There Is A New Standard in Customer Service: Customer Delight

At first glance, the use of "customer delight" as against "customer satisfaction" to describe customer service might come across as another buzzword.

It is the highest level of customer satisfaction that can be achieved. It is when your customer's expectations are surpassed and help build and improve brand loyalty.

Photo by Johann Walter Bantz on Unsplash

To delight a customer is to provide the unexpected.

Customer delight is more than just making a customer happy with your brand's products or services. Customer delight arises you exceeded their expectations. Ideally, all stakeholders play a part in delighting customers

Here are 4 steps to truly provide customer delight

Step 1 - Distinguish the difference between customer satisfaction and customer delight.

You can satisfy a customer when they get something they expect. You delight them with something they didn't.

A simple example would be when you get your windscreen cleaned while filling fuel in your car. Filling fuel is a mundane activity, rarely do people leave with a smile on their face; you can change that.

Another example would be when you're notified of a coupon when you're on the checkout page during an online purchase.

The author of Delight Your Customers, Steve Curtan says that 80% of brands believe they provide excellent customer service, but only 8% of customers think so.

You want your customers to have no doubt, no matter what else happens, that you went beyond the call of duty to take care of them.

2. Develop a knowledgeable customer service staff.

You can tell when the customer service representative is 'stalling' while finding the answer to your question. Customers expect to speak with someone who is knowledgeable and can resolve their issue(s) as soon as possible. i.e. Not having to be put on hold or deal with complicated voice prompts before speaking with a representative and find a resolution without needing to consult a manager.

3. Engage in "surprise and delight" marketing

Turn the mundane into a unique experience. It's no surprise that you will get a reminder when your payments are overdue. But you would be (pleasantly) surprised if you received a "thank you" note for your regular prompt payment (along with a coupon perhaps).

4. Listen to Maya Angelou.

Maya Angelou's quote: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel." Read that again.

- Yogesh Babu