By Stephen Netzlaw and Jason Poole
August 16, 2023
Customer Promise: A Simple Concept That Goes A Long Way | Article
Customer Promise: A Simple Concept That Goes A Long Way
COO Stephen Netzlaw and CXO Jason Poole team up to help us understand the power of integrating a customer promise into our customer experience strategy and how it can help us develop better client relationships.
Introduction
Throughout the years, we’ve approached customer experience from an inside-out perspective, focusing on internal operations rather than understanding what truly matters to our clients. Customers would find it challenging to gauge their expectations because we did not provide explicit customer interaction guidelines. Generic statements like "we care about our customers" failed to communicate the actual experience a customer can expect during interactions with Acro Commerce. We’d hear about these failings in customer reviews, specifically when onboarding new clients.
To address this issue, we’d either resort to customer bills of rights and/or brand promises to signal our commitment to customers. However, these approaches have limitations. Brand promises often lack specificity, and customer bills of rights are typically reactive and unactionable based on real customer scenarios. We began to hit our stride once we adopted a customer promise between these two ends of the spectrum that effectively bridged the gap. So let's talk a little more about customer promises.
The Power of a Customer Promise
A customer promise goes beyond mere words; it reflects a partnership commitment and an opportunity to elevate the relationship beyond contractual obligations. A well-crafted customer promise should:
- Be transparent and explicit: communicate to customers what they can expect from their interactions with the organization.
- Activate the brand promise: align with the overarching brand promise to strengthen the organization's identity.
- Strengthen the partnership: reinforce the customer bond, instilling trust and loyalty.
- Differentiate from competitors: showcase your unique commitment to customer experience and stand out from the competition.
Developing a Customer Promise
Here is a general guideline that a business could follow
Undertake customer research
Understand what customers truly want from their relationship with your organization. Leverage voice of the customer (VoC) insights and examine feedback from various channels to identify the "moments that matter."
“Start with customer personas, then use those to create empathy maps for each persona. An empathy map has 4 quadrants to highlight what the persona says, thinks, feels and does. Besides building empathy for your customers, it forces alignment and extends a deeper understanding into them.” - Jason Poole, CXO.
Review your competitive position
Analyze competitors' customer experiences to see where you can set yourself apart and create a distinct customer promise.
“Create an experience map to visualize an end-to-end experience that a person goes through to accomplish a goal. This should be agnostic to a specific business or product (namely yours). It’s designed to understand general human behaviour.”
Gather a cross-functional team
Assemble a diverse team with representatives from various departments to ensure a comprehensive and customer-focused approach. Or, at a minimum, collect feedback from this group and involve them in the process.
“Unlike the experience map, a customer journey map is specific to your organization and products/services, the journey phases provide a framework to map the user’s actions, thoughts and emotions.”
Test the customer promise
Align the customer promise with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and real-life customer scenarios. Make sure the promise empowers customers and employees alike to deliver exceptional experiences.
“Service blueprints go a step further and compare the phases of the customer journey to specific frontstage and backstage actions within your organization, they also include necessary assets/collateral and supporting business processes.”
How to maintain the customer promise
Gain internal agreement
Ensure all departments and stakeholders are on board with the customer promise. Validate the promise internally, with partners, and preview with select customers for feedback.
Operationalize and evolve
Implement the customer promise in your organization's processes, ensuring alignment with the brand's messaging and marketing. Adapt and evolve as customer needs change over time.
Ensure internal alignment
Cross-check the customer promise with existing brand messaging and marketing materials to ensure consistency across the organization.
Promote the customer promise
Share the customer promise with prospects, customers, partners, and analysts through multiple communication channels. Seek feedback to improve the promise continuously.
Conclusion
By prioritizing and integrating a customer promise into your overall customer experience strategy, your organization can develop stronger and more meaningful customer relationships.
Remember that a successful customer promise is not static; it should evolve alongside your customers' wants and needs. A strategic and customer-centric approach can differentiate your organization and drive better business outcomes.
