Customer Mind Control 101
My wife and I try to go out at least once a week on a “date night”. Last week we went to a local restaurant. When I was checking out, the girl behind the counter was talking on the phone while I paid the bill (and from the sound of it, it wasn’t a business call). I have to be fair and say that she was quick and efficient but I never got a thank you or even a smile. In fact I felt more like a burden.
When a customer or client thinks back to their last visit to your place of business, two events will stick out in their mind. The first will be the peak emotional experience. The second will be their last experience with you or a member of your staff. (The two events may be the same, in which case the memory is even stronger.)
Thinking back now to the restaurant visit I cannot even remember what I had to eat. Because the last interaction left such a bad impression on me and my wife, it is the only thing that I remember about the entire visit.
A research experiment was done to investigate the peak experience/last experience effect. A group of people who were scheduled to have colonoscopies were divided into two groups. One group received a standard colonoscopy. The other group received the same colonoscopy but at the end, the probe was left in place an extra few seconds without being moved.
The results of the test were interesting. During the procedure both groups rated the experience as equally uncomfortable. However when interviewed a week later the second group remembered the experience as being far less uncomfortable than the control group.
I hope you see the importance of this peak experience/last experience concept. It means that you can strongly influence your customer’s memories by controlling just a couple important moments during their visit.
Start with making your clients last interaction as enjoyable as possible. Make sure that the last person they talk to is up-beat and has a positive attitude. (And isn’t making personal phone calls.) Make sure they know how much you appreciate their business and invite them to come back again.
By putting a little thought into your customers experience and focusing on the key “leverage points” I discussed in this article, you can leave your client with the kind of impression that will keep them coming back.
When a customer or client thinks back to their last visit to your place of business, two events will stick out in their mind. The first will be the peak emotional experience. The second will be their last experience with you or a member of your staff. (The two events may be the same, in which case the memory is even stronger.)
Thinking back now to the restaurant visit I cannot even remember what I had to eat. Because the last interaction left such a bad impression on me and my wife, it is the only thing that I remember about the entire visit.
A research experiment was done to investigate the peak experience/last experience effect. A group of people who were scheduled to have colonoscopies were divided into two groups. One group received a standard colonoscopy. The other group received the same colonoscopy but at the end, the probe was left in place an extra few seconds without being moved.
The results of the test were interesting. During the procedure both groups rated the experience as equally uncomfortable. However when interviewed a week later the second group remembered the experience as being far less uncomfortable than the control group.
I hope you see the importance of this peak experience/last experience concept. It means that you can strongly influence your customer’s memories by controlling just a couple important moments during their visit.
Start with making your clients last interaction as enjoyable as possible. Make sure that the last person they talk to is up-beat and has a positive attitude. (And isn’t making personal phone calls.) Make sure they know how much you appreciate their business and invite them to come back again.
By putting a little thought into your customers experience and focusing on the key “leverage points” I discussed in this article, you can leave your client with the kind of impression that will keep them coming back.
