The Power of a Cohesive Sales Strategy: Why Customer Experience is Everyone’s Business
Every sale requires a feeling. I’m not talking about the feeling of panic when you realise you’ve run out of coffee in the office. I’m talking about that emotive connection that turns a “maybe” into a “yes, take my money.”
As Simon Sinek once famously said, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” and that “why” is everything. It’s the emotional reaction, the feeling, that ultimately leads someone to choose your brand over a competitor’s. Creating that feeling, and maintaining it, is the essence of customer experience (CX). But the reality is that CX isn’t just the responsibility of the sales and/or customer service team, it’s a company-wide effort and every department plays a starring role.
This was highlighted to me in a shopping experience that I had at my local supermarket which a recent, and highly unacademic, survey showed me, we have all shared.
The Tale of the Dodgy Trolley
I’ll set the scene: It a rainy afternoon and I’m at my local supermarket, ready to embark upon my weekly shop. As a mum of two boys, aged 3 and 1, this is my version of meditation. The weekly shop is my sacred time for peace, calm and clarity. Or at least, it’s supposed to be.
However, on this occasion, within five minutes, my peaceful errand turns into an episode of Survivor: Trolley vs Woman.. I’ve drawn the short straw of shopping doom: a trolley with a rogue wheel.
Now, you might be thinking, “Why didn’t you just swap it?” Fair question. But let me set the scene: the British weather was playing to its strengths with consistent drizzle, and, cards on the table, I’d just had a blow dry. So, like any rational person, I decided to persevere.
What followed was a supermarket odyssey filled with apologetic smiles to fellow shoppers, Olympic-level trolley wrestling and a soundtrack of squeaky wheels and muttered expletives. Each turn felt like a scrum and my focus shifted from leisurely browsing to one singular goal: get the essentials and get out.
Around the Greek yoghurt I bumped into a lady who had found herself in the same situation and completely ditched her trolley and opted to go for a basket instead. We exchanged empathetic pleasantries which were cut short as I required my full mental and physical strength to turn into the next aisle.
By the time I reached the checkout, slightly unhinged, I asked the assistant what to do with my trolley nemesis. Could I perhaps help the supermarket prevent this from happening to another unsuspecting innocent shopper by reporting it? Survive it. Say it. Stop it.
Personally, I was envisioning a dramatic farewell at the scrap heap, with “You Don’t Own Me” blasting from an invisible speaker. However, having been advised to return the trolley to the customer service desk to have it fixed, I was, in fact, informed at the desk that they did not have enough trolleys to take one out of action. I watched them return the offending trolley to the line, with “Bad Guy” played through that imaginary speaker.
The CX Ripple Effect
I drove away having an impertinent rant to myself in the car about how one dodgy trolley hadn’t just ruined my shopping experience, it had definitely reduced my spend, and yet, the store didn’t seem to care?! I continued, alone, in my car, ranting about the ripple effect of them not taking the time to fix the trolley, or have enough trolleys to even allow them that option. It was around the turn into my driveway that my frustration peaked, and I decided to work out exactly what that impact was……ish...
So, I embarked on some rather loose maths, with, I must confess, the help of AI.
Now stay with me please…..
The average basket value (ABV) for this supermarket was around £123.00 and so I guesstimated that around a 6% reduction in ABV was perfectly realistic. Take into consideration my Greek Yoghurt Ally who had swapped from trolley to basket and that seems, if anything, a little conservative.
If two broken trolleys reduce basket values by 6% every 1.5 hours (another guesstimate), across one store, that’s a notable dent in revenue. Scale that across the year, and suddenly those trolleys could cost the supermarket around £50k per store. Multiply that across all locations, and you’re looking at just under a £20 million reduction in revenue.
Yes, my maths is shaky, and this isn’t a controlled experiment, but the point stands: seemingly tiny CX failures can snowball into significant revenue losses.
Why Customer Experience Matters
Customer experience isn’t just about making people happy, it’s about creating and maintaining an emotional response that drives loyalty and revenue. That drives the lifetime value of that customer, which ultimately generates revenue and profitability.
But CX isn’t just the responsibility of the customer service team. It’s a company-wide effort that requires every department to play their part.
The Role of Each Department in CX
- Marketing: Crafting the “Why”
Marketing is the voice of your brand. It’s their job to communicate your “why” and create that emotional connection with your audience. Whether it’s through storytelling, social media or advertising, marketing sets the tone for the entire customer journey.
But, if the rest of the business doesn’t deliver on that promise, all that hard work is for nothing. Imagine a marketing campaign that promises a seamless, personalised shopping experience, only for customers to be met with a clunky website and unhelpful staff. That disconnect can be devastating.
- Sales: Building Relationships
Sales teams are on the front line, turning interest into action. They’re the ones building relationships, answering questions and closing deals. However, a great salesperson should not just be focused on closing the sale.
Drayton Bird tells the story of “America’s Greatest Car Salesperson” who, when asked why he thought he had won, responded “When a customer walks into the showroom, other salespeople are thinking “how do I make sure I sell this person a car today?”, whereas I am thinking “how do I make sure that I sell this person their next car?”. Building for the long term and optimising customer lifetime value.
- Product: Delivering on the Promise
Your product is the backbone of your CX. It’s what your customers are paying for and it’s what they’ll judge you on. Whether it’s a physical product, a digital service or something in between, it needs to deliver on the promise made by marketing and sales.
But it’s not just about the product itself. It’s about the entire experience of using it. Is it easy to set up? Does it work as expected? Is there clear support available if something goes wrong? If they lost it or its lifecycle ended, would they buy it again? These are all questions that the product team needs to consider.
- Customer Service: Keeping the Feeling Alive
Customer service is often seen as the face of CX, and for good reason. They’re the ones dealing with complaints, answering questions and solving problems. But their role goes far beyond putting out fires.
A great customer service team will proactively look for ways to improve the customer experience. They’ll gather feedback, identify trends and work with other departments to implement changes. They’re the ones who keep the feeling alive long after the sale is made.
- Operations: Making It All Run Smoothly
Operations might not be the most glamorous department, but they’re the unsung heroes of CX. They’re the ones making sure the trolleys (and everything else) run smoothly. From supply chain management to logistics, operations play a critical role in delivering a seamless customer experience.
Operations teams often work behind the scenes, which means they’re not always in tune with the customer’s perspective. That’s why it’s so important for them to collaborate with other departments and understand how their work impacts the overall CX.
- Finance: Holding the Purse Strings
The finance department plays a pivotal role in shaping the customer experience (CX) by deciding where the budget is allocated. From funding product or service improvements, increasing resources, investing in R&D or streamlining processes through technology, every decision that requires cash flows through finance.
This makes it vital for the finance team to fully understand and buy into the power of CX. While the impact of customer experience can sometimes be hard to quantify, making it tricky to justify in pure figures, its long-term value is undeniable.
Aligning the finance team with the broader CX vision and fostering a culture that prioritises the value of customer experience can be incredibly powerful. After all, when finance sees CX not as a cost but as an investment, the entire business reaps the rewards.
The Bottom Line
And it’s the reason why every department, from marketing to operations, plays a critical role in driving revenue.
So, take a moment to ask yourself: What dodgy wheels could you oil to drive revenue growth? Because in the end, it’s not just about what you sell, it’s about how you make your customers feel.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the gym to train for my next supermarket shop and apply to Dragon’s Den to present a new design of trolley wheel, possibly to the soundtrack of “We Could Be Heroes” playing on that invisible speaker.