Don Sevcik is the Creator of the fastest math tutor on the planet, MathCelebrity. He’s a best-selling author of 5 books and also consults on SEO and mental models.
When it comes to business mistakes, chasing shiny objects ranks near the top. Why is this a problem? Because trend chasing drains time and money by blurring your focus. But don’t take my word for it. Take it from the man who built Amazon:
“I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ And that is a very interesting question; it’s a very common one. I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?” – Jeff Bezos
Timeless never goes out of style. When it comes to Customer Experience, we can use 3 timeless principles to build our businesses.
Timeless Principle 1: Speed
According to a study by Microsoft in 2015, the average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just 8.25 seconds. To put that in perspective, this is less time than it takes for the fastest runners to complete the 100-yard dash.
Speed influences customer experience in 2 ways:
First, you must get to the point fast. Websites must load quickly. And when a potential customer arrives, you have a tiny window of time to capture their interest before they vanish forever. Suppose your website loads in 6 seconds. You only have 2.25 seconds left to capture the customer’s attention.
Ask yourself this: If a random lead arrived on your company website, could they find what to do and how to do it within 8.25 seconds? If not, you’ve identified a leak in your acquisition funnel. And just like a leaky pipe, leaky funnels cost money.
Second, you must jump on the first mover advantage. When customers in an industry ask for new features and products, the first company to move gets an advantage. They get into their customer’s minds first. Think of the quest for customers like war. The first army to move and take position has the advantage. We call this first mover advantage. Whoever gets to the customer first has an automatic brand advantage.
Timeless Principle 2: The Power of Data
Have you ever wondered how companies seem to know what you want before you even ask for it? It’s all thanks to the power of data! CXOs use data to make smart decisions and provide amazing experiences.
Want to know how Google knows the correct spelling when you misspell a word? They aren’t looking into a dictionary. They’re capturing and analyzing mountains of data for the next correct search. They assign a score to each of the possible correct words and choose the winner as the word you really meant to type. How did they find the winner? By collecting the next possible search people Googled after the misspell.
Data gives you an unfair advantage for your next move with customers. For example, if 80% of customers buy a certain type of toy, a CXO might decide to make more of that toy. This way, customers are happy because they get what they want, and the business is successful too. Data helps you cut what doesn’t work and add more of what does.
Timeless Principle 3: Reduce Friction
For our third principle, we turn to science for deep insights. We define friction as the resistance when 2 objects cross paths. Take your hand and rub it across a piece of sandpaper. Now take the same hand and rub it across a spoon filled with coconut oil.
The sandpaper gives out large amounts of friction. The coconut oil on the other hand takes no effort to glide your fingers across. When it comes to customer experience, we want more coconut oil and less sandpaper.
Have you ever bought something online and then picked it up from a store? Or maybe you’ve chatted with a customer service bot on a company’s website. These everywhere experiences are called “omnichannel.” It’s all about making things easy for customers, no matter how they interact with a business.
CXOs want to make sure that whether you’re shopping online, using a mobile app, or visiting a physical store, your experience is seamless. They use fancy tools like customer relationship management systems and chatbots to make sure everything works smoothly.
Let’s say you start shopping on a company’s website but then change your mind and decide to visit the store. With the right software and tracking systems, the store employees will already know what you were looking at online. They can show you similar items or offer personalized recommendations.
Conclusion
As you plan your business strategy, remember these 3 timeless principles:
- Speed. Money follows speed. Just like war, you must be first to the battlefield.
- Data. Those with the most intelligence can make the best decisions. Collect any data you can and review it periodically.
- Reduce friction. Simplify and streamline with a relentless focus. Your customers will reward you.