I think that companies need to start seriously considering the concept of an “experience manager” as a real role in the company. Someone whose sole responsibility is making sure that every touchpoint that a customer or potential customer can have with a company is second to none.
Consumer expectations are often set by past experiences, and every interaction either meets those expectations or fails to meet them.
Meet them – business will grow.
Fail to meet them – good luck.
Experience will be the new differentiator
In the early days of social media, the companies that got all the attention were the ones that were actually being social. The companies that embraced the idea that their markets were already talking and opened themselves to being part of that conversation were the ones who got the attention.
As more companies “join the conversation” it becomes less likely that you’ll stand out by simply talking directly with your customers. More and more, people expect companies to speak with them directly. It’s not the excitement it once was so you won’t stand out as much by simply talking to your customers. The bar has been raised.
What will quickly become important is to take those learnings from social media, those same philosophies espoused by social media and apply them to every part of your business. This means making sure that you set expectations for every interaction with a customer and do absolutely everything you can to exceed them. You know that people are talking, so you need to make sure they have as much positive fodder as possible.
That’s where the experience manager comes in.
Every interaction builds or tears down your brand
Expectations of interactions with companies have changed…dramatically. This is nothing new.
It’s important to realize that with tools like social media, meeting those expectations is more important than ever.
Here’s a simple example.
I live in a small town.
I mean “one McDonald’s” small.
A couple years ago, they remodeled and added a second lane to the drive-thru (exciting stuff, I know). The other morning, I stopped for a coffee on my way to work. A car pulled in shortly before me and went in one lane. I pulled in the other lane, hoping to move along quickly.
The person taking orders took the other car’s order and they pulled up before anyone asked to take my order. That surprised me.
Is this a little impatient of me? Maybe.
Is this a little nit picky on my part? Absolutely.
The thing is, my first thought was, “If they’re only going to take one order at a time, why did they go to the expense of installing a second lane? They could have stuck with having one car go through at a time.
The small things are only going to get bigger
Will this one experience do anything to hurt McDonald’s? Of course not. My point is, the small interactions, the ones that no one gives a second thought to are the things that people are going to base their decisions on in the future.
The winners are going to be the companies and people for which no interaction is too small.
What is the smallest touchpoint that you have with your market? How can you make that so great that no one else can compete?
That’s going to be the key…very soon.
