Big Picture - October 2019 - 16

A DV E R T I S E M E N T

THE EXTRA MILE
Why doing
more matters.

P

eloton used to have a recurring
customer service issue. The high-end
stationary bike maker's products were
delivered by a third party vendor that
did not embrace any of Peloton's customercentric values. In the customer feedback
data that Peloton pored over, the insight was
invaluable: "I don't like Peloton because I had
a bad delivery experience." "I'm not going to
recommend Peloton to my friends."
The criticism struck a nerve with management,
which more than anything else placed a high
value on the relationship it has with its customers.
Peloton started delivering its own bikes to certain
zip codes, eventually shipping 70 percent of the
high-end stationary bikes on its own.
The lesson commercial printers can walk
away with is simple: Customer engagement
is paramount, so putting a premium on going
that extra mile is critical to brand sustainability.
The newest buzzword in customer
engagement is Return on Experience (ROX),
a framework that can help companies spot
vulnerabilities and opportunities in customer
management. Measuring ROX can help your
print shop understand the importance of
investments in the parts of your company
directly related to how people interact with
you and your employees.
And interaction matters. According to "The
Customer Rage Study," $202 billion was at

risk due to customer problems with products/
services. The report by the W.P Carey School
of Business at Arizona State University and the
Center for Services Leadership, showed it takes
4.2 contacts with a brand to satisfy a customer
complaint. When things like customer service
work, 48 percent say they will recommend
what you do, the survey found.
Kristina Podnar, a digital policy innovator,
believes that ingraining the "extra steps"
mentality into your culture is leadership
focused. The key is having your strategic
business goals translate into your objectives and
communicated to your entire organization. The
alignment is critical. Do you have measurable
outcomes that tie directly back into the business
goals? Are you doing the right things, both from
a return on investment perspective and in terms
of promoting your brand and company values?
Once you establish your leadership focus,
Podnar says that you must become
operationally focused. Have you adopted
the right functionality in order to meet your
business strategic goals? Have you adopted
industry best practices, legal/regulatory
requirements, and lessons learned from
your own initiatives to ensure you are on
the right course?
"Asking these questions ensures that your
organization is directly tied to the business
drivers and that everyone is working toward

common outcomes," says Podnar, who has
consulted with brands such as Fannie Mae,
Verizon, and Delta Airlines, among many others.
Podnar suggests thinking of your business like
it is an airplane crew. The pilot has a safety plan
and checklist, ensuring the airplane is sound to
fly to its destination. The crew has its pre-flight
checklist, including ensuring safety inside of
the cabin, and ample food and drink to get
everyone comfortably to the destination. "They
each do their own thing, but in a coordinated
way that focuses both on safety, enjoyment, and
arriving at the destination in the best and most
timely way possible," she says. "And regularly
running through these questions ensures
continual plan and execution alignment."

LIVING YOUR BRAND THROUGH
YOUR CUSTOMERS' EYES
Why does doing more matter in your
customers' eyes? It is a question Michele
Wierzgac asks her clients to think about a lot.
The highly sought thought leadership expert
says that one of the most basic premises your
brand should embrace is the one that when a
customer comes to you, they expect nothing
but the best, in everything.
They expect your product or service to fit their
needs and your customer service to exceed
their expectations - period. If not, there is no
brand loyalty. "Customers have numerous
options to find what they need," Wierzgac says.
"If they do not believe your brand is authentic,
or the sales rep lacks credibility, they will move
on in a heartbeat."
The key factor in any brand going the extra
mile for their customers starts at the top and
in the beginning. That means making customer
service training for your team a priority. In
particular, companies need to spend resources
on building a sales team that has old-fashioned
communication skills and truly embraces and
reflects the culture of the organization

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Big Picture - October 2019

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