How to Actually Win Customers – Move Astonishingly and Brazenly Fast

Racecar driver Mario Andretti once said that “if everything seems under control, you are not going fast enough.” Mario’s words transcend automobile racing and apply to customer experience delivery.

Tidio recently conducted a study of more than 1,000 online shoppers and confirmed the importance of delivery speed. Specifically, the Tidio study notes:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world economy in a variety of ways. For one, it has significantly accelerated the process of digital transformation.

Some of the most important customer experience statistics and insights that our study revealed include:

Faster customer service is expected to be a standard, not a luxury.

44% of online customers believe that the average response time from customer service should be below 5 minutes (but they are not likely to pay extra for it).

Poor visuals and slow websites make a negative customer experience for younger shoppers.

More than 55% of online shoppers aged 18-24 think poor product photos and slow website loading times are intolerable. They find these aspects much more frustrating than other customer segments.

Here are four tips for picking up the pace on the service you deliver:

1) Shop your products or services. Frequently I ask board members, C-level leaders, managers, and even frontline team members to go through the steps of purchasing an item or scheduling service from their company. If we don’t routinely assume our customer roles, we will miss the complexity, friction, and service drag they encounter.

2) Set key performance indicators (KPIs) around service velocity. Notice the use of the word velocity as opposed to speed. Velocity is the rate of change of an object’s position with respect to a frame of reference and time. In essence, service velocity is fast service that moves with respect to accuracy and quality. No one wants hurried service that is inaccurate or only partially helpful.

3) Seek customer input on perceived service velocity. I had a client increase their speed of service by 20% only to determine that the improvement wasn’t perceptible to customers. When speed increased by 25%, customers noticed. Incorporate customer perceptions into your service velocity goals.

4) Reward and recognize colleagues who expedite service delivery. Challenge team members to improve service speed without compromising service quality. Celebrate and reward team members who offer ideas to achieve that objective.

Your customers live fast-paced and hectic lives. In keeping with Mario Andretti’s previously mentioned observation, customers often feel that they are traveling at a barely manageable speed. As service professionals, we must match that speed while maintaining control over our service quality.