Mapping Opportunities for Customer Delight

Where are those overlooked touch points in your business? Something the customer comes into contact with, but overlooked by your organization as a point of positive impact?

Last week at church, I popped in a Hall’s Defense throat lozenge. I have been logging a lot of airplane miles lately and somewhere I picked up a bit of a cold. I mention the name of the lozenge because something awesome happened when I checked out the wrapper. It delighted me.

With no warning, my Halls Defense throat lozenge delivered not only soothing and fruity goodness, but a “Pep Talk” on the wrapper. Phrases like: “Seize the Day.”  “Be unstoppable.”  “Put your game face on.”  covered my anti-sickness drop and instantly made me feel better.

I will never buy another brand of throat lozenge.

Seriously. Halls took an overlooked touch point of potential customer delight (the wrapper), which is most often discarded without a glance, and turned it into something I want to pin to my bulletin board and tell you about and become a customer for life.

Where are those overlooked touch points in your business? Something the customer comes into contact with, but is overlooked by your organization as a point of positive impact. This week, make it your mission to notice.

1. Map your customer’s experience. For one week, track everything your customer sees, hears or touches in relation to your business and have your employees do the same. Then compile the lists, removing any duplication.
2. Hold a contest. Ask your employees to make suggestions for improving customer delight at each of those touch points along the customer’s experience. Have random small prize drawings such as $5 gift cards for coffee or fast food (or you know, something healthier!) to encourage participation. Have three big prizes for implementable ideas to encourage quality submissions.
3. Implement those three ideas generated by the contest.as soon as possible.
4. Tell us what they are. We LOVE stuff like this.

This week, get to work improving your level of customer delight. It’s a bit of work, but in light of the value of a customer for life, it’s worth it.