If Maslow was developing his Hierarchy of Needs for CX, care would be at the top of the triangle. And he wouldn’t have left it for just some people in the organisation to deliver it, it would be up to all of us to hit that actualisation level.

Demonstrating your brand cares means the people in your business need to deliver the best outcome for your customers… no matter what.

This means saying yes instead of no, spending time finding an alternative outcome when the original one doesn’t work, ringing around to find that top in a size that works, rummaging around in the back room to find that product your customers saw last week, opening tills when there are queues, making sure that the meal your customers are eating is exactly what they were expecting.

In essence, be the brand that thinks of its customers as people not numbers.

We recently had an experience with an Australian fashion brand that was less than satisfactory. A pair of shoes was bought in a store and for six weeks they were worn, loved, and adored. Then they broke.

A note was sent to their customer feedback email, the person that responded was very prompt and polite. The issue arose when she couldn’t find us in the system and it soon became apparent that the shoes were bought in store, not online.

She then went onto explain that the brand couldn’t send a new pair and we would have to exchange in store. An all too frequent response when a brand’s systems don’t match up and the customer is forced to solve their own problem. In 2018, with the digital revolution far behind us and consumer behaviour already engaged in omni-channel experiences, this is far from acceptable.

So, how do other brands pull it off?

According to Roy Morgan’s 2018 Net Trust Score, Bendigo Bank ranks as number three. It’s customer satisfaction number sits at 89.3%, making it the top performer among the ten largest consumer banks. Its business figures also reflect this success.

In this current culture where trust with banks is waning, it is something to be proud of. So how does it achieve this? A lot of work has been done to keep the customer at the centre of the business with the building of dashboards and data centres to help measure that.

But one very interesting thing it also did was train and coach its people to know that resilience was going to be essential when building a culture of innovation, collaboration and simply having a go.

Customers at Trader Joe’s in the US are also fiercely loyal to the brand. The store ranks top in customer satisfaction for grocery stores because employees are focused on sorting out customer pain-points. From fast checkout to friendly service and product recommendations, all Trader Joe’s staff are taught to put customers first and sort out their problems in the way that suits the customer – not the brand.

So how do you ensure that care is nurtured in your business?

1. Create a culture where the customers needs are more important that the brands and the people that work in that brand.
2. Map your customer journey with cross functional teams. Everyone in the business needs to be on the same page.
3. Focus on what matters to your customers, not what is important to you or your processes.
4. Build in products and services that meet the customer in their place vs making them come to your place.
5. Have a personality. Customers are attracted to brands that stand for something and no one wants to hang out with some one is hard work or boring.