Saturday was a bit of a football day. I attended my first Griz game, watched my Razorbacks disintegrate in the fourth quarter (yes, again) and stayed up late watching a fascinating, action-filled Utah / Cal game.
It was a day full of watching highly skilled athletes do little things that have a substantial impact on their success – or fail to do them.
On the way to a great night on the field, Utah’s Devontae Booker did a little thing that many running backs don’t do. For example, when he ran up the middle and found himself stuck in a pile, he didn’t simply keep driving as if he thought he could push a pile of 10 guys somewhere – he turned and ran around them.
The Griz failed to do a few little things, one of which was managing their use of the clock near the end of the game. With less than three minutes left, they managed to use 90 seconds to run three plays and punt. Some teams drive the length of the field in 90 seconds. This time, nothing of substance was accomplished.
In each of these three games, little things contributed substantially to each team’s loss or win. All the teams involved are capable of operating at very high competency levels, yet these little things forgotten even once in some cases can nullify everything they’ve accomplished that day.
The same little things that have a transformational effect on the field are exactly the kinds of things that make or break your customer experience on a hour to hour, day to day basis. That’s your playing field.
What are YOUR little things?
If you and your staff aren’t sure or aren’t on the same page about what your little things are, make a list. Once you have a list of your own, have your staff make a list. That’s where most people stop.
To really standout, take that list and prioritize it. Once you’ve done that, share it with a few trusted clients. Ask them to prioritize the list from their perspective. Ask all of your clients on occasion what little things make them come back to you.
Once you’re there, training is essential to keep these skills sharp. Yes, it’s a skill to keep the little things top of mind and perform them well, rather than simply going through the motions.
These little things may not be obvious and your staff may not think they are a big deal until you explain WHY they are and how they bring back clients repeatedly. If you aren’t absolutely sure that your staff ties the return of clients to their job security, be explicit about it. Explain how much a lost customer costs and how many lost customers translate to a job.
Repetition and training matter – but they matter more when you give them context. Not everyone sees the big picture like you do – and some may see it differently or better, so discuss it as a team.
Too busy to deal with little things?
We all react differently to increased workload, pressure and a larger than normal number of customers (internal or otherwise) demanding our help at the same time. What often disappears from your customer experience under these circumstances are these little things. Courtesy is often one of them. We communicate less in order to get the task done and to our client, it feels like an uncaring interaction.
The costly part of these failures is that at a time when your people are stressed with how busy things are, your clients are too. How you deal with them under these circumstances is a big deal. These little things can be easy to forget when you’re in a hurry, under pressure or dealing with a lot of people at once. When your team is fully present, focused and attentive to the client in front of them and their transaction and is focused solely on that (even if the client is on the phone), the experience is memorable. When the mindset is “I must get this done quickly so I can get the next 22 people taken care of“, the customer experience will suffer.
The emphasis on these little things, along with reminders and training are critical to getting your company to the point where these things happen as a natural part of doing business without explicitly thinking about them.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on Twitter, or email him at [email protected].