Is there gold here to be mined, or is it just worthless rock?  Are we mining something of value or should we blow up the minefield?

Automotive News April 13, 2015 article titled: "Tailor shopping to your customers, studies suggest" states within Autotrader's study findings, 3rd paragraph, that only 17 of 4002 car shoppers and buyers "liked the car buying process as it is."  99.6% of us DISLIKE "the car buying process as it is."  Are you surprised?

Consider the likely question: "Did you like the car buying process as it is?"  "Did you like the service process as it is?" 

Consider the answer of 99.6% surveyed:  NOOOOOOOO!

Now Internet search: "Customer Experience Statistics" and two glaring contradictions are evident.  First, EVERY statistic is B2C (Business2Customer) and second, near every statistic is improving!

#1 Dilemma

Either Autotrader's survey is bogus, or "Customer Experience Statistics" are bogus, right?  Me?  I feel Autotrader's survey is accurate and "Customer Experience Statistics" at best are heavily skewed favoring favorable results.  Why?  Autotrader may have asked the one correct question and got the real honest answer: "Did you like the buying process as it is?"  "NO!"

#1 Challenge

Customer Experience is personal, very personal.  Think of the last 3 experiences you had today.  Did you like the process as it is? Either yes or no!  

Here's the challenge.  Businesses, as entities, CANNOT (and never will) get personal with persons (you and me), as you and me as persons can get personal with each other.

Let me clarify with facts.

Better then 80% of what business entities focus on within marketing and processes trigger our rational (needs) behavior and less than 20% triggering our emotional (wants) behavior; while we consumers focus better than 80% of our buying decisions on what triggers our emotional (wants) behavior, and less than 20% of our buying decisions on what triggers our rational (needs) behavior.  We use our rational thinking to justify our emotional decisions. Summary: business entities operate completely opposite to how we consumers think and buy!

#1 Reality

You're thinking: "Oh, but everything we do is about our business and product brand, our sales and service processes, making as much as possible from everyone possible." REALITY CHECK: 99.6% of customers DO NOT like your processes as they are; that's less than 1 out of 100.  

We can sugarcoat "Customer Experience" all we want, yet one question honestly answered blows up the current "Customer Experience" minefield: "Do you like our processes as they are?"  NO!

#1 Opportunity

Without a shadow of a doubt, with 2nd place nowhere close, the #1 OPPORTUNITY in this global "Customer Experience Economy" world we live in today is for YOU, your Personal Brand, and your teammates and their Personal Brands, to be 'Always Earning Loyalty Exceeding Customer Experience Expectations' within every defining moment of every customer communication.  

Your business, as an entity, cannot get this personal with customers as Personal Brands can - and must!  

Isn't it time to elevate Customers and Personal Brands of business from 'commodity' status to the top of the most important people of your business?  

The #1 Opportunity In The World for your business is to Make Your People Your Brand, to make your Customers and Personal Brands of your business "The Brand" that builds your Business Brand better than ever the better way over current processes. 

The #1 Opportunity In The World for Personal Brands of Business is to flip upside down current processes consumers disdain and "Always Be Earning Loyalty Exceeding Customer Experience Expectations" within every action, every communication so that every customer every time is over-the-moon WOWED by how well you under-promise and over-deliver every time.

The #1 Opportunity In The World for consumers is to have their top 3 WANTS exceeded by you, your Personal Brand and your teammates Personal Brands all the time; and they are: 1) be openly transparent, 2) be personally Person2Person attentive, and 3) they prefer personal video over every other form of communication. Translation: Transparently video validating persons and facts Person2Person "Always Earning Loyalty Exceeding Customer Experience Expectations" IS The #1 Opportunity In The World for Personal Brands of Business and Customers to earn each others trust and loyalty earning true, honest Customer-Loyalty-For-Life.  

You simply must find every excuse to get off the phone, text and email and get onto a video chat from any Internet device in real time, even if it is only you on video and the customer only on audio.  They will be wowed.

Most every Video Chat should move to a live video meeting where you can then continue video conversing, while sharing your desktop, share your website, share documents, even record everything for ultimate validation.  

Bring us any example and we'll show you best practice habits.  

You, me, everyone of us MUST communicate, so why not communicate the way consumers WANT?  Think about it!  The #1 Opportunity In The World is in your Personal Brand hands to convert a 99.6% negative into a 99.6% positive.  Everyone wins here when YOU, your Personal Brand, make the difference being the difference bringing our world together!  Quit pushing them away and only pull them in now!

Remember, customers don't buy products or services, they buy why and how using them will make them feel.  Steve Jobs NEVER competed on price.  He only competed on experiences.  He NEVER gave customers what we needed, he ONLY gave us customers what we didn't even know we WANTED YET...world-class customer experiences all the time.

This is YOU.  This is Your Personal Brand..."Exceeding Customer Experience Expectations!"  Lead the way!