David Gomez

It’s the small things

How to make your customers fall in love so they won’t even consider buying from anyone else.

ItsTheSmallThingsBook.com

This book has been written for educational purposes, to invite readers to design a better experience for their customers in a way that keeps them happy. In compliance with intellectual and industrial property regulations, we acknowledge and respect ownership of third parties over some of the trade names, brands, slogans, cases, and examples mentioned herein. They are used in the book for the sole purpose of serving as educational illustrations in situations described by the author and to explain and exemplify some marketing concepts. This book intends to help readers design their business strategies, but it’s not a solution in itself. Therefore, the author can’t guarantee any specific results or take responsibility for them. In addition, it is the duty and responsibility of the reader to stay updated about any changes in the information presented. At the time of publication, the Internet links quoted throughout the book are up and running; however, given their third-party nature, it is likely that they will change in the future, which is the prerogative of each website.

Cover design: Bien Pensado

Book design: David Garcia

It’s the small things logo design: David Garcia (based on Yohan Gallego’s design of the logo in the Spanish version of the book)

Cartoons included in the chapters: depositphotos.com ©andrewgenn

Translated into English by Paul Jaramillo Birmaher

Edited in English by Sandra Beckwith

Original title in Spanish: Detalles Que Enamoran

It’s the Small Things

David Gomez

© David Gomez, 2019

All rights reserved.

Author: David Gomez

Contact data: contacto@bienpensado.com

It is strictly prohibited under the sanctions established by law to reproduce or distribute copies of this work, either totally or partially and by any means or procedure, including reprographics and computer processing, without prior written permission from the copyright holders.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

BOOK SUMMARY

ACT ONE – THE UNBEARABLE INDIFFERENCE

Chapter 1 – Nobody cares about what you sell

Chapter 2 – The question you haven’t yet answered

Chapter 3 – A taste of our own medicine

Chapter 4 – Ways to get away from the crowd

ACT TWO – CREATING MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

Chapter 5 – Good customers are lost because of bad service

Chapter 6 – It’s not about selling, it’s about building relationships

Chapter 7 – We’re all in showbiz

Chapter 8 – Creating experiences is a competitive advantage

Chapter 9 – Investing in customer experience is good business

Chapter 10 – This is what amazing service looks like

ACT THREE – GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

Chapter 11 – First things first

Chapter 12 – You reap what you sow

Chapter 13 – An honest act of contrition

Chapter 14 – Contact points and Customer Journey

Chapter 15 – Do some screw tightening

Chapter 16 – Connect the dots

ACT FOUR – SURPRISE WITH SMALL THINGS

Chapter 17 – The surprise effect

Chapter 18 – We don’t know our customers

Chapter 19 – Tips for knowing your customers

Chapter 20 – Using information to surprise

Chapter 21 – Adding small things to the process

Chapter 22 – You are the greatest difference

ACT FIVE – CULTIVATE A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC CULTURE

Chapter 23 – Love begins at home

Chapter 24 – Creating experiences in a consistent way

Chapter 25 – Measuring customer experience

Chapter 26 – The future of customer experience

FINALE – LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Chapter 27 – Get the ball rolling

Chapter 28 – 100 ways to make your customers fall in love

Chapter 29 – Changing the world, one person at a time

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

NOTES

INTRODUCTION

It’s the Small Things is an invitation to take customer experience seriously; not just as a sustainable way of differentiation, but as a way to improve your customer service and inspire your team. It’s intended for all people and organizations who want to go beyond selling something to meaning something. It’s about moving past carrying out mere commercial transactions to building relationships and surprising with pleasant experiences.

The principle of this book can be applied not only to businesses, but to human relationships, too. It’s about going back to basics. It’s about understanding that having fancy products and offering cutting-edge technology services is important, but on the other side of functionality are the people with whom we interact.

Why another book on customer experience?

Because creating memorable experiences is a powerful form of differentiation. Value propositions are becoming homogenized, so audiences pay less and less attention every time.

Because no matter what you sell or what industry you’re in, everything implies a significant level of service. Whether you are a sales rep, a freelancer, or the head of a large corporation, the service you provide and the experiences of those who buy from you make a difference. Each experience determines whether a customer will buy from you again and recommend you to others, or whether it will be the first and last time you see them.

It’s about how your customers perceive all of their interactions with your company. These interactions happen all the time: before, during, and after the purchase; with all kinds of people and processes. The quality of the experience isn’t determined by the company, but by the customer according to his own perception and expectations.

How this book is organized

The book is divided sequentially into six parts – acts –, that go over the process of creating memorable experiences in a logical manner.

I want this book to be useful. I hope you use it as a manual and take from it everything that works for you. To make it ridiculously practical, I have distilled its contents, including what is strictly necessary in order to fulfill the promise, which is: How to make your customers fall in love so they won’t even consider buying from anyone else. I’ve eliminated what isn’t needed and added what has been missing for a better understanding. I have also loosened up the layout to make reading smoother and more pleasant.

In the First Act (The unbearable indifference), I explain why the lack of differentiation causes virtually non-existent loyalty from customers. If I don’t need to convince you that this is true or if you’ve read my previous book about differentiation (StopCompetingOnPriceBook.com), then you may go directly to the second act, unless you want to have some context or refresh the message.

In the Second Act (Creating memorable experiences), I explain and support with facts, data, and studies, why customer experience is such a powerful form of differentiation and what makes it sustainable. It’s about the solution to the problem explained in the first act. If I don’t need to convince you about this either and it is clear to you that improving the service and creating positive experiences is the way out, go directly to the end of the second act in Chapter 10, and continue from there.

In the Third Act (Get your house in order), I explain why if the essentials aren’t working, the small things won’t mean anything – and what to do to make it right. It’s about getting your house clean and shining before you invite guests in to the party. No matter how skilled the salesperson is, if the product doesn’t work properly, or if calling your company for customer service is a nightmare, then you’re doing nothing.

In the Fourth Act (Surprise with small things), I explain the power of surprise; how to know your customers in depth; how to use that knowledge to romance them with small things; and how to incorporate it into the business process so that it becomes a habit. The beauty of this is that you can do it even if your company doesn’t promote that philosophy. You are the greatest difference.

In the Fifth Act (Cultivate a customer-centric culture), I explain how to make the experience consistent and sustainable so it’s something that is part of the organizational culture and not just isolated efforts. We’re talking about how to make employees fall in love; about processes, recruitment, verification, and indicators. It’s about turning individual efforts (fourth act) into corporate culture.

In the Finale (Start loving your customers), you’ll find specific steps to take action on the small things right away, both at the individual and corporate levels. Additionally, you’ll find a great source of inspiration in the last chapter: 100 ways to make your customers fall in love.

“THE QUALITY EN HISTORY OF YOUR RELATIONS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS IS YOUR ONLY TRUE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.”

- TONY CRAM, CUSTOMERS THAT COUNT

Throughout the book, you’ll find a series of text boxes under the label Small Thing. These are brief examples from companies and people that surprise their customers. They describe experiences that I have had or researched, or that other people have shared with me as a contribution to the book.

How to put it into practice

In Chapter 27, you’ll find a detailed explanation of how to implement It’s the Small Things in your work. There are two ways to do so: tactical and/or strategic.

Quick implementation (tactical)

Intended for individual use, it offers immediate implementation in your work at a personal level.

Sustainable implementation (strategic)

Intended for corporate use, it’s a process for implementing It’s the Small Things throughout the company.

In the end, no matter how you want to use this book, my greatest desire is that it will help you improve your relationship with your customers and inspire you to make a difference. Potential results? Higher sales and fascinated customers who buy from you over and over again and become your greatest promoters.

BOOK SUMMARY

Lack of differentiation in many industries has become a common thing, turning their products and services in mere commodities. Consequently, customer indifference is increasing price sensitivity at a dangerous level. The solution is to provide extraordinary service, create memorable experiences, and surprise with small things.

We’re talking about a type of sustainable differentiation that increases customer loyalty and improves a company’s competitive position. Now, how can you create memorable experiences? I’ve condensed the book’s most important messages into what I’ve called “10 principles to create memorable experiences.”

10 principles to create memorable experiences

1. Hire people with a service attitude.

Having the right team is the first step in creating positive experiences for customers. This implies that beginning with recruitment, there must be cohesion between saying and doing. Many people can be brilliant at the technical aspects of their work and yet lack interest in serving others.

Zappos conducts two types of interviews with candidates: one for function, another for culture. Although someone is functionally competent, if they don’t fit into the company’s service culture, they don’t get hired. What’s more, in order to be completely sure, Zappos offers $2,000 after the initial training to anyone who doesn’t want to continue. If they reject the offer, it’s because they truly believe in the company’s philosophy. Otherwise, they’re better off gone.

2. Love your employees.

Service leaders know about the direct correlation between employee experiences and customer experiences. As the saying goes, take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers. There’s no greater evidence of job dissatisfaction than employee attitude and behavior toward their work. The first “clients” are those who take care of your customers, directly or indirectly. Committed employees create loyal customers, who, in turn, create even happier employees.

3. Keep your basic promise.

This means that surprises and small things are relevant only if the basics have been worked out. For example, making placing and invoicing an order incredibly easy will not be very useful if the orders arrive late or incomplete. It doesn’t matter how nice and well-mannered your wait staff is if the food they serve isn’t good. Your business won’t survive. Quality is an expectation and a minimum requirement in order to compete in any category. It’s built from the exceptional fulfillment of your basic promise. Whitening toothpaste should whiten and deodorant should protect. If the basics haven’t been covered, any additional benefit will be irrelevant.

4. Make everybody responsible for the experience.

Companies that stand out for offering amazing experiences understand that customer relationships are holistic and not just the responsibility of sales or customer service. Exceeding customer expectations doesn’t depend on one department – it depends on all departments.

Let’s look at Zappos again. Within the four weeks of mandatory intensive training for every employee, there’s one week dedicated to handling customer requests on the telephone. It doesn’t matter if the person will be working in accounting, software development, or maintenance. Every single employee must learn how to interact with customers. That’s how a service culture works.

“YOU CAN’T EXPECT YOUR EMPLOYEES TO EXCEED THE EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR CUSTOMERS IF YOU DON’T EXCEED EMPLOYEES EXPECTATIONS OF MANAGEMENT.”

- HOWARD SCHULTZ, FORMER STARBUCKS CEO

5. Train all the time.

In order to create amazing experiences and prevent setbacks, practice processes over and over again, so that nothing takes you by surprise. Disney excels at it. In its Animal Kingdom Theme Park, for example, before a driver even gets on a vehicle to transport tourists, he or she must go through intensive training on a simulator that helps rehearse the right way to handle surprises that may occur on each route. Nothing is left to chance. It’s shocking that many companies get their new employees interacting with customers with no training beyond a few hurried instructions.

6. Seek loyalty, not mere satisfaction.

Satisfying your customers is not enough. A satisfied customer will stay, but if he or she thinks there’s a better option, they may change brands. Satisfaction isn’t synonymous with loyalty. Satisfaction involves meeting the minimum requirements expected by the customer, but in no way does it represent a difference, or a different brand perception compared to other options. Strive to create loyal customers who are your biggest fans and best brand promoters, not just satisfied customers who can easily switch to your competition.

7. Empower.

If the people in charge of helping customers don’t have the power to make decisions, they’re not solving anything. When employees must escalate customer requests to someone above them frequently, that’s a clear sign that policies have been designed according to what’s convenient for the company, but not necessarily for the customers.

Companies that lead the way in customer experience empower their employees so that they can make decisions that best favor their customers. These organizations understand that if the customer wins, the company wins, too. Accepting a return, ensuring faster delivery, or granting special concessions makes a difference. Some companies even authorize their employees to use a specific amount of money for the benefit of customers without having to ask permission. Others also establish minimum and maximum limits (floor and ceiling) of a negotiation. After learning how to manage these situations, employees can then make decisions that create a better customer experience.

8. Adjust processes continuously.

Surprising your customers with pleasant experiences is a deliberate, planned act, not an isolated action by a motivated employee. It’s not a spontaneous deed without context. Make great experiences part of the company’s protocols and the modus operandi of each part of the process. Consistent experiences are generated when each person at each point in the process carries out his role effectively by following the guidelines previously established. Define and adjust processes, but don’t abuse them. Understand, too, that having no processes at all is just as dangerous as having too many.

9. Verify execution constantly.

Everything holds up on paper. For that reason, it’s fundamental to permanently verify process compliance and confirm that the experience is playing out exactly as it was designed. Leaders in different departments have the critical responsibility of verifying that each team member is providing the experience the customer expects. Verifying means continuously acting as the mystery shopper of your own department.

10. Evaluate customer experience indicators.

For customers, their experience is their perception of all interactions they have with you, your brand, and your organization. In order to create positive experiences consistently, you must be clear about what determines them. You must also define the indicators that will alert you when you deviate from the path or validate that you are advancing in the right direction. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the most commonly used indicators, where your customers rate from 0 to 10 how likely it is for them to refer your product, service or business to a friend, colleague or family member.

ACT ONE

THE UNBEARABLE INDIFFERENCE

CHAPTER 1: NOBODY CARES ABOUT WHAT YOU SELL

Customers are not paying attention to what you say. You must change your pitch. You need to start building relationships.

Indifference and non-existent loyalty are consequences of companies’ lack of differentiation and their failure to build meaningful relationships with their customers and prospects. This is evident in all aspects, beginning with the trouble they have communicating effectively.

So many brands no longer know how to make sure people see their advertising. They use video screens in public restrooms, pop-ups on news sites, fake covers on magazines, TV commercials in the middle of the game, spam, unsolicited phone calls, flyers enclosed with utility bills, ads scattered all over the newspaper, sponsored tweets, retargeting (that annoying ad that chases you through different website pages), and other tactics.

Customers are sick and tired

Why do you pay for the premium version of Spotify to avoid advertising? Why do you run away from people selling vacation plans, cell phones, or perfumes outside stores in shopping malls?

Because you are suspicious. Because that type of salesperson is more concerned with meeting a quota than actually helping you. Because most advertising doesn’t add any value. Ok, that’s not breaking news. What keeps surprising me, though, is that so many brands continue to do it. They insist on proposing to customers on the very first date. There’s very little wooing, seducing, and romancing – if any at all.

Customers aren’t attracted to companies that only want to sell to them. They appreciate brands and people who care about them, help them solve a problem, and make their lives easier. They don’t want to be seen as walking wallets. They’re interested in genuine, honest, straightforward relationships.

Consumers are sick and tired of being referred to as a “captive audience” in any event or site with boundaries (concert, theater, university cafeteria, airplane, cab, etc.). Captive should be understood as confined to a space where whether they like it or not, they have to see the message in front of them.

It’s clear that advertiser money makes many things we enjoy possible. Without advertisers, open radio and television wouldn’t be free. That’s obvious. It’s necessary to “sell” to the audiences to get these services financed. That’s not the problem. The underlying problem is what advertisers have done historically to their audiences that have led to those audiences not wanting to pay attention. The one-directional advertiser messages are based on the sender’s interests and rarely on the receiver’s. There are plenty of senders, while receivers are now scarce.

Even prospecting has been done the wrong way. Some companies still give their salespeople a list of businesses and tell them to start calling. That’s not prospecting – that’s having the wrong focus. Salespeople aren’t welcome when they show up or call unexpectedly, offering products or services prospects haven’t requested. The salesperson isn’t the real problem, though. The real problem is when and how he appears on the scene.

We have given more importance to product features and benefits than to relationship building. That’s where the big opportunity lies: in reconnecting with people.

We need to change the way we interact

Years ago, in an attempt to migrate from the obvious focus on selling, the term advisor was coined to describe the salesperson as someone who was advising, instead. However, I sometimes think that the term was the only thing that changed, as the behavior continues to be very similar. It’s a new term that gives the position a higher status, but doesn’t always translate into helping and really advising the customer.

The way brands interact with their customers needs to change. Standing in public shouting through a megaphone: “Look at me, I’m important! Come and buy from me!” isn’t very appealing anymore. The goal is to start a conversation and really think about the customer’s interests. Here’s how that happens:

Move from interrupting to being helpful – Commercial communication has historically been based on the interruption model. Brands need to migrate instead to solving problems, providing information customers are looking for, and constructing messages based on what’s relevant for their audiences rather than what’s relevant to the brand. One example of this is the training and useful information for business owners and entrepreneurs that many companies now provides through their blogs.

Shift from a brand story to a people story – The idea is to move the center of attention from the brand toward the client. It’s not just about telling stories from the brand and the business, but telling stories from people, too. In a time of total transparency and hyper-informed customers, a lack of authenticity can be seen from hundreds of miles away. Dove’s “You are more beautiful than you think” campaign is an example of how to tell peoples’ stories.

Migrate from mass communication to personal conversation – The advantage of mass communication is its reach; the disadvantage is that it’s impersonal and less massive every time. Online advertising and social media have made it possible to chat with your audiences basing on their attitudinal profiles, preferences, and interests. This kind of communication is based on who they are, what they do, what they like, what they’re looking for, what causes they support, and who they interact with. It’s the principle of native advertising that has started to migrate into consumer conversations.

“YOU NEED YOUR CUSTOMERS MORE THAN THEY NEED YOU.”

- HARLEY MANNING & KERRY BODINE, OUTSIDE IN

Selling is a romance

Just as you don’t propose on the first date, a customer isn’t going to buy from you just because they saw your advertising. It would be premature; they lack information needed to make the decision.

A business relationship is similar to a couple’s relationship. Both parts decide to make a life together based on their expectations and what each has to offer. The more clarity and sincerity there is, the less likely it is that there will be a divorce.

Principles shared by both sales and love

There’s a romance stage – Before deciding to get married, couples move through a romantic process where they get to know each other and determine whether they belong together. Before asking a customer to buy from you, the customer needs to be certain that you are the right company, product, service, brand, or professional. Slick advertising isn’t enough to convince an increasingly skeptical customer. Before proposing, you need to invite the other one to the movies, eat out, meet your family; you let him or her see why you are the best choice. That’s precisely the role of trade shows, social media, blog posts, and public relations. Expecting customers to buy from you the very first time they see you is what makes advertising ineffective.

It needs to be nurtured continuously – As in personal relationships, the love that’s not taken care of every day dies a bit every day. It’s shocking to see how many companies forget about their customers once they’ve won them over. They put more effort into attracting prospects and convincing them to become customers than they do nurturing those who already know, buy from, and trust them. Love should happen every day.

It’s not to be taken for granted – Don’t allow complacency to take over your relationship. The fact that someone is your customer today doesn’t guarantee that they will still be your customer tomorrow. You need to keep earning their love. Stay in shape, be thoughtful, express your love constantly. That’s why the previous romance stage is so important in the relationship. If customers buy from you just because you gave them a good price, there’s a high probability of losing them to competitors when those companies offer a better discount.

It’s a matter of trust – It’s difficult to make a sale if you haven’t built trust yet. You may be a great person, your product may be wonderful, and your service may be unparalleled. Nevertheless, that won’t amount to anything if the customer doesn’t know or trust you yet. Even with low-cost and low-risk products or services, customers need to know that they are making the right decision. Nobody wants to make a mistake and have something to regret later.

Till death do you part – It's exhausting to have to go out and find new customers every day, starting a new relationship from scratch, presenting your qualifications, and convincing the prospect that you really are a good option. Prosperous businesses understand customer value over time and strive to keep a healthy relationship until death do them part.

It’s a relationship of trust

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