Guest Opinion: Create a great experience at every turn

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By Emily Steele | Co-owner, Brand Launch

I was recently going in for a massage appointment and when I opened the door, the owner was on his phone visibly upset. He wrapped up the call after about five minutes of me standing in the main room, and then vented to me about his difficulties with a credit card company.

That negative energy was then felt during the 50-minute massage (not the hour I paid for). When I left, he perked up and asked if I wanted to book my next appointment. Pass.

Unfortunately, these types of experiences happen all the time. And they matter now more than ever because of social media and our ability to leave reviews and make recommendations in a matter of seconds.

Have you ever seen a friend post, “Need an oil change, where should I go?” “Does anyone have restaurant recommendations in Des Moines?” “Anyone have a nail salon they recommend in the East Village?” 

I see these types of posts daily. And your response has weight, especially if you’re a friend or family member (or if you write a lengthy “why” response).

Consumers are demanding both immediacy and excellence, a relatively tough standard to meet for many small business owners. However, it’s incredibly important to understand that it exists and you will be critiqued for every touch point on the customer’s journey.

Here’s an example.

Instead of baking my mom’s birthday cake, I want to text or email a business owner the Pinterest image of what I want and then make sure it’s delivered at 7 o’clock on a Friday evening. I ask friends or Facebook who I should use and once I get enough responses and do some social media creeping, I reach out over an Instagram DM.

That business owner’s response time, updates on the cake, questions asked along the way (along with proper grammar use), promptness of delivery, friendliness upon delivery, quality of the cake, and any follow-up are all a part of whether or not I will choose to recommend them and order in the future.

It’s not because I’m a critical jerk who expects perfection. I am simply “downloading” information about the experience and expectations I have based on other people’s feedback, reviews, social media behavior and hundreds of other factors I can’t even name!

The point is this: Details matter. 

It’s not always going to be a rock-solid, consistent process, but it is a choice. Creating excellence at every touch point requires stepping back and considering what a customer (or future customer) might think of the posts you put in your news feed or the timeliness of your email response. 

As we teach at Brand Launch, you continually make impressions by what you put out into the world  as people, as brands, as physical retail shops and everything in between. We want more women to see these opportunities and create something absolutely remarkable for every single person they interact with on the customer journey so they can acquire new customers, retain those customers and get repeat referrals.

Emily Steele is a Des Moines gal, always seeking to fill the gap to make the community a better place to live, work, and play. From co-owning Brand Launch to running FemCity Des Moines, Steele consistently works to provide value and education for business owners and other fellow do-gooders. Connect with Steele via email.

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