Over the past two decades of building customer experiences across multiple industries one thing is clear- most businesses do not know much about their customers. At one point most of these businesses knew their product and who they wanted to consume it. But as the business grew they lost sight of the changing dynamics in the market. We unpack those key reasons below.
Top 5 Reasons You’re Not Winning Customers
- Lost sight of your customers
- Over investment in IT
- Lack of customer nurture program
- Outsourced customer service
- Failure to connect the dots
Losing sight of your customer is common. When we are workshopping with our clients most teams do not agree on their customers. If the room were full of Post It Notes there would be a different color for each response without common attributes. This lack of agreement is felt by customers who simply cannot connect with the product or service. It just doesn’t speak to them.
An over investment in IT typically comes at the expense of the customer experience. Many digital transformation initiatives focus on creating microservices architectures and identity management features without centering their goals around the user. For instance, creating microservices that don’t align to what the user is trying to accomplish on platform X is a wasted opportunity to truly serve the customers needs.
Cadillac is the case study for lacking a customer nurture program. When they decided to go after the Millennial generation with new, sharp body lines and smaller displacement engines they forgot who was actually buying their vehicles- their parents! That drove their current customer base to look elsewhere after decades of brand loyalty. To add insult to injury, the younger generation not only didn’t want the new Cadillacs, they didn’t want to drive.
Outsourced customer service is less about location and more about disconnection from the customer. The customer service center is the ear to hear the customers’ voice. When they have trouble logging into your portal; you should look into it. When you’ve resolved the problem; call them and thank them for letting you know. Listening and taking action should be at the heart of your customer support strategy.
Take the top four reasons and tie them together. Failure to connect the dots is one of the biggest reasons you’re not winning customers. If you lose sight of your customer, over invested in IT, stopped nurturing your base, and didn’t listen when they gave feedback then they will go elsewhere. Connecting the dots across these four reasons will help you recenter your focus on your customer.