Customer enchantment: going beyond processes

Many companies struggle to define customer delight. If a company simply applies the quality processes drawn up at head office, it will probably have to be content with acceptable customer satisfaction. However, it will be difficult to move towards customer delight.

Quality processes: the minimum but not enough

For a customer to be delighted, he or she must be at least satisfied with the entire customer experience. And to ensure this minimum satisfaction, quality processes are necessary. In other words, the icing on the cake only works if the cake is good. And to produce good cakes on an industrial scale, you need good processes.
Depending on their own expectations, customers can be either moderately dissatisfied or moderately satisfied. But he won't be dissatisfied (or even very dissatisfied). This would prevent any action leading to enchantment.

Customer enchantment: the little extra that makes all the difference

Customer enchantment can then occur. But it can't be processed. It cannot be industrialized. It's born of the encounter between the customer and a salesperson, a cashier or a waitress. It is born of an action, by its very nature unique, that the latter performs and that, without being intended or anticipated, will produce the customer's delight. It could even be said that any attempt to industrialize an action negates its ability to enchant the customer. To be enchanted, a customer must feel unique, considered, special.

Conclusion

As you can see, a company needs to rely on both its processes (and its ability to enforce them) and its teams (who need to be empowered and given a degree of autonomy). It can then go beyond mere customer satisfaction. Only operational teams that go beyond processes can trigger this feeling of consideration and gratitude. This is what will make customers say they were delighted with their experience.