Customer experience is more valuable than operations often realizes. Depending on the industry and the business challenge at hand, the focus can often get shifted away from the end-user to something happening within the organization. The time spent "putting out fires" in your organization might seem like time well spent, but that inward-focused attention is taking away from the experience of your customers.

If you can "add delight" to the customer's experience, you'll be way ahead in customer satisfaction and appreciation towards your brand. You're delighting your customers if you're making them feel good and giving them a positive experience. This can be accomplished by doing something to show your customer that you're willing to go above and beyond for them.

Other great ways to add delight:

1. Focus on core values: You're like a boat without a compass if your team doesn't understand and actively attempt to live out your team's core values. The specific values can vary from company to company -- but great customer service starts with knowing what your brand represents.

2. Hire on core values: "Hire for the passion, and train for the skill." While skills are easily learned by anyone with ability and focus, passion for the job can't easily be instilled in a person that doesn't innately have a drive to serve others.

3. Lead by example: If your employees don't see their leader as someone delighted by serving customers, that will likely wear off on them as well. If the owner's attitude isn't upbeat, low morale and poor customer service can settle into every area of your organization. Set an example of care and positivity and allow your team to mirror your energy and enthusiasm.

4. Empathy: Show your customers that you see how they feel in situations involving your brand and watch the positive results. Empathy is a magnet for trust, so don't shy away from your ability to understand others.

Service by responsiveness:

The time it takes you to respond to a customer is evidence to them of how much you (and by extension, your brand) care. You can deliver an amazing customer experience by just picking up the phone or jumping in to de-escalate an issue. Show your staff and your customers that you're willing to get involved will add a feather to your hat and make your brand stronger. This philosophy can also be extended to social media, where response time is also of utmost importance. After a day or two goes by, a concern could be forgotten by the customer and a late response can be missed or taken as an offense.

Here's the full blab with Jessica, Ravi and me. Enjoy!

Remember to join Jessica, Ravi and me live on Blab every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm for Relationships and ROI Blab live online.

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