We're all customers and we've all had a bad customer experience at some point.  But what does it take to create a positive customer experience?  Hint, a positive experience is not created out of thin air.

I need a plumber to do a minor fix, 10 calls and 2 weeks later I'm still not an inch closer to getting my plumbing fixed.  Has my plumber heard of customer service?  This is not a rant about how bad my plumber is (or should I call him my ex-plumber).  No this post pulls the plug and drains the mystique surrounding how to create a positive customer experience.

First let's be clear, customer experience is not created as if by magic, nor is it some figment of the imagination.  Customer experience is designed, built and maintained just like a building or a car.  Here are some key factors that build a positive customer experience.

How to Design The Customer Experience

The old adage "know your customer" holds true but how do you get to know them in the first place?  And once you know them how do you design for a positive experience.  Let's discuss a few key factors to consider when getting to know customers and when designing the customer interface process.

First talk to them.  Silcotek chats with customers often,  we chat at conferences, on social media, by phone and email.  We're keen to listen and understand what they want and need.  Then we work on systems to meet their expectations.  We use a combination of old fashioned techniques like customer visits, conference calls, video conferencing, trade shows, and phone calls to understand expectations. 

We also use more high tech methods like lead flow campaigns, email campaigns, targeted content, page view traffic monitoring, lead nurturing, customer persona development, and other voice of customer techniques.  After discussing and processing the information the SilcoTek team design Processes, procedures, and systems to meet customer needs.  Take our ordering process for example.  We offer the customer multiple outlets to meet whatever method is comfortable for the customer.  They can place an order online, by phone, or email; they can place an order directly with us or through several sales outlets.  Customers can even buy already coated products directly from the component manufacturer.  Companies like Swagelok, Handy Tube, Restek, Concoa, and many others offer coated products. 

What we learned from the customer.

Of course customers want high quality but what else did we learn?  Here are a few highlights:

• Communication: customers want to talk to us on their own terms.  Be it by web, phone, or other method, they want to set the tone on their terms and whenever it's convenient for them.  They want to know the status of their order real time but don't want the bother of constant emails.  Basically they want to hear from us but don't want to talk to us so much. (Sounds kind of weird I know..)   
• Information is good. Customers value practical and useful information and want specific data for their application.  That's why we offer brochures, whitepapers, and lots of comparative data demonstrating the effectiveness of a particular coating for an application.  Go to other coating websites and try and find comparative data.  Not so much...  Don't believe us?  We don't take it personally, let us prove it to you by getting our latest webinar and get data and access to one of our coating experts!

• Speed. Customers want parts to be processed as quickly as possible to minimize lead times.  Basically if it were possible they would want us to coat the parts before they sent parts in for coating.  (Again weird...)  That idea is why we started the Buy Coated Products program.  If you don't want to deal with the custom coating process, you don't have to.
• Personal touch, without being personal.  Customers want to join and trust a brand but at the arms length of an app.  Basically saying I want to be included but don't get too close.  (kind of like that weird cousin you see at the family reunion)... Hey we're fine with that, no judging here.  That's why we offer lots of information on line but, most importantly, you can opt out of any program at any time.  We'll even send you bits of information periodically that we think you'll find interesting.  But if you don't like or need that information, you can easily opt out of the program, or you can give us the cold shoulder and not open our emails.  We'll get the hint.

Designing and Building the customer experience.

How do we make sense of this seemingly conflicting data and build systems to meet expectations?  Some head scratching led us to using both old methods and new systems. 

SilcoTek Marketing and Sales teams sit down many times a year to brainstorm and plan better ways to reach out to customers and to understand what the customer wants.  We belly up to the old white board and diagram, sketch, and draft processes, methods and metrics that help us listen to the customer.  Here are a few highlights:

The old ways :

• Use of quality systems like ISO to build a framework for customer quality and communication.  That's the first step, but in today's ultra competitive business environment, systems must go well beyond the basic quality framework.  Some additional steps include:
  • Documentation beyond ISO.  Photo or video documentation of the part during processing and maintaining detailed statistical process control techniques to gain insight into process variance.  Why?  To improve lead times and customer satisfaction.
  • Empower the technician to talk directly with the customer.  SilcoTek customers may get an email directly from the technician clarifying or informing the customer on order status.  Nobody wants information second hand.
  • Inspect rigorously and document variation both upon arrival and during processing.
  • Tooling.  Build task specific custom tooling for not only high volume parts but at risk or damage sensitive parts.
  • Attitude.  We treat customer parts like instruments, not pieces of metal.  That takes lots of training and awareness both on the manufacturing floor and in the office.
  • Connectivity. We're not talking about web, we're talking old fashioned face time and meetings between Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Customer Service, and R&D teams to be sure customer expectations are being met.

Take a look inside SilcoTek Manufacturing to see how we build the customer experience.

The New

We employ data management systems to help us understand customer needs.  Often a customer doesn't have the time or inclination to tell us what's needed.  Data management helps us gain insight into what customers really want.

• Using data to understand customer preferences and interest based on web and ad response. 
• Use of search engine optimization and targeted messages and content to connect with potential customers.
• Automation of certain key processes to assure consistent process quality.
• Integrated ERP and CRM systems
• Social media presence and participation

 The Future

SilcoTek will be offering several new ways to improve the customer experience.  Not all are particularly high tech, but all share the same goal of further enhancing the customer experience and customer understanding. 

• Development of automated on line support (For those who don't want to deal with humans, you know who you are..)
• Improved order systems that are integrated with ERP
• Real time online order status
• Online chat support
• Double down on local sales support to better serve the customer (For those who do want to deal with humans)

Maintaining the customer experience

Maintaining a positive customer experience takes dedication and constant revision to processes, methods and ideas.  Never standing still is key to improving and winning over the customer.  An attitude of winning each customer both old and new with each order each day is vital to customer satisfaction. 

In the old days, about 10 years ago, that sort of thinking was only reserved for big companies.  Not because small business were not capable of imagining an aggressive customer service program, they simply lacked the resources to dedicate to advanced systems and processes.  Now automated systems and integrated marketing systems like Hubspot and bot systems like Drift put small businesses on a level playing field with companies 100 times larger.  The combination of easy to use integrated inbound marketing systems, bots, and social media leave no excuse for failure to understand and listen to the customer.

Well I guess we can't talk about listening to the customer without offering the opportunity for you to speak your mind!  So tell us what you like and don't like about SilcoTek^®!