The phrase ‘death by a thousand cuts’ originated in imperial China, it was a particularly unpleasant form of execution that involved not a single deadly blow, but the continued cutting of a criminal’s flesh until death ensued. A suitable analogy I feel when it comes to considering how to create the optimal customer lifetime experience, which actually begins long before your customer makes a purchase and hopefully may never end…
Most business owners are so caught up in the fray of the day to day that they spend little time considering and improving their customer lifetime experience. This leaves them open to small cuts, or challenges by more nimble and informed competitors. Over time this will erode market position, reduce customer retention, increase churn and see revenue fall.
Typically businesses invest in the obvious customer interaction points that impact customer lifetime experience, like marketing campaigns designed to spark curiosity and generate interest in their products or services, or perhaps training for their people who engage with prospects in an effort to create a great conversation, in order to compel them to make a purchase.
Whilst an investment in improving these customer interaction points may initially deliver a great return, focusing only the obvious and not taking a holistic approach will limit your ability to craft a truly optimal customer lifetime experience that will improve your businesses performance, delight your customers, and create fans and brand advocates.
Let’s consider some common customer interaction points which critically impact your customer lifetime experience:
- Initial brand encounter via marketing channel or third party source.
- Exploration and engagement with your digital properties and assets.
- Initial contact and discussion with a representative from your business.
- Review of independent sources of information, including press or third party reviews.
- Face to face meeting and discussions.
- Solution scoping and definition.
- Negotiation process.
- Discrete referencing and informal exploration of cultural fit and profile.
- Presentation of the legal framework and associated financial ramifications.
- Actual service delivery; including commitment, expectation management, success of implementation, absolute value experience, enduring affect, reporting process and management of conflict.
- Billing and finance management.
- Post sale support, service and communications.
- Experience with your businesses community.
- Ongoing account management.
As you can see the prospect and customer journey can be complex, with many customer interaction points contributing to the customer lifetime experience. To improve the performance of your business you need to consider and continually improve all of these customer interaction points, in turn shielding you from your competitors or enemy’s sword and ‘death by a thousand cuts’!
What customer interaction points impact your customer’s lifetime experience and business performance?
IMAGE > Fujita Gaijin | Southland Standoff | 8 panels: 213.4 x 447.0 cm | 12k and 24k gold leaf, spray paint, paint markers, mean streak | 2013
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