BQ Tip # 15: Touchpoints Make the Brand

How many WalMart employees does it take to wait on a customer? (or erode a brand?)


9:22 PM PDT, July 13, 2010

Today someone asked me if I would go to WalMart to purchase a TV for them. I tend to make my own purchases online, but she had asked me to go to this particular store because they were having a sale on the TV she wanted. When I approached the customer service counter, there were three WalMart employees taking care of one customer. Actually, only one employee was taking care of the customer, the other two were just standing there watching.

I stood there waiting for someone to help me, but none of the employees looked up to acknowledge me. I waited for about 20 minutes because I wanted to see how long it would take for someone to make eye contact with me.  Finally the customer walked away. At that point, I thought one of the three employees would ask if they could help me. They did not. In fact they started walking away and I had to stop one to ask for help. When I told her what I needed, she asked a fourth employee to help me with my transaction and walked away.

That fourth employee was very helpful, but it was frustrating being ignored for so long. If the purchase was for me, I would have just walked away and shopped elsewhere. I would have actually paid more money to go to a store that gave me a good customer experience. I won't be returning to WalMart, but I will share some important information with you about your brand.

No matter what your company has to offer - low prices, great products, or innovation - you will erode your brand and ultimately lose market share if you make the customer feel unimportant. Sounds obvious, right? But you'd be surprised how often managers forget this simple fact. In fact, the woman that handed me off to a fourth employee, was the WalMart manager.

BQ Tip #15:  Touchpoints Make the Brand

Trace every interaction a customer could potentially have with your company during a transaction - these are called "touch points." How long does it take for someone to answer the company phone? Is it answered by a live person or a recording? Is there an on-hold message describing your services or special offers? How easy is it to access your products, services or people? How are questions and complaints dealt with? How does the transaction take place? What does your lobby look like? Your website ? What can be changed to enhance the customer experience? (Hint: it could be something as simple as a smile and eye contact with the customer).

Every touch point or interaction with a client or prospect shapes the perception of your brand. Every touch point gives you an opportunity to demonstrate what your brand is all about and remind people why they should purchase from you again and again.  Service, humor, engaging experiences - whatever brand message you're trying to create, make sure that you're always thinking about the customer, not just the bottom line, because the former impacts the latter.