For a positive lasting impression, you need to wow your audience and your players, leaving them feeling like they want more. We include the players (your employees) with the audience (your customers) for a couple of obvious reasons beyond the fact that you care about them.
First, you want your employees to have great reasons to stick around for the long term; you are always battling for talent. Second, the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers. An organization’s external brand reflects its internal culture.
Here are three things your organization can focus on to leave your clients and employees wanting more.
- Lead your customers and employees on remarkable journeys
Customers and employees follow very different journeys, but at the heart their needs are similar. People want connection, and a connection with the organization’s purpose can drive a lasting commitment.
Make sure you understand their journey so the connection with your organization and its purpose is strengthened along the way. Consider when and how the key interactions take place; what is the person thinking and feeling during these interactions; how can we add value at each interaction; are we listening to them versus telling them.
It’s always personal, so make the journey a personal one for your customers and employees. This can be done at scale. Smart use of marketing software allows for personalization of electronic interactions, and well trained and empowered employees ensure direct interactions are highly personal.
- Make each impression a positive impression
Some people drain energy from those around them, while others energize and invigorate those around them. Organizations can follow similar patterns.
Most of us have dealt with a cable provider that takes literally hours to get on the phone, days to get to the house, and promises to arrive between 8:00AM and 4:00PM on a workday. To put it mildly, this is a draining experience.
For a more positive impression, make good decisions around when a customer’s interaction is quicker and more satisfying with electronic support or with direct human contact (see journeys above). And importantly, value your customer’s time, not just your own. The same holds true for supporting your employees.
- Bring value every time
Find a way for your organization listen first and then provide help. Offer what you are great at, and provide recommendations or introductions for anything else. By focusing on your strengths you will leave a positive lasting impression, and likely gain higher margin compared to offering fringe capabilities to your customer.
The same goes for employees, for example, if your internal training program doesn’t match up to external providers, maybe think about changing your offering.
It is the leader’s job to make sure the organization leaves a lasting impression. The leader alone doesn’t make it happen, but they make sure it does happen.
Photo Credit: AfroRomanzo Pexels
