This article takes an interesting view of the customer service experience. The author writes that a business should “sell” the idea of the experience he or she will have in your store, rather than whatever it is that goes into creating that experience. He uses the example of Walmart telling its customers they will have all registers open all the time throughout the holiday season. They don’t mention why they’re doing this—so the customers will have shorter or no wait-times in line. Instead, this author suggests Walmart skip the explanation and just say, “You won’t have to wait in line.”
The concept is one similar to advertising’s long-standing philosophy: Sell the benefits of the product, not the product itself. In this case, it means telling your customers what kind of experience they will have in your store, rather than what you’ve done to create those experiences. The customer doesn’t care why or how. The customer only cares about himself—what does it all mean for him?
And, if you’re going to do that, it pays to be specific. Say, “You won’t wait more than 5 minutes,” rather than, “We promise you won’t wait long.”
This author points out that customer service IS marketing. These days, your customer service is the reason people find you, come in your door, and purchase your products. Making the customer experience first and foremost and then broadcasting that clearly, is just plain good marketing.
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