FedEx, Lexus, LG: Leaving Legacies Of A World-Class Customer Experience
Legacy.
Heritage. Legend. Tradition.
The term has received a lot of air time in recent years. And for good reason.
And leaving a “legacy” of a world class customer experience is something else. Not something many companies will ever see.
But national indices like the American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI purport to shine a light on those organizations that are at the top of their game. And those companies all embody what it means to leave a legacy.
My question for your business: will you leave a legacy of great customer experience?
Let's take a quick look at the “top 20” ACSI companies and why they’ve reached that “legacy status” in the eyes of customers.
1.A legacy of “personal touch” is what sets apart a company like FedEx, the global parcel delivery carrier from their competitors. As one customer put it to ACSI, they say their FedEx carrier is “always happy” and “smiling” most of the time.
Ditto the fast-food chain Atlanta-based Chik-fi-la. Customers count “politeness” and “professionalism” as the hallmark of the company’s usually minimum-wage employees. Not terms one often finds in the same sentence describing most fast-food establishments!
2.The “reliability” factor is the “legacy” of top customer satisfaction performers LG Electronics and Apple computer. Customers regularly tout LG products as having “no problems” giving them high marks for reliability. Same is constantly heard about Apple products ( “no viruses” ) in addition to the company’s legendary history of “innovation”.
3.Finally, the “take a stand” legacy is at the forefront of why customers rank car maker Subaru and financial company Thrivent Financial at the top of their list. Subaru because of their devotion to “safety”; Thrivent due to their stated stand on “ethics”. Their focus on a specific area of importance to consumers gives them an opportunity “to be known” for something.
So, it’s time to roll out a few Business Tips here and see if your organization can learn from the Top 20.
Business Tip #1. Consider a single aspect your company might become “known for” and begin reinforcing that in your branding and company positioning. Like FedEx above, it might be the personality of your employees or their behavior. Or it may be taking a “social stand” like the ethics angle of Thrivent above.
Tip #2.Confirm that strategy with your own customers by doing some in-depth surveys or focus groups. An objective look at your business usually gives you a pretty quick read on whether or not you’ve chosen the right path.
So, what’s your legacy? Are you building on it every day so it becomes a tradition? A heritage? Something you’re known for being the very best in your space?
My advice is to jump on this sooner rather than later!
So, until we reconvene to kick some more ideas around about how to improve on our business, I’ll see ‘ya!
Ciao.