'Good enough' is NOT customer experience

These types of statements and the frequency with which they are uttered encourage employees to deliver mediocrity rather than strive for excellence. Thus, principles such as 'excellence', 'absolute best' and 'beyond customer expectations' often fall on deaf ears. When one of our clients presented her customer experience strategy plan to her senior executives, they all replied with great enthusiasm but refused to allocate the necessary funding.

All of the executives believed that the current budget was sufficient to implement the strategy – and in so doing, tacitly accepted to the principle of 'good enough'.

The principle of 'good enough' seems to be adopted in great numbers throughout the corporate world. Despite proclamations, memos and posters about achieving excellence, few companies truly live according to this lofty principle.

Accelerating commoditisation

Consider companies that sell 'slightly blemished' or 'imperfect' products through outlet stores. What message do those companies send their employees? The message is that imperfection or second best is acceptable because a certain segment of consumers will be willing to pay for imperfection.

With this logic, employees will have little incentive to strive for excellence when 'mediocrity sells'. These small compromises, whether tactical or strategic, intentional or unintentional, facilitate a culture of mediocrity. While no company sets out to lower its standards and diminish its brand, the incessant adoption of 'good enough' principles will ultimately lead to quality and brand deterioration.

If you are striving to deliver premium experiences that command premium prices, you may want to eliminate any trace of compromise on quality. 'Good enough' is antithetical to corporate success and ultimately drives product and service commoditisation. Successful companies such as Louis Vuitton and Gibson Guitars are unwilling to allow any hint of product inferiority to emerge from their companies. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your organisation can offer consistently inferior experiences and get away with it without consequences.

During these challenging economic times, you will no doubt be faced with increasingly large numbers of price sensitive customers who will question your prices. Moreover, your company will likely mandate some form of cost cutting initiative that can ultimately affect product or service quality.

Despite these challenges, do not make the mistake of lowering quality without recognising that you will be accelerating the commoditisation of your own products and services. Consumers will notice, and demand deep discounts to compensate for their inferior experiences. Successful companies will recognise the opportunity to distinguish themselves from their competitors, fight the temptation to cut costs, insist on excellence and raise product and service quality. Consequently, they will emerge as memorable and superior companies, while their competitors will be stuck in traffic on the road to commoditisation and price reduction.

Recent articles by Lior Arussy

• Creating amazing customer experience: Excellence or consistency?


• Creating organisational excellence through customer experience


• The Starbucks experience – now what?
  
• Customer experience – fulfilling the promise
  
• Do you care about your customers’ information?
  
• Customer experience and price pressure: why do customers seek discounts?
  
• In customer experience, change is not an option
  
• The personality of a customer experience leader
  
• Customer service as a strategic differentiator
  
• Is your customer smart or stupid?
  
• Customer experience in procedures and processes
  
• The language of customer experience
  
• Effective complaints handling
  
• Benchmarking or the fear of change and innovation
  
• “We Don’t Serve Customers”
  
• The only question you should ask yourself
  
• Departing From Your Customers – 'Goodbye' or 'Until We Meet Again?'
  
• What is the real value of your products?
  
• What do you call your customer?
  
• Don't ask if you can't act
  
• Customer surveys – What's the purpose?
  
• Part 2: Redefining the Self Service Experience – The Tribal Customer
  
• Part 1: Redefining the Self Service Experience – The Utilitarian Customer
  
• How Captive Customers – Reality or Fiction?
  
• How To Create A Great Customer Experience
  
• Delighting customers - Where do you start?
  
• Delighting Customers One Clip At A Time
  
• Products as a Personal Expression
  
• A Question Of Execution

Lior Arussy is the president of Strativity Group and the author of several books. His new book is Excellence Every Day: Make the Daily Choice-Inspire Your Employees and Amaze Your Customers (Information Today, Inc. April, 2008). To learn more about customer strategies, visit www.Strativity.com