you can do when you are focused.

When we can’t focus, we tend to procrastinate and undermine our capabilities. What we used to do can’t be done anymore, and what was never attempted doesn’t even seem possible. We can’t get ourselves to do the work because we don’t “see” the point.

But there is something about showing up. You drag yourself, sit and say, “Hey, I am ready now,” only to find yourself numb. Then, you doubt yourself, “Is it even worth it to show up again?” You tell yourself, “Trust the process,” and show up again. The second time, you are still not focused, but you give it a try. It sucks, but it doesn’t matter. You tell yourself, “What is this sh*t?” Then, you pat yourself on the shoulder and say, “Hey, at least I am doing something.”

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Brand purpose builds consumer loyalty and increases employee retention

If you know me and know how much I love shoes, you would know that I am the kind of person who would buy 12 pairs of shoes in one day. Yes, I said it—12 pairs in one day.

This means there is a high chance I own a pair of TOM’s shoes, which I do, by the way. I love the shoes because it’s beautiful and comfortable. A great combination, right?

But my love for it grew when I learned about its purpose and values.

What are TOM’s purpose and values?

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The worst advice I have received: “Stop writing.”

The worst advice I have received: “Stop writing.”

I got that advice from a best-selling author who wrote multiple books and a very successful blogger. I looked up to her and thought, “Only if I could have my blog be as impactful as hers one day,” followed by a sigh and then by following her advice.

Her intent was genuine, she shared what worked for her, and perhaps even if I followed her exact footsteps, I would have had the same results. She meant well—that I know. The idea was not to stop writing because writing is bad, but she wanted me to take a step back, do the customer research that I can’t emphasize how much is important, set a strategy, and then, only then, I would start writing. I fully agree with her, and that’s the kind of advice I would give as well.

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Customer Research: How much do you think you know your customers?

We were designing a product for a particular customer segment when one of the technical “experts” decided to take one design direction because he knew better.

He said, “I have been doing this for many years, and I “know” what customers want.”

Forget the fact that he wasn’t a designer; he still thought he “knew better.”

Why?
Design is such a subjective topic. Everyone has a point of view. It’s not like you are engineering the system of an autonomous car, right? THAT for sure needs expertise. But design? Everyone can do design. Or so they think.

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Boost your sales with a research-backed method for innovation

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – Henry ford

Sometimes, when we think about innovation, creating new products or services, we think about what is familiar to us.

You might think I wish to create something that I want or something that I am passionate about. While your passion is crucial to keep your engine going, it might not necessarily be what your customers want.

There are two primary schools of thoughts when creating new products:

1] Ideation: Ideate, brainstorm, test as many ideas as you can, and fail fast.
2] Needs and challenges: Find out about your customers’ needs and then serve them.

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