Engage Every Customer - One Touchpoint at a Time

Involve your customers is not rocket science. With all the articles, books, blogs, videos and lectures that are available, it may seem that creating an immersive service requires a value of life training. It is not true. If I asked: "how can we improve our service tomorrow?", I suggest you start with your points of contact. I'm sure you've heard this word before, but I'll go ahead and define it anyway. A touchpoint is a moment of interaction between two parties. If you pass me in the corridor, which is a touchpoint, when you answer the phone, this is a touchpoint, when you open the door for someone who is a touchpoint. If you think about it, there are literally hundreds of points of contact in a typical workday. Now here's the interesting part: every point of contact may have a deposit or withdrawal. If I am an employee of the Company to X, and I spend two customers in the corridor without recognizing them, which is a withdrawal. If I give eye contact and smile, this is a deposit. Better yet, if I give eye contact, smile, stop, give a greeting and offering assistance, then this is an even bigger deposit. This same concept works for each contact point, each time.

So how do you identify the points of contact? The quickest way is to sit in your office and brainstorming alone. Unfortunately, you would lose a great opportunity to involve staff in matters that concern them directly. If the goal of identifying what is to engage your customers, then it is necessary to involve those who serve your customers. While you're at it, get the input of your team on deposits and withdrawals for each as well. Trust me, asking you to respect them and would have just made a deposit for your great staff! If you have not guessed, deposits amounting to more work and less withdrawals equal commitment.

In 2006, I was on board a transatlantic flight from Paris to Washington. Since these flights are at least six hours, airlines tend to offer a service of drinks, sometimes more ... especially for those of us who fly coach. When the flight attendants were on their third round of beverage service, a passenger asked a flight attendant, "So what are you drinking?" The attendant looked at the passenger and said, "the drinks themselves that we had 2,000 miles ago!" If ever there was a candidate for the "king of all levies", this was it. The sad part is that I was four rows back and could hear the flight attendant clearly. This means that the statement of the guardian was a retreat for everyone else on the flight that they could hear him. The point of business key here is that most passengers will not remember the guy who made the withdrawal, but they will remember the airline. Learning point: All it takes is an employee, one touchpoint, and a collection of losing a customer. On the other hand, an employee, one touchpoint, and a deposit can create a customer engaged.

Just last week, I stayed at a Springhill Suites hotel in Baton Rouge, LA and just missed the breakfast buffet a few minutes. While the buffet was cleaning agent, saw the disappointed look on my face when I approached. She told me I would be happy to receive something from the back. So I asked the cereal with skim milk, and she said she would return immediately with the grain. The guard returned with two boxes of cereal, skim milk, and a big smile. He then asked if there was anything more than what can be done, and when I said no, she wished me a pleasant day. I felt like I was an interruption of his work, but the purpose of it. As we examine this, there have been several deposits made: offered to get breakfast, brought two types of cereal, has offered further assistance, and wished me a pleasant day. The nice part is that the whole operation took less than 5 minutes, and this article will eventually be seen by thousands of readers. Learning point: Multiple deposits encourage free word-of-mouth advertising. In the same touchpoint, multiple withdrawals could easily be done. The buffet attendant would have pretended not to see me. He could have fled to the rear when I saw it coming. Or he could have told me that the buffet was closed, and there was nothing he could do about it. All you need is a touchpoint.

My challenge to you is committed to identify points of contact of the department, and be sure to involve staff in the process. Then, as a team, brainstorm multiple deposits that can be made for each touchpoint (Hint: there are already members of the team by making deposits of excellent Use this as an opportunity to solicit and share with the entire team.). Be sure to include some equally retreats. It 'amazing how many people take samples and do not even know.

That 2008 is your year to maximize every point of contact for each customer, at every possible opportunity. Soon you will have a legion of committed customers who can not wait to tell others of your outstanding service, and how they were able to involve a touchpoint at a time ....