How Do You Create Customer Devotion?
 

Harley-Davidson, Starbucks, Virgin Atlantic, Apple. These companies haven't become cult-like brands simply because of their products. Customers' devotion to these companies is about the experience.

Having great products is just the tip of the iceberg. Companies now engage customers in a complete user experience, a “culture” surrounding the products and the brand.

Delivering a great customer experience is not just about meeting customers' needs and expectations; it's about meeting their hopes and aspirations. Here are seven steps to help you create your own customer devotion.

1. Engagement – Listen to understand
Organizations need to listen to their customers in a way that shows that those customers are valued. This is especially important because customers' expectations are constantly changing -- moment by moment. If, for example, company A answers its toll-free number in one ring, and you are that customer's next call, she will expect you to answer in one ring as well. Customers judge you on what they think ought to happen, not on what you've “trained” them to anticipate.

2. Enlistment - Make customers feel like partners
It's imperative that companies include customers in such a way that they feel like partners. One way to do so: feedback. Companies should beg for feedback and celebrate it like the gift that it is. We can become 'blind' to the details of our customer experience unless we listen to what customers tell us.

3. Enlightenment – Integrate service and learning
Customers are devoted to companies that help them learn and make them smarter. It's very powerful. It says, “I care about your growth”. To meld wisdom into the customer experience, companies can provide customers with information that they didn't have but would value. One utility company, for example, now ends calls by asking, "Is there anything else I can help you learn more about today?"

4. Empowerment – Help customers feel confident and secure
Creating a consistent and comfortable customer experience helps customers to feel more in control. Every employee must be clear on the signature experience their company wants to create. At Disney, parking lot attendants and shuttle drivers tell customers the name of their parking area a total of three times to ensure that they remember where they're parked to avoid ending their day with the negative experience of a lost car.

5. Enchantment – Create a magical experience
A great experience is also about being unique. Companies need to personalize the experience in a way that surprises customers. For examples, a businessman stays at a Four Seasons with his wife, and his cat, Taco Bell. The staff asked the name of the cat and made a fuss over it, including sending up a toy and water/food bowls with room service that evening. But the magic was the next morning when the room service attendant brought in breakfast and, tray in hand, entered the room saying, "Taco! Good morning, Taco Bell." This example demonstrates a memorable experience that likely will make the user return to that establishment, thus ensuring repeat business and repeat income.

6. Entrustment – Affirm that there is trust in the relationship
All trust begins with a leap of faith. If you trust customers first they will respond to you in kind. Something in the relationship fundamentally changes when you show trust. Service recovery is about managing betrayal. It's not about fixing the problem only, it's about how you communicate empathy. Southwest lives by the motto “Under promise and Over-deliver”. They believe by setting and expectation below what they know they can provide, and then by going above and beyond that expectation, consistently, they have established trust.

7. Endearment – Connect with passion
Companies need to show customers that they're special. This is all about how we bring energy to the job and how we celebrate our customers. Customers like dealing with employees who are committed, but they love dealing with employees who are passionate. Don’t put all your effort into transactional costs and miss the relationship value.