To bring the 10x concept to a macro level, it's about being better than you were and looking at others to learn about what you can do to be better.
Evolve as a person, as a brand, or an organization.
It's about putting in time, care, and thought into something. It's about attention to detail. It's about investing into your end product. Whatever that may be, whether it’s a piece of content (like this answer to a discussion question), a service, a product, or an experience.
That way you can stand behind it.
However, the larger a company grows the harder it is to_have accountability_.
- · If you have a chat box on your site, it's about responding right away.
- · If you have a phone number on the site, it's about answering in a professional manner.
- · If your client has a question, is about answering or following up with the correct answer.
- · If you have a product or service it means going through the user experience and asking yourself where it can be better.
Mostly**, it's common sense**, the main problem with it is that many organizations don't assign anyone with real quality assurance, you know, common sense thinking, instead they task them with specific orders and give them limited authority to act on problems. (Mainly from my corporate experience, although I’m sure others have had this impression of huge conglomerates)
Really, it's the idea baked into theheart of capitalism. If you don't become better you will founder, then run out of money, than dissolve. Do you feel bad for those that dissolve, you shouldn’t, they deserve it, it’s called survival of the fittest.
Some brands have no hope because they are generally disliked, good luck becoming a 10x brand when you are in the business of telecommunications, insurance, or banking because you are already disliked. These organizations have become large and unwieldy and have created a lot of ill-will in the community, for themselves and their industries as a whole.
Who likes calling their communications tech provider, insurance, or bank?. These experiences are often characterized with ridiculous and frustrating automated menus that ask you to type in long account numbers only to have the rep ask you again. They reroute you to wrong departments, and sometimes just hang up, why... no accountability.
Too often customer service representative in these industries don't have access to the info needed by the client and the decision makers are off limits for questioning. These industries are very large and un-capitalistic due to the barriers to entry and government complicity.
Hint: Government regulations could enforce morality and ethics in business but have been largely coopted by the organizations that they are supposed to regulate.
Other industries that have low barriers to entry (real competition) are the places where brands can evolve. They can have honest and meaningful conversations with their clients and prospects, and find out what they want.
Sometimes you want to be better but don't know how. The answer - ask those you serve.
Comcast has never called me asking "What do you wish would change about Comcast?" - They aren't in the position to do this. There is no one at the company who actually cares about client satisfaction. They will try to please you if you are calling to cancel or if you are looking for service but once you are in a contract, they treat you like a second class citizen.
At that point, what do they care about your satisfaction, they have you on a contract and they have your money. Hopefully, you spotted the trick, they should care. Why, because it’s called lifetime value of a customer. When Google Fiber comes around to Chicago (I’m not holding my breath), I won’t feel the least bit bad about switching.
As soon as that contract is up, I will look to the ends of the earth to avoid doing business with a company like that, but sometimes, it’s the quality of internet speed, or the price of a product that is the end all be all decision parameter.
Like in the Amazon example, people will hassle a company for answers and then turn around and give their money to Amazon. It’s unfortunate, but it’s what we deserve as a society if those are our ethics.
Like food and consumer products, you have to pay for quality. If you expect good customer service you will have to pay a bit more. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Being a 10x brand is only possible in industries characterized by flexibility and highly adaptive environments. If you sell manufacturing equipment, and you can’t compete on price, find a way to communicate the value of after the sale support, and really deliver.
If you provide a web based accounting service there are many ways to improve your offer with things like free training and access to knowledge.
You may have noticed that I am using this medium to vent a bit but I hope that my examples are useful when discussing the idea of customer satisfaction and what it really means.
A 10x brand will bend over backwards to make you happy, but at the same time, they shouldn’t break their backs to satisfy their competitors clients.
A 10x brand makes an offer for a product or service that you didn’t know you need but now can’t live without. Maybe you didn’t even know it could exist. Many of the most popular emerging brands are rising to stardom due to new functionality and technology.
Thank you for the discussion idea. Please let me know your thoughts about my somewhat cynical post, I would love to turn this into a conversation.
