The holiday season is here, and those who forge new customer habits through compelling customer experiences will win the sale. Forecasters anticipate consumers will shell out more than $730 billion dollars between Thanksgiving and New Year’s day, up 4% over 2018. There are ways to make this season a cheerful one for your customers and a profitable one for you! Below are three ways to make this holiday a happy holiday for all!
- Create The Santa Claus Effect
Let the features of your holiday customers’ experiences mimic those of jolly old St. Nick. Evaluate the anticipated experiences you are creating by using the following criteria:
- Will the online experience feel happy, fun-loving, and joyful?
- Will service be as easy as finding what Santa Claus put under your tree?
- Will the experience make your customers smile… or better yet, grin, swoon, or snicker?
- Will you follow-up to help your customers think about you all year long, not just at holidays?
- Will the experience have a touch of joyful mystery that makes it an enchanting attraction?
Customers have abundant choices today. Price and availability are no longer the sole criteria for customer selection and loyalty. Those that will win this year’s sale will be the ones who chose to add unique value to the customer’s experience.
- Make Everything Feel Like Opening a Gift
We all enjoy the mystery and intrigue of opening a gift with our name on the name tag. Let your experiences reflect the compelling charm of a holiday present.
- Will the experience feel magical, like the surprise of Christmas morning?
- Will the experience have colorful sensory appeal like holiday decorations?
- How will you personalize or “monogram” the experiences for your customers?
- Do your return policies demonstrate deep customer trust and respect?
- Does the experience reflect an attitude of generosity, not greed or manipulation?
Ideally, this part of the equation has been in the works for months, if not years. However, no time is greater than the present to start creating exceptional experiences. A one-time holiday opportunity to wow your customer could lead to a long-term customer and brand advocate.
- Joyful Experiences Take Joyful People
Joyful people are infectious. Their upbeat, optimistic attitude can elevate the delight of all those around them. Let all experiences reflect the warmth of a holiday carol.
- Do remote experiences (ear-to-ear or click-to-click) equal that of stellar face-to-face?
- Are your contact centers populated with (nice, not naughty) high energy, fun-loving associates?
- Are your self-service options crafted with an obvious partnership philosophy?
- Is it super easy to reach and talk with one of “Santa’s helpers”?
- Are all channels “decorated” the same way, creating trust through consistency?
Oftentimes, the softer side of a company culture is viewed as a nice extra to sales and marketing only. However, today’s customer continues to voice differently with their dollar votes. This is going to be an interesting fourth quarter, because retailers who resist focusing on bettering their customers’ experiences might just find themselves packing up their office suites right along with the holiday decorations.