The ultimate goal for any business is to provide a superior customer experience that keeps customers coming back for more. However, achieving this goal is not easy, and it requires a multi-faceted approach that involves all levels of the organization. I recently attended a conference where the award winning speaker and author, Scott McKain, spoke about his philosophy on building the ultimate customer experience. In this blog, we will explore a few of talking points, reveal the recipe for success, and define the rolls of all three levels of your staff, to support the ultimate customer experience.
Fostering successful customer service experiences begins with the philosophy of ownership to be "customer focused". You don’t just want satisfied consumers; you want RAVING FANS that have evolved from consumers to LIFELONG customers. In order to provide unwavering customer service, your leadership must go beyond the recognition of who your target customer is and what they want. Your organization, from top down, must be "emotionally empathetic" and prove their care through each customer interaction to make your customers forget there are other options for the products and services they want.
"You Don't Want Satisfied Customers; You Want Raving Fans That Have Evolved From Consumers To Lifelong Customers."
Once you have the blueprint of how you want to "exceed your customer’s expectations", you need to "develop the culture" within your organization to recognize opportunities to shine. Having a great culture of ultimate customer services is only half the battle. In order to execute your mission to being the best in the customer service game, you will need to create a "strategy to maintain consistent delivery for each customer".
With the planning now complete, the next step in providing superior customer services is taking action. Once your competition sees your success, they will attempt to mimic it. It’s important to understand, to sustain unmatched customer service, you must be committed to actively reviewing, revising, and reimplementing your tactics to stay a cut above the competition.
Let’s now take a deeper dive into the rolls of each of the 3 levels of your organization through the implementation of your newly created ultimate customer experience.
Level 1: Frontline Employees 
The first level of supporting the ultimate customer experience is through frontline employees. These are the employees who interact with customers directly, whether in person, over the phone, or through online chat. Frontline employees have a significant impact on the customer's experience, and they must be well-trained and equipped to handle any situation that arises.
To support the ultimate customer experience at this level, organizations must invest in training and development programs that help frontline employees develop the skills and knowledge they need to provide exceptional service. This includes training in customer service best practices, communication skills, problem-solving, and empathy. Organizations should also provide frontline employees with the tools and resources they need to serve customers effectively, such as access to customer data and insights, and streamlined processes and procedures.
Level 2: Middle Management
The second level of supporting the ultimate customer experience is through middle management. Middle managers play a critical role in translating the organization's customer experience strategy into action. They are responsible for setting goals and expectations for frontline employees, monitoring performance, and providing coaching and feedback.
To support the ultimate customer experience at this level, organizations must ensure that middle managers have the skills and knowledge they need to lead their teams effectively. This includes training in leadership, performance management, and communication skills. Organizations should also provide middle managers with the data and insights they need to make informed decisions about how to improve the customer experience. This includes data on customer satisfaction, customer feedback, and customer behavior.
Level 3: Senior Leadership
The third level of supporting the ultimate customer experience is through senior leadership. Senior leaders set the tone for the organization and establish the vision and strategy for the customer experience. They are responsible for creating a customer-centric culture and ensuring that the organization's resources are aligned with the goal of providing exceptional customer service.
"Senior leaders set the tone for the organization and establish the vision and strategy for the customer experience."
To support the ultimate customer experience at this level, organizations must ensure that senior leaders are fully committed to the customer experience and that they are actively involved in developing and implementing the customer experience strategy. This includes setting goals and metrics for the customer experience, allocating resources to support the customer experience, and regularly communicating the importance of the customer experience to the organization.
In conclusion, supporting the ultimate customer experience requires a multi-faceted approach that involves all levels of the organization. Frontline employees, middle management, and senior leaders each play critical roles in providing a customized feel for each customer’s satisfaction. Through customer focused philosophy, developing customer-centric culture, and implementation of strategy of consistent delivery, backed by the investment of continued training and development programs, is key to providing unmatched service. This is your roadmap to creating raving fans and turning consumers into repeat lifelong customers.
Author Scott McKain's latest book, The Ultimate Customer Experience, will be available June 20th, 2023. Don't have time to read, listen! Here's a trial for Audible.
