Episode 203: The Difference Between Customer Service VS Customer Experience Could Increase Your Profits

The Difference Between Customer Service VS Customer Experience Could Increase Your Profits What is your customer experience in your pet care business? For more than 20 years, Jeannie Walters, CCXP has had one mission: To Create Fewer Ruined Days for Customers™. Jeannie is the CEO and Founder of Experience Investigators, a global Customer Experience consulting firm helping companies improve loyalty and retention, employee engagement, and overall experience. Hundreds of companies across three continents have trusted Jeannie to consult, train, and speak, from SMBs to Fortune 500s. In addition to being a Certified Customer Experience. Pet Business Customer Care Show Highlights What is the customer experience? How can I understand my customer's journey better? How can investing in customer care benefit my organization? What moments really matter along the journey? How can a leader get their employees to buy into these ideas? Links Jeannie's website https://experienceinvestigators.com/ Freebie Text "Experience" to 66866 to join the 21-Day CX Challenge or visit Let’s Connect! Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’’ Are You New Here? Welcome, I am so glad you are here. If you are a dog walker, dog sitter, cat sitter, doggy daycare or kennel owner, then you found the right place. Jump Consulting is the one place on the internet to get all the resources you need for your pet care business. Can I give you some freebies to generate sales and increase revenues for your business? Grab your freebies below. Are you starting out? Been in business for less than two years? Get your startup resources here. Do you own an established pet care business and you want to take it to the next level.? Get Your builder resources here. Transcript: This is episode 203 of Bella in Your Business. Hi there, I'm Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. You might know me from CBS, NBC, Fox, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, or maybe you've seen me speak on stage or read my book, The Four Dogs That Every Business Owner Needs. In any case, get ready because you're about to get your hashtag Bella Butt Kickin' in this next episode of Bella in Your Business. So what do you say? Let's get ready and jump. Welcome to Bella in Your Business. Today I have Jeannie Walters with me. She actually blew us away in the mastermind, so I had to bring her to the airwaves to all of you who have not yet had the pleasure of being in the mastermind. Jeannie, for more than 20 years, has had one mission—to create fewer ruined days for customers. She’s the CEO and founder of Experience Investigators, a global customer experience consulting firm, and she is an absolute dynamite. She really got us thinking about some cool things. So today we’re going to spend time talking all about customer experience, because it isn’t just leaving a treat on the table or sending a thank-you card. It’s much more than that. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Jeannie. Thank you so much. I’m thrilled to be here. I know a lot of people have probably heard about customer service, but we’re going to talk about customer experience today. So can you break down what exactly customer experience is? Sure. A lot of times when I say I do customer experience work, people jump to the idea of reactive customer service. That’s when things go wrong and we have to call somebody or use the chat. But really, customer experience is about the end-to-end experience that we have as customers with a brand. That includes things that happen before the sale—just when we’re first aware of the brand—all the way through every interaction, every touchpoint, every time we engage, until we either stay with them forever or leave them. Sometimes there’s that saying, “When we’re so deep in the woods, it’s hard to see the forest.” That’s a good metaphor for this because a lot of times people get defensive and say, “I understand my customers. What are you talking about?” And last I checked, we all have too much to do and not enough time to do it. We’re asked as businesspeople to focus on certain things, and that means while we’re doing that, we’re not always paying attention to the experience our customers are having. We justify this by saying we understand the process and how it’s supposed to work—like every customer should get a welcome package, an email on the tenth day, and so on. But if we’re not checking in on that experience, we don’t really know what’s happening. It’s important to step back and look from the customer’s perspective. Even just having the mindset that we don’t know the whole story our customers have can go a long way. It forces you to think differently about every interaction. You might send an email, but do they read it? Do they care about it? Is it actually helping them? That’s exactly right. I love that. It reminds me how some pet sitters have nurture email campaigns—you write it, set it up, and automate it, then never check back on it. One thing I learned going through your 21-day challenge, which anyone can do by texting EXPERIENCE to 66866 or visiting experienceinvestigators.com, was that one of the challenges is finding out how your clients are really feeling and what their journey is like. Because many of us pour our heart and soul into building systems, but we rarely sit on the other side and experience how it actually feels. Exactly! And hey, I’m a business owner too, so I get it. I have those 3 a.m. thoughts like, “Did I pay that invoice? Did I send that email?” Running a business is a lot. So when you add on customer experience, it can feel like, “We’ve got this covered—our automations work, we’re getting customers.” But if we don’t think about this continually, our competitors will. Customers are loyal until they’re not, or until something else comes along that’s more convenient or effortless. That’s why we have to ask: how much effort are we requiring from our customers to do business with us? If we can reduce that effort, listen to what customers want, and respond, that’s what creates loyalty—not just wow moments, but the consistent small moments that show we care. Think about the last time someone really listened to you. It’s rare, and we almost expect businesses not to. So when one actually listens, it stands out. I always thought it was funny when companies ask you to take a survey, and you respond “bad” and check “contact me,” but no one ever does. Then next time, you don’t bother giving feedback. Complaints are actually a gift because they show the customer still cares. If they didn’t, they’d just leave. When we get feedback, we need to see it as an opportunity to make the relationship work again. A lot of listeners might wonder how to respond when they get a bad Google or Facebook review. It feels like a stab to the heart. What do you recommend? First, if someone leaves a public review, it’s important to respond publicly because others are watching. Acknowledge them and let them know you heard them. If you know who they are, call them. Say, “I’m sorry this happened. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Would you be willing to help me understand what happened?” People often advise not to say “sorry,” but I disagree. Sometimes people just need to feel heard. Especially in the pet industry, we’re dealing with family members, so emotions are strong. Recognizing that goes a long way. Respond publicly, but also personally follow up to rebuild trust. That’s such good advice. It’s not about throwing money at the problem—it’s about understanding what they need. So how can investing in customer experience benefit the organization as a whole? Think about who you’re loyal to—it’s probably businesses that make you feel good, that are memorable and meaningful. Investing in customer experience means identifying the high points in your customer journey—when they first choose you, when they leave their pet for the first time—and finding ways to reassure them and build trust. If you can create memorable moments that people talk about, that’s word-of-mouth marketing. You’re turning customers into your salesforce. Especially in service-based businesses, people trust recommendations. One example I loved from the mastermind was someone teaching clients how to marinate catnip toys—that’s the kind of moment that gets talked about. You mentioned highs and lows—how do we identify what moments really matter in a customer’s journey? Start by asking your customers. “How did you feel when you left your dog with us?” “How did you feel when you came home?” Listen for emotional moments. You can also map out the customer journey—there are tools and courses for that. Identify which interactions matter most and which can drive loyalty or push customers away. Look beyond simply “we did what we said we’d do.” If you can provide extra meaning and positive moments, customers will feel more connected to your brand. For example, the first time I left my dog, I was so nervous. But after landing from a four-hour flight, I already had pictures on my phone of my dog looking happy. It was such a small gesture but meant the world. Look for opportunities like that. I love how you phrased that—asking how they feel also helps you gather better testimonials. That’s gold. One last question: how can business owners get their teams to buy into this? They can’t do it alone. The number one driver of customer experience is employees. In many industries, when customers describe a great experience, they name a specific employee. So, first, define what kind of experience you want to deliver. It’s not enough to say, “We want to provide good service.” Who do you want to be? Maybe you’re known for memorable surprises or for caring for senior dogs.