The Seven Deadly Sins of Customer Experience
Shep Hyken Interviews Jeff Nicholson, Customer Engagement Thought Leader

Featured Interview:
Jeff Nicholson enlightens listeners to what he refers to as The Seven Deadly Sins of the Customer Experience Journey. He shares the importance of understanding what customers need, meeting those needs, and the best methods of delivering it to them.

Top Takeaways:
There are seven deadly “sins” along the journey of meeting customers’ needs:
1. Proximity – Are you aware of, or are you close enough to, your customer’s moment of need? Customers want to be able to cognitively offload their need onto the company. The resolution or fulfillment may not come immediately, but the offload of the need can happen sooner and the customer will feel better knowing it’s being taken care of.
2. Accessibility – Your service, is it fit for function, and in the way that the customer wants to consume it? Companies often offer services in a way that works well for them, without keeping the customers’ needs in mind. They offer answers on their own terms, not on the terms of the customer.
3. Duration/Expediency – How fast can you resolve an issue? Some processes will take time, but where can you speed up the process? Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that you rush your customers.
4. Visibility – Are you transparent? Customers want to know where they stand. Even if something is not yet resolved, customers want to know what step of the process they are at. If something can’t be quick, let the customer know; keep them in the loop. When they are informed, they feel valued.
5. Disconnectedness – Is there continuity across all channels? Is your business consistent on the website, on social media, et cetera? Can customers find all of the same information no matter the chosen source?
6. Irresolution – How accurate are you? Did you resolve the problem, or just resolve the call? Is the customer all set, or will they have the same problem again? Are you in such a hurry to resolve the situation that you fail the customer in their journey? Never leave a customer needing more help.
7. Amnesia – How well do you remember the customer and their information? When the customer returns to a channel, does their info get saved or is everything lost, causing them to start over from scratch?

About:
Jeff Nicholson is Vice President of CRM Product Marketing at Pegasystems. Jeff leads Pega’s CRM market on vision and strategy. A recognized customer engagement thought leader, Jeff works closely with industry analysts and has been a frequent presenter at CRM industry events on subjects including consumer engagement strategy, customer analytics, digital marketing, and customer journey best practice.
Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, “New York Times” best-selling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.
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