Today’s interview is something different. It’s me, Adrian Swinscoe, being interviewed by Jonty Pearce of callcentrehelper.com about my new book (How to Wow: 68 Effortless Ways to Make Every Customer Experience Amazing) that has just come out. I’m both proud and pleased with how the book has turned out and Jonty and I talk a little about how the book came about, what’s in it and what you can expect from it. Check out the highlights below and grab a copy of the book. 😉

This interview follows on from my recent interview – Moving from product to customer centricity, the Mercedes Benz USA story – Interview with Joseph Michelli – and is number 173 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to their customers.

Highlights of my interview with Jonty:

• The book was written last summer and has been published by Pearson.
• Jonty is the Editor of callcentrehelper.com, which is the biggest contact centre magazine in the UK with great international reach.
• Check them out and connect with Jonty on LinkedIn here.
• One of my frustrations about other books is that many present a one size fits all.
• I don’t think that works or exists so this book takes more of a ‘pick n mix’ approach.
• Wow isn’t always want what you think it is.
• Being brilliant at the basics is an essential step in creating that wow factor but also of creating that platform that allows you to do the little extras.
• Making stuff easy for customers takes a huge amount of effort on the part of the organisation.
• But, if you are willing to expend the effort then it can be a competitive differentiator.
• 60% can’t find the answers they want on your website so they end up calling you. That’s an effort thing as you’ve made it hard for them to find the answer they are looking for.
• Trust is a recurring theme throughout the book.
• Establishing trust and keeping it is one of the next big challenges facing firms.
• Trust is an outcome of the relationships you have with your customers and your employees.
• Traditionally, many companies bought trust but now they have to earn trust and that requires a completely different way of operating.
• According to Syed Hassan of Responsetek, employee engagement can be achieved by paying someone a competitive wage, making sure that they understand how their work fits into the overall purpose of the firm, asking for their opinion on things that affect them and then telling them what you have done about it.
• Employee engagement will change from firm to firm as it is relative.
• The biggest challenge for firms is that when it comes to employee engagement many are looking for a ‘pill’ to take. They should focus on helping their employees do they work that they are good at and that they want to do and then help them deliver smiles to customers.
• Many customer loyalty schemes don’t create loyalty. All they do is give customers a way of getting free or discounted stuff.
• You can’t buy real loyalty. You have to earn it and deserve it.
• But, a bigger question when it comes to customer loyalty schemes is who is actually being loyal to who?
• ‘The Hole In The Bucket Syndrome’, where companies are still more acquisition than retention focused is a historical hangover.
• Where in standard business education curricula does retention, loyalty and service sit? Is that not part of our problem?
• ‘When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure” – Goodhart’s Law.
• Be careful of the measure that you turn into targets and the behaviours it is going to drive.
• Small things matter.
• If you want to make instant improvements to your customer experience then identify where the ‘grit’ is and work to remove it.
• Make sure you grab a copy of the book. You can order from Amazon here or from Waterstones here.

About Jonty

Thanks to Jonty Pearce of of callcentrehelper.com for conducting the interview. Make sure that you join their Call Centre Community on LinkedIn, say Hi to him on Twitter @JontyPearce and connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Photo Credit: chrisinplymouth via Compfight cc