Building Customer Experience: What building a house can teach us
Building a Customer Experience Like Constructing a House - let’s see how
Creating a memorable customer experience is much like building a house. Each step requires careful planning, the right resources, and consistent effort to ensure that what you build is strong, lasting, and valuable. Just as a house needs a solid foundation, a clear blueprint, and quality materials, a great customer experience needs core values, a strategic plan, and well-crafted customer touchpoints.
Laying the Foundation: Core Service Principles
When constructing a house, the foundation is the most crucial part—it needs to be strong and stable to support everything that comes afterward. In customer service, this “foundation” is made up of your core service principles. These are the guiding beliefs and values that shape how your business interacts with its customers. Whether it’s integrity, empathy, or innovation, having clear, well-communicated service principles is essential for building trust and loyalty.
Takeaway Tip: Think of your core service principles as the bedrock of your customer experience. Make sure every team member understands and embodies these values in their daily interactions with customers.
Following the Blueprint: A Strategic Plan for Customer Experience
A house isn’t built without a blueprint—a detailed plan that outlines the structure, design, and materials needed. Similarly, an effective customer experience strategy is the “blueprint” that guides all your efforts. This strategy involves mapping out each stage of the customer journey, identifying key touchpoints, and designing interactions that are consistent and engaging. A well-crafted blueprint ensures that everyone in your team is aligned and working toward the same goal: delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Takeaway Tip: Review and update your customer experience blueprint regularly. Just as a house plan might change based on new trends or needs, your strategy should evolve based on customer feedback and market changes.
Using Quality Materials: Customer Touchpoints
To construct a sturdy house, you need quality materials—strong bricks, durable wood, and reliable roofing. In customer experience, these “materials” are your customer touchpoints, such as your website, customer service channels, in-store experiences, and social media interactions. Each touchpoint should be carefully crafted to ensure it enhances the customer journey rather than detracts from it.
Takeaway Tip: Invest in training your staff, improving your digital channels, and refining your service processes. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to reinforce your brand values and create positive experiences.
Regular Maintenance: Ongoing Support and Feedback Loops
Once a house is built, the work isn’t over. It requires ongoing maintenance to keep it in good condition—checking the roof, fixing leaks, and ensuring the foundation remains solid. Similarly, maintaining a great customer experience requires regular “maintenance.” This involves seeking continuous feedback from customers, addressing their concerns promptly, and adjusting your strategies as needed. It’s about creating a feedback loop that ensures your “house” remains strong and reliable over time.
Takeaway Tip: Establish regular feedback sessions, both internally with your team and externally with customers. This helps you catch issues early, make improvements, and keep your customer experience strategy robust and effective.
Conclusion
Building a great customer experience is an ongoing project, much like constructing and maintaining a house. With a solid foundation of core principles, a clear blueprint, quality materials, and regular maintenance, you can create a customer experience that stands the test of time and keeps customers coming back.
