Step into customers’ shoes, find your Achilles’ heel

Every business has a weakness. It’s that annoying problem (or set of problems) that won’t disappear on its own. It requires time and investment to fix, especially when it impacts your customers. Instead of ignoring that Achilles’ heel, tackle it head on to get the results you’re after.
Undoubtedly, you’re keenly aware of your company’s shortcomings, so identifying your Achilles’ heel sounds simple. But it can be hard to fully wrap your head around the problem from your customers’ viewpoint.
There is good news, though. Once you recognize it, you can determine how to deliver a solution.
What drives your customers’ decision-making?
Most companies’ Achilles’ heel is dynamic. Your pain point today probably isn’t the same as it was 10 years ago. If you’re an online company like Amazon, it’s probably returns. In the olden days, it was far easier to drive to a store to return a book. Today, most consumers can’t imagine doing that.
You have to know your business and how customers shop you, value you and, ultimately, choose you. What if your business sees customers only when they have a specific need? And maybe even just one time? That’s what we face every day at Safelite. Our average customer uses our service once every seven years.
You have to think ahead about what your customers will need and how they will want to work with you, whether they visit every day or once a decade. If you don’t think holistically, and instead simply add on one thing here and bolt on another there, it won’t work for your customers in the long run.
It’s about keeping and delivering on your promise. That’s the difference between building a process for you, versus for your customer.
Identify how to tackle the challenge
When is the last time you stepped into your customers’ shoes and looked at your business with fresh eyes? If you pretend it’s the first time you’re searching for a company like yours, what is it about the experience that’s challenging? It might take digging through a couple of layers to find your company, know what to expect and make the decision to use your services.
Customers may not understand your terminology, but they have to understand the facts to make a decision and feel good about it. So, manage the complexity within your own house and keep it away from the customers.
Consumers want to work with you the way they want to work with you. They may even switch channels on you. What they don’t want to do is repeat themselves, so be resourceful and thoughtful in how you interact with your customers.
Start where you can

The target is always in motion, so there is never a perfect time or place to solve it. Get moving and learn along the way. Committing to always building with the customer in mind frees you up. Once you get to that point, it allows you to do it forever.

 
Renee Cacchillo is an executive vice president and customer experience officer at Safelite Group Inc., a multifaceted auto glass and claims management service organization founded in 1947. Renee is the architect of Safelite’s Customer Driven strategy, leads the company’s innovation efforts and is responsible for driving performance to further establish Safelite as a world-class service organization.