Why your best customers aren’t buying from you (and how to fix it)

Boxers & Briefs Podcast #46: Why creating raving fans is the secret to business success with Bill Bain

When does a customer become more than a customer? When do they become loyal to the brand? When do they become a raving fan? And how do raving fans lead to business success?

In this episode of the Boxers and Briefs podcast, we sit down with Bill Bain to discuss the philosophy of creating raving fans through great customer service, and the role they play in growing your brand and building success.

Bill Bain is the Founder of Alignz and a consultant here at Gilligan Sheppard. He specialises in coaching leadership teams and business executives to become better at what they do so they can enrich their teams and produce greater results.

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The invisible cost you’re ignoring

Most business owners don’t understand the real value of creating great customer experiences. They include ‘customer experience’ in their strategic plans, then do nothing about it. It becomes talk without action.

The reality? When you create raving fans, three things happen:

1. They spend more with you – customers stick around longer and spend more money over time
2. They cost less – retention is cheaper than acquisition
3. They become your marketing – brand advocates spread the word better than any campaign

Word of mouth marketing can’t be beaten. When someone else recommends your product, service, or people, that’s the real win.

For clarity, above-the-line marketing refers to TV advertising and other media where people see your message directly. Below-the-line is email campaigns, social media, and targeted content. Both matter, but neither beats genuine advocacy.

What you think is special is just ordinary

Here’s the problem: what most businesses think is extraordinary is ordinary.

Getting the job done on time? That’s table stakes. That’s what you should be doing anyway. The difference is in how the customer experiences working with you. Because ultimately, no matter what service or product you provide, someone else provides it too. The only real differentiator is the customer experience.

“My whole gig with people business is about being extraordinary,” Bill explains. “No matter what service or product you provide, it will be something that someone else provides. The only differences you may have, other than trying to go into that price war, will be how the customer’s experience works with you.”

We’ve been in workshops where Bill asks teams to list what makes them extraordinary. Nine times out of ten, 90% of the list is ordinary.

Being extraordinary takes effort. Being ordinary takes effort too, but being extraordinary takes more. It’s not easy, but once you implement it step by step, the extraordinary becomes your normal. Not normal by anyone else’s standard. Your normal.

Three businesses that turned customers into fans

A grocery store that made shopping worth the drive

Bill shared his experience at a New World in Havelock North. The basics were there: clean store, stocked shelves. But the difference? The cashier genuinely looked customers in the eye and created personal conversations. Not the scripted ‘Hi, how are you?’ but real engagement.

When Bill couldn’t find something on his shopping list, the staff member said, “You keep shopping and I’ll see if I can find it for you.” Then the assistant store manager showed up with two options, one of which was correct.

When it rained, staff members walked elderly customers to their cars with umbrellas, loading their boots while keeping them dry.

These small acts created loyalty. Bill would drive out of his way to shop there. That New World got the highest NPS scores out of all Foodstuffs stores in the country.

Bill was so impressed that he wanted to meet the owner. When he did, he mentioned the service had gone down recently.

The owner admitted he’d taken his foot off the throttle because he thought his staff were tired of him encouraging them to wow customers. When he picked it back up, the service improved immediately.

Leadership matters. If you’re going to do this, you can’t stop.

The owner tells another story about a customer service person who had a man bring back a bottle of wine half consumed. The employee was about to challenge it. The store manager stepped in: “Why are you getting so upset? Just replace the bottle or give him his money back.”

The employee argued the man had drunk half the bottle. The manager’s response: “If he comes in five times with half a bottle every time, then you’ve caught on he’s abusing it. Other than that, no questions asked.”

Then he empowered that employee to make that call going forward.

That’s the key.

An insurance company that led with humanity

In 2001, Bill’s family was in Vancouver when 9/11 happened. He phoned his insurance company. The first words out of their mouth: “Are you and your family okay?”

When he called back weeks later to confirm they were home, a different person answered. First words: “Glad you’re home safely.”

Personal. Human. Memorable.

Bill has told that story to over 400 to 500 people at workshops. Southern Cross travel insurance.

A shoe company that understood service

The online shoe company Zappos has a number one value: “deliver wow through service.”

One customer called past the return date because her mother had died and she’d been tied up with arrangements. Zappos sent a return bag immediately. Then they sent flowers and a sympathy card to her door.

They didn’t do it to enhance their reputation. They did it because that’s what they do. It’s genuine, not false. That’s why it works.

Why most businesses fail at this

“It becomes all talk,” Bill says.

Businesses build strategic plans that mention employee engagement and customers. Then it goes about that far. They don’t invest resources, no money, no time. It’s just words in a document.

The biggest reason for this failure? They don’t know what to do. And it has to come from the leaders. It has to come from the top. You can’t expect small interactions to change if leadership isn’t driving the culture.

When complaints become your best opportunity

A complaint is a customer service issue. Customer service is reactive. Customer experience can be proactive, or it can take a complaint and turn it into something better.

Bill ordered pool fencing from Boundary Line Fences. When he arrived to collect it, both customer service staff turned around smiling. The warehouse was clean. The team was having fun. They loaded everything for him, chatted about rugby, and made the experience personal.

When one rung arrived squished, his wife called. The response: “No problem. Keep it, throw it away, or bring it to us. We’ll send a new one.” Just like that.

Even though there was an issue, Bill rated them 10 out of 10 because they fixed it immediately.

The lesson: don’t treat complaints as the end of the world. Take them as feedback to be better.

When it comes to reviews, especially on Google, if you get a bad one, you often can’t remove it. The best thing you can do is address it publicly. If others can see you tried to resolve the issue, that’s powerful.

Too many people take complaints as the end of the world. Why do I try so hard? What’s the point? Nobody understands all the hard work I did just to get you as a customer.

But if you take the complaint as feedback to be better, you turn everything around.

The math that justifies the effort

A lot of businesses spend money acquiring new customers. But customer experience is a strategy that stays forever. Acquisition strategies go up and down.

Bill breaks down when acquisition makes sense: you’re a startup and need clients. You need scale for manufacturing efficiencies or better buying power. Your audience is ageing out and you need new blood. You want market share to sell stock or shares.

All valid reasons.

But when you’re launching a new product or service, where’s the best place to look? Your existing customers. You know who they are and what they need. You can instantly identify which ones would benefit from your new offering.

Acquisition is campaigns, collateral, discounts. Often a price game.

Never leave customer experience off your daily priorities.

Here’s the math: the average grocery shop is worth $400 to $500. If you lose one customer, that’s gone. But if you gain three, or they stay longer, those impulse items become more appealing when people are in a good mood.

Will someone penalise you for spending five minutes walking a customer to their car with an umbrella because ‘productivity is down?’ Some will. But they’re missing the point.

It’s a long game, but it’s not overly long. You just have to stick to it.

Five ways to make it happen

How do you invest in customer experience?

1. Make it a strategy: start from the top down
2. Communicate it: engage your people in what extraordinary means to them
3. Pull out examples: what’s ordinary versus extraordinary in your business?
4. Empower people: give them permission to go above and beyond
5. Recognise great behaviour: tie it to the strategy when someone does something exceptional

Keep awareness high.

At Zappos, they would ask staff every day: “What have you done today to wow somebody?”

Bill plays a song every day called ‘Proud.’ The question it asks: what have you done today to make yourself proud?

It’s about setting the company’s direction. The purpose is why you do what you do. Values are how you work. Vision is what you see yourself doing for customers and your team.

When you start telling people what someone did, most times the response is ‘That’s it?’ Yes. That’s it. It seems simple. It is simple.

You’ve got to empower the team to do it, then recognise when they do.

Why vision and values fail

Many CEOs and managers hear ‘vision and values’ and think they’ve done the work. Nothing changes. What happened?

The breakdown is at the top. They haven’t been able to execute the plan and change the culture. They talk, but they don’t walk.

“It’s too hard. I need a return on investment tomorrow. My financial controller is saying I’m spending a dollar and wants $1.50 back today.”

Culture does not change that fast. But it does change. This is why it’s not easy. But once you get to that point where it becomes your normal, it gets easier.

Whatever leadership position you’re in, you have to keep your foot on the throttle if you’re going to do this. You have to be open to the people at ground level because they’re the ones facing customers. They’re the ones delivering the experience.

The purpose is what gets people to come to work. Not paying them or making you rich.

That’s the truth.

Where to start

Make customer experience an initiative you’re going to commit to. Otherwise, don’t waste your time, money, or breath. You’ll look silly.

Get stuck into it. Have fun with it. If you’re not sure how, engage people who know this stuff.

Have a blast making other people’s day.

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This article and podcast is proudly brought to you by Gilligan Sheppard, the problem solvers in business who believe in thinking differently.