Whatever your status we all buy stuff, whether its products or services, for personal or business use. The money we give is in exchange for the product or service, however what keeps that purchase in the memory is something that is intangible but nonetheless as valuable.

The 90’s was all about take take, the noughties was about customer service, the twenty teens is about the customer experience. Following a talk given by Royston Guest some weeks ago, he explained what needs to happen if we are to gain more customers. It is an old sales and marketing adage, that it is easier to sell to your existing customers than to sell to new customers. Royston talked about the difference between customer service and customer experience.

This got me thinking. What are the kind of services/products I have stopped going back to and which ones do I keep on buying, and in a lot of the cases it was about the experience.

By shifting your focus to ensure the experience of your existing customers is so good, that they NEVER go anywhere else, is the holy grail of increasing your sales. We need to change our focus from offering good customer service to giving the ultimate customer experience. Customer service is about doing enough so that no one can be accused of not doing that little bit extra. But customer experience is going beyond the call of duty and doing something that stays in the memory of the customer.

An example where this is demonstrated perfectly is the hairdressers I go to. I have been going to her for the last 22 years. What I remember was the very first time I went to her she made a point of knowing my name, then everytime I went back, she would greet me by my first name, always offered me a cup of tea and all the useful niceties. Now you maybe saying, great customer service, and yes it was, but she ensured that my experience was something that I would want to repeat again and again.

She moved to different Salons and I moved with her, there was a time when she worked from home and she kept most of her customers, ensuring the experience was as good as ever. She could have easily saw me as another haircut, but if you think about those first few experiences it meant I stayed with her for the last 22 year.

So thinking about the customers you have now, what kind of experience are they getting from you? Is it the kind that will mean they will still be with you in 22 years time? Will they need/want what they buy off you today in 22 years time? If the answer is yes, look at the kind of things you can change that will ensure your customers like what they experience when dealing with you.

The difference between customer service and customer experience, as Royston explains (and I agree!!!) is as follows

1. Tangible needs – with the hairdresser example, the quality of the cut, styling etc
2. Informational needs – Hairdresser gives me more of what I need/want, appointments when I want, tea, advice on products etc.
3. Intangible needs – Meeting my emotional needs, making me feel wanted, calling me by my first name, letting me know when she is available, telling me when she moved salons
4. Affiliation needs – does it make me feel good to be part of something that regards me as special and visa-versa

To gain customers, we focus on the tangible needs of the product or service we are selling, and hope that we are given the opportunity to show what informational, intangible needs we can also offer. However it is often the case that once the sale is done, we fall into the trap of thinking the job is done and don’t focus on what makes the customer experience that much special.

Social media is all about experience, whether you are exchanging conversations with friends or prospective customers, if you make the experience enjoying, the relationship will be that much more solid making the likelihood of any business relationship that much more concrete.

So, looking at the sequence Royston described above, its vitally important that you provide the INTANGIBLE NEEDS to a customer BEFORE they buy. Wow, then once they buy, it will be partly because you met their emotional needs first. Commonly it is the smaller and medium size companies that get this social media thing and big corporates are slow on the intake, not all I must say but most. Social Media allows us to give that customer experience before they buy.

Looking at your own business what can you do with your marketing and sales, to ensure you give intangible needs that your customers crave?

It’s all about your attitude, that’s the difference between whether you will succeed or fail. So true. However how many of us listen to our body?

As part of the coaching and sales training I do,  I talk about the fives levels of listening, as penned by Steve Covey

5 Levels of Listening:

• Empathic Listening – Listening/responding with both the heart and mind to understand the speaker’s words intent and feelings. Listen for what is not being said
• Attentive Listening – Paying attention, focusing on the speaker’s words/comparing to your own experiences.
• Selective Listening – Hearing only what interests you.
• Pretend – Giving the appearance of listening
• Ignore – No effort to listen

This relates to when we listen to others. However how often do you use these levels when listening to your body? Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves ,use selective listening, i.e. when it suits us.

When we are hungry, we eat, we listen to our hunger pans, or sometimes not. When we are thirsty, we drink, or even when we are not. When you have an important decision to make, or coming up to an important meeting, do you listen to what your body is saying to you? Part of my work with the Enneagram, studies the link between listening to your body and the mind.

The easiest way to start to listen to you body, is learning to listen to your intuition. The video below by Judith Orloff explains how you can do this.

A simple exersise you can do that shows you how the body ‘knows’ is this.

Think of something that you can’t make up your mind about, or an important decision you have to make. Hold out your arm horizontal to the ground and think of each choice, (you need a partner for the next part). Think of choice A, imagine it, feel it, be it, now ask your partner to try and push your arm down.

Now think of choice B, imagine it, feel it , be it, again ask your partner to push your arm down. Which was easier? Which ever your body resisted the most, is the path you need to go down. Your body will naturally be strong with the choice that your truly want to go with. Your hesitation will be around some fear, confidence, or self-belief around the outcome.

By listing to our body more, we learn to trust our instincts and intuition and thus make decisions with greater confidence.