The consistency of the brand experience

It is common in brand discussions to have clients say to our
team, “Our customers really appreciate what we do for them. They know we never
take them for granted.” As pleased as I am to hear that, I carefully follow-up
with questions about how they have come to understand that customers truly feel
that way. How do they know for sure? The short answer is that they don’t (most
of them anyway).

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Customer satisfaction is a result of all the various
interactions or touch points that your customers have with your organization.
The cumulative impact of these interactions creates a brand impression in the
hearts and minds of customers.

A trap that many brands slip into is that the customer experience
is not consistent. Here are a few possible scenarios to consider.

• Your lead sales rep has a great meeting with a
  client and closes the deal. The client has a question and contacts customer
  service and is put on hold for an eternity before talking to a live person. In
  other words, your team talks about complete customer service but once an order
  is placed, the service level trails off to mediocrity.
• Your web site promises insights, innovation and
  creative solutions. Yet, when your sales team calls on customers, they are
  using the same material customers have seen for years. The only differences are
  price and delivery.
• Your mission speaks of how easy you are to do
  business with yet vendors are treated as such and held at a distance and left
  to feel secondary to project success.

Brand experiences can be reinforced at every point of the
sales and service journey. Look to develop a consistent interaction at every
step along the way. Try to exceed expectations often to build not only customer
satisfaction and ultimately delight. And then track it. Measure customer
experience as you measure product quality. Ensure that your brand is adequately
represented with each customer engagement.

How consistent is your brand experience?