Think about a time you went into a business and signaled your interest in purchasing something. At a fast-food restaurant, that might be as simple as waiting in line and placing your order. In a retail setting, it might be rolling your cart to the check-out line and putting your items on the counter. It could also mean finding an order-taking person and telling them what you want/need.
Have you ever placed your order at a fast-food restaurant and awkwardly scooted away from the cash register? You likely waited in a crowded spot somewhere between the cash registers, the drink stations, and the trash cans. You probably felt “in the way” of just about everyone.
But, then what? What are the next steps? Did the person you interacted with do a good job of preparing you for the next steps?
Some companies do an excellent job explaining the next steps, but most small businesses do not. Many companies give lots of attention to sales processes. Many companies invest in designing and executing their order fulfillment processes. Very few companies, however, give much attention to bridging the gap between their sales platform and their order fulfillment platform for their customers.
Last Spring, my son was making preparations to take a young lady to his high school prom. The boy doesn’t have too many tasks, but he typically is in charge of getting a corsage for his date. A few Saturdays before the big day, the lad went into a flower shop and was eventually greeted by a matronly lady. After an awkward exchange, he finally stammers out he needs a “croissant” for the prom. I won’t bore you with the rest of the corsage-picking process, but you can imagine it was comedic. I want to describe what happened next. The shopkeeper rang up the sale, took his credit card, gave him the receipt, and said: “thank you.”
That’s it. End of transaction; end of conversation. My son awkwardly says thanks and shuffles out of the shop.
Fast forward to the big day. My son goes back to the flower shop to pick up his corsage. After another awkward exchange, the shopkeeper determines he never came here to place his order and asks if perhaps he came to the wrong flower shop. No, I came here. Well, do you have your receipt? Well, uh, maybe, no. My son leaves the shop dejected and empty-handed.
My wife then went to the flower shop to show proof that our boy did indeed visit this shop and paid for a corsage. After much shuffling around, the shopkeeper finally finds his order, stuck to the back of another order. She finally admits her error. After yet a third trip that Saturday morning, my son finally has his corsage in hand to present to his date.
What a customer service disaster. What if, instead, the shopkeeper took great pains to explain to my son what happens next in the corsage-fulfillment process?
What if she had made a big deal of explaining the importance of the receipt? “Now, be sure to hold onto this receipt. On the morning of your prom, bring this receipt. This receipt is how we will be able to make sure we give you just the right corsage you ordered for your date.”
What if part of her expectation-setting process had involved ceremoniously putting her copy of the order form into a big, industrial see-through job ticket jacket and placing it in an area labeled “New Orders”? Could that simple act have subtly conveyed to my boy that her flower shop is “all over it”? Could that have also prevented her from LOSING THE ORDER SLIP?
Surely by now, you have identified at least a few other things that the shop keeper could have done better. But, I’d like you to step back and consider how much lost opportunity for goodwill and additional revenue this shopkeeper has forfeited through her order-taking process.
This shopkeeper has no doubt invested in many of the right things to make prospects enter her shop (location, advertising, signage, and so on). She most likely thinks that she creates the most beautiful flower arrangements in town. She probably even takes great pains to train new employees in the art of flower arranging. She can leave her clients with a profound sense of calm that their orders (and money) are in good hands. If she devotes similar attention to her order-taking process, she will.
Show your clients that you have built a safe bridge to help them span that gap from “I’m Ready; now what” to a completed order. Give serious attention to all that happens between “here, take my money” and “here you are, sir, have a great day.”
Check out this related, FREE downloadable E-Book, Customer Service