Create an amazing customer experience in 2023

I’ve been talking a lot about CX – the customer experience. I read a blog by Shep Hayken of the Customer Focus. This blog shared 23 ways to create an amazing customer experience for 2023.

I wanted to share this with my followers because I think Shep really hit the nail on the head in terms of listing simple ways to increase the customer experience.

These suggestions don’t cost you anything. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity. These are precisely the tactics and strategies that will make your customers say – “I’ll be back!”

1. Manage the first impression. It sets the tone for what’s to follow.
2. Manage last impressions. They create lasting
3. Demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Customers want to work with people who “know their stuff.”
4. Make the customer feel like a person. Customers are not a sale, an account number, a prospect, etc. They are people.
5. Respond quickly to calls and emails. Fast response time creates confidence.
6. Don’t make customers wait on hold. Making customers wait for unreasonable amounts of time is a sign of disrespect.
7. Be nice and show empathy. Create a warm human-to-human experience.
8. Be available. How easy are you to reach? And if you’re not available, go back and read No. 5 again.
9. Treat employees the way you want customers to be treated. How employees are treated will be felt on the outside by customers.

A great customer experience increases revenue

10. Eliminate friction. If there is anything in the process of doing business with you that’s hard on the customer, find a way to eliminate or mitigate it.
11. Act like a leader. My friend Mark Sanborn says, “You don’t need a title to be a leader.” Be the person everyone admires and wants to emulate.
12. Always be polite. Say please and thank you. It shows you respect and appreciate your customers.
13. Be proactive. If you know there’s a problem, let the customer know before they call you. Any form of proactive communication is always appreciated.
14. Have an abundance mindset. Be generous – and don’t keep score. Zig Ziglar used to say, “You will get all you want in life if you help other people get what they want.”
15. Give customers the gift of your time. An extra few minutes with a customer goes a long way in building a relationship.
16. Give back to your community or contribute to a cause. Besides being a nice thing to do, customers gravitate to companies that “give back.”
17. Have a “helpful” mindset. What can you do to help your customers be more successful?

When you improve the customer experience, you increase retention

18. Don’t make excuses when problems arise. Instead, think in terms of explanations. Excuses show weakness. Explanations are reasons that can be followed up with how you plan to fix the problem.
19. Be flexible. Excellent customer service lies in flexibility. Rules should be guidelines.
20. Avoid phrases customers hate, such as, “It’s not my department,” or, “That’s our company policy.” I refer to these as loyalty killers.
21. Train and empower your employees. If you have good people and train them well, let them do their job. Customers love working with empowered employees.
22. Be customer focused. That means that every decision you make keeps the customer in mind. That doesn’t mean every decision will make the customer happy, such as a price increase, but at least you’ve considered the impact or result of your decisions.
23. Express appreciation. Say, “Thank you!” Depending on how your customers like to communicate, it could be in person, on the phone, in an email, a text, or an old-fashioned hand-written note.

A positive customer experience converts customers into loyal customers.