I’ve been talking about vinyl records as a cultural indicator for a long time now. The fact that they sell despite digital music’s obvious advantages tells us a lot about the fact that all is not lost:
Young people want to slow down.
Young people want something well-made.
Young people want a return to authenticity.
I am now officially vindicated on this opinion, because vinyl outsold CDs for the first time since 1987.
Your customers, especially younger ones, can smell Fake a mile away.
They don’t mind a bit of theater, a bit of drama, a bit of experience. But it better be what the Heath brothers call a “peak moment,” some event that highlights what your organization is really about–a bit of surprise and delight, perhaps.
If all your experience points to is that you aren’t being honest with your customer, you’re in danger of defection.
“Your call is important to us,” you say in a recording, for the 23rd time, while they wait on hold.
“Let me check to see if that car is available,” you say as you put them on hold, leaving them wondering why you couldn’t just look it up in the computer.
“So glad you came in,” you say, with a manufactured grin–the kind anybody paying attention would know is forced.
Truly needing to have calls on hold, genuinely checking inventory, authentically believing you’re glad to see a customer–it can all be done.
DISC is an option to help you achieve this kind of communication. For instance, if you can determine that a customer’s DISC style is Conscientious, you might ask to check inventory to ensure accuracy. If the customer’s style is Dominant, you might offer to check so you don’t waste the customer’s time.
There are other options beyond DISC. But one final note: Mistakes are OK, too, because they are authentic. Vinyl records have hisses and pops, after all.
That moment of recovery after a mistake might just be the thing that shows the most authenticity and earns the customer’s loyalty in ways manufactured perfection never could.