{"id":978,"date":"2019-05-27T13:43:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T11:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xpand.eu\/sa\/?p=978"},"modified":"2019-05-27T13:43:30","modified_gmt":"2019-05-27T11:43:30","slug":"design-the-customer-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xpand.one\/sa\/design-the-customer-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Design the customer experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Design the customer experience<\/h2>\n

Customers determine the very existence of companies. If it were not for them,\u00a0we would not have any businesses \u2013 a simple truth. As an entrepreneur, your initial customer experiences will set the tone for future customer experiences, so\u00a0don\u2019t leave this to fate. Intentionally design healthy experiences for your customers that inspire them.<\/p>\n

I became an inspired customer myself when Paul took me to the opening of his\u00a0sons\u2019 bouldering gym, Block013<\/em>. I had never experienced climbing until that\u00a0day. I was nervous. I did not tell anyone, but on the inside I did not know what\u00a0to expect. All these people climbing, what will they think of me? Jeroen, Robin,\u00a0Kelly and Emily made us feel at home immediately. They explained all the\u00a0\u2018climbing basics\u2019 to us. But they also emphasized that we should do only what\u00a0we are comfortable with. They even designed the bouldering gym in such a way\u00a0that beginners like me find it easy and accessible to start climbing. At Block013 bouldering is no longer something for just a select few, it is something we can\u00a0all do. I have to be honest, if it was not for that customer experience, I would\u00a0never have continued climbing. Now it\u2019s two years later, and I am addicted to\u00a0climbing. All thanks to an amazing customer experience, one that they\u00a0purposefully designed.<\/p>\n

Here is what I learned from this experience. First impressions last. Your\u00a0first interaction with your customer will determine the future\u00a0interactions. The first interaction should be designed. Don\u2019t leave it to\u00a0chance. Be intentional about it. I, for example, learned to acknowledge the possible fears or nervousness my customer\u00a0might have before they interact with me.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>

Here are a few things that I learned to do while interacting with the customer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Prepare well.<\/em> Research the customer. Think about their strengths, their possible\u00a0needs and fears. Write down potential barriers for them to have future interactions.<\/li>\n
  2. Appreciation.<\/em> Write down three things you appreciate about the client before\u00a0you meet them. You don\u2019t have to share this, but having a healthy perspective on the customer will set the tone for a healthy meeting.<\/li>\n
  3. Listen actively.<\/em> While I listen, I take notes and ask clarifying questions. In the\u00a0design-thinking world, this is called observation phase. During this time, stay\u00a0focused and keep distractions away. Learn about your customer\u2019s reality before\u00a0selling anything. Customers will see you are truly focused on them and their\u00a0success and not just in selling them what you have.<\/li>\n
  4. Be open to co-design solutions.<\/em> When you know the customer well, you are able to\u00a0design solutions that will help them in the long run.<\/li>\n
  5. Add value with no cost involved.<\/em> I always go into every meeting I have with the\u00a0mindset that I will give this person one solution they can implement without\u00a0costs. Why do I do this? I am passionate about serving leaders and businesses,\u00a0and if I only give solutions when I get paid, then I am in the money-making-\u00a0business and not in the business design industry.<\/li>\n
  6. Be open and honest.<\/em> If the person does not need your service, tell them that. If\u00a0you ask for feedback, be okay with whatever they say and really learn from the\u00a0criticism.<\/li>\n
  7. Ask yourself, did I inspire this customer today?<\/em> Many times customers walk away\u00a0satisfied but not inspired. People who are only satisfied with a product or\u00a0service, might choose to go somewhere else in the future. People who are\u00a0inspired by a service or product will not only come back, but will also tell \u00a0others.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tips to grow in Customer Inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Se aside enough time to prepare for customer interactions<\/li>\n
    2. Be careful to treat all your customers the same<\/li>\n
    3. Take time to reflect and evaluate the interactions with your
      \ncustomers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      –<\/p>\n

      This blog post contains an excerpt from our new book, Design Your Business<\/em>, by Paul Donders and Cias Ferreira<\/p>\n

      Get your copy of Design your Business<\/em> today for R320<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Send an email<\/a><\/span> to\u00a0info-sa@xpand.eu<\/a><\/span>\u00a0, contact the office at 079 434 9030<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Or you can buy the e-book on Amazon https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07RZWBTQH\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

      Giving a roadmap to unexpected entrepreneurs.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>
      <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-your-business","category-general"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDesign the customer experience - 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