AI cannot save you from a poor sales experience

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2024 (406 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In my last two columns, I’ve written about the use of artificial intelligence tools. I am not anti-tech — if a properly deployed technology can make a business more effective and efficient. I believe customers don’t care what tech you use, as long as it makes the buying process simple and straightforward.

I would like to share three recent interactions with different companies that made that process difficult. Of course, this resulted in my moving on to do business with their competitors. In these cases, I am not certain AI could have helped these companies because of their shoddy sales processes.

The first example was a request for a quote for autobody repairs. I had an insurance claim and also asked the shop if it could do two additional pieces of work. The answer was, upon inspection, a quote would have to be prepared and provided to me before any work could start — a good and reasonable business process. However, after no word for several months, I moved on to another company that will get my business (and money).

The second example was a request to provide a product for a backyard garden. There was an advertisement on social media and there were good recommendations from past customers. Several requests to the vendor resulted in no followup. Again, someone else will get my money.

The final example was a request for a paint store to provide a small container of a colour I had recently purchased in larger quantities. Its answer was it doesn’t sell anything less than a gallon. You guessed it: another company was more than happy to accommodate my request and make it easy for me to spend my money with it.

Coincidental to these events, I happened to be reading The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty, which is based on the premise customers want what they initially asked for and to be able to acquire it with relative ease. (Special gifts to recover from a messed-up product or service delivery are appreciated, but not what customers actually desire.)

In many instances, leading customer service teams, working with clients and in real-word interactions (see examples above), I can confirm this is true.

I am an ardent proponent of the “KIST” customer satisfaction principle: keep it simple for them. I recommend the following three steps to guide you on your journey to create a positive and effortless customer experience.

First, walk through each step of the journey as a customer would.

This begins with knowing where and how often customers may see your ad messages. Then conduct a transaction, in person, by phone or online to determine what it is like to make a purchase from your company. Only after you have bought from your own company will you assess the ease or difficulty you experienced conducting the transaction. You want to experience the process in its entirety before breaking down the component parts.

Second, look for opportunities to provide superior value for your customers by addressing any trouble spots you identified in the first step.

Spend time with your best customers to understand what they really like about their experience buying from you — and then talk with customers that had a poor experience. Fix any recurring process or quality issues these unhappy customers identify.

Third, take the time to ensure everyone in your organization understands how their role contributes to an effortless customer buying experience.

You will need to consistently stay on top of customer and employee feedback. In particular, your employees are the ones that have to operate according to company policies. They can describe where and how a substandard experience can take too much customer effort and result in a lost sale or lost customer.

Remember, it costs up to seven times as much to attract a new customer than to retain an existing customer. To grow, you have to add new customers, but if negative customer experiences are causing you to lose them, you must fix the hole in that bucket.

Do not add new customers until you have identified and corrected major problems in your customer-purchase experience. Look at your situation from a real human experience, not an artificial one. That is the actual intelligence needed to keep customers happy.

Tim’s bits: While delivering superior value is critical for long-term business success, customers primarily want the buying experience to be effortless. If you make your customer jump through too many hoops, chances are they won’t. Leading companies know you have to put in the effort to provide an experience that brings customers back.

Tim Kist is a certified management consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba

tim@tk3consulting.ca