The Truth: You Can't Prioritize Every Customer, So Who to Choose?

The theory

Aiming to go above and beyond for every customer is simply not possible - from an economic but also a feasibility perspective. Even CX guru Paul Greenberg says, "You simply cannot delight your customers all the time." So how to approach this dilemma? A recent article from Inc.5000 gives some food for thought:

1. Deliver on every promise you’ve made to every customer

2. Reserve the above and beyond means for top customers only

Summing it up

This leads to two recommendations:

1. Be careful of what you promise

2. Get your CRM data right to be able to instantly detect the value of your customers and teach your customer facing teams to respect this hierarchical system. Target your extraordinary actions and delight customers who are valuable for your business.

It might be a controversial discussion to attach a pricetag to your customers. But there is even another argument to carefully use the extraordinary means: When something exceptional turns into something you do on a regular basis, it becomes an expectation. Like the unexpected bouquet of flowers from a friend, the element of surprise is what makes an experience delightful. Bring a bouquet of flowers consistently and you change the very act that was once so charming to an expectation.