Are You Delivering on Your Brand Promise? Six Strategies to Align your Customer Experiences with Customer Expectations
by Diane Berenbaum -
February 8, 2010
Are You Delivering on Your Brand Promise? Six Strategies to Align your Customer Experiences with Customer Expectations
By Diane Berenbaum
A well-designed customer experience means aligning every point of customer contact, every “touchpoint,” with the brand promise. Many companies tout the uniqueness of their brand, but fail to consistently deliver on their promise. Expectations are then dashed and the brand erodes over time, as customers have a multitude of other options to consider.
Lippincott Mercer, a leading brand strategy consultancy, says that the brand is transmitted in every interaction with customers over the lifetime of the relationship. And, they found that human interactions have the greatest impact on how a customer feels about a brand.
Consider my recent interactions with one of the top brands of electric garage door openers. We lost one of our very old door openers, which we obtained 18 years ago, and needed a replacement. Here are a few touchpoints of our journey and their impact on our experience and impression of the brand.
A Website with a Clear Brand Promise and Values
Their stated brand promise was very reassuring: “From the doors on Fort Knox to the doors on your home, it is our ribbon commitment to provide you with expert consulting, installation, and service. It's a total package we offer all wrapped up in a big red ribbon.”
I was pleased to see that their stated corporate values aligned with their promise:
Customers: It is our business to provide for the needs of our customers and to strive for 100% satisfaction, in our attitude and in spirit.
Integrity: Always do what is right and conduct ourselves as professionals.
Communication: Create an atmosphere of open, consistent, two-way communication.
After this first touchpoint, I felt confident they would replace my old opener and treat me with respect in the process.
Follow-up Call Fails to Deliver
My plan was to pick up the opener the next day, so I called to ask about the company’s business hours. The associate replied, “We are open Monday through Friday from 8 to 5”. When I replied, “Hmm...I have a hectic work schedule. So you’re not open after 5 any day this week?”
She said, louder…and faster,” We are open Monday through Friday from 8 to 5”, as if saying it louder and faster would help. It didn’t help me, nor did it help the brand. No alignment there.
A Discouraging Visit
My face-to-face interaction with the company cast further doubt on their promise. Arriving at their office at 8:00 AM the next morning, I could tell immediately who “she” was—the one I spoke to the night before. I knew it was “her,” by her body language and facial expression. She was on the phone and had a look like I was an “interruption.” I was looking at her with a very genuine, “Will anyone help me?” look. After all, I needed to get to work.
After telling her that my husband obtained the part number we needed, she replied, “If I didn’t talk to you then I can’t help you. Usually when I deal with a customer I have all the information I need and have all the paperwork ready. I can’t be sure of what you need.”
That was clear…and an understatement.
Associates Focused on Themselves, Not the Customer
Another associate walked into the lobby, talking rather loudly on his cell phone. This got on the nerves of another employee who looked directly at me and proclaimed that people shouldn’t talk on their cell phones in the office. He proceeded to tell me that it is rude and he tells any customer or vendor to leave if they start talking on their cell phones! (I was glad I wasn’t talking on my cell phone at the time!) He shook his head and then mumbled about the rudeness of his associates.
Clearly, some touchpoints with this company chipped away at the credibility of their stated promise. Are these brand disconnects happening in your organization? Research shows we stay with a company that delivers an experience that matches our expectations and their promise. And you can understand why we stray, rather than stay, from the example I shared.
Six Strategies to Ensure Brand Alignment and Customer Loyalty
1. Determine the touchpoints of your brand—from the first contact to after-sales service
Plot them out so you capture the sequence of events and every possible contact point in every channel of interaction and in every stage of the buying process. Keep in mind that the customer experience often continues long after someone leaves a store or even a website.
2. Analyze how well your organization is delivering on your promise in each touchpoint
Identify gaps as well as any barriers to delivering on your promise, such as the most prevalent identified by Lippincott Mercer:
· Inadequate staffing and training
· Inefficient business processes
· Lack of timely and complete information
· Misaligned incentives and rewards
· Poor communication with associates and customers
1. Seek input and feedback from customers
Customer input will help you further define the gap between your stated promise and the ideal customer experience. Once you obtain this feedback, align your people, processes, and products/services with the needs and expectations of your customers. Continue to seek feedback to stay attuned to their ever-changing needs, particularly in these shifting economic times.
2. Focus on those touchpoints that have the greatest impact
Lippincott Mercer found that human interactions have the greatest potential for delight—and problem resolution and customer service are the top touchpoints for improving customer perception. Provide associates with a quality standard for these priority contacts, then provide training and coaching to ensure the consistent delivery of that standard.
Interestingly, they also found that electronic interactions do not delight customers, but they have a great potential to destroy brand equity. So think first before replacing people with technology. It may help efficiency, but it could hurt brand equity.
3. Engage your associates in the process
They are the true keepers of your brand. Ask for their input on how to delight customers and encourage their creativity and initiative. Focus on their continued development and find ways to empower and reward them to model the standard in every contact. Employee commitment and engagement will have a quantifiable impact on the customer experience.
4. Assess and reassess
Many organizations believe they are delivering a "superior customer experience,” yet often only a small percentage of their customers give them this rating. Our perception may not be reality, which means it is important to objectively evaluate your progress on each of the identified gaps. Use customer feedback to determine if changes are needed in products, processes and people.
You may also need to refine your assessment process along the way to include new variables identified in customer satisfaction.
If the electric door opener manufacturer I visited implemented these six strategies, I am confident it would open the door to many more opportunities and satisfied customers.
Diane Berenbaum is Senior Vice President of Communico Ltd. (www.communicoltd.com) and co-author of How to Talk To Customers. She can be reached at 203-226-7117 or diane.berenbaum@communicoltd.com
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