Henry Ford’s take on asking the customer what they want is an interesting one. Back in the day, you might have thought, “Hmmmm, a faster horse would be fantastic.” Until you opened your eyes and saw me cruising right past you in my fancy Model-T, that new-fangled mobile gadget with the power of 20 horses. Faster horse be damned.
Some people mistake the meaning of Ford’s words as a way to put less emphasis on customer service. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ford was speaking about his approach to creating genuine innovation. It had nothing to do with tuning out your customers. In fact, this is what he said about customer service:
A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.
We’re keenly aware at Engage321 that customers are not willing to sacrifice customer service, no matter how great the innovation they receive. They’ll only do so if another option doesn’t exist. Go ahead, ask your customers if they’re willing to be ignored, to trudge through a 7-deep phone menu just to get to a real person, to not have their warranty honored, or to be treated as if you owe them nothing more than the product you sold them.
If you think that your systems won’t allow you to quickly and efficiently resolve customer issues, then maybe you should change the system. Keep this bit of info in mind as you’re deciding what to do – “89% of customers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service.” They’re also twice as likely to share a poor experience (than a positive experience) with their peers. Ponder what I’m telling you a little longer.
Customers don’t just get mad, they don’t just roll their eyes. No. They STOP doing business with you.
Take the extra time (and yes, resources) to make your customers happy, to enchant and engage them whenever and wherever you cross paths. Because you rarely get them back once they scamper away. With an engaging experience, those same customers could turn into your biggest brand advocates.
