Whether it’s an online store, brick and mortar retailer, or the hole-in-the-wall place you get your favorite burger with chipotle avocado magic on it, we’ve been on the customer experience side of a brand.
Have you ever sat down and really thought about why you choose certain companies over others?
Maybe it’s a great product.
Perhaps it’s how unique they are.
Or maybe they’re the only place that cooks a burger right.
How many coffee shops did you pass on your commute? How do any stand out?
The most successful brands know that there’s a lot that goes into making a company thrive. Yet, there’s one thing, no matter what you are selling, that all of the best franchises have in common:
Fantastic customer service.
Duh, right? You know that your company needs to make the customer experience a top priority. Is the service you’re providing your customer at its best, though?
Don’t just take our word for it. When a franchise is successful, the roots of that success can be traced back to amazing customer experiences.
Successful Franchises that Offer a Great Customer Experience
IKEA
When we say customer experience, there’s a lofty abstract way of thinking of it, or you can be like IKEA and take it literally.
Going into an IKEA is a real experience.
Every turn through their store allows customers to imagine themselves in a home rather than a retailer. There’s even the IKEA Place app that takes this idea to the next level by utilizing augmented reality to give customers a clearer image of the product in their home.
What if a customer gets hungry in the labyrinth of furniture? IKEA has that covered too with in-store restaurants. The customer experience for IKEA means giving excellent service and keeping their customers within their building, which helps drive conversion.
Apple
You can’t talk about successful franchises without bringing up Apple.
The tech giant has stayed on top because the first thing they always think of is the customer experience. Even the design of their open-concept stores allows customers to feel a sense of freedom.
Apple goes above and beyond just products. There are free classes in stores around the globe that aim to teach kids about coding.
All of this is fueled by employees selected from the best of the best in the industry. Apple is a company that knows customers will interact first and foremost with their payroll in stores. Those employees go through extensive training to ensure that the customer gets the absolute best experience possible.
Trader Joe’s
Compared to the previous two entries, Trader Joe’s seems like small potatoes (which they have organic options of in-store).
In the competitive grocery store industry, Trader Joe’s has grown to over 500 stores nationwide.
How do they make themselves stand out against such large competition? In addition to great prices and unique product offerings, Trader Joe’s knows about customer service.
A story from ten years ago shows just how far out of the way Trader Joes will go to service their customer.
A Reddit story about a woman’s grandfather, trapped home alone because of a snow storm, blew up the internet. In it, she tells of how Trader Joe’s delivered food (not typical for the grocery chain) to the Navy vet, and then didn’t even charge.
Those are the kinds of stories that stick with customers and why it’s hard to go very far without someone gushing about what they love at Trader Joes.
Key Aspects of the Customer Experience
These brands show that the most successful franchises focus on key factors with their customer service:
- Give customers more than they expect
- Ensure your team has the best customer service training
- Allow customers to see what you sell in action
- Technology is the key to interacting with customers
These factors take a lot of work to get right. How are you supposed to keep track of your growing customer base at all times?
That’s where Mentor’s customer feedback platform can make your company stand out.
Mentor goes beyond the typical customer survey and lets you have a direct and personal connection with your customers via email, SMS, and phone.
Customers themselves have options on giving your brand feedback, from open-ended text boxes to photo and video.
The most successful franchises got that way through constant growth and always keeping the customer experience at it’s best.
Mentor gives you the tools to take your customer experience to the next level too.