The Experience. Loeffler Bruce

you to strive to be a C student”? Average may be tolerable to some, but it is unacceptable if you desire excellence.

      Level Three (Good): 25 Percent

      L 3 Defined: “Service where employees are often engaged, friendly, and personable, where most customers or clients encounter a positive Experience and feel as though they are valued, welcome, and important.”

      In our opinion, the level of “Good” is where every company, leader, and employee needs to begin, at a minimum. Levels One and Two make up roughly 60 percent of all service; but that 60 percent is not at all acceptable if you want to succeed. This third level of Good provides the foundation for building excellence in an organization. Everything about Good helps define where every company must start, realizing that anything below Good will not be tolerated.

      Level Four (Great): 12 Percent

      L 4 Definition: “Relational Service that is consistently strong, where employees go the extra mile to create personalized service and relational Experiences for every customer.”

      “Great” is the fourth level of the Experience, reserved for companies and individuals who tend to go out of their way for their customers. They create a great atmosphere for employees and design a legacy of excellence in everything they do. They tend to have a completely different mindset, excellent attitudes, and a high level of engagement, and strive to differentiate themselves from the competition.

      Level Five (Exceptional): 3 Percent

      L5 Definition: Exceptional Service that is part of the show, where every employee is focused on creating a unique ‘Experience’ for each customer that is profoundly better than their competition.

      This top level of the Experience is reserved for the truly “Exceptional” companies that tend to take service to a whole new level. They create a memorable and unique experience and, by doing so, develop Ambassadors who spread the word to the world every chance they have.

      Why Are the Levels Important?

      We are only as good as our reputation – and we are often only as profitable in our ventures as the level of new and repeat customers that we garner. To grow our organizations and from a cost efficiency perspective, we must focus on three things:

      1. Keeping our current customers

      2. Creating a wave of repeat business

      3. Gaining new clients and customers via referral or word of mouth

      The most effective way to do this is to create loyal customers, convert them into Ambassadors, and then empower these Ambassadors to share their Experience with others. Understanding the Five Levels of the Experience – and, more important, where you rank – is crucial to your organization. There are only certain levels of the Experience where Ambassador conversion takes place.

      We found in the independent study we conducted that people who came into contact with Level Four (Great) and Level Five (Exceptional) organizations were the only ones who were willing to tell their spheres of influence about their positive Experience. Driving home the importance further, we found that Level Five Ambassadors were nearly twice as willing to share their stories as Level Four customers. The flip side of the coin was that more than 70 percent of the people who came into contact with Level One (Toxic) and Level Two (Average) organizations went out of their way to share their negative experiences with their spheres.

      We found that Level Five Ambassadors were nearly twice as willing to share their stories as Level Four customers. The flip side of the coin was that more than 70 percent of the people who came into contact with Level One (Toxic) and Level Two (Average) organizations went out of their way to share their negative experiences with their spheres.

      We know that the stakes are incredibly high given the intense competition in most industries multiplied by the ability for customers to affect a brand positively or negatively. This has rendered commitment to service excellence non-negotiable. You must provide a competitive level of the Experience focused toward the Exceptional; otherwise your organization will eventually be in jeopardy. You can move up only one level at a time – but the goal is ultimately to be at Level Four (Great) or Level Five (Exceptional) to convert clients into brand Ambassadors.

      Now What?

      Our desire and goal was to design an Experience model that would be congruent with that of the known business world's accepted service excellence standard of Disney. We then wanted to be able to test our model against any organization's current level of the Experience. However, it's not enough to be able to test. We wanted our readers to have a set of Principles to go by, to have Quotient Questions to challenge them, and to have Actionables to coach them. Finally, we wanted them to have a clear road map to follow that would allow them to move up the levels of the Experience.

      Warning: Do not try to utilize all of the Actionables at once; that is not the way this book was set up or how this tool works. Take the Experience Quotient test at www.ExperienceQuotient.com and utilize the feedback and advice to work on your weaknesses and threats. You will soon find yourself and your organization on the path to the exceptional Experience and, as a result, converting your clients and customers to lifelong Ambassadors.

      PART II

      ONSTAGE (THE CUSTOMER INTERFACE)

      CHAPTER FOUR

      PRINCIPLE 1: IMPRESSION

      Disneyland is a show!

– Walt Disney

      Every customer has an Impression of every encounter experienced, and can describe and file each of these Impressions under one of three classifications: positive, negative, or neutral. Though “neutral” might seem like the absence of an Impression, it is every bit as critical as “positive” or “negative.” It says that the company did nothing to distinguish its service or itself from its competitors. Average never inspired anyone. The individuals and the companies who provide indifferent or mediocre service leave the Impression that you are simply not important enough to them.

      The Impression is so important because it is the epicenter that drives every inflection of the customer relationship. Every time a customer has any type of contact with any aspect of your business, the customer forms an opinion. If you research behavioral science, you know that opinions usually result in actions. Impressions form opinions, and opinions form actions, whether positive or negative, purchase or pass, or return with family or never visit again.

      If you research behavioral science, you know that opinions usually result in actions. Impressions form opinions, and opinions form actions, whether positive or negative, purchase or pass, or return with family or never visit again.

      Impressions are often driven by an organization's culture: who we are, what we stand for, and how much we care. As the saying goes, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Impressions are the template of how much an organization and its people really care. Disney has become the expert at creating exceptional Impressions at every juncture of the Experience at a Disney theme park. And its secret, from the painted cement symbolizing a red carpet at the entrance to the warm and friendly smiles at exit, is an unflagging resolve to cause the best Experience possible for its guests.

      Intentional Impressions

      Disney operates according to the maxim that virtually everything the public or the customer sees must be choreographed and finely tuned. This is why about 90 percent of everything a cast member (employee) at any Disney park does is planned, scripted, and well rehearsed. What Disney is creating – and what your organization must realize – is that it is part of the bigger picture, or, as Disney would call it, part of the show. Every successful “show” and every successful company is a success primarily because it is designed to be a success. We get into trouble when we leave things to chance or are ill prepared.

      Think