Make Each Customer’s Experience Amazing – Part I

Retailers often say they want their customers to be “100 percent satisfied.” But, really, that’s not enough to make customers loyal – loyal to the point of exclusivity, where they will shop with your company and nowhere else.

As Simon Sinek, in Start With Why, notes: “Loyalty is when people are willing to turn down a better product or a better price to continue doing business with you. Loyal customers often don’t even bother to research the competition or to entertain other options.” At Musical Innovations, that’s our “why” – we strive for this type of loyalty. Why are we doing what we do? Our goal is to make every customer’s every interaction with us not just “satisfactory,” but memorable. Exceeding their expectations, every time. That’s a challenging task! When we start using superlatives like “exclusive” and “exemplary,” that forces us to eliminate certain other descriptors like “apathetic,” “mediocre,” and “acceptable.” In other words, “acceptable” becomes no longer acceptable to us. We are looking instead for “WOW” – for amazement, for magic.

Loyalty is not always based on rational thinking (like comparing brands and specs). It’s based on a feeling that the buyer has about the seller, and how the buyer perceives that the products being presented will meet his or her needs. Notice, it’s not about what the seller thinks, but about the emotional value brought to the buyer – about things that can’t always be seen – as The Little Prince says, “That which is essential is invisible to the eyes”. Giving customers something to believe in – the value of music education, for example – or in our case, the story of The Little Engine That Could, the story of the little music store that began in the midst of the Great Recession, in a mere 1,300 square- foot storefront, and only six years later is grossing over $1.5 million and was named NAMM’s 2015 Dealer of the Year.

That being said, we measure our “success” not in terms of dollars, but through the eyes of our customers. Our customers know they are a huge part of our success, and they are enjoying the “train ride.” We see each interaction as a wonderful opportunity to make that interaction magical, amazing. Even if the customer has a hard-to-find special request, or a grievance – what a great opportunity to go out of our way, to show how different, how customer-focused we are. Here are some of the things we love to hear our customers say on their way out the door, and how we strive to create an exemplary experience for every customer, every time:

1) WOW! That was easy!

Corollary: They really care about me!

The lifetime value of a customer is always way more than the value of any one transaction. Keep the big picture in mind. People do business with a company primarily because of the people who work for that company, the people with whom they interact, whether in person or on the phone, or even by e-mail. That means each employee has to represent our company – and our “Why” – consistently. That’s a huge responsibility, but also a marvelous one.

Default to “Yes.” If it’s at all possible, make it happen. It may not be convenient, or even profitable, but remember… (see #1, above). Customers come in to our store looking for answers, and “no” is hardly ever the best answer to give them.

Empower and train your employees to provide exemplary service. Build your own “Customer Amazement Team” (note use of the word “team,” a team working together to share their passion for music). We have created what we call the “$50 Lifeboat,” an idea taken from the book, Amaze Every Customer Every Time by Shep Hyken (p. 31). Each employee has up to $50 they can use, at his or her discretion, without prior approval and without repercussion, to make a customer happy if needed – this can be free merchandise, comping a repair, offering a gift certificate, or whatever it takes to have that customer leave the store impressed, rather than vowing never to come back. As Hyken says, “Service recovery is more than just fixing the problem. It’s also about restoring confidence.” (p. 161) It’s a fallacy that the “customer is always right;” but even when a customer is wrong, he or she must be treated courteously and with respect. When our children were small, one of our child-rearing axioms was, “Being right is not as important as being nice” (see #1, above).

Role-playing is a great way to train employees to respond to customers properly. Employees who have “been there” can act as customers and give feedback to your newbies about how to turn a bad situation into a good one, or how to deal with parents who may not even know what questions to ask [What store hasn’t had a parent come in asking for “reeves?”].

Rather than asking, “May I help you?” our staff strives to initiate a real conversation, to make eye contact. Not only to minimize shoplifting (which it does), but also to engage the customer. “What school does your child attend? Oh, Mr. Kilgus is a wonderful band director – your son will love band!” Or, “How old is your little one? Did you play in orchestra when you were in school, too?”

Everything you do and say has to be consistent with your “Why.” As Hyken, in Amaze Every Customer Every Time, notes, it takes only one “Moment of Misery” to erase countless “Moments of Magic.” Let’s face it: filet mignon doesn’t taste as good if it’s mixed with even one bite of sewage. First impressions are important, but so are last impressions – which is why our employees often help customers carry purchases out to their cars, or offer to stay and wait after closing time if a customer is running late.

Look for Part II in the September 2016 issue of MMR.

Tracy Leenman is the owner/CEO of Greenville, South Carolina’s Musical Innovations – named NAMM’s 2015 Dealer of the Year. Leenman has over 40 years of experience as a music educator and over 15 years in the music industry. Tracy has been a longtime, valued contributor of articles and editorials to both MMR and our sister publication, SBO.