As I rang in
my birthday a couple weeks ago, the CRM-churned emails and text messages began
rolling in. One by one my inbox and phone were flooded with birthday wishes
from my doctor, car dealerships, investment
houses and others I do personal business with.
Do I
appreciate the sentiment? Of course! However, I’d be lying if I said that the
“Happy Birthdays” surrounded my flickering candled animations felt flat and
mechanical. And it’s not just from business-related sources. Even the e-card
from my own mother seemed to lack that warm and fuzziness that comes with
opening a handwritten birthday card with a perfectly placed stamp.
However, the
issue here really is not the technology-driven wishes versus the handwritten
ones. It’s about the lack of personalization. Without that personal connection,
how can you possibly forge a relationship…right?
In the midst
of pondering this challenge, my cell phone rang and my wife answered it. It was
Dave from Volkswagen of Naples, FL calling to wish me a happy birthday. As a
matter of fact, he has called every year for the last three years on my birthday.
The birthday wishes are peppered with questions about the weather in Chicago,
what I’m doing for my birthday, is everything okay with the car I had bought
for my wife, when are we back in Florida for season. He asks all the right
questions to maintain and further our personal connection. And you know what?
He still used a CRM system to even remember my birthday and prompt the call, but where he changes the game is by
adding personalization. In addition to the conversation with me, he also took
the time to have a conversation with my wife to alleviate her concerns about a
recent recall, assuring her that it did not impact her beloved Beetle
convertible.
Now, I know
you must be thinking, ‘well of course you have a personal relationship with him
because you bought a car from him after sitting in painful and obligatory
negotiations and mounds of paperwork’. That’s not accurate. I actually bought the
car online from the dealership and we only met when I picked up the keys.
However, he has made a point to contact me over the years, and every touch
point is packed with personal
moments that have actually built the relationship that was not established
during the sales process. I essentially avoided everything I hate about
purchasing a car but I still got the personal experience necessary to feel like
a valued customer.
This is one of
many experiences that reinforces for me that it’s not technology that’s killing
the customer experience, it can actually enhance it. You see, in the case of
the car purchase, the drudgery of the face-to-face purchasing experience was
eliminated, along with any potentially negative sentiment I might have had, and
the subsequent interactions I have had with my VW representative have all been
to support the purchase that I made online.
And it’s not
just the big purchases where there is a chance to build relationships that
transition from online to personal. Every Saturday morning, after a long bike
ride, I place an order through my Starbucks app to get my wife, Angela, her
London Fog Latte, extra hot, no foam, with coconut milk.
From there,
this is how it usually goes as I walk into Starbucks in full biking gear.
“Angela?”,
yells the barista.
“That’s me!”, I say
“Where did
you ride today?”
When I tell
him, he keeps the conversation going, telling me he loves the food in that
neighborhood and makes some suggestions. On my next visit, I tell him I went
back and tried the carnitas. He showed genuine excitement and interest asking
if I went to Don Pepe’s because it’s his favorite!
What happens
between us during every trip to pick up my wife’s coffee, is what I call a
microconnection. These 20-second interactions, all based on a personal
connection formed because the barista was able to make a connection with me
based on me wearing a bike helmet. He picked up on a simple cue and made it
into a personal connection, which over time feels like a relationship….a
relationship built on a series of 20-second interactions.
Not only does
online technology NOT hamper the personal connections necessary to good
customer experience, but it can actually help you bypass the transaction and
focus on the relationship!
Don’t let the influx of kiosks and self-service checkouts make you
feel like you can’t personalize the customer experience. Instead, let it
strengthen the customer’s independence and then use the extra time with them to
work on building your relationship.
Rest assured that technology isn’t the culprit to failed customer
experiences. In reality, it gives you more time and opportunity to forge the
relationship, so USE IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment