Make it Easy to Do Business

What does it really mean to make business easier for your customers? In this engaging exploration of practical customer experience strategies for small business owners, Jeannie Walters responds to Joe, a construction company owner wondering how to create smoother customer interactions.

The journey begins with communication fundamentals—clear, proactive updates that eliminate the need for customers to chase down information. For specialized industries like construction, where clients may be navigating unfamiliar territory, simple "what-to-expect" guides can transform anxiety into confidence. But as Jeannie reveals through a personal anecdote about a cigarette-smelling HVAC technician who cost his company her business, setting expectations only works when your entire organization delivers consistently.

Streamlining paperwork and payment processes emerges as another crucial strategy. Today's customers expect digital options and crystal-clear financial terms. The best business owners also master the art of anticipatory service—identifying when customers typically ask questions and proactively providing updates before anxiety builds. This approach transforms the traditional customer relationship into a true partnership.

Perhaps most powerfully, Jeannie shares the story of a construction company that created meaningful rituals around project milestones, including having stakeholders sign the first beam before construction continued. These thoughtful gestures acknowledge the leap of faith customers take when choosing your business.

The episode culminates with practical guidance on implementing these principles through Experience Investigators' CXI Navigator Framework, which approaches customer experience as a mindset, strategy, and discipline. For small business owners looking to differentiate themselves and build sustainable growth, these accessible strategies can transform customer interactions from merely satisfactory to genuinely remarkable.

Resources Mentioned:
Take the CXI Compass® assessment -- CXICompass.com
Experience Investigators Website -- experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Episode Transcript

MC (00:00):
Experience Action.
Let's stop just talking aboutcustomer experience, employee
experience and the experience ofleaders.
Let's turn ideas into action.
Your host, Jeannie Walters, isan award-winning customer
experience expert, internationalkeynote speaker and founder of
Experience Investigators, astrategic consulting firm

(00:20):
helping companies increase salesand customer retention through
elevated customer experiences.
Ready set action.
One, two, three four.

Jeannie Walters (00:31):
Customer experience isn't just for
customer experience leaders.
Any business leader canprobably relate to this question
.

Listener Question (00:40):
Hi, Jeannie, my name is Joe and I own a small
construction business.
I've been curious, how can Imake it easier for my customers
to do business with me?

Jeannie Walters (00:53):
Hey everyone, it's Jeannie Walters.
Thank you for joining me onanother episode of the
Experience Action Podcast.
I am really excited to answerthis question today because you
might be like Joe, you might besomebody who owns a business,
who is a small business leader,and you're thinking well, this
is great, but what do I actuallydo to make it easier for our
customers?
So let's dive in.

(01:14):
First of all, directly to Joeand all of you out there who are
in the same boatcongratulations, congratulations
on running a business takingthat leap, being the business
owner who cares about yourcustomers enough to not only
listen to this podcast but goout there and ask the question.
Thank you for doing that.

(01:35):
Now, when we talk about makingit easier to do business with us
, what does that really mean?
It means that we are trying totake friction away from our
customers in the process ofworking with us.
It means we're trying to getahead of the questions that they
have.
It means that we're trying tocommunicate clearly so there are

(01:56):
no unexpected surprises aroundbilling or timelines or things
like that.
Think about yourself as thecustomer.
These are the things thatcreate that angst, that anxiety
that causes us to tell ourfriends, hey, don't use that
company, because this is whatthey put me through.
So let's dive into a few waysto make things easier for our

(02:22):
customers to do business with us.
Number one, I would say, iscommunication.
We need to communicate clearlyand proactively.
Customers don't want to chasedown answers.
Sharing a simple timeline orwhat-to-expect guide when you
are first talking to a prospector customer can really help set

(02:42):
the stage and expectations thatwe are here for you.
Most construction projects arenot something that people do
every day.
So if I'm the customer, thismight be all new to me.
What can we do to help themunderstand and feel empowered
and educated and confident goinginto the project to begin with?

(03:03):
Thinking about how to set thoseexpectations in ways that are
both enlightening and empoweringand not condescending can
really help.
You know, a couple of years agowe had a standard update on our
HVAC system here at home ourheating and air conditioning,
and the technician that theysent I think he was very skilled

(03:26):
at what he did, but wecomplained.
We complained because he showedup reeking of cigarette smoke
and everything he looked at hekind of said, oh, I would have
done this differently, thiswouldn't have gone here.
This is a bad thermostat andthat's not really what we were
looking for.
We were looking for thestandard evaluation, maintenance

(03:46):
, all of those things.
We had used this specificcompany before, but that
technician left such a badfeeling with us that we started
shopping around.
Now was the maintenance handleand the update handled in the

(04:07):
way it was supposed to be?
Sure, we got quote unquote whatwe paid for, but the experience
of it is what drove us to startlooking around at other options
.
So those are the types of thingsthat if you're not really
articulating to your staff, ifyou're not making sure that
everybody understands what arethe standards of how we interact
with our customers, what arethe standards of how to set
expectations about what toexpect, then that can really

(04:29):
lead you astray.
That can lead your customersastray because that is the
experience for them.
So, as you think about how toprepare your customers for what
to expect, think about it in away of okay, they are spending
probably a lot of money, theyare investing a lot of time and
focus and energy and attention.

(04:50):
How can we really respect thatand honor that and appreciate
that?
Well, if we tell them what toexpect and then we send a
technician out like that whomaybe isn't living up to that.
That's going to createdisconnect.
So part of setting thoseexpectations is making sure that
everything we're doing insidethe organization is being built

(05:11):
to uphold those standards andexpectations.
So it's not necessarily justsaying, hey, here's what you
should expect and hoping for thebest.
You have to look inside yourorganization and make
adjustments to make sure thatyou are operating and delivering
in the way that you've promisedto your customers as well.
But if you can communicateproactively and clearly from the

(05:33):
beginning, that's already goingto put you ahead of some of
your competition.
Now, the other thing I'll sayhere is that when it comes to
communication, we want tosimplify.
We want to simplify paperworkand payments and things that are
going to happen.
If we are sending quotes backand forth, if we are looking at
contracts that are looking likethe old yellow pages, we want to

(05:57):
make things very simple for ourcustomers.
If you're still using lots ofhard copy paper, it might be
time to start looking at arethere digital options here that
we can send to our customers?
Can they go ahead and sign thecontract on their mobile phone?
How can we make it as simpleand straightforward for them?
When it comes to payments,making sure that they understand

(06:19):
what are the expectations, whatis the timeline, is there a
deposit?
If so, how does that getapplied or not?
Making sure we are crystalclear about payment is so
important.
We also want to make sure thatwe are accessible to them.
Now, in an environment likethis, where a customer might
have never gone through thisprocess before, we want to make

(06:41):
sure that we also assure themwe're here for your questions
and we can be available to you.
So what are the best ways toreach people?
As customers, we probably allhad the experience where we meet
a salesperson or somebody thefirst person that we meet we
really have a great relationshipwith them, and then we can
never find them again becauseall we have is the 800 number.

(07:03):
We're trying to get through andwe're getting, you know, the
runaround from a company.
We want to make sure that theyunderstand who is accessible for
what and why, and what worksbest for them.
Is it okay to text?
Is it okay to email?
Go ahead and find out thepreferences of how your
customers like to communicate aswell, and then we also want to

(07:24):
anticipate questions.
Now, in any process like this,there will be times where things
happen.
There will also be times wheremaybe we've provided all of that
upfront.
You know here's what to expect,but then throughout the process
, they forget they've never beenthrough this before.
So, instead of just assumingthat they understand, actually

(07:46):
look for where are thosequestions that we get, no matter
what.
When we get those questions,what can we do to be proactive
about it?
This is about the time whencustomers start asking are we on
track?
Are we on track for budget andtimeline?
Well, if we know that about,you know, two weeks in is when
we start getting that question.

(08:07):
Go ahead and send a proactivecommunication a week and a half
in and say, you know what, J"ustgiving you a quick update
everything is on track, we arelooking good for our timeline
and our budget.
The more that we can do that byanticipating their questions,
we're actually reducing theiranxiety.
When we can reduce anxiety,that helps them feel empowered,

(08:30):
reassured, more confident in thepartnership that they have with
you.
Make it feel like acollaboration that you are
looking out for them.
And then, finally, we want torespect their time and space.
We want to respect how theywant to communicate.
We want to just really go intothis, respecting that they are
taking a risk with somethinglike this.

(08:51):
Anytime you sign up for a bigproject like construction or
maybe renovations in your homeor repairs, that means that you
are really trying to makeimprovements in the space that
you live in, in the space thatyou work in.
Maybe you're building a newheadquarters for your company.
That's a big risk.
We want to respect that theyare taking a chance and that

(09:15):
they have selected us.
One of my favorite clients was asmall construction company who
specialized in things likehospitals and churches and
schools, and they startedritualizing some of the big
milestones, because it takes along time.
People get antsy, people forget.
So one of the things they didwas when they put the first big

(09:37):
beam down, they would invite thekey stakeholders who had given
the project the go-ahead to comein and sign the beam before
they started building on top ofit.
It was a really special eventbecause it marked the moment of
hey, we're doing this.
This is really exciting and youall are a part of it.
It's a great way to showrespect.

(09:58):
They had other milestones too.
Getting to certain points, theywould make sure that they would
communicate in a certain way tomake sure that everybody who had
basically stuck their neck outand said, yes, we want to do
this, they were beingacknowledged and appreciated in
really powerful ways.
So think about how can you dothat, how can you look for ways

(10:19):
to appreciate and acknowledgethe very people who have taken a
chance.
It's a risk for them.
Let them know that you not onlyunderstand that you celebrate
that this is a collaboration anda partnership.
So I hope that gives you a fewideas, Joe, and everybody else
who's listening.
But really this comes back downto what we always say about

(10:40):
customer experience here atExperience Investigators.
Our CXI Navigator Frameworkreally takes the approach that
we have to view this within ourorganizations as a mindset, a
strategy and a discipline.
So if you can really make surethat you are understanding your
customers, you are helpingeverybody in your organization
understand how important it isto show up a certain way for

(11:04):
your customers to really deliveron the expectations that you've
promised.
Then that will lead to betterstrategy around being proactive.
The more proactive you can bein your communication, that will
eliminate some service costs.
That means that fewer repairs,fewer angry customers, all of
those things and really thediscipline is about making sure

(11:26):
that you're doing this again andagain in the same ways so that
by the end of one project, youcan count on oh, we're going to
get so many referrals from this.
They're going to be so happyand give us a great review,
whatever it is that you knowwill happen, because you are
consistent in how you deliver.
So this was a great question.

(11:46):
For anybody listening, don'tforget we have a lot of free
resources for you at ExperienceInvestigators, including our CXI
Compass, which helps youidentify where do we need to
invest our time and attention,where should we put our effort
around customer experience.
So I hope this is helpful.
We love your questions.

(12:06):
Don't forget you can alwaysleave me a message at
askjeannievip and I willhopefully answer your question
in an upcoming episode of theExperience Action Podcast.
Until then, thanks foreverything you're doing and
let's continue to collaboratefor the benefit of our customers
.
See you next time.
To learn more about ourstrategic approach to

(12:30):
experience, check out freeresources at
experienceinvestigatorscom,where you can sign up for our
newsletter, our Year of CXprogram and more, and please
follow me, Jeannie Walters, onLinkedIn.