"Success For Us is When We Stop Problems Before They Happen"

 

This is the customer experience philosophy at Trek, the bicycle company.

 

I was at their headquarters in Wisconsin last week. I recorded a presentation for thousands of retail bike store owners.

 

Trek is a great brand. They know customer experience (they call it hospitality) is a bigger differentiator than products.

 

And while I love many things about Trek (I even have a new Trek ebike), I love their commitment to proactivity the most. 

 

I've been doing a lot of research lately on the importance of speed and responsiveness in business. 

 

And it turns out, answering customer questions BEFORE they are asked is the very fastest you can be.

 

I have a new keynote presentation about this topic called Time to Win. It's too new to even be on my website, but I'd love to customize Time to Win for you and your audience. Let me know.

 

One of the stories in Time to Win is also a story I've included here or there in other presentations. It's a story about proactivity. I told it at Trek. 

 

Dr. Glenn Gorab is an oral surgeon in Clifton, New Jersey. There are 435 oral surgeons in the NY, NJ, CT region. They all do the same thing, for about the same price. It's not like one surgeon has a proprietary teeth removal laser. 

 

How then do consumers choose an oral surgeon? Typically, location. Which surgeon is closest to your home or office?

 

But not in Glenn's case. Glenn is the highest-rated oral surgeon in the region and is among the most successful. Is he the BEST oral surgeon? By his own admission, he is "very good, but not the best."

 

Glenn Gorab has the best business results because he understands customer experience the best. He uses empathy and proactivity to remove uncertainty. 

 

Every Saturday, Glenn calls a handful of people. "Hi! This is Glenn. I'm your oral surgeon. I understand you're coming to the office for the very first time next week. Before you get here, are there any questions I might answer for you?"

 

BEFORE. YOU. GET. HERE.

 

Like Trek, Glenn wants to provide answers before the questions are asked. His patients, of course, are blown away. 

 

You have never been called by a physician before you've ever even been to the office, and certainly not on a Saturday. 

 

There's plenty of power in this pattern of proactivity. 

 

Glenn says that 75% of his patients mention the call when they are in the chair. He's literally wrists deep in their mouth and they thank him for the caring phone call last Saturday! 

 

And, every day someone calls the office to make a new appointment and they say something like this: "I have to drive way out of my way to come see you. There are many oral surgeons closer. But I want you to be my doctor, because you called my friend Shirley before she even came to the office."

 

You already know what questions your customers have. You know what scares them. Why don't you just provide the answers NOW before they have to ask? 

 

Trek's mantra is about proactivity. And it's the secret to Glenn Gorab's success. It can help you as well.

 

p.s. - my new bike is a Trek Verve+ ebike. It's awesome. So fun to ride because it's never a slog. Have you ever ridden an ebike? Or do you have one? Reply and let me know, will you?