Frank Favaro, the founder and president of Serve Centric Coaching and a leading CX coach certified by the Degiulio Group. Frank, who is also the host of the People Business Podcast, joined me from Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss a topic that’s crucial for any business’s success: maximizing profitability through superior customer experience.
The Profitability Puzzle in Business
In our conversation, Frank and I tackled a question that perplexes many businesses, especially in the SaaS sector: Why is profitability so elusive? Frank pointed out that the struggle often stems from a lack of understanding of the product or service’s value in the marketplace. Without a clear differentiator beyond price, businesses find it challenging to maximize profitability. Frank highlighted three ways to stand out: being the low price provider, innovation, and customer experience. The latter, often overlooked, is a sustainable way to create a unique selling advantage.
The Customer Experience Continuum
Customer experience isn’t a one-off event; it’s a continuum that begins with the first interaction and extends through every touchpoint. I shared an anecdote about taking over a company where customers adored the product but despised the business dealings with the founders. This disconnect was due to the company’s failure to view their operations from the customer’s perspective. Frank emphasized that consistent, great experiences build trust and offer a unique selling advantage, considering that 96% of buying decisions are subconscious and driven by emotion.
Empathy: The Heart of Customer Service
We delved into the importance of empathy in customer interactions. Frank recounted a personal story involving his wife’s frustrating experience with a pharmacy. This underscores how a lack of empathy can lead to customer dissatisfaction. I reflected on setting up customer support and service with a human touch. Viewing each interaction as an opportunity to enrich the customer experience and learn from their feedback.
Learning from Adversity
Frank and I agreed that customer problems are often the biggest learning opportunities. Adversity reveals whether a company can truly deliver when issues arise. Customers seek peace of mind, wanting to feel confident that a company has their back. This is where the concept of “employee roulette” comes into play, where the inconsistency between the sales process and implementation can leave customers feeling vulnerable. Top companies ensure a consistent experience across all employee interactions through training and continuous improvement.
Building Relationships and Loyalty
Every interaction is a chance to add value and build relationships. Frank pointed out that companies often miss the opportunity to differentiate themselves through exceptional service. Satisfying customers is one thing, but turning them into loyal advocates requires a higher level of commitment and intentionality. Aligning your people, product, and service with the mission of enhancing your customers’ lives is key to earning loyalty.
Commitment to Excellence
Frank and I concluded that none of this is overly complex; it simply requires commitment and intentionality. Reflecting on bad experiences with other brands can offer insights into how to improve your own customer service. It’s about being deliberate in delivering exceptional experiences at every touchpoint.
Frank Favaro’s Mission
Before wrapping up our conversation, Frank shared more about his work. He assists companies in maximizing profitability by identifying blind spots in their customer experience. By focusing on improving employee morale, reducing turnover, and creating loyal customers, Frank consults with companies to help them achieve these goals daily.
I hope this blog post has provided you with a deeper understanding of how to leverage customer experience to drive profitability. Remember, it’s not just about the product or service; it’s about the entire journey and the emotional connections you forge along the way. Stay tuned for more insights, and thank you for joining me on this exploration of customer experience excellence.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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