My wife is an educator; actually, she is a graduate school professor of educational leadership. She recently mentioned a powerful quote by revered educator, author and speaker Nicholas Ferroni that got me thinking about customers. But, then, just about everything gets me thinking that way. “Students who are loved at home come to school to learn. Students who aren’t…come to school to be loved.” What is the customer-centric version of that quote?
Customers who feel loved come to your business to get a great service experience; customers who aren’t loved come to your business to get a great customer experience. Read that line again. The loved customer needs accuracy, efficiency, results, delivered in a fashion they find delightful. But, the unloved customer wants all that…plus they desire an experience that is all about them personally. One wants to be amazed; the other to be adored.
Years ago, University of Texas professor Robert Peterson’s research indicated that when customers use the “L” word (or other emotion-laden terms of endearment) to describe you, their buying habits are dramatically different that those who simply like you. The favorite question of Jim Blasingame, best-selling author of The Age of the Customer, is: “Are you loving up on your customers?” It means making them feel they are #1 and the centerpiece of your business. It includes attention to the details that matter to them. It involves majoring in the minors that signal you deeply care about their welfare.
Service greatness does not come from being a psychic who can read the mind, disposition and home life of your customers to choose a customer-facing strategy. But, it does come from remembering one principle espoused by psychologist William James: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”