Making an Impact
In this issue:
Experience or Expense?
This is the section where I share with you the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the customer experience, the impact everyone can have on it - in either direction, and the resulting impact on image, reputation, brand, customer relationships, your whole organisation and your bottom line. We have all been customers at some point, and we all give customer experiences to others, whether it's in work or out of it - so our neighbours, friends and relations can all be viewed as our customers too.
I have a growing list of just such experiences which I am looking forward to sharing and in some cases, venting! You'll see that I do rather get on my soapbox about some of these!
Repeat Performance?
I love the theatre, and am a huge fan of musical theatre, as some of you know. So much so, that there are some musicals I have been to more than once, in fact some, several times, to get my performance fix! As some of you also know, I use music and band analogies when I talk to my audiences too, to show the close similarities and connections between the structure and workings of a band and that of an organisation, and how similar the type of customer experience is that they both need to give to be successful – whatever brand of music they play. Theatre performances have similar strong links to the customer experience of an organisation too.
At those shows for which I am a 'frequent flyer' as it were, I never get the same seat twice, so have been dotted all over the theatre. The first time I see a show, I often know the plot and story line to varying extents, but the performance experience is all new. Even if it's a stage version of a film, it's nevertheless a completely new and different experience, so I'm always eager to see if it lives up to my expectations.
When I was in London a few weeks ago, I went to see one of the top shows for a third time. I was sitting in my seat waiting for the curtain to go up, and thinking how fascinating I find it that I feel I'm getting a different experience of the show from each different seating position. This time I was quite far over to the left, when on the previous two occasions I had been further forward and more central. I see the performers from a different angle; I notice things happening when I'm left of stage that I didn't notice when I was over to the right or in the centre. I notice a facial expression I didn't spot before. I see an aspect of a dance I missed from a different seat; or a feature of an elaborate costume that wasn't evident from the other side of the theatre or further back.
As the show started and was about 10 minutes in, I noticed a performer on this left-hand side of the multi-layered stage, who I hadn't spotted before, as they were one of many in the ensemble, and I couldn't see them from my other seating positions. This has happened when there's been a large cast in other shows too.
At a couple of points in the show, the male lead was right over to the left, and almost in a direct line with my seat, so for me he was then centre stage effectively, and I saw that performance quite differently because of it.
Whilst the acoustics are always fantastic in the big London theatres, from different seating positions in the theatre, I still pick up subtle different nuances of the singing too, just because it's coming at me from a different direction, and also because it's the aspect I'm particularly interested in, so I'm tuning into it and focusing on that. The singing in this show was particularly demanding and I found that I was indeed noticing slightly different things than I had before.
Not only do I notice very different aspects of the performers and the performance, but of the stage scenery and lighting too, which can therefore show the performers in a different light too, and again change the experience for me. There was a whole area at the top of the twisting staircase on the left of the stage that I hadn't seen before.
When I go to see shows, it's usually the principals performing, but due to holiday or illness, occasionally their understudies have had to step in, and that has proved to be a different experience again. I have seen a number of shows through one or more changes of cast too, sometimes all the principals have been changed at once.
It takes a while to get used to the new performers and their performances, and to decide whether I like them as much, less or more than the original cast. It nevertheless can then feel like a completely different show, as the new members bring new styles with them, as well as new faces and voices. Sometimes I like the person and not their voice, or vice versa. Some I think are better, or indeed worse dancers or actors than their predecessors.
In my mind I start to reassess the whole show to decide whether I like it as much as I did, and whether I feel the experience is better, the same or indeed perhaps worse than it was, or just different. There was one show I saw a fair number of times, and once all the original principals had left, and I decided I didn't think the performance of the two main replacements were as good as the previous ones, I stopped going, and picked a new show to add to my list instead.
Great cast members make all the difference to any show, and can even keep a slightly weaker or less well known show going, when it maybe otherwise wouldn't have done in that very competitive market place. That's why show directors and producers strive to recruit the best performers to these high profile and commercially sensitive and competitive productions.
Once they have the most talented and dedicated cast members, they ensure they understand the discipline and attitudes needed to work as such a tight-knit team. This is essential, because the performance wouldn't work and the experience for their customers wouldn't be as good as it could be, if they weren't able to work as one united team and help each other to make the performance as fantastic as it can be for their customers.
They demand such rigorous rehearsals, physical and mental discipline, so that their company of players can stretch their talents and abilities to the full, so that they give their all every time, in order to produce the same extremely high quality experience for customers every night, night after night.
It's about getting the whole experience right though, not just the on-stage, customer-facing cast members, but all those working behind the scenes too, who are responsible for the other aspects of the experience, such as the scenery, costumes, lighting, special effects and music. All these elements combine in a customer's mind to form the whole show experience.
That's why it's so crucial for everyone in the company, front and back stage, to work together to ensure that the experience for their audiences, their customers, is consistent and of consistently high quality for every performance. Their priority is to ensure that no matter where the customer sits, whichever perspective they get, whichever cast members they see performing, whatever angle they see of the stage, lighting, singing and dancing, the whole performance is of that consistently high quality, so that whether it's that customer's first or tenth visit (yes, I have seen some shows 10 times!), the experience is as good every time.
Even if a customer sees the show more than once and there have been some changes, if the quality is kept consistently high, they will perceive the experience as different, and perhaps even as better, rather than worse and disappointing, so that their review of it to others will be as good as it was before too.
If they don't, the reality is stark. They won't be attracting as many repeat visits from customers. Those customers will be giving their own reviews of the show and telling other people that it was disappointing, so not encouraging prospective customers to go. Nightly numbers will dwindle, sales will decrease, and shows do sometimes have to close, putting the whole company out of a job.
The same is true of the customer experience that organisations give. Customers of any organisation will be going through the same mental assessments, consciously or subconsciously, after they have an experience of that organisation. Deciding what they liked or didn't like, and comparing it to previous performance experiences, if they've been an audience member before. Deciding whether they like the cast members they're seeing/ speaking to or not, and what sort of experience they're getting from each of them. They'll be assessing your scenery and your brand of music, and deciding whether you're 'music to their ears' or not. This will then impact on the type of reviews they then give to other people about your organisation, and ultimately impact on the success of your company of people.
Customers might know something of your story line and cast too, but does the live performance experience live up to their expectations of your organisation? Is it as good as all the posters, the trailers, the marketing, PR and advertising you've invested in to persuade customers and partners to come and see your show?
Customers will see your organisation from different perspectives and have different experiences of you, depending on which department they contact and who they see/ speak to. They will notice the slightest differences and flaws in your performance, which you might not have noticed, because you are seeing it from your different, on-stage perspective.
If you have made changes and customers feel your standards have dropped and the experience is worse, they will stop coming to your show, or stop engaging with you as much, and pick another show and company of performers to be a fan of.
That's why getting consistency across the customer experience is so important. Crucially too, that everyone understands how important everyone is to the overall performance and success of the customer experience, and how important it is that everyone works in harmony as one team to achieve that. Do your people understand this?
It's also vital that people try and see the performance from the customer's perspective, so they have a chance of spotting where the performance is maybe going wrong, and see things they never would have noticed before.
Are you seeing every perspective of your performance from your customers' experience perspective? Do you have the right processes systems and critically, people in place, rigorously rehearsed and trained to ensure you can live up to the expectations you have raised with them, and deliver the best possible experience to your audiences, whatever angle they see you from, whichever cast member they're dealing with, whichever performance date they choose?
Only then with a consistently high quality performance, combined with living up to their expectations (and then later exceeding them), and seeing the performance from customers' perspectives, can you be sure of consistently pleasing them, so they see you in the right light, come back time and again, and become your fans. Only then too can you be sure they'll be giving you consistently great reviews to attract new customers and partners, to give you sell out performances time after time.
Observation Post
Who's in the Right?
Have you ever noticed, that we often think that when we're driving, we are in the right, and that pedestrians and cyclists are in the wrong, or do silly things and get in the way?
However, when we are the pedestrian, we know we're right and have right of way, so why don't some drivers and cyclists know that? How often do we think that they drive carelessly and don't think about us?
When we're cyclists, why do we think that most drivers are in the wrong and inconsiderate, don't notice us and are likely to knock us off? We think that pedestrians are non-thinking too, and simply step out in front of us without looking.
So often though, isn't it the case that the driver and the pedestrian, at different times, are actually one and the same person? Indeed, the driver, the cyclist and the pedestrian can be one and the same person too.
So how come we think our perspective is right, whichever mode of transport we're using? Might it help to reduce accidents, road rage and frustrations, if we remembered, whichever mode we're using, what it's like when we're using one of the others too? This might help towards ensuring that we're not creating a poor experience for the other people using those different modes of transport, because we wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that bad experience when we're in their shoes.
Making Your Mark
Performing at Your Best
Choose one aspect of your customer experience that you deliver personally or within your team. How are you ensuring that the experience is consistent and of a consistently high quality every time?
Pick one area, and take your own customer journey through your own processes and procedures, as well as your people's customer experience performance, to see where it's maybe going wrong for the customer. Break down the whole experience into components – the cast members, songs they're singing, brand of music they're playing, their expressions, their costumes, the atmosphere, the scenery, and score each one as you go through. You may spot things you didn't notice before that you can then put right to improve that experience.
Don't just look at the service process though, take a step back and look at the whole experience picture for customers. What's your stage and scenery setting like? What atmosphere are you creating? What happens when different cast members take over, does the experience change? Is the whole experience living up to your customers' expectations?
Importantly of course, the best view you're going to get of your performance is if you ask some of your customers what the experience of that area/ service is like for them. That will of course give you the best start to your programme of improvement to ensure you are geared up to giving the best performance you can time after time.
Speaking Events
I speak at a range of different corporate conferences, both all-staff and management, on the customer experience and my strategy of 'Whole Organisation Marketing' - helping all your people live and deliver your customer experience and brand promise, and promote/ celebrate your organisation through everything they do. The emphasis is on improving the whole customer experience, referrals, reputation, your brand, effectiveness, the amount of customers and partners you keep and attract, and your bottom line success.
I also speak at industry and professional body conferences and events. For example, I have spoken for the Institute of Customer Service, the Institute of Sales and Marketing and the Chartered Institute of Housing.
See the showreel on my website from one of these events.
If you would like to know more about these or the other types of events and conferences I speak at, or indeed have one you would like me to speak at, then do get in touch. If you would like to find out more about the workshops and development sessions I run for organisations, which include ones to develop individuals and teams to improve the customer experience, then just give me a ring or drop me a line. You can see a summary of my workshops on my website too.
Thanks for reading, I hope you found it useful and thought provoking. If we haven't spoken or met already, I hope we get to do so in the not too distant future. If we have, then I look forward to chatting to you again.
See you next time.
Mob: 07787 573539
carolyn@carolyndallaway.com
www.carolyndallaway.com
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