What all World-Class Customer Experience Brands Have in Common

Most companies have multiple statements—a mission, purpose, and core values. The problem with having numerous statements is that employees can’t keep track of them or remember them. The one statement that all world-class customer experience organizations have in common is they all have a customer experience action statement that they make sure every one of their team members knows and understands it in detail.

So why would a company consider adding another statement, a Customer Experience Action statement? The reason is that a Customer Experience Action statement is the one thing that is, well…actionable for employees. Don’t get me wrong. I love my companies’ mission statements and purpose statements. However, a mission statement is a compass for what the organization wants to achieve in the long term. A purpose statement is the why.

For example, when we worked with Starbucks, their purpose statement was, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” That is a great purpose statement. However, if someone comes in and orders a venti soy latte, and the barista gives it to them exactly how they ordered it, in ninety seconds, did the barista inspire or nurture their human spirit? Probably not. That is something that takes dozens and dozens of positive experiences.

Mission and purpose statements are both outcomes. A customer experience action statement is the brand’s CX NorthStar. It is…

A clear call to action of what every employee should intentionally achieve every time they interact with a Customer

If your employees are only going to remember one thing, one organizational statement, it should be your customer experience action statement. Unlike your mission & purpose statements that you may post on your website, A Customer experience action statement is not for anyone outside the organization to see. It is only to be marketed to your employees. That is why when The DiJulius Group helped Starbucks create their customer experience action statement, they put it inside every green apron. So, all of their partners (employees) would see it multiple times a day.

How to Create a Customer Experience Action Statement and Its 3 Pillars

The customer experience action statement outlines what you want your team members to deliver and your customers to feel every time they interact. The three supporting pillars help you achieve this.

The 1st Pillar: Expertise

The first pillar represents your expertise or being the best at what you do (ex., the best pizza makers, doctors, nurses, delivery drivers, etc.). Your focus is on quality, technical ability, professionalism, and operational excellence.

The 2nd Pillar: Customer Interaction

The second pillar focuses on customer interaction (ex., hospitality, relationship-building, and personalized experience).

The 3rd Pillar: Above & Beyond

The third pillar focuses on where you can go above and beyond. It focuses on taking a step further to surprise and delight when the opportunity presents itself (ex., exceeding, opportunity, and being proactive).

While the experience action statement is vital, I believe the pillars are even more important. Without the pillars, the service vision statement is just a statement. However, the pillars are the how. You can achieve the experience action statement by executing the pillars every time.

Examples of Brand’s Customer Experience Action Statement

Feeling cared for unlike anywhere else you go

Chick-fil-A has revolutionized its industry by mastering hospitality, unlike any other quick-service restaurant. Its story is remarkable. With over 3,000 locations in the United States and over forty years of double-digit growth, Chick-fil-A is one of the best case studies for Customer service consistency. Its customer experience action statement is “To make our guests feel cared for, unlike anywhere else.” Make their guests feel cared for like no one else does. I love that. They didn’t say, “Make our guests feel cared for better than Burger King or McDonald’s;” they said better than anywhere else Customers go. Chick-fil-A knows it is not only competing with other fast-food restaurants. After you go to a Chick-fil-A restaurant, you don’t drive down the street to one of its competitors. You don’t need to, but you do go to other places, like running errands and dealing with other businesses.

Cared-for-meter

Chick-fil-A has a metaphoric “cared-for-meter” that it uses as a training example to demonstrate how much people need to feel cared for. Remember the Chick-fil-A Every Person Has a Story video (chapter 5)? It demonstrates all the different situations that are going on in its customers’ lives. Besides the personal situations, think about how often people experience subpar service in a day, constantly hearing things like “No, we can’t do that” and “It’s our policy.” During any given day, a person’s cared-for-meter could be around a three or a four (out of ten); then they walk into a Chick-fil-A restaurant, they are greeted with an enthusiastic smile, and they hear words like “certainly” and “my pleasure.” Suddenly, their cared-for-meter spikes to a nine. Something significant happens to a person when they feel cared for. They may not realize it then, but they want that feeling again. They need that feeling again. A few days later, someone is dying for a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, but it might not be the only sandwich drawing them back.

World class service providers invest in creating their own customer experience action statement and ensure every existing employee, franchisee, and new employee gets trained on it and can clearly articulate it.  Contact us to discover the resources we offer to help companies create their unique action statement.

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