“We keep passing unseen through each others’ lives.” – Robert M Pirsig

What do you see, think and feel when you read the above quote? On a social level, do you wonder about intriguing possibilities, and perhaps social conditions around you? Isn't it interesting to see how quickly a whole avenue of thought can open up?

Now let's look at the quote through our business eyes: what do you see now? Do you think of filtering out information, or opening up to growth opportunities?

As customers, each of us encounters dozens of customer experiences every day, usually many more than we are registering on a conscious level. Each of these customer experiences is made up of a series of interactions between us and the businesses providing products and services. These interactions are often referred to as Moments of Truth, because they reveal the true nature and possibility of our customer experiences.

The first Moment of Truth for many of us as customers is when we first see or hear the advertising messages for a business. How do those messages come across – are we being treated as special guests, or someone being coaxed (or worse) to buy? What is the implied relationship between the business and us?

Do you as a customer get a sense that you’re part of a ‘target audience’, and if so, does that attract you more to the business, or would you rather feel part of a marketing strategy?

The next Moments of Truth involve physical contact with the business, either via their premises or staff. Let’s start with premises (we’ll come to websites in a moment). We all know that first impressions count, so how do we feel when we enter most retail outlets, banks, hotels, restaurants or car dealerships – even before we encounter a member of staff?

Once we have a cursory glance around the premises, how easy has the business made it for us as customers to do what we came to do? Is the experience built for the efficiency of the business, or does it provide a memorable way for us to meet our needs, in a way that would make us want to repeat the experience?

What about websites: do they feel welcoming, easy on the eye and simple to use, or do feel left to your own devices, and can’t wait to get out with what you want (and hope you can find)? Each mouse click, every page, every menu presents its own Moment of Truth. We can all relate customer experience stories that we would rather not repeat…

These Moments of Truth, however, are just warm-up exercises compared to the human contact that takes place between customers and businesses, both face to face and over the telephone. Again, appearances matter, as does content and tone. For example, how many times are we welcomed by a member of staff who actually seems to mean it?

The language we use with customers is important: what do you think customers think and feel every time they see or hear the team 'contact centre’? And what kind of Moments of Truth do we expect from staff who work in an environment where customers are seen as an inconvenience, apart from the dollar signs attached to them?

So what’s the key to delivering superior Moments of Truth and great Customer Experiences? First, the most successful business stand for a ‘Big Idea’, in other words, a belief that they can make a significant difference for their customers, in a way that is distinct from other businesses.

Big, by the way, means big. Being the best in your part of town – or even your region – is not a big idea, that’s just a statement of ambition. Big in this case refers to the size of the problems it can solve and outcomes it can deliver, both in a business, and increasingly, a social sense.

Relationships are key. Loyalty can no longer be bought, and it never really could.
Many businesses promise, but how many give customers proof up-front, and give them a preview of the Customer Experience and the Moments of Truth along the way? How many offer unconditional guarantees?

Most business owners would tend to say they are well aware of this requirement, but how many really put it into practice? Winning businesses are designed ‘from the outside in’, working backwards from the desired outcomes for the customer, solving their problems via a series of superior Moments of Truth. These businesses design their companies around their ‘Big Idea’, craft the Customer Experience carefully, and pay careful attention to how they deliver maximum value and goodwill during and in between each Moment of Truth.

For these businesses, aftercare is not an afterthought. Up-selling and cross-selling is part of a natural flow of delivering more value, in a way that enhances the Customer Experiences, by responding positively via yet more Moments of Truth. The overall relationship is one of partnership and dialogue.

So let’s go back to our original quote: “We keep passing unseen through each others’ lives.” Now what does that feel like?