Process + Brand = Experience

Listening with Empathy to Connect with Customers

Here is what I presented at CXTalks last Tuesday, May 22. I also included an audio track if you'd prefer that experience. Enjoy!

 

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Photo from Carlos Pimenta at CX Talks. 
 

How many of you meditate? Daily? Successfully? I have been trying to do that. It’s so hard, but it’s a great way to help me be present.

A meditation that I’ll do to ground me uses my senses starting with sight, then smell, then touch, then listening. I’ll sit in the same place to meditate, so my experience each time is more or less the same, except for listening.

The sounds I hear always change. It’s like I’m having a type of conversation with my apartment and developing a relationship with my space, always discovering something new.

Inside my apartment I’ll hear the air vents humming or the dishwasher running, and sometimes outside of my apartment I’ll hear the birds singing, dogs barking in the hallway, construction, or my neighbors doing something.

Sound waves can travel very far, giving me a lot of information…but it’s not like I’m asking for it…it just comes.

When I’m being present and allowing information to just come to me, it’s the same experience as when I’m listening to understand rather than listening to respond in a conversation. There is a natural curiosity when you listen to understand  that can change the tone and immediately help you to become a better listener. I think it’s because I’m focused on gathering information, like the discovery phase of a project. You don’t yet have any answers. You’re curious, learning, and accepting the information that’s being provided. Sometimes I’ll look at this as a gift someone is sharing with me and this really shifts my perspective about what I’m receiving.

But let’s contrast that with listening to respond where you’re focused on explaining your thoughts and your message. One scenario where I’m particularly guilty of listening to respond is when I’m brainstorming with a team. I’ll get an idea and I’m so excited to communicate it that I blurt it out, interrupting everyone. I think I’m helping the idea process, but I just communicated through my actions that I’m more concerned about sharing my idea than listening to what others have just contributed. It’s not intentional, not mean-spirited, but that’s what I just did.

When we interrupt others, we communicate through our actions that we’re not really concerned with what they have to say.  Our ideas come first. 

I think sometimes we often do this in companies – we get so focused on making sure our message is heard and we’re noticed, that we forget to be curious to listen to customer feedback.

Lynn Borton hosts a talk show in Virginia about curiosity, called Choose to be Curious. She sees listening as an way to be open to learn new perspectives. When you are learning, typically you aren’t judging the information you receive as right or wrong. It just is. The earth is the third rock from the sun. Water is wet. My client would prefer if I offered an online course so he could attend when he wants. I can see how the phrase “the customer is always right,” is connected to this idea. I would challenge that it’s not about the customer being right or wrong, or winning or losing, I mean, who wins a conversation? But the challenge the business owner has is to not be defensive and consider the problem through the customer’s perspective and create a solution that solves the problem.

Julian Treasure is a listening expert and has given a number of TED talks about it. He suggests that another challenge of listening is that you can’t control the information you get from someone else. It’s messy – like relationships. Structured flows and experiences and linear thinking won’t necessarily help you establish a conversation with your customer. They don’t give you a neatly packaged group of facts. You get what they give through banter, trial and error, choosing the wrong button.

With all of the information styles we have today, I wonder if it is time for us to expand our definition of conversations beyond verbal or written communication. A conversation is really an interaction between two people or entities that build a relationship….it could be through an online app, social media engagement, a focus group, survey, purchase activity, or a support center call. This means that listening should include observing. And we shouldn’t forget that actions speak louder than words.

Our customer’s communication comes through metrics and results. That’s why we should approach them with curiosity – it’s a way for us to listen. But sometimes in business we get so focused on the bottom line or we want to prove that we were right that we often miss what our customers are really telling us in that data. We overlook trends that may not fit our narratives or contradict our understanding of our customers. We miss key insights that get us to customer experience nirvana, or empathy.

But empathy can’t just emerge from stats. It really starts inside your organization. We all like to think that our employees love our customers, but do they? I mean, do they talk about them behind their backs? Do they see them as dumb? Is respect there? Does your team think your customers are generally smart and capable people who make great decisions?

If you listen to your team and observe their actions you can discover if your team even likes your customers or do they feel contempt for them?

You see, contempt to compassion is a sliding scale. With contempt you believe that your customer got themselves into their unfortunate situation and probably can’t help themselves get out of it even if they wanted to. If you feel sympathy, you feel bad for someone for getting into that situation, but you aren’t up to the task to help them solve their problem. If you feel empathy, you can relate to your customer’s situation and understand their emotions and feelings. There is a desire to help. If you feel compassion, you don’t care how your customer got into that situation, but you can understand how they are feeling and want to help them solve their problem.

It makes you wonder if we should instead be focused on compassion rather than empathy….but that’s another story.

Empathy is defined as “the act of coming to experience the world as you think someone else does” which is the problem with empathy in a nutshell. This is why some researchers say that empathy is not “the cure”. There was a study in Harvard Business Review where marketing managers made “empathetic decisions” for their customers, but the decisions they made reflected their own desires and didn’t consider what the customer really wanted. Psychology researcher, Paul Bloom, wrote a book called The Case Against Empathy. He mentions a few ways to look at empathy – for moral purposes, for connection, or to understand someone else. But at the raw definition, if you have empathy for someone who is feeling bad, then you feel bad too and is that useful? To him, this why compassion is better.  

But these researchers all have a point. There are problems with empathy.

And it breaks down in the definition – no two people have the same shared experience, and no one really knows what someone else is feeling, which is why connection with other people is hard.

This is why I propose a different definition of empathy - an attempt at understanding someone else’s emotional situation by relating through a similar physical and emotional event that occurred in their own life.  

Here’s an example….let's say your best friend's dog passed away and your friend was very close to her dog. Let's say your pet hamster passed away, but you weren't particularly close to your hamster (it was one of 20 anyway). You can't say with any validity to your friend that you understand what she is going through. Sure, you both lost a pet, but you both didn't lose the same type of relationship with that pet. But let's say a couple of years earlier, you lost a cat and you were very close to that cat. You could say to your friend that you understand what she is going through. You both lost a pet, you both lost a close relationship with your pet, and there may be some differences between what you are both feeling because it was a different type of animal.

When you are trying to connect with someone through empathy, you can’t simply recall the same exact situation in your life to understand how that person feels. You review similar life events and find one that seems to have the same emotional severity.

You’ll get to this partly from listening, partly from emotional validation and partly from respect. The connection comes from the shared emotion – the event is almost irrelevant in the connection.

So how does this apply to developing empathy for customers?

Listening is the most powerful tool you have available as a business person. But to use listening and connect with empathy, you need to:

• be present
• be curious and not have expectations
• acknowledge that relationships are built on conversations
• redefine what a conversation is
• go inside out – see if your team can be empathetic to your customers
• connect through listening, validating emotions, and respect. It’s about the shared emotion around the event – not the event itself.

Next time you are looking for that great insight or connection with your customers, take a break, maybe meditate, get present, look through all of your data, and listen with curiosity to discover something new in your observations. You may find that golden insight you’ve been waiting for.

Our changing perception of ownership - 6 trends sparking the shift

We may own a lot of stuff, but I think we are starting to have a different view of what should be owned/purchased/bought versus accessed/licensed/rented. The end desire is the same - ability to use an item to solve a problem. But how you access that solution - direct purchase or access rights - may be different. And does that matter? Or do customers care more about finding an economic and sustainable way to solve their problems?

 

How we view ownership in society is changing. In many respects, ownership is the goal of the buyer’s journey, the sales process, and the main interaction people have with a company. Many look to “own” a solution to a problem. We make ownership seem simple - you go to a store (brick and mortar or virtual), buy something, and bring it home. But that’s not really what happens. Subconscious decisions occur during various steps of the process to determine if a product really solves your problem, and if the product has value or worth to you at its current price point. There can be many stakeholders involved in a purchase, depending on the item, how much it costs, who will use it, the type of benefits, and how it will be maintained.

We sometimes kid ourselves into thinking that money doesn’t matter when we are solving a problem. “Money is no object.” But it is. Money is often a deciding factor for a purchase or license. We may decide that the high cost of the solution makes the problem not worth fixing and reduce the priority of the problem in our lives. We may decide that it’s ok to live with the problem as-is, or do some more research and find a free or low-cost substitute workaround. In doing this, there is a chance that we may simply not be seeing how deeply the product will change our lives for the better. We walk away from the solution because it's too difficult to see a new way. We need help visualizing the change.

An evening gown is a great example of a complex purchase that may be influenced by money. A gown may not change your life, but it is a great example of a buy or rent scenario and the factors involved in the decision making around that.

If you attend formal functions often, it makes sense to own a gown. But there are a number of reasons why gown ownership isn't practical:

• Most of us attend a formal event a handful of times in a lifetime. We don't need one in our closet.
• A gown is usually based on high fashion trends. If you only wear one every few years, then it would go out of style before you could wear it again.
• You don't want to be seen wearing a gown twice by the same group.
• Gown maintenance and storage can be costly (depending on the gown, it could take up a lot of room in a closet and require a special dry cleaner to clean it)

For many, it makes more sense to rent a gown for an event and return it the day after. Rent the Runway was founded on the premise of reducing replacement and maintenance costs. They also rent designer clothes that you may only want to wear a handful of times before they are out of fashion. They solve the problem of wearing the right outfit for the right occasion and provide a different way to finance access to the solution. The alternative solution to renting a gown for a formal event is putting the gown on a credit card (some would return the gown the next day, as unethical as that sounds...it is a common option). Another solution is simply not going to the event. But if Rent the Runway does it right (and they have), they found a way to paint a picture of a future where you get the best of all worlds - even cost-wise.

As mentioned above, the cost of ownership is tied not only to the purchase cost, but the cost of maintenance, repairs, and replacement. There are also insurances, warranties and guarantees to consider. There are pros and cons to alternatives like leasing or renting once these other costs are considered.

As an aside….I’d like to clarify the definition of a product and/or service that a company offers. Sometimes we view products from a company's perspective - as items to be sold or items that we need to get someone to buy. From my perspective, a product or service should be seen from a customer perspective as a solution to a problem. The problem could be, for example, hunger (products in a grocery store), boredom (amusement parks, zoos, museums), or desire for knowledge (books, schools).

To clarify, if someone doesn’t buy your solution, it’s because it’s not a priority for that person. He simply found another way to solve his problem without buying from (or spending money with) you. 

Historical view of ownership
Ownership used to be related to investments and assets. People would purchase land as an investment. That land became a place to grow food and generate revenue from the excess harvested. Or they could sell the land because it increased in value as it sat there. Same with a house. Same with a horse. You bought a horse and had transportation, manpower, and wealth that could be sold to another bidder. Sure, you had to feed it and care for it, but those costs were far less than the value it gave providing transportation and other services (even the ability to reproduce and make more to sell). 

In some ways, clothes were an investment (they could be repaired and worn for years). Food was an investment. A printing press was an investment. Owning a book was an investment. Jewelry was an investment.

Then came along automation and mass production. Costume jewelry. Plastic plates. Things that were not made to last. Things that required maintenance, serious repairs, and possible replacement because they were temporary, created for fun, or just a handful of uses.

Over time, even cars were not seen as an investment. They required a lot of maintenance and repairs. And replacement. Things were no longer seen as investments or assets. They were things that cost money and declined in value the longer you owned them. 

According to this Financial Times article, businesses were the first in revising their perspective of ownership. Many stopped owning their offices and business spaces (e.g., supermarkets, airlines). They rented because it was perceived as more economical, flexible (they could change locations and not need to sell), and sustainable.

I see six trends influencing our views of ownership as well as our view of products and solutions and wealth/assets.

#1: Ownership isn't really connected to wealth and investment anymore.

As stated earlier, people in the past would own something because it was an asset with long term value. Buying a good was equated with making an investment, increasing in value over time, adding to your wealth.

With the rise of mass production and consumerism, we have witnessed that not all items we buy will increase our assets and wealth. In fact, some things we buy will decrease our wealth because of maintenance and repair costs. Again, cars are a great example. Many say that a car loses its value as soon as someone drives it off the dealer's lot. Then there are the maintenance and repair costs. After 10 or more years, there are replacement costs. It provides transportation, but are the costs worth it?

 

#2: Our definition of wealth and investment has changed.

What does it mean to be a wealthy person? Our definition of personal wealth is shifting from being based on money to personal experiences and balanced living. Trips are now being seen as a personal investment to broaden our views of the world and how we see ourselves in it. Education has always been perceived as an investment because you can expand how you see the world and yourself.

Sure, what is in your bank account matters when defining wealth, but that is not the only factor. 

The movie Citizen Kane illustrates this best. Although the movie was made in 1941, its message is still relevant, if not more relevant, today. Charles Kane owned a mansion, the largest personal zoo, incredible artwork, but on his deathbed, he wished to find his slide, Rosebud. He had this slide as a kid before he entered the world of wealth. To him, Rosebud represented his most prized possession - his childhood with his family. It makes you wonder if he saw himself as poor, although he had many things.

This begs the question: how do you define wealth? In some ways, your perception of wealth could be a reflection of your value system. 

 

#3: We are increasingly wanting access to things that simply can't be owned.

You can't "own" a song. You can write or perform a song. You can record a song for later listening. You can access that song to listen to it. But you can't "own" it. You can own the CD that the recording is on, but that song is not technically yours. Same with a book. Someone else wrote that book. You are reading it. You may own the paper it is on, but you don't own the tale or the thoughts or ideas outlined in the book. Those are from someone else. The person who originated the thoughts and ideas can provide access to you to read it, or keep it to himself. 

In a way, the digital world and the discussion around media rights is raising a solid point about creative work and ownership. It can't be owned. It's about access.

We are almost extending the model of the library. The library provides access to books that we return. With the rise of the Internet, we now have access to knowledge. But we don't own it. It's free, we can read it at any time, but we will never own everything on the Internet. However, we can always access it.

 

#4: The cost of ownership (maintenance and repairs) may be too high.

The term, "total cost of ownership," (TCO) is now commonplace. Businesses consider this when they purchase a solution. It's no longer a consideration of what's the cheapest solution - it's how much the solution will cost a company or person in the time that the person "owns" the product. It's a long-term cost view of ownership.

Rather than the car example I keep using, let's look at a house. If you don't go to the right appraiser or inspector, you could purchase a house with a faulty foundation or frame. There may be a leaky roof that even the previous owners weren't aware existed. Or the shingles could have been poorly installed. Or the gutters. There is always maintenance for a house, which is why many don't own and rent. Issues can range from structural damage after extreme weather to simple wear and tear to general improvements. There is even gardening and yard work that needs to occur.

Another example for TCO is clothes that require dry cleaning only. Dry cleaning can easily cost $10-15 per shirt depending on the dry cleaner. So a $100 silk blouse may easily cost $250 after 10 wearings.

This is why ownership doesn't always make sense. Wearing a dry clean only shirt could easily double, if not triple, the cost of the shirt. We are told a home is an investment, but in some ways, given that it is based on property values and market rates and how much work you put into it, is it? 

 

#5: Technology is changing so fast that ownership is no longer sustainable. 

If we look at how technology is changing so fast, we can quickly see how items are built to last a few years, if not only a few seasons. We get new technology to replace old, dated technology. We dread buying it because we know we’ll need to replace it. Sometimes, you can't even repair it if it is broken. Further, if you can repair it, the cost is prohibitive and it is cheaper to purchase a new solution. 

The iPod is now essentially dead (and iTunes is probably shortly behind) after only 16 years with the rise of the iPhone and other media devices. Another example is ethernet cables. We no longer connect to the internet with cables (for about 5-7 years now). Dial-up access is a thing of the past. The world is wireless. I predict that keys to homes will be a past novelty in 5 years - already homes are using combination locks rather than keys. And with biometric technology on the horizon, isn't that a better way to lock your door?

Cell phones can now be purchased using a monthly charge and replaced after 2-3 years - you turn in your phone and get a new one. I personally have an issue with this regarding wiping the data off of a device when you return it. However, options are now appearing to accommodate and better support sustainability and waste from the technology changes causing tech products to be obsolete in a handful of years.

 

#6: Time is valuable - owning may take longer to do than other means of accessing an item.

We believe a myth when we go to buy expensive goods: you go to a store or showroom, find what you want, give cash, take it home.

The reality of buying expensive goods: you research your options, you go to the store or showroom several times, you talk to sales people, research more, talk to customers, you research finance options, you decide on what you want to buy, you sign a bunch of paperwork, add in maintenance agreements and additional warranties, and then you bring it home.

Buying could include securing a loan, insurances, warranties, and more. It's not always that simple.

Again, the example of a car. Renting a car for a few days takes minutes. Buying a car is a multi-month process.

An apartment can be rented in days. A home takes at least a week to purchase.

Peer sharing is a new purchase and ownership/access method that is revolutionizing how we use solutions. Airbnb for hotels and Turo for cars are a few examples that only scratch the surface of shared ownership. There are new living environments like cohousing that have smaller living spaces to own or rent with larger common spaces so you can spend more time with your neighbors building community and socializing with them - not simply stay in your room by yourself. Some space is shared; some is for yourself.

To sum up these new models, there are 3 clear options:

• Buying - the item is your possession outright - and your responsibility.
• Renting - you can use the solution, but someone else worries about the maintenance. To them based on their values and how they operate, ownership has value.
• Peer sharing has you invested in the maintenance and share the cost of ownership during your time using the item. 

And I'm sure there will be new models in the future to accommodate new perspectives of ownership and cost.

 

Conclusion

How we view ownership is changing how we access, purchase, and use items. It is also linked to how we view worth and its value. Worth and value have intertwined definitions that are unclear yet related. It also merits its own blog post. 

How you view the value of something is linked to how you access it. Do you own it? Can you have it in your possession physically - can you touch it? Or is it an idea? Is this item going to bring you future wealth in some way?

Does ownership matter?
That’s the larger question. As a society, we grew to believe ownership was the answer to access to solutions to problems. But many solutions today in the sharing economy are reflecting trends that point to a different perspective. Maybe it is time to consider that ownership isn't the only last step for a buyer's journey or a way to measure worth. We need to expand our perspectives and consider all aspects of ownership, from maintenance and repair to replacement to stakeholder involvement to access to if something can even be "owned."

I'm curious what you think the future will bring us regarding new models to access solutions to our problems. Please add to the comments below!

Where's your head at? Why change can be easy or hard.

Where's your head at?  Basement Jaxx

 

Most people don't like change - especially changes to an app, Web site or product. Changes can't be controlled. They are made and you need to accept it, whether you want to or not.

Look at what happens when Facebook makes a change. Usually we'll see a number of posts from friends complaining about the change along with claims that they will stop using it because of these new features. 

And then that same person makes another 5 posts about politics, friends, family, cats, or other people's silly children.  

Recently, Apple announced the iPhone 7 and how they are removing the phone jack to support a wired headset device. Their perspective is that people need to move to Bluetooth/wireless devices already. I think that's a fair assessment in general given that Bluetooth has been around for a long long time and overall works pretty well. However, there's a catch - Bluetooth headsets work fairly well some of the time. They don't work 100% of the time like wireless keyboards. I know of 2 headsets that work pretty well; but most just don't. I have been on too many calls with people using Bluetooth headsets where they sound like they are 3 continents away. 

Technically, are we really ready?  

No. And Apple should have researched that more before making it's big decision (I would be surprised if they did research that before making the decision because historically, Apple rarely does user research. I have heard Apple employees say that innovation doesn't come from users and research. Horrified me a bit. I guess they hang out with Frog Design kids too often. But onwards!).

The issue I have with this phone jack change is the maturity of the technology. Does it mean I won't buy an Apple phone? Probably not. Does it mean I'll need to get a better headset? Sigh. Yes.

I'll accept the change unwillingly because I still want to use Apple products. But in a weird way, it's fun to complain about it, criticize them, and say how they should know better.

 

Does all change come with complaining? No.

I have witnessed UX changes that resulted in no user complains; if anything, people have used it more! In fact, I have worked on projects where we made a signficant UX change that results in increased revenue Day One of launch. Or people adopted it quickly at pre-launch from a tiny link on a page. 

So what's the differences between the 2 types changes: the Apple type where I'm unhappy about the change and need a workaround vs the other types that people adopt and love?

Before we address that, remember: people change because they want to change. You can't force people to change anything or decide to do any action. If your users don't want to do something in a new way - it won't happen. They will complain and find reasons not to do it. The drive to use your product needs to be stronger than the drive to not use it (the Facebook example - the drive to be connected is stronger than confusion about the new feature.).

But there is a silver lining regarding change. When people complain about a change, it's usually not about the change. It's about a related issue: transparency, insecurity, loss of control, etc. It is regarding something about them and their outlook on their own life. There are a number of articles about change and why it may not work and often, it's for personal reasons. It's where their heads are at regarding the change.

I complain about the phone jack because of the technology of it - or more accurately because I am too lazy to find a new headset. Which is true! 

 

Why are some changes successful? It meets these three criteria:

• The feature added was something that the customer wanted already. This is often the case for fast acceptance. If a customer has a particular feature or business fix in mind, he more easily accepts its implementation. It doesn't take long for that customer to jump right in and start using it. The new feature is a win for the customer.

• The feature was familiar (intuitive) to use. No training was necessary. This is also key for fast adoption. Someone can start using a tool right away because he doesn't need training for how to use it.

• Users are already thinking differently about how to use a feature or app. Sometimes people are using an app in a new way already. Or they have already thought about that feature and are counting the days for it to be implemented. The company is catching up to what the users need.

These are the traits that exist for every successful change I have observed. And by success, I mean seamless adoption and increased usage Day One and beyond.

Yes, this can and does happen frequently.

 

Why would people push back on a change? 

This has nothing to do with training or an explanation for the changes. Rejection of change is never about the actual change. It's about issues surrounding the change. People blame the feature or other reasons as to why it didn't work, but that's not the reason why someone isn't using a tool. People say they hate Facebook and still use it. People say they are sick of Apple but still buy the phone.

There are deeper reasons at hand as shown in an HBR article, a Forbes article, and this other article to explain change, but to sum it up:

• Loss of control. People had an understanding of how things worked before (or thought they did, which is a different problem for a different day) and now they don't. That's a scary place to be. Their world has shattered.

• Fear. This includes fear or failure, success, unknown, looking stupid, more work, unexpected impact, something new. Fear is a key factor for rejecting anything. And we're not talking about technology rejection because the technology simply isn't there. We are talking about a change that is valid and makes sense and it being rejected because...great question! There is no reason for the rejection. What is FEAR again? False Evidence Appearing Real. Yes.

• Unprepared to think in a different way. Change always requires a new way to think about the world. It sounds severe, but it's true. A change may include a different way to think about a product and how it works - and if you aren't ready to think about a product that way, then this new view won't happen and change is rejected. 

 

What are signs of rejecting an app or feature beyond the obvious of not using the new solution?

• Making fun of the new solution - who created it, who is managing it, what it does. Making fun of something is a coping mechanism to make it seem lesser and you greater so your ego can accept the circumstances. It's psychology.

• Raising constant excuses and roadblocks as to why a feature is a bad idea. And each roadblock is a reason that can be easily cured or resolved with a conversation or other item. This is about finding reasons not to do something, not trying to improve a situation.

• Blaming an individual for the change. I would blame Steve Jobs for features I didn't like on an Apple product. Or Bill Gates for Microsoft. Or Mark Zuckerberg for Facebook. Is that realistic? NO! A team created and implemented a feature. Not just one person wanted it - many people agreed with it and made it happen. Thinking that many people wanted a feature makes you feel small and insignifiant and possibly wrong. And who wants to be wrong? It's easier to blame one person for a change.

 

How can you reduce these challenges if you have a public app?

Usability testing and monitoring metrics. Get the feedback directly and fix the problem. A fairly straightforward approach. Users will be honest with you and let you know where their head is at with the change.

If you are implementing an internal tool and there is change how can you reduce this? There really isn't any predictor. Sure, there are things you can do - bring people along during the change management process, show them what you are doing, keep them involved. But even that doesn't guarantee that change will be accepted. People have emotions. Even if everyone agreed that the change was a great idea in the first place doesn't mean that when it is implemented that everyone will feel great about it. There may be insecurities, fears, loss. Those emotions need to be addressed during the process. It is less about the change itself and more how people feel about that change.

To sum up, change only happens when people (users) want the change as much as you do. And they may not want the change because of fear, they don't want to think about the situation in a new way, or they want to keep control over their own world. Change happens when people have made up their mind that a new feature or idea makes sense - or they have already made a decision that the feature or idea needs to be implemented now for them to be successful. 

Successful change is about where someone's head is at.  

UPDATED: Customer Feels Secure and Confident during the Customer Lifecycle - Part 5 - Post-Purchase Experience

 

This continues the series, 9 characteristics of great customer experiences and the post series, The Customer Feels Secure and Confident During the Journey - Part 1 and Part 2, which covered the pre-purchase step. Part 3 addresses the Purchase Decision. Part 4 covers the customer's experience with the product. 

This piece covers what happens after purchase. 

 

 

 

 

Once a customer buys a product the "real" customer journey begins and a customer gets to know what that company is really like. Until then, the experience was focused on the company convincing a customer to buy, a customer researching the right solution for him or her, a customer seeing what it's like to use the product, and a company creating a usable product. 

 

During this post-purchase step, a customer is no longer simply trying to own a product; he is building a relationship with that company. The purchase moment and product setup/usage started this step.

 

This is probably the most unsexy step of the lifecycle. It’s about operations and logistics - shipping, payment, warranties, guarantees, product service, support and maintenance. It sounds boring and a little “so what?” However, how a company operates and interacts with its customers - including its communications - reflects its personality.

 

If you think about it, when a customer calls support or service, it’s never about something great; it’s always about a problem. How a company handles that situation is probably the best way to get to know what it’s really like. Does the company resolve the issue quickly? Or does the issue linger and it seems that no one in the company cares enough to fix the problem? Are they responsive for calls, emails or chat? Do they seem to be organized?

 

And we can equate this to how a dating relationship works. Prospects reading marketing content and talking to sales is like dating. The purchase is like a marriage or commitment. Post-purchase with logistics, support and maintenance is like daily life after the wedding, when you experience what that person is like every day. 

 

This is why customer stories really shouldn’t occur until well after someone purchases. The immediate experience of using a product is similar to what happens during the honeymoon. It isn’t until the product doesn’t work well or is broken and needs support that a customer understands what the company he purchased from is really like. Or if there is a confusion about payment.

 

And it's the step where people who are potential prospects can be dissuaded from talking to you ever again because of something a current customer said. Yep. It happens all the time through word of mouth or social media. What you do here can not only encourage current customers to exit the lifecycle and find a new partner or product, but prospects you didn't even know existed can be encouraged to talk to someone else.

 

What types of activities are considered to be part of the post-purchase experience and how a customer wants to experience that interaction?

• Include and involve the customer as part of the company's community. I included some activities to do here in the previous piece, but there are so many ways to make a customer feel like they are an extended part of the company.
• Support: highly responsive with fast resolutions 
• For larger purchases: implementation and adoption services that facilitate implementation
• If replacement and refillable parts are necessary: make sure they are easy to access and don’t cost a lot
• Repairs are simple to do
• Billing and accounting is easy to work with if there are problems 
• Payment options are available and easy to access
• Product delivery: various types and approaches depending on purchase and size of item. Shipping parts and refillables are also applied.
• Product guarantees, warranties, etc. They have reasonable clauses that can be acted on and used.  
• Certifications and training. It helps the customer use the product more - and have a greater commitment to it.
• Customers willingly share their experiences with the company because they are happy with the interactions

I’m not going to address channel partner purchases or other 3rd party purchases here. We’ll keep it to company/product and customer interaction for simplicity.

 

I should also add that the relationship that a customer has with a company during this phase depends on the dollar amount of the purchase. Larger purchases will require additional support at this step; less money spent won’t require as much support or support won’t matter as much. If an item is cheap enough, the need for support may not matter; the customer may just replace the item if it is too difficult to maintain.

 

One could say that the cost of the product has a direct relationship to the commitment the customer has to a company after purchase. More money spent, greater commitment. Less money spent, less commitment.

 

What are companies doing at this phase?

The goal of this step of the process:

• Providing logical services to help customers
  • Shipping
  • Support - customer service, customer support, warranties, guarantees, 
  • Billing and payment
• Build a relationship with a customer through these actions, providing trust and loyalty
• Encourage the user to stay in the customer lifecycle; try to ensure that the customer doesn't research new vendors

 

How do you help your customers feel comfortable here?

It’s during this part of the customer lifecycle that, especially for larger purchases, it becomes clear that customers often don’t always choose to buy a product to buy that specific product. Customers decide to buy a product from a company because they feel that this company would be a better partner. It's about the potential for the long-term relationship. 

 

Build trust

Until this point, the customer relationship was focused on building trust for someone to make that purchase decision. Once a customer owns a product, the product experience is to encourage the customer to use the product. In post-purchase, it’s about how this company supports and maintains the product and what a customer needs to continue using the product - or optimizing product usage. 

 

(A secondary goal: prevent the customer from starting the customer lifecycle again and researching new solutions to his problem - meaning, get a new product from a different company.)

 

A company still needs to build trust with a customer at this phase of the process. That doesn't change. A customer always needs to trust you to keep the relationship going. In this part of the lifecycle, there are many opportunities for building trust.

• Solving a customer's problem with your product quickly and easily
• Providing a way for them to get the product fixed: either through a partner's location nearby or free shipping or a store presence
• Repairing a product for free or for a low fee - and building a product in a way that can happen
• Having a payment plan that makes an expensive product affordable.
• Allowing customers to participate in support, product development, and sales

These activities build long-term trust between a company and customer. The easier and more convenient you make it to own a product, the greater the trust the customer will have with you.

 

Does this mean you need to have perfect support? A perfect payment plan program? The best warranty or guarantee in the business? No. It does mean that you need to hire individuals in your support, payment/accounting, shipping, or rather operations departments, that have exceptional customer service skills to build that relationship. It's these people that manage customer problems and turn them into opportunities for an improved relationship - even if the problem doesn't resolve in that customer's favor. 

 

Help the customer succeed using your product

It is only when a customer has success using your product that you succeed. Saving money, time, effort, or some other gain will encourage that customer to not only continue spending money with you, but he will share his experience with others and get them to work with you too. 

 

If he wins, he'll help his friends use your product to win too. And then you win with more sales. Always remember that without customers, a company has no revenue.

 

Sure, a company can improve an existing product based on the feedback from these services, but without the drive to make a customer shine - this can't happen.

 

Try to keep the customer happy and engaged so he doesn't leave

This means making the relationship easy. If it is hard for a customer to find replacement products or it is difficult to work with billing, a customer will start the customer lifecycle process all over again to build a relationship with a new vendor. It is during this stage that a customer could exit the process and find a better way to achieve his goals. 

 

Remember: if you hear a complaint from once customer, there are probably a number of other customers who feel the same way. They just aren't saying anything. And that's a scary thought.

 

This opens an opportunity for many competitors to gain market share - and why that customer relationship is so important. 

 

Make the customer feel included

The customer isn't an employee, but in many ways, they are just as important. And they can contribute so much to your company. From being experts who can provide support to other customers to providing product feedback to sharing their experiences with prospects and others. Customers have so much to offer - and they WANT to help. Customers love to work with companies to help them succeed too. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. Encourage them to contribute and watch how your company grows.

 

 

What you can include in your experience to make someone feel comfortable at this phase of the lifecycle:

 

Include and Involve the Customer in Your Company

There are so many ways to include and involve a customer in your company. Here are a few suggestions to help them contribute to your company and products to make them better.

• Create a special customer group to get feedback for the products, services, support - anything. It's almost like a regular customer focus group that you meet with every quarter or so to get their feedback. You could call it a customer panel, customer guidance team - whatever. Ask them what they think other customers will like for new product features or services. Get their feedback on how support works - or doesn't. Learn from them what other customers are thinking and probably not saying.

• Encourage customers to contribute to support forums to share their knowledge. Customers can be your expert users and sometimes know as much as - or more than - your support team or QA about your product. Let them shine! Try to get them participate and respond to items in the forum. Develop a rewards program for the support forum. An expert customer is probably the best spokesperson for your company. They will help others understand your product. What's best about customers doing this is that it helps prospects and new customers aspire to use your product. If this customer can be an expert - so can you!

• Customers have the best ideas for new features. Especially power users. Sometimes, customers have a different perspective of how to use your product than you do - and that's not a bad thing! Talk to customers and let them brainstorm how to use your product. Create a way for them to submit new features. It will be a popular area of your site or product.

• Engage with customers on social media. Happy customers will share great stories on social media. Repost them! Comment on them! Engage and interact with these customers. Same with unhappy customers. Reach out to them and find out what's happening. Social media is a new communication medium that customers are using to reach out to companies. Don't stop them! Use it! Encourage them to communicate to you in any way they can and know how. And then respond and engage.

• Reward the active customers - and encourage the others to be active too. Have a type of reward program for customers who engage in social media, contribute often to a support forum, or submit new features. And don't only offer prizes. Customers appreciate different types of recognition and rewards. Ever hear about the five love languages? See how you can create rewards that appeal to people in each love langague. I know it sounds hokey, but some people like getting gifts; others want kind words; others would appreciate a tour of your facility or spending time with your executives. 

• Encourage customers to co-create content with you. Why does corporate content need to be so formal from a company? Why not invite customers and influencers to participate in content creation? For thought leadership, ask them to provide their perspective. Ask them to contribute data from their use of the product and product research. Partner with them to show how your vision is shared with your customers. It's not a vision unique to your company; it's a vision that your customers have adopted too. 

 

Support, Service and Repairs:

 

Some shared insights that I had early in my career helping a call center succeed and win an award.

• Make it easy for a customer to contact you. This may sound intuitively obvious, but many companies hide 800 numbers for support, emails addresses, and online chat capabilities in hopes that a customer won't contact them. If a customer is frustrated trying to contact you about a problem, hiding contact information only magnifies the issue. Make this process as straightforward as possible to reduce stresses from the customer - and you. A customer could find a new solution partner - even for a free product - if the issue is severe enough and it is too difficult to reach you.

• UPDATE: Social Media is a support channel too! We often forget that people don't always contact you directly through support phone lines and the like. They contact you through social media. I had a great experience with this through Citibank. Make sure your support teams are able to interject in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media conversations. That's where the action happens these days to lose the opportunity to form customer relationships before it can even start!

• Create more instructional videos than FAQs and support documents. People read less and watch more. Keep the videos short, sweet and to the point. They will get more views - and more shares. This has happened with the auto industry - research what it takes to replace a part and you’ll find a number of home video presentations. Or research how to fix a home appliance. I've repaired a number of small home appliances using videos. They are probably the easiest way to illustrate a solution.

• Include a gamification element in your support forum to encourage adoption. Many companies do this today - they offer a way to boost popular answers that provide great results. Or indicate who provides the best advice. Or indicate who contributes often. This type of recognitions is key to keep members engaged and contributing at their best. 

• Have easily accessible self-service support; balance that with access to customers. Customers often want to try to fix the problem themselves. They will research the solution on your site. Make your support area easy to search and find solutions. Search optimization takes work, but it is worth it. Make sure you associate typos to real terms in the search. Track all of the ways customers type keywords in the search - and have a way to refer those to the right solution documents or videos.

• Have the right solutions available in support. This also sounds intuitively obvious, but it isn’t. How often have you gone to a site to search for a solution to find NOTHING? Monitor what people search for and create documents and videos for that. Also get insights into what your customers need for support content by reviewing call center reports - why do people call? What type of trouble reports are coming in? What types of issues need additional assistance? Let the customer know.

• Add to your support mix a live, in-person option if possible. Apple was brilliant by adding the Genius Bar to their stores. The Genius Bar gets people to come to the store. While people wait, they can explore what’s new at Apple and be entertained. And an Apple employee spends time with the customer, helping him immediately solve his problem. It builds trust because the customer can see immediate results. A live person helping you solve a problem is completely different than resolving an issue over the phone.

• Make it easy to get anything fixed. This is where companies often get it wrong. A great story about Apple: my laptop went to sleep and never powered on again. I replaced the battery twice, tried to charge it overnight, and did a few other things - but nothing worked. I tried to book time at the Genius Bar but there was nothing available for 2-3 days. This was my work computer - I needed a solution now! I called Apple and they recommended that I contact a Support Partner for a solution. In 2 days, my files were transferred over to the new computer. I was setup and good to go! It was fantastic. And it was easy. I had to drop it all off and it was magically fixed. As a company - remember, it's ok if you won't get full revenue credit for assistance or you are relying on a partner to solve the customer's problem. Keep the focus on the customer. What does the customer need to be successful? If the customer is successful, he will return - and bring friends.

• Shipping a return should be easy - and local. Most companies allow you to make a return by dropping the item off at UPS or FedEx in a bag, a box, or by itself with a receipt. The shipping company packs it for you. Or you can return an item from mail order to the store (like Belk). Keep it easy. Give the customer options - even local ones.

• Repair services can happen anywhere - not just the store or by returning the item by mail. Most people don’t like the idea that something needs to go somewhere specific to be fixed. For large items, people like to go to people they trust for repairs (partners, garages, etc.). For smaller items, people want to repair them themselves. They want to watch a video, get the parts easily, and fix it. Getting a repair should be flexible - it shouldn't be so rigid it requires someone to go to a specific place or mail somewhere. 

• Replacement parts are easy to purchase and not too expensive. Expensive parts that are hard to find make buying something challenging. This is one of the reasons some people choose not to buy a BMW or Mini Cooper - the parts and service are expensive. 

• Make repairs for free as much as possible. Offer free repair and maintenance services. If you are selling an expensive product, build repairs and maintenance into the cost. If the repairs are small, offer them for free. Make the customer feel special.

 

Services: 

• Implementation and Adoption services available for larger items. This is key for successfully using a product, especially for larger purchases in companies and organizations. Individuals may need this as well - specialized training or one-on-one instruction to best understand how to use a product. Sometimes this happens during the sales process when a customer is trying to understand what he is getting into with the product and purchase. Either way, provide assistance for optimizing usage. For free or for fee this is a useful offering.

• Consulting services available to optimize use of the product. This may not be a service a consumer customer may want, but a corporate customer may want to optimize the use of a product - or better yet, increase use. This means that company may need its employees to be instructed in how to be a power user. Or the organization may need to shift and change to support improved and increased usage.

 

Finance & Billing:

Companies are typically weakest in this area. Accounting departments typically are considering the bottom line and how to increase profits. Customers are looking to build a relationship and trust a company. Those are two separate and distinct goals. There isn’t one that is right or wrong, but a customer could easily get offended by accounting’s goals if what they propose as a solution doesn't work towards a mutually beneficial relationship. 

 

But there are ways for accounting to meet the customer halfway.

• Assume that the customer wants to pay and be responsible. Often, financial departments will take a position with debtors that don't pay exactly on-time that those individuals don't want to pay. This can result in disastrous collection calls that put the customer on the defensive and make the company appear to be concerned with money and not the relationship. The customer relationship should always come first unless the customer isn't following through on his contractual agreement to pay. Always assume the best intentions of the customer and work with him to be successful on his agreement. And yes, within reason (sometimes customers are trying to skip payment and get the item for free.)

• Treat initial collection calls and emails as a payment reminder. A number of places do this today - treat the first email, letter or phone call as a reminder for payment. I mean, if your customer wants to uphold his end of the agreement, he'll be sure to pay. Most people do want to pay; there may be some extenuating circumstances to prevent this. With that in mind, always give your customer the benefit of the doubt - even repeat offenders. You just don't know.

• Offer different payment options to accommodate different lifestyles. Some people pay by credit card. Some by check in the mail. Some need additional support for high cost months. Find a way to help your customers by offering different methods for payment. I almost didn't include this because this is so common today. However, this includes payment plans or other agreements for high volume months. Make sure you offer something for that too - maybe split to two months or add the additional balance to future months. Help your customer successfully pay.

• Don't offer a free trial, require a credit card to access it, and start charging the next month. I don't care how many instructions you include on a site for this, it's sketchy behavior. Many sites do it, but look at this practice from a user's perspective. Here is a product for you to use for free for two weeks. Then we'll start charging you, but we won't remind you about it. Wait for your credit card statement. Sound like a scam? It kinda is. If a company wants to offer a free trial period and then charge, send the user an email reminder that the charge will hit. It's user friendly and doesn't make you seem sketchy - getting money for no reason. That email may reduce profits, but it keeps the relationship with the customer on good terms. And if the customer didn't want to buy anyway, do you really want that customer? You can't force someone to be a customer.

• Be clear about billing frequency or one-time costs. For example, many online product subscription sites will tell a user that the cost of a service is $25/month or $600/year, when the cost is for that purchase is an annual $600/year. No option for a monthly fee is available. Providing a monthly cost implies that is available; don't provide those numbers if it isn't offered. Sure, a company may provide it so the customer understands the value, but make that clear. Always be clear regarding charges to a customer.

• Clearly define what monthly fees and taxes include - and why they are being charged. Especially for phone companies, there are taxes that may seem questionable about why they are being charged. Make sure that bills are clear in their labelling and customers understand exactly what they are paying for. The customer deserves this. He is paying for your service; a collection of customers pay your bills. A customer deserves your respect to break down why he owes you money and where it goes. It doesn't need to be broken down to the budget level, but the customer needs to understand monthly fees for product expenses vs taxes vs other fees. 

• Offer payment plans for larger purchases - and make the expectations for payment clear. Often a company will offer financing for more expensive products. This may be necessary to align with a customer's cash flow. Or allow them to purchase something that maybe they couldn't otherwise afford. It opens purchase opportunities - and makes it seem like you are working with customers so they buy. And as with any payment operation, it needs to be clear to the customer what he is paying for and why. Break down the payment plan as much as possible to explain to the customer the costs, the fees, the interest, the payoff amounts, etc. Make it easy to understand. And if a customer wants to switch plans and get something more financially achievable, help him. Again - if there are no customer payments, there is no revenue.

• Create a cheat sheet regarding policies. Most contracts and financial agreements are the same, but if you have exceptional clauses, highlight those to the customer and make it clear. Hiding a key clause in page 15 paragraph 4 of a 30 page contract won't win you an "easy to work with award." Summarize these differences on a cheat sheet. Everyone will appreciate you for being upfront and clear. And if the customer wants to negotiate those terms, those open and honest conversations can occur - rather than disastrous phone calls about contract confusion.

• Make it easy to apply promotions and coupon codes. It can be easy to link purchases with promo codes in an app or in an online store. Macys associate promotions and coupons with customer accounts. Bluefly can do this with an email address. This practice may contradict accounting’s goals (believe it or not, I have heard business people say that the goal of a promotion is to increase traffic and they openly admit that they hope that no one uses the promotion), but it’s great for the customer. Again - who pays those bills? And if you are offering 30% off, shouldn’t you follow through on that offer on your own anyway? Why make the customer work to earn a promotion that was already offered to him? 

• Remind finance and accounting that customers pay the bills. Without customer revenue, no one in a company would be paid. This is why it is key for customers to have a good relationship with a company - especially with finance and accounting. Most customers want to pay and be responsible. Sure, there are always a few bad apples. But in the end, make sure the customer feels like he is winning and working with the company to succeed.

 

Shipping:

• Free shipping. Thanks to Amazon, this is pretty much a requirement at all stores and an expectation. Some sites have reset the expectation to be free shipping for purchases over $100. But shipping doesn’t always cost that much money for larger items and if you have considerable shipping volume, you can negotiate low costs. If you have a smaller store or smaller items - yes, charge. But try to get to the free shipping option if you can. One trick: charge a little more for your product, like $3 or so to cover shipping fees. Try to increase your purchase volume so you can get to the free shipping offering. 

• Offer an option for someone to pick up the item in a store if there is one nearby. If there are stores nearby or locations where someone can pick something up, why not allow someone the opportunity to do that? Offering shipping only options online can be confusing to a customer who is a short drive from your store. It may seem more complicated to you, but it isn't for your customer.

 

Refillable and Replacement Parts:

• Keep costs in mind. Don't try to make a revenue stream out of parts. I mean, it's possible, but it won't win the hearts of customers. A customer knows how much he spent on the original product. If you try to charge so much more for the parts that the sum total of the parts costs more than the original, a customer will see through that nonsense and not want to do business with you again. Yes - the customer may exit the lifecycle and find a new company/vendor for this reason alone.

• Make it easy to get refillable parts. Like shipping and repairs, make this easy. Ensure the refillable parts are sold in stores that are easy to find. Or certified resellers. Or online with convenient shipping options. Don't make it hard to use your product after the first month or two. Keep being easy to work with - which means easy to access parts and equipment. 

• Include a way for someone to know that he should replace a part with a refillable. If a battery is running low, include a way to indicate that. Or if a filter is getting full. Indicate that something should be replaced soon. It is a product issue, but it helps in the post-purchase side of the process as well.

 

Guarantees and Warranties

This deserves its own blog post. However, it is also an area that I'm not super familiar with and it is probably better to find experts who understand this best.

 

 

Certification and Training

If you can and it makes sense for your product, offer certification and training options - that alone can be a revenue stream for your company. Certification builds brand loyalty - you trained someone how to use your product, got that person to invest in your company, product, and ideas and gave them professional street creds. If you want to see loyal, look at Cisco Certified Engineers. 

 

Most companies today offer online training and certification options as well as classes in different areas. This also includes channel partner certification and training.

 

 

 

Sharing Customer Experiences

• Encourage customers who are happy to share their stories. Help them do it. Record them. Film them. Write their stories for them. The most powerful stories are the ones they tell themselves, so try to get them to share their own stories through writing, video, audio. Do a podcast interview with a customer. Or have them record a video on their own. 

• The more the merrier - have a panel discussion! Rather than have each customer share a story, encourage customers to share stories together in a panel. It's more fun for them and for you. And there's more opportunity for discussion with more people present.

 

 

Conclusion

A customer will always move to the next step (or go back a step, depending on what's happening) in the customer lifecycle, but that customer can always exit - especially during the post-purchase step.

 

Post-purchase is the time to build a true customer relationship; it can also be the time to destroy it if not handled properly. Customers choose your product because they want to work with your company. The choice was personal - there was something about your company that made you the better choice - that's why the relationship is so important. The post-purchase step is probably the most personal step of them all. It's the post-commitment step, so to speak.

 

Guidance here: balance business with the customer relationship. Which is more important? Well, paying customers are paying your bills....

 

 

 

Customer Feels Secure and Confident during the Customer Lifecycle - Part 4 - Product Experience

This continues the series, 9 characteristics of great customer experiences and the post series, The Customer Feels Secure and Confident During the Journey - Part 1 and Part 2, which covered the pre-purchase step. Part 3 addresses the Purchase Decision.

This piece covers aspects of the customer's experience with the product. 

 

 

 

 

Owning the product and the Product Experience: Customer uses the product / Company ensures a great experience

 

Once the customer buys and gets his product, what does he expect? 

• Doesn’t want to read the directions
• Familiar and logical transition to setup and use the product within minutes
• Experience immediate results. Able to track and experience long-term results - even better

The customer expects this part of the process to be simple and straightforward. He doesn’t expect any difficulties or surprises - except what you outlined for him in the previous step. He wants to start using the product and see results.

 

If the product doesn’t meet those expectations, then relationship challenges with the customer may occur.

 

What are companies doing at this phase?

The goal of this step of the process:

• You have already created a great product that a customer would like to use
• You have provided training and support content for the customer to use the product (The irony: customers don’t want it. We create support content to make up for the product challenges. Time would be better spend creating a better, more familiar product.)

The activities:

• Create a product that people want and like to use
• Develop documentation, FAQs, getting started content, training in case people need it

 

How do you help your customers feel comfortable here?

 A comfortable customer uses your product regularly and doesn’t give up trying to get it to do what he wants it to do. He doesn’t just include it in his life - he integrates it in his life, like a new habit. He doesn’t return it. He doesn’t demand his money back. He uses it.

 

Yes, it really is that simple.

 

If a product doesn’t work for a customer for any reason, he will stop using it. This includes usability problems, general confusion about installation and getting started, breakage, difficult assembly, and the list continues. This is where users exit the product cycle. And once they exit, they rarely, if ever, come back.

 

Keep in mind that usability is really about familiarity - not intuitiveness. Users more easily accept familiar metaphors and concepts. We live in a social construct and our thoughts are defined by culture. For example, learning how to use a light switch is something we learn at birth by watching our parents turn a light on and off. Same with a steering wheel - we watch people use it throughout our life and figure out how it works.

 

It’s not intuitive - it is familiar. Lesson here: make familiar products.

 

However, a great innovation won’t be familiar. It may be usable. It may define a new way to do something. But people won’t always understand or “get it” right away. The iPad was a great innovation that wasn’t familiar. Frankly, it wasn’t overly usable either. We had to learn how to use them. Is that optimal? Not really. Sometimes that is the only way to leap frog innovation and breakthrough to new ideas. 

 

(I think usability testing could have helped but that’s just me.)

 

What we often forget is that usability should be considered in product setup and maintenance as well as product usage. Usability should be considered throughout the lifecycle - and beyond.

 

Life changes and habits

Using a product is a life change, which implies that it requires a habit change. Habits take minimally 21 days to adopt according to legend and lore. It actually takes about 66 days or something like that.

 

For someone to make a product a habit:

• The product needs to be useful
• The user needs to understand the benefit of using it - to the point that he will find a way to use it at any cost to get that benefit
• It needs to be available and easy to use

Add making the product addictive and you have a life change.

 

On a separate note, I don’t understand how there are non-usable products today. There are so many methodologies to understand how users use products. Between metric products that track user behavior, site analytics, usability testing (online and offline methods), design research, and more - to create something that IS NOT usable takes work and an ego that is strong enough not to value customer feedback.

 

And customers are so key because they are the people who pay you. They are the originators of the profits.

 

 

How to create familiar products that users like?

Here’s a quick list of activities to consider including in your process:

• Have a clear roadmap and share it. In software, we are trained to not share the roadmap with customers in case we can’t deliver it as scheduled. However, customers sometimes need to understand what’s happening with a product. If you can let them in on what's happening directly, share some approximate knowledge if you can. Or even share when you think bugs will be fixed or Beta versions released (even a general timeframe that changes).

• Create a usable product using:
  • Usability testing. I don’t understand how companies don’t test. It’s so easy to do these days. When companies want to create products that meet more of the business's criteria than their customers, I have to wonder if they like to be paid. Customers are really the boss - without customers, who will pay you? The venture capitalist? Customers hold the key to success. And usability testing allows a company to achieve that.
  • Leverage metrics and data in a nonjudgmental way. If you don’t want to test, you can get insights about your customers based on how they interact with your app and Web site. Metrics tell you what customers do, where they send their time, how they interact with the site. The insights are there; the learnings are there. The challenge is that you need to view the metrics and analytics through an unbiased eye. You are looking at metrics to learn about your users and what they want; you aren’t looking at them to prove your point.
  • Do users like to use your product? Or do they exit quickly? Again, look at these metrics without bias. This will tell you everything you need to know. Where do they exit? What's on that page? Why would that page cause people to leave? Consider this looking at your product through their eyes. That may help you imagine what may be causing the problem.

• Encourage customers to create their own experience in your product: allow them to recommend features and functionality. Who gives the best product recommendations? Users. They know what they want to be able to do with your product. Give them a voice. Let them vote on the suggestion from others. In a way, this makes them part of the product development team. And it gets them further bought into the product. (This may sound contrary to some of my posts about customers not being familiar with defining requirements because they don't do this for a living. However, customers can tell you what they would like to see and use for an existing product, to enhance it further. That's the gold!)

• Forget documentation. It doesn't work because people don't like to read it. We often like to "fix" or repair an unusable product by offering training, instructions, and directions. That isn’t a solution - that is a band aid. Maybe that’s too generous - spit and paper tape. Consider your own experience: do you read instructions? I don’t think anyone does. Same with watching instructional videos. I think those are last resorts for features and functions that don’t make sense. Spend your time fixing usability problems. It will save money later for support calls and documentation.

What do people expect and demand today:

• People today want and expect immediate product use with minimal setup. They don’t want to spend time setting things up. Setup should happen while using a product. People don't read. They don’t want to troubleshoot. We can thank Google, Amazon and Facebook for this.
  • When you get furniture from Ikea, do you pull out all the pieces and start putting it together, glancing at the directions as needed? Or do you read all the directions before you get started? I bet you do option 1. 

• Provide a feedback area for customers to recommend new features or indicate problems with the app/site. Keep in mind many users use these tools when they are frustrated. Prepare yourself for many criticisms. But give customers a way to easily communicate about their experience. Often, that alone will save a customer relationship because the customer feels heard. They feel that you care because you are providing an easy way to listen to their problems.

• When support is needed, allow a customer multiple ways to contact you for support. Phone, email, chat. It has to be easy. Let them reach you as they like. And don’t force them to use FAQs. If a customer is frustrated and can't find the right FAQ or support item to solve their problem, let them call you. In fact, encourage it!

• Encourage self-service, but don't make it the only option. Again, customers like to solve their own problems, but at times, they need a little more than that. They need someone who knows something in the support or service team. Make sure that it is easy to reach a human in your company.

• Use support calls to provide insight into what’s broken and how to fix it. Support calls tell you everything you need to know about what's wrong with your product. If a user doesn't understand how to get a feature to work - even after reading online support materials - that means the item is broken. Very broken. And you need to fix it. This will save you money in your support budget and improve performance - and usage - of your product.

• When a customer is a proud owner of a product - be proactive, reach out, and see how you can help them. Find a way to contact your customer to see how he likes your product. Or doesn't like it. Or has a usability question. Or can't get started. Often, if a customer doesn't readily understand how to use something or it doesn't work easily for him, he'll leave it alone and stop using the product. Yes - they drop being a customer without a word. Give them a chance to ask their question by reaching out to them.

• Get your customers involved in your development process. Create an advisory board. Sure, you can encourage customers to submit feedback on your site or app. Or you can include them in the process by listing features they would like to see. Or you can invite them to be a member of a panel that provides product advice and feedback. Include power customers on your board. Or include new customers who have had the product for less than a year. Whatever your criteria, include these customers in usability testing and focus groups and get their one-on-one feedback on product ideas or other product issues. Include them in the process and you have sealed a strong relationship with these customers. You demonstrate that you care and listen about what they need. You are investing in their life being better. That goes far!

Part 5 will address Post-Purchase - support, payments, and other logistical goodies!

Customer feels secure and confident during the customer journey/lifecycle - Part 3 - The Purchase Decision

This continues the series, 9 characteristics of great customer experiences and the post series, The Customer Feels Secure and Confident During the Journey - Part 1.

 

Part 2 covered the pre-purchase step. This piece covers aspects of the purchasing decision itself. 

 

 

 

Purchase Decision: Customer is Deciding if he should buy / Company addresses the details of the sale 

 

When a customer decides to buy he wants to:

 

Understand what he’s getting into

• Understand how the product solves his needs
• Understand the pros/cons of your solution vs other solutions and how they compare
• Understand the pros/cons of getting a solution for his problem in general

Understand the personal risk - time and money - he’s assuming with the change

 

At this point, a customer probably knows the problem that he wants to solve. He knows that this solution - or something like it - will definitely help him. He is fairly certain that he is ready to move forward, but he needs to learn the details to make the right decision for him. That’s why he is talking to your company (and that’s the difference between the previous step and this one - at this point, the customer is actively talking to you).

 

Keep in mind any decision to buy something is a life changing decision - no matter how larger or small. That’s why this is such an important step for the customer!

 

With decisions comes risk. A customer will determine how much risk he is willing to assume to make that life change. He’ll consider:

• If it is worth making the change?
• Will the time and money the product saves be greater than the money spent on the item/tool? 
• Should the person just not make the change and keep status quo?

 

We buy tools. Often objects, as well as software, are a type of tool.

 

There are two types of objects to purchase: passive and active tools. Passive tools are objects that humans don’t need to interact with directly for them to serve their purpose. Furniture is a passive tool. A bed serves a purpose. A couch serves a purpose. A frame serves a purpose - it requires setup but after that, it serves its purpose without too much interaction from a human.

 

Active tools require human interaction so they perform their function. A computer is an active tool. A food processor is an active tool. A stove and appliances are an active tool. Skin care is an active tool (it's not very useful being in a jar!). 

 

Software is also an active tool - you need to interact with it to perform its function. Software doesn’t just work. You need to tell it what to do.

 

However, the "cloud” - Dropbox, Box.net - is a passive tool. You can store files there and you don't need to interact with it for it to perform its function. 

 

This distinction helps clarify how to best communicate with customers, as indicated later in the piece. The nuance between passive and active tools requires a slightly different approach, especially at this and the next stage of the lifecycle.

 

What are companies doing at this phase?

The goal of this step of the process:

• Make sure the customer understands what he's getting into when he purchases the product 
• Provide the customer the product details he needs to make the purchase and measure the risk

 

The activities:

• Provide all the details about the sale - what will the buyer get, what to expect from the product, what happens post-purchase, warranty information, what happens if it breaks
• Help the buyer understand what he is getting into when he commits to reduce surprises

 

How do you help your customers feel comfortable here?

 

It’s all about knowing what they are committing to regarding the life change and risk. 

 

How does the customer understand what he's getting into?

Customers need a clear understanding of a product - the good, the bad, the ugly - before they buy. At this stage, the person should be having an active conversation with sales. They need to understand the product’s strengths and weaknesses and answers to questions like:

• What the product does and how it works?
• Is there a physical product? With software products and cloud - you don’t own anything tangible. You rent space. What exactly is being sold?
• Which aspects of the product will save someone money in their daily life? How can savings be calculated? What is the cost of the product over time? (obviously less per year is better)
• How long will the product last (approximately) before replacement?
• What is covered in the cost? What is not covered? Support - is that extra or included?
• Is there volume pricing for smaller objects? Or if there are multiple products being purchased?
• What are the financing options? Minimally, will the product last through financing and payments?
• How would the purchase contract work?
• If it requires refillables and replacement parts - how often are these parts necessary? What’s the maintenance cost of it? 
• What could break and how to fix it, as well as maintenance costs
• What is the warranty? What happens if it doesn’t work? What if it doesn’t work as expected?

And I’m sure there are more questions that I haven’t listed. This is why checklists exist that include what to consider for different products before committing and buying. This is also why procurement departments exist for corporate purchases. The art of buying can be complicated for organizations. It can be complicated for individuals as well, but they need to rely on their own research to make a decision. This is where you can provide a lot of insights to help others buy your tools.

 

Sometimes people think that sales means making a product look desirable, and to do that, you avoid mentioning its flaws, problems and drawbacks. But this is how a customer loses trust. If your product has problems and those problem embarrass your sales and marketing people to the point that they won’t share or discuss them and will mask them, the simplest way to address this is to fix the problems! The product should work as expected. You shouldn’t need to lie about it to sell it.

 

A customer wants to know the good and bad of a product/tool. If he knows both aspects, then he can make a more informed decision. 

 

I think sometimes we forget that this part of the process is about information gathering - from product specs to finances and logistics. It’s about the commitment someone is making with the product and how his life will change and him knowing how that will happen. If something happens to his life by using the product that he’s not aware of, if there are any gaps in his understanding of what he is getting into, that situation will spark doubt into your relationship and break trust. 

 

Once trust is broken, the customer will exit the process - even if he owns the product. And exiting doesn’t mean that he only stops using the product. He may tell everyone his story - and that story may stop others from purchasing.

 

For the customer to continue the process he needs to understand the risk he is assuming buying this tool/product and life change he should be expecting to experience. 

 

 

Determining risk - or the logistics of time and money

There are some details that need to be considered at this stage - like cost and money. And this isn't simply the cost of the product. There are hidden costs with most purchases - maintance, refillables, and support to name a few. The larger the risk to the buyer, the more he considers the cost of ownership, meaning maintenance and post-purchase costs.

 

Common questions a customer may consider and need answers for: How much time does it take to setup the product? To get it working? To experience benefits?

 

For a less expensive product, the risk doesn’t need to be so clearly laid out. Maybe the gain is more soft, meaning a simpler way to do something. For a more expensive product, the cost (risk) is greater. And this means that there is more to consider when determining true costs.

 

We also need to remember that expensive is relative based on the tool and its cost (time and money). Generally, tools that cost over $500 are considered expensive for individuals; over $1000 for a company. However, this is also relative based on the proportional savings the tool gives, the income/revenue of the buyer, and the benefit the buyer will have from owning the tool.

 

A tool may be considered expensive based on initial cost, but over time if not much maintenance is required, it's possible that someone got a bargain. This is something to keep in mind when working on your materials to help customers at this stage.

 

 

What you can include in your experience to make someone feel comfortable at this phase of the lifecycle:

 

Additional information about how the product will help the customer:

Demonstrate how your product solves his problem and reduces risk (time and money).

• Product literature: what exactly is it, what exactly is someone getting. Pretty much all of the content from the previous phase should help here.

• 3rd Party Reviews of Products. What does an expert have to say about your product? Publications, bureaus, analysts - they all carry a lot of weight. These 3rd parties may ask questions about a product that the standard customer/buyer never thought about. If anything, their analysis helps you, even if it is critical.

• Buyers Guides. Sure, this could sound misleading, but if you created a buyer guide that positioned how you prioritized your product requirements in the context for what someone should consider when they go to buy that type of product, you would be creating a very valuable list of purchase recommendations. It's basically your opinion of what makes a great product.

• Customer reviews: This is peer-to-peer advice. It’s not the same as expert advice, but people sharing their experiences with your product are always valuable. There is nothing more powerful than a peer's opinion.

 

Let them see your product in action so they understand first hand how it works

• Provide demos and samples for active tools. Showrooms for passive tools. Let the person experience the product first hand. Don’t discount the value of demos that use loaners, either. They also allow a customer/buyer the opportunity to experience what something is like - the pros and cons. 

• For large scale purchases - encourage tours. A tour of customer sites or ability to see first-hand how customers use it is key for someone to purchase. It’s due diligence for a large purchase.

 

Content that shows how to reduce risk to make the decision

The customer wants to see how this decision will benefit his life and if it will save him time and/or money. 

• Clearly communicate what comes with the product. Is it just the product or support too? How about the warranty? Explain everything. This could occur during conversations with a sales person or be included in datasheets. However, it needs to be clearly stated somewhere. For many online tools, this is posted clearly somewhere on the site. 

• Tool to help determine what will the savings be for you. Ah - the famous calculator! How long will you have the product? What’s the cost per year? How does the product save you money? How does the cost compare if you buy up front vs finance it? Calculators can help answer these questions. They help the customer/buyer visualize the financial and logistical side of the purchase. If you aren’t sure what types of calculators you should include at your site, talk to someone in your procurement department. They can quickly tell you because this is what they consider for most products all day long.

 

And relationship building continues

• Keep telling the customer/buyer the truth. It increases honesty and transparency - and most certainly builds trust. Telling the truth will build the relationship if it doesn’t build a sale. Frankly, the relationship with a customer/prospect is far more important that the sale. The person may not buy today, but the person may refer you to a friend for a future project.  

• Keep checking in with the customer, even if he says no. Keep in touch with him and let him know about new developments in the field - new technologies, ideas, approaches. Keep showing him that you are an innovator. And show what you offer for the solution - the tool/product, the support, the help. Make sure that the customer/buyer knows that you are there for them. 

• Don’t beg a customer/prospect/buyer for information to get a sale! Let the customer initiate the sale. You only need to check in, provide information, answer questions, help them see what the product is like. Don't force ANYONE to buy ANYTHING. As I'll point out in future posts, those actions don't produce wins for anyone. If anything, it could be your downfall.

 

Make the competitive conversations about your customer - not you!

 

I think we often get confused about competitors and their role in product development. We will try to posture as producing the better solution or service, but “winning customers” doesn’t mean you won the overall competition. Competition will ALWAYS be there in some way. In fact, the option someone has to do nothing to solve a problem is competition.

 

Competition is a result of people wanting to create a “better product.” Often, the better product is targeted to a slightly different audience or people with different needs or life perspective.

 

Let’s face it - without competition, we wouldn’t have any drive to create a better product. In my course, there will be a unit on competition and it dives into this topic in more detail. 

 

Customers are choosing a product that will work for them in their life changing decision to buy your product. Researching your competitors - even researching what it means to do nothing to solve the problem - is a way for someone to make sure they are choosing the right solution. This is why it’s not a bad thing when a customer doesn’t choose you and chooses a competitor. It's not really a loss because the customer wouldn’t be a fit with your services anyway. Either they would exit the process or worse - share their dissatisfaction with others. When a customer chooses a competitor, they are indirectly telling you that there is something that they want that you are or are not offering. 

 

There are always customers for your service. And if you aren’t often selected, maybe you need to reconsider your target customer, expand that customer group, or change your product and service.  

 

What you can do to leverage this idea?

• Continue targeting the types of customers you want to have. Stop thinking about customers you don't want. Focus on what you DO want. What do you offer that will make these people happy? What additional features will make them HAPPIER? Keep doing what is working for you and keeping customers interested. Stop doing what they don't like. Determine why they leave you and either stop doing that or work around it.

• Charts that compare your solution to others. People need to understand how all solutions compare so they can prioritize their needs. It doesn’t matter if you offer less. What matters is if what you offer is the best for what you are selling to your audience. How are you solving their problem? How do other solutions solve the problems? Do they offer too much? Not enough? Use criteria that you think your target customers want when you create these charts. And that criteria will show to the customer, in an indirect way, what you think is important for the right solution to their problem to include. 

 

Part 4 will address owning the product and what that means.

Customer Feels Secure and Confident During the Journey Part 2

How can you reduce risk and build trust through the process so customers feel confident in their decisions? Let’s look at the customer lifecycle.

 

Journeys have a start and finish, more like a process, but I see anything related to the customer experience as being a lifecycle and circular. If a customer purchases again (I believe the claim is 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers), he'll experience a similar journey as he did the first time. He'll be making similar decisions, probably be more informed about his problem and potential solutions the second time around, but he would experience a similar process.

Additional benefits of a lifecycle:

• There is no real start or end to a relationship (often endings are less endings and more "until another time" unless something disastrous happens)
• And if you do decide to end it, you can exit at any time (sure, you can do this in a journey, but that's not the expectation and there are roadblocks setup)
• You can always jump into the cycle in the middle (not optimal, but possible - and definitely not the expectation of the journey)

Sometimes marketers and businesses forget that most customers "live" in the product and post-purchase experiences. People don't just buy things, use them once, and walk away. They buy something, use it, have questions, want improvements, a refill or replacement part, repairs, etc. There is more to a sale than leading to purchase. If anything, the purchase is the shortest part of the journey. 

A customer or prospect isn't buying a product - he is buying a life change. He is making something in his life easier for himself. 

When we create and market products, we often forget that frustration with a product or service can happen at any time. If someone is frustrated with a company, he will exit the relationship - even if he owns the product. He will return the product or stop using it. Or if it is a refillable product, he may start the process again with competitors because they may have a cheaper refillable.

Owning a product isn't a win for a company and it isn't a guarantee that the person will like it and recommend it to others. They could say the product wasn't helpful, didn't fill a need or solved the wrong problem. This needs to be considered throughout the customer relationship. Building a relationship with customers is about building trust. One way to build trust is to help customers feel secure and confident during the lifecycle about every action they take. 

So how do we help customers feel secure and confident during the journey? There are 4 steps based on the journey. This post will cover Step 1; subsequent posts will cover Steps 2-4.

 

Step1 - Pre-purchase: Customers Determine What They Want and Need / Companies Sell Their Vision of the Product

(note - I'm using customer here rather than prospect, which is technically accurate. I'm using it to support the concept of the customer lifecycle. Hope that helps!)

What are customers doing in this part of the cycle?

• Defining their problem and formulate needs 
• Understanding what a solution is and how it works

Customers may come to you with a defined problem. More often customers aren't aware that they have a problem. You may need to point out to them that they need what you are selling to solve that problem. Or, more commonly, you are making a customer aware of a problem that they didn't know they had. 

Either way, in this scenario, customers are doing 3 tasks:

• understanding what their problem is
• understanding what your solution is
• understanding how your solution helps them

What are companies looking to do during this phase?

The goal of this step of the process is to start a real conversation with the buyer.

The activity:

• Sell an idea - convince prospects that they have a problem and the company offers a way to solve it

Sure, these customers may have a legitimate problem that needs to be solved. But if this problem already exists, either they:

• already work around it and make a solution work
• aren't aware that the problem even exists and haven't thought of it yet
• or don't have a need to fix it.

They need to see why they need to fix it with your product.

How do you help your users/prospects feel comfortable here?

At this stage, customers are looking to explore the product and information by themselves and have minimum interaction with anyone. It’s about self-learning, and at this point someone prefers to read content, use tools and selectors. And if people do have interaction, it’s through chat and/or phone and the conversation isn't about a sale; the conversation is about learning and exploring.

They are exploring new ideas, how this new approach (product) could change their lives, and discovering if this new way of doing something suits them. They want to understand it better. No commitments. Not ready to be serious. It’s about thoughts, ideas. If the person likes what he hears, he may need some insight as to what to do next. 

I think most people who work in product forget that most people don’t sit down and make a requirements list for what they need and go buy that. That’s something that people who create products do.

How do most people buy products - even those in business?

• Most people hear about a new product that has a great solution and decide to investigate
• They have a problem that they know could be handled a better way and search for a solution - improve cost or reduce time
• They have a homemade solution that they want an improved solution for - something that costs less to maintain
• They stumble upon a product at a store or on TV or a publication

It's a fairly organic process. Lists and the like happen after someone identifies a need for a product - and then the investigation and comparison begins.

What you can include in your experience to make someone feel comfortable at this phase of the lifecycle?

It's about building trust - and to build trust, you need to build rapport and understanding. You have to speak truth and show authenticity to help your customer. 

 

Help your customer identify what he needs - and clarify the problems you are solving:

Because customers don't think about requirements; they think about how the process is feeling. They want to stop feeling frustrated. They want to have an easier solution to what they are doing today. Alternatively, they may not even know they are having a problem - they may need someone to define it for them.

• Tools and questionnaires help the customer define the problems he has. Ask him a few questions and provide him with a recommended solution. Include guides and questions to help him determine what he is ultimately looking to buy and help him define his problem. 

• Provide customer and 3rd party reviews.  Describe other people’s problems are and how they were solved. Highlight others' experiences with the product - how did they interact with it, what did they learn about it and themselves, how did they realize that they really needed the product?

• Find ways to show how the product will help - be concrete. Examples of how the product provides value in a video would work best. Show customer emotional reaction.

• Create collateral that will help someone understand the problem that they may have - and how they may solve it. If you are defining a new problem, describe to the user what it is and what will happen if it is not addressed. Provide diagrams. Provide explanations. Show long-term benefits of using the product.

 

Help your prospect think differently about his problem and solution:

• Be aspirational - spark a need for change through blog posts, videos, and infographics by showing him the possibility of a different life. You'll need to paint a picture of what this future could be. Describe how life could be simpler, easier, more efficient if the problem were solved. And when describing what life could be like, make sure to address how the person feels with the problem solved - relieved, relaxed, rejuvenated. What could someone do with the saved time and money? Help someone imagine how the experience of that problem being solved would be.

• Focus collateral (brochures, videos, podcasts) on achievable benefits and demonstrate how the benefits contribute to a better life - long term. Sometimes people need to see a vision of what their life can be before they choose to change. Show them the business benefits, the social benefits, the emotional benefits. They see to see and feel a vision of what could be their own life. 

• Encourage customers to share their before and after stories - including how they felt before with their problem and after the product solved their problem. Often, customer stories and case studies are used later in the lifecycle, but customer stories are so successful because they help paint an aspirational picture of what life could be like. What was the customer's experience before the product? How did they feel? How did customers feel after getting your product/service? What was their life like? Was it easier? Was it simpler? Let them share the story. People love stories. It helps them see another way of looking at the world.

 

Additionally, there is the relationship with the customer to build to get their confidence and trust. You need to get to know your prospect.

Build rapport. The goal is to start a conversation with a prospect, but to get there, you need to develop a relationship - a type of acquaintance or friendship. Before you do this online, think about how you do this today, offline. How do you start a conversation? What types of topics resonate with people? What topics do they want to talk about? What do you say that gets them excited, wanting to talk more? How do you get more information about what they need from them?

Getting to know your prospect and customer is more than determining their problem and selling a product to them. You can communicate with them through gifts, gestures, words. Some ideas:

• Promotional offers. Offer this person something you think they would like. Get away from stereotypes based on personas and customer profiles and select something your prospect or customer would like to have. Ask some customers who are friendly to you what they would like. Think about your customer's values and needs. How do they see the world?

• Reach out with social media. Engage and interact with your audience from informative posts to fun posts. Be human! People aren't on social media for education only. They are there to connect to other people in some way. The more social, fun posts will tend to do better than the informative posts - but don't think they don't look at them. They do. Use social media to influence thinking.

• Light connection in forums and online chat. Engage in anonymous conversation. I think anonymous conversation can be underrated and if often misunderstood. We focus too much sometimes in the early stages of getting someone's name and number. Does that information really matter? Or does it matter that someone talks to you regularly in some way? 

• In-person events. Meet your customers where they go at a store, in a mall, door-to-door, through independent sales people. Go where your customers and prospects are and spend time with them. Show them you care to find them and start a conversation with them. 

 

Become a resource for knowledge in your area - show value you provide

Sure, your company offers value in the product it sells. However, is there other value it offers in what it's making and selling? Is there advice you could offer for free?

Trust is a huge factor when people decide to purchase. And for people to trust you, you have to prove you are reliable, helpful, have something to offer. Become a resource that they can count on for good advice. 

How do you do that?

• Provide tips to help the customer today. Show that you are available for advice and consultation. This builds trust - why would this person steer me wrong? And giving it away for free shows that you want to help them and you care enough to help.

• Publish in journals for credibility. Blogs are great, but they don't have the credibility as a publication. Publications force you to research your topic, include references, validate your thoughts and ideas. A blog is purely an opinion piece unless there is material to back it up. It doesn't hold the same cache. Publications are pushing out your piece as part of their brand. You are helping them look credible as well as they help you look good.

• Speaking engagements. When you are invited to be a speaker at an event, you are representing not just yourself, but them. Being invited to be a speaker gives you credibility like a publication does - someone else likes your ideas and finds you to be credible. 

• Provide knowledge freely to others. I'm not suggesting to give away trade secrets, but share your knowledge. Today, knowledge is like currency. Share it with others and they will share with you. This sharing builds trust and allows you to demonstrate what you have to offer someone. Sharing knoweledge freely demonstrates your credibility (although it may feel like you are giving something away for free).

 

Customer feels secure and confident during the customer journey/lifecycle: Part 1

This continues the series, 9 characteristics of great customer experiences.

The customer feels secure and confident in his or her decisions throughout the process. 

People want to feel that they made the right decision. A great customer experience will allow for that, with checkpoints along the way so people feel that they are doing the right thing, even for a small purchase.

 

I have witnessed too many usability tests where the participant asked me before clicking a button or link, "Am I doing the right thing?"

 

Because it was a usability test, I couldn’t tell the person yes or no. I could only tell the person to do what he thinks is right. But that obviously wasn’t enough validation. The participant would make a decision, often it was right and the person made it to the next step, passing the "intuititve" test, but the user still felt insecure about what he did. Even after selecting the link, he would still question his decision and sometimes wasn't clear about where the larger experience would guide him. That user may have understood the goals of the site or app, but the new experience made him cautious.

 

I would think it was the test environment making these participants nervous. And that may very well have been true. But what if there were more to that story?

 

It didn't really occur to me until later that if someone was that uncertain with an experience, something wasn't quite right with it. 

 

New experiences make people feel uneasy.

I can always identify drivers who don't live in Dallas based on their driving patterns. When they drive, they will stop for no reason. Or switch lanes suddenly. These drivers exhibit a lot of sudden and erratic behavior. They rush not to mess up what the GPS tells them to do, as if there isn’t another intersection to take, a different left turn, or a different way to go that wasn’t so abrupt. They don't know the neighborhoods and are afraid that they will get lost. They are afraid that they are making the wrong decisions.

 

My other favorite example of where you can tell people feel uneasy is on public transporttation. People walk onto a train where they can go left or right to grab a seat and instead, they choose to go still and block anyone else from entering the train. They aren't feeling confident as to what to do next and where there may be a seat. They don’t realize that blocking the door just isn’t doing anyone any favors. They need instruction where to sit. They want to decide on a direction that will lead them to a definite seat - not risk standing.

 

It’s fascinating - it happens in almost every city.

 

How do people make deisions to do something that will change their life?

We make decisions all day long - when we drive somewhere or choose to take a train or decide what to eat. When we are purchasing something to help us do something better or to wear or to use in some way, we are making a decision. And we are making a decision to stay the same or change.

 

The change can be small, such as deciding to eat something new. You may decide to not make a change and eat what you are used to eating (think a refillable or replacement) or try something new (a new product) or do nothing (go hungry). 

 

Generally, change makes people feel uncomfortable. It’s curious as to why that happens because life is constantly in flux. Nature is constantly moving, shifting and adjusting. But humans can be rigid, expecting the expected, when that isn’t a realistic option.

 

What inspires people to decide to make a change vs staying the same vs doing nothing? It's different for everyone. However, the inspiration for the decision originates with the decision driver: 

• The desire to solve a problem?
• To satisfy a need?
• To physically feel better?
• To satisfy an ego drive? 

I'm sure there are more factors that people consider when making a change. 

 

The next key ingredient for change is that people want to feel comfortable with whatever they decide do - something new, stay the same, or do nothing.

 

How do people feel comfortable with a decision? 

There are two factors that determine comfort with a decision: personal risk and the relationship is between the person and the company/salesperson. 

 

1. Risk. Most people don't like assuming personal risk - costs in time or money. This is why sometimes people won’t buy things - it’s a safe decision to not make the change, use a new product, or adopt a new idea if the new item will cost more time or money to do the same thing they do today and not make a change. If a decision will cost money, it's easier not to spend the money. If something will take time to do, that's an easier pill to swallow, but it's still easier to do nothing. Either way, if there isn't clear savings for time or money or an aversion to risk or some type of clear motivator for the change, the person won't buy. 

 

When people assume risk, they are often looking at a comparison between the costs of the new way vs the old way. In business, this is sometimes calculated on spreadsheets. Often for personal purchases, this is calculated in people’s heads, which isn’t an accurate measure of what will actually happen, but people do this anyway.

 

It’s always worth considering a change when there isn’t much time or money at stake. When an item costs more more or requires significant time to implement - that’s a different story and the case to win is long-term savings - support savings, time savings, associated product savings. Savings does reduce risk, but it needs to be clear to the person.

 

As an example, why do people spend money on personal trainers? Health can be costly, especially if you are in poor health. We often take our health for granted. But poor health costs include pharmaceuticals, doctor visits, procedures. It costs time to the clinics for the tests, to the drugstore for drugs, etc. In some ways, spending money weekly for a personal trainer, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, working out and the like may cost you time and money NOW, but there is savings for health care costs in the future. You may not need those drugs and tests later. You go to the trainer for long-term savings. It reduces your personal risk.

 

2. They trust the relationship with the company. The buyer trusts the solution, the vendor, the salesperson (most times, it’s the sales person who won the trust) - the relationship with your company. How do you encourage that to happen?

 

Stephen Covey has the best analogy, I think, for developing relationships. It's the Emotional Bank Account.

I sometimes use the metaphor of an Emotional Bank Account. Like a financial bank account, you can make deposits and take withdrawals from the account. When you make consistent deposits, out of your integrity and out of your empathy—that means your understanding of what deposits and withdrawals are to other people—those two things—empathy and integrity—that little by little you can restore trust.

--Stephen Covey, Restoring Trust Can be an Enormously Positive Adventure

 

In that article, Stephen Covey was addressing the financial mess in 2008 and referring to restoring trust. However, what if you are starting at ground zero?

 

The emotional units that Covey speaks of are centered around trust. When we make emotional deposits into someone’s bank account, their fondness, trust, and confidence in us grows. And as a result our relationship develops and grows. If we can keep a positive reserve in our relationships, by making regular deposits, there will be greater tolerance for our mistakes and we’ll enjoy open communication with that person. On the contrary, when we make withdrawals and our balance becomes low or even overdrawn, bitterness, mistrust and discord develops. If we are to salvage the relationship, we must make a conscious effort to make regular deposits.

--The Emotional Bank Account, Life Training - Online

 

Trust is built through actions. You do good deeds, people remember them and memories collect. Over time, as more positive actions that instill trust are done, the person trusts you. This happens during a customer’s experience - if the experiences are positive and help the person trust the company - such as the person can see that the company has nothing to hide and isn't trying to play games - the individual feels confident and comfortable with the company and its experience. 

 

How does this apply to customer relationships and risk:

• If someone feels that they can trust the company and their decision is low-risk, then they may continue in the sales and product process. No change.
• If a company messes up in some way, all of the emotional bank deeds help balance the screw-up. The person may not appreciate the screw-up, but he still trusts the company. The process continues, especially if there is low risk in the deal.
• However, if screw-ups happen too often, the relationship could be in jeopardy and that would ruin the sale and the relationship - even if the customer has already purchased, is using the product, and is an existing customer. He'll stop using the product and make another decision or rever to the previous decision before purchase. Yes, things like this happen. 

 

Risk and relationship are key for a customer to feel secure and confident to stay in the customer lifecycle.

 

More on this in the context of the customer lifecycle/journey and what that means in Part 2. 

 

 

4 ways to improve privacy and security communication

I've wanted to get a Fitbit to track my workouts - from gym to belly dancing to walking. And I really want to get one so I can participate at the UnderArmour Record site. But I'm reluctant to buy one. Why? Because I wonder where my data goes when Fitbit gets it.

(The irony - I'm fine putting this data on the UA site, but not giving it to Fitbit. I think it's the social sharing reason more than anything else - there is a larger purpose to sharing the data. It's almost as if sharing negates the risk of exposing personal data.)

Sure, if I were to use a Fitbit, the data would go to their systems and according to their privacy policy, they would store it and wouldn't use it elsewhere. I'm sure they wouldn't use it, but I'm paranoid about hacking and if that data could be used to create a profile of me that could be used as a type of identity.

The questions that race through my head: Can they be hacked? What types of servers will have my data? How many? What will happen to my data on servers that are decommissioned? 

 

Although we live in a world where our data naivete has been shattered by Edward Snowden, Julian Assange/Wikileaks, and Anonymous, it seems as if there is still an apathetic view towards data privacy and security. The NSA has been rummaging through our personal data without proper authorization in the name of security. Identity theft is rampant - check out a hacker news site. We all know at least one person who has had a credit card number stolen from an online store (if it hasn't happened to you already). With all of this going on with our data, one would think that we would be more paranoid about what happens when a company gets it. 

It seems that no one cares about privacy and security anymore. Privacy policies are important, but people seem to care as much about this as they do terms and conditions legalese when downloading software. It has turned irrelevant.

Privacy policies were created during a time when companies were collecting names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails as leads. For that purpose, telling you that they were storing this info and not sharing it with third parties was being transparent enough.  

Fast forward 20 years. Today, companies collect much more personal, sensitive information from users - ranging from credit card and other payment information, health information, pictures (depending on the content, can be incriminating), identity information and more. Also, some cloud companies are now collecting other company's electronic documents to store, and some of that information may be competitive and confidential.

Most users don't know what really happens to their data once they type it into a browser and submit it to a company. The journey of your data can be fascinating, going across countries, encrypted, possibly replicated, depending on the infrastructure setup. Most users think they don't need to understand this and it should stay a mystery, but what if the company you were sharing with didn't really use best practices to transport and store data? How would you know you were exposed to great personal risk? 

 

At the Digital Dallas Summit in December, mobile leaders predicted that if we really want to make a go of these apps that store sensitive, personal data, we need to elevate awareness about security and privacy. I strongly agree with them and wrote about this in the 2015 trends article at UX Magazine.

 

Box.net has started addressing this problem with their extended version of a privacy policy. They tell you the journey of data you trust to them to store, how it gets processed along the way, and how they protect it. It's awesome! 

I think what they are exploring is exactly what users need to understand in today's data world. Simply knowing the legal use of data isn't enough anymore - users need greater protections and education about what is happening to their data when they give it to a company.

Here are 5 key changes that need to happen for us to move to a new era of data usage and adoption for anyone to be more willing and open to share data:

• The industry needs to communicate best practices for backup and recovery systems - and teach users what they should minimally expect from a vendor

• The industry needs to communicate best practices to prevent hacking - and educate users about they should minimally expect from a vendor so their data isn't hacked

• Companies need to educate users how data travels in their systems from data entry on a form to long-term storage at a data center

• Companies need to openly tell users the risk of sharing data with them - what could be used in identity theft, what could happen to an account if hacked, etc. 

• Companies need to educate users about their responsibilities to keep their data safe and protected beyond passwords

How do these ideas contribute to a new type of privacy policy? 

• Include diagrams: be transparent and show the user where his data travels in a simple, easy to understand way. All users need to understand where their data is going. As technologists, we often believe users won't understand this, but they will if we explain it to them properly. Sometimes we want to cut corners, do something non-standard and withhold that information from a user, as if that makes it ok. The user is trusting a company's system to store their data, and if that system isn't using proper industry standard security protocols, then the user should understand that during account creation and accept that risk.

• Educate users about industry data practices. Educating users about data security is the same as educating people about FDIC, banking, and what will insure their money. Users should understand what https is; how backup systems work; why data protection and encryption is needed. In today's world, this is now part of our baseline knowledge - it shouldn't be a magical mystery anymore. 

• Have surgeon general type warnings for users about the risks of sharing their data. People smoke even though they know it may kill them. Users may share data with an insecure system, but they need to understand the risk of doing so. It's only fair - it is their data and they need to understand the risks. Most users don't think like a hacker and do not easily see how their data could be used against them. It is a company's responsibility to expose that risk to them.

• Tell users what happens to their data when servers/appliances are decommissioned. A laptop computer will hold deleted data as a shadow on the hard drive -why you always want to salvage your hard drive and keep it safe. Personal data on that drive can always be reconstructed in forensic computing. What happens to your data on a machine that is replaced? How does the wiping happen before it is discarded? That policy is key to understand data risks if someone stole old equipment. 

 

In this new world driven by data, it is about time that users had a clear understanding of where their data goes, what happens to it, and the risks of giving it to a company. When we invest money, we are told about the risks. When we mail a package, we are told the risks. When we cross  the street, we understand the risks. However, when users give data to a company they are only told that the company won't share our information with third parties. That's not enough. Users should know how their data is secured.

On the flip side, for a user to claim that it is ok not to understand how his data flows at a company's Web site is the same as someone saying he doesn't understand how to manage his money. If you know where your dollars go, you should understand where your data goes. It is that simple.

 

Characteristic #2: Great customer experiences = customers move at their own pace

Three days each week I attend a gym class, called fit club. We do repetitions of various exercises - from squats to running to crunches to push ups and more. What makes the class unique is that we each move at our own rate - including speed and level of difficulty. We are all doing something different that works for us. 

At first, I moved slowly and took a lot of breaks or pauses, doing the most basic versions of each exercise. As I got into better shape, I started doing the reps faster and required fewer breaks. These days I'll move a little more slowly, but I'll focus on making sure I'm doing an exercise position properly and I'm using the right muscles. For example, I'll go really low with a squat and hold it for a second or two before coming up. 

I'm always moving at my own rate.

Many people I talk to about this class think I'm courageous to attend because I'm working with people who are very advanced. There is an obsession among us to be around people of our own level in a class, where we all move at the same rate. How do you learn anything new if you aren't challenged to go beyond your comfort zone?

I see the more fit classmates as an inspiration to get to that next level. The only pressure I feel in that class is the pressure I put on myself to do better next time. Even the instructor says each class, "Don't compare yourself to other people. Do what you can do."

He has a lot of people coming to class every week and everyone is seeing amazing results. (I know I am.)

What I have learned from this class: the key to repeat customers is that everyone needs to move at their own pace, without pressure to do too much, too fast. Customers should only do more because they want to. 

  

Waiting tables teaches you a lot about customers -- how they don't appreciate hovering and eat at their own pace.

I helped a friend of mine with her restaurant by waiting tables on Saturday nights. I would get the tables to buy crazy amounts of food and liquor by simply educating them about the menu (when asked), offer suggestions (when asked) and not hovering. I'd stop by when I noticed empty drinks or empty plates. (For context, I'd have tables with checks typically at about $100 for 2 people, many weeks there were repeat customers.)

Basically, I followed the customer's lead to determine what they wanted next.

I have heard customers complain about waitstaff hovering. They often feel like they are being pressured to finish their dinners or a drink. Customers want to enjoy their meals in their own way - they want to know which options exist and make choices based on their own tastes, preferences and price points. They want to drive the experience.

 

There are times that I've gone to a store to buy new clothes or whatnot, and I'll encounter the over-eager sales person. I kinda love these types. So eager. So willing. So screwing up.

They don't realize that there is helping and there is pressuring. Helping is sharing knowledge. Pressuring is hovering - just being there watching your every move. Sure, these types of sales people are available to help, but at the same time, this type of sales person is pushing me into a sale. The best sale is the customer initiating the buying action.

I think this is why is there a trend for people not to call sales and get a bunch of information online. Customers don't want to feel pressure, so they will research online by themselves at their own rate. It can be hard to tell the pushy salesman to go away tactfully. Sometimes, it is easier to research online and avoid that confrontation.  

When I go to visit the Kenneth Cole store in-person, I like that sales people will be around to help me, but at times I need to find them. Yes, it sounds like a game, but at the same time, when the sales person goes away, that's my time to make a decision to stay or leave. Sometimes, I won't wait and will leave. Sometimes, I want the item and will stay. That space helps me asset my opinion.

Yesterday I went looking at lofts to buy. I'm in the VERY early stages of the process, and I told that to the realtor. She told me that wasn't a problem and I should let her know what I'm interested in so she can show me properties as they are available. I didn't feel the need to buy - in fact, she discouraged me from buying that day. She made a point to tell me that one of the places needed an additional $50K to fix; and the other place was just too big given what I need. That's why I am now looking for a collection of locations and want to call her again. She was helpful - not hovering.

 

How much do people not like to be pressured?

• 81% will research what they want to buy online before heading out ot the store, spending an average of 79 days gathering information.
• And they will use multiple channels to research - online research to in-person shopping or in-person browsing to online shopping.

And there is an infographic that confirms this - with reputation management included.

So why do all this research online?

• Convenience. Someone can research an object any time he wants, 24/7. The Internet is always on and available. It's easy.

• Varied perspectives. There are a lot of opinions someone can access to determine what each brand offers, how something works, what it does, and in the end, what's right for him. Internet research offers a larger perspective of any situation, from buyers to manufacturers to distributors - not just the perspective of a single sales person or a store.

• No hassle or hovering. Customers can research and learn about what they really want at their own rate. This is why online chat is awesome - someone can read and ask questions without an obligation to take action. If the chat person gets too pushy, the customer can close down the discussion. Simple. No hurt feelings, no difficult confrontations or conversations. A customer can figure out what he wants without pressure.

 

Making a customer feel relaxed and know that it's ok to take his time to make an informed decision, and do what's best for him is key to a great customer experience. The customer needs to dictate the pace of the sales cycle - it keeps him coming back for more.

 

Learn more: Read the 9 characteristics of Great Customer Experiences.