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Customer Service vs. Customer Experience

Customer service versus customer experience. Now, sometimes we think customer service is customer experience and vice versa. But in truth, they're two sides of the same coin: customer service and customer experience. So, when I say the two, what do you all think of? Or what does our audience online think of? What's the difference between customer service and customer experience? Customer experience is what you feel when you're receiving the service. Customer service is what addresses it. We're done now, thank you. (audience laughter) That's exactly right. Yeah. So, customer experience is how you feel when you're experiencing this customer service, right? And the customer service really comes down to those actions of service, So, that's what it's called, the actions of service, and it can be a number of things. So, my favorite word, hello and goodbye, that moment of greeting, that moment of acknowledging your guest. Asking questions. Now, asking questions is really important because...

some people think they have to sell, which means no questions, that means a lecture, that means a soliloquy. That means I'm talking to you, I'm not talking with you. No. It's about asking questions. Service is a conversation. So asking questions is incredibly important. Offering assistance. You might have a service oriented business, you might have a product-oriented business, but either way, you're offering assistance, you're offering help to your client who has a need. In any business we are there to make things better for them. So they're gonna come with a problem, we are gonna offer a solution through services and products. Ensuring satisfaction. Again, back to satisfaction, that is what we're looking to do for our clients. So there will be actions of service that ensure that satisfaction has occurred. And then the customer experience is the contact and connection with your client while they're interacting with your business and brand. So, we just listed a few for customer service. What is the customer experience comprised of? What do we think of? It's basically the way you react to the people you're around. Okay. So, the way I might react when you walk in the door. Right. Right, yeah, definitely. What else? I drive for a ride-share company and I get comments all the time about the interaction I have with customers. Okay. It shows how important it is, because they always have a story they tell about somebody that did not do that. Interesting. So they're telling you, the service provider, about other service providers who left that out. Exactly. Right, right. So it's that service experience being personable, engaging with people. Right. Right, providing them experience through the engagement. Right, I love that. Yeah, it's interesting because some people think that it's so easy, like those people in your car, think it's so easy, 'see, you're doing it, right now,' right? It's so easy, right? And so when people do it, we're like, but it's so easy. What went wrong? We don't understand. So, but it really is about that interaction and taking a moment to connect with people. Exactly. Yeah, beautiful. So there's a number of things. The look and the feel of your website, space and collateral materials. We're gonna talk more about the look and feel a little bit later on. But the look and feel is really important to people. That's the thing that allows them to feel connected and allow them to feel comfortable in your space, and allow them to understand who you are, as a business and as a service provider. The language you and your staff use. So, this is everything that's said and every word that is utilized. And when we talk more about language a little bit later, we're gonna talk about some of the specifics. You know, how do we talk to people, what language choices you have. Language is a cool thing. You can really have fun with it, like I was experiencing last night with my order, online, they had some fun language. It made me feel good until that language all of a sudden felt very hollow, when they weren't delivering. But language can be a really great differentiator for your brand. Your approach to selling and offering assistance. So how do we sell to people? How do we offer assistance? You know when you go to a place and all they want to do is sell you a product, you know? Hey, can I show you something? Hey, what are you looking for? Hey, I noticed you... (sighs) it's like, oh my god. I get it, but relax, right? So what is your approach, right? What is your approach and how do we help people out when they come into our business? Now, service and experience are the two sides of the coin called customer satisfaction. Now we want both a customer service experience and we want a customer experience. Okay, so how do we do that? At the end of the day we need to think, what is our customer going to walk away with? So what's that satisfaction point? Now, if we're doing products, we're gonna give them a product, they're gonna bring that product to their home or their office, in their car, but they're gonna bring that to their house, right? If the product is an online experience, again that's in their home, that's on their computer, so they have time to experience you and your product in a private place. If it's a customer experience or customer customer service and help model, right, we're offering services, then it's going to be a little bit different. Now we're in either a neutral space or their gonna be in your space, so you really need to be thoughtful of the idea of satisfaction, 'cause it might be a little bit different for everybody. So the actions of service, they impact the client's experience of your brand, okay? So my experience in your brand or with your brand is gonna be impacted by the customer service. Now, you might say, okay I went on Amazon, I ordered my product and it came to me, but there's still a service component of that. As neutral as that is, there's still a customer service component. I had an experience of, I've got a little cat. My little cat was misbehaving. And so my little cat went in my closet and peed. Right? Thanks little cat. So I needed a product to clean this up. So I went online, I found this product that had like 15,000 positive reviews, so I bought the product. So, I bought the product. I'm thinking to myself, I'll get the product, I'll use the product. I had no romance about this product. But then, a couple hours later I get an email from the company, Rocco and Roxie's, and they said, "Thank you so much "for buying our product. "We really can't wait to hear how it works for you. "And let us know when it arrives." And I was sort of like. Now I'm a customer service, like, crazy person, right? I love customer service and yet I was still sort of like, what? Excuse me? You want to know about my... this is Amazon. (audience chuckling) It didn't really make sense to me. I was like, okay. So it got my attention. So then the product comes, and immediately I get an email "Hey, you got your product. "Please let us know how it works. "We are a mom-and-pop business, our only outlet for sales "is on Amazon and your opinion really counts." So then I was like, wait a second. This is legit. Like, they sent the product, they knew I had bought it. I got the product, they knew I received it. So they really are intent, and then they shared something about themselves. We're a mom-and-pop operation. So now I'm using the product. The product really works. Oh my goodness, the product really works. So, now I'm like this thing is awesome. But I'm the busy person. Right? As much as I love customer service, I didn't run to my computer and write up a positive review. Shame on me. We're in the trust stream and I tell you things like this, it's true. But I did get another email. "Hey, have you had a chance to use our product? "We would love to hear back from you. "Did it work?" It was like, well, yeah, it did work. Okay. So I went online and I wrote to them, I didn't go online. I sent an email back. And I said Yay, your product is really amazing and I'm really glad it worked, and by the way, I really like your approach by sending these emails. And they wrote back, "Well thank you so much." They actually wrote back. "And we really appreciate you giving us positive feedback. "Could you go on Amazon and write us a review?" And at that point I was like, well I think I could do that, Rocco and Roxie's. And then of course I was writing my book about customer service, so I said to them, hey, can I talk to you about your customer service experience and how do you, or rather how do you deliver the customer service experience and they said, yeah, sure. So, basically, they said if we're gonna put all of our eggs into Amazon, which gives us no opportunity to really connect with our client, we're gonna take every opportunity that we possibly can to make a connection. It's like, wow, that's amazing. That's taking it from just being a product on Amazon to making a connection with your client. And any time I've had friends who've had pets that misbehave, you can be sure I've told them about his product, Rocco and Roxie's, because they really do make an excellent product, but the experience of working with them is really top-notch, really went above and beyond. So, my experience, through a purely digital interaction was really surpassed because they took every opportunity possible to connect with me as their client. My experience was actually fantastic and I never went into a store, I never talked to a person, and it was purely digital. But that's how they took it to the next level, which is incredible. Now, when people come to you, your space must represent the experience of your brand for your guests. If they're coming to you, you have to make sure that they can feel it. If you've ever walked into a business and the door doesn't quite work and you're like how do I get in? And then you sort of like, oh it's a push, and then you get in and you're like, um where do I go? And maybe there's a security desk and then you're not really sure, do I check? There's too many barriers to get in. So we need to make sure that our space and every single moment the guest is there they feel good about being there. So our space is really, really important. How 'bout anybody in our audience, anybody here, have you had an experience of being in a space, a professional space, you're going there to buy a product, experience a product, experience their customer service, and it just doesn't connect? There's something that's off, there's something that's a little wacky? Any stories to share? I would think cleanliness, like in restaurant spaces, Yes. I feel like that' a big thing, where I walked into a place recently and one of these hip, new, young, you know, fast-eats places. And I was shocked at how dirty everything was. And that really, to me, I didn't really want to go back because I feel like that really represented like how clean is the, if the space isn't clean, how clean is the food? And then it got, I was with my girlfriend and we started really thinking about the other, kind of competition, and I was like, I've never seen, like Chipotle's always spotless, Right. And that's a reflection of like, to me, like represents the food. That's right. Yeah, cleanliness is a big one. I have a whole class later in the series about cleanliness, 'cause it, we really make the leap from if this is not so clean, then what does that mean internally? So in a restaurant, we think about the kitchen, we think about the food. If things are dirty out here, what are they like inside? Because I'm gonna eat that. So it's really important. But cleanliness is important in any sort of place. I know I've been into some fancy boutiques and all of a sudden you go into the dressing room and it's like there's dust bunnies on the floor and I'm sort of like, I don't want to take my shoes off now, and if I put my clothes down, am I gonna get like, dusty, dirty? And maybe the door doesn't quite shut and it's like, this is the one place where I'm alone in your business. It's like, why isn't it perfect? Well, clearly, 'cause nobody's looking at it, right? So we need to really make sure that all of those spaces represent us well. So even in your car, right? The car is your service experience. Exactly. So what are the things that you tune into in terms of that space? I get comments all the time about how clean the car is. Love that. And it's an older car and people think it's new. I don't know why, but they ask me often how new the car is. It's a PT Cruiser, which they don't make anymore. So first of all, I get the comment, "I've never ridden "in a PT Cruiser before," and then they want to know where it came from, basically. Right. But it's important to me to keep that car in top shape so I know it's gonna get them where they're going, comfortably, and also that it's clean and comfortable. Right. And it sounds like the brand of that car actually collaborates with sort of the brand that you're bringing. Yes. A little bit unique, a little bit different, fresh and new, in some way. Exactly. I love that. Well maintained. Yeah, all of those things are going to collaborate with the service experience that you're bringing. And on the flip side, they can totally dispel any of the good feelings that you'd be willing to give a business, so cleanliness is incredibly important. And people spending time in your space, you've got to think about, are they alone? Are they with me? Are there any spaces that I'm not responsible for? So if you have to enter into an office building, what's happening there? How can people understand where they're going? When I write out the steps of service for a client, and there's a piece on, sort of a reception moment, we always have to talk about giving directions. So it's giving directions not just to the address, it's giving address to the address on this block between this and this avenue, and it's at the brown awning. And you're going to go past security and then up to the third floor, right? So the people really understand what they're getting into, 'cause that's a big thing. I was doing an assessment of a hotel in New York City recently, and an assessment means I'm gonna find out what it is their entire customer service experience like, so I was across the street. I've been to the hotel, but I'm calling now as if I haven't. "Hi, where are you located? "I'm really not sure where you are." And they said "We're on 10th Avenue." And I said, "Okay, can you, where exactly?" "We're on 10th Avenue." (laugh from audience) Okay 10th Avenue is long. 10th Avenue is miles of long in Manhattan and I was just waiting for them to say "On the corner of" and they never did. It's like, "okay, thank you very much" for nothing, right? But, you know, you have to tell people a little bit more. You've got to train your team so they can get you in, right? So you don't have to wonder and worry. Those are the things. Back to doubt, we don't want people to doubt us. Wanna make sure they feel comfortable and confident in our space. If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. (audience laughing) The Dalai Lama. So true. Every little thing that you're going to do for your clients, in your space, on your site, this is gonna make an impact on your customers.