[21-Day CX Challenge] Day 4 -- The Power of Asking, Revisited

Hey again!

In Mission #2 we asked you to call your best customer. Today we ramp up the difficulty a bit -- but the results will be worth it.

How Else Can Asking Be Powerful?

Two days ago, we acknowledged that your customers know a whole lot about how you can deliver the best possible customer experience to them.

I asked you to call and ask them what they'd like you to do differently, and I hope their answers were illuminating and lead you to create better experiences for your customers.

But what about those that aren't your customers yet?

What about those that could've been your customers?

Customer experience begins long before somebody becomes a customer.

So today, let's do some work that can improve the customer experience your potential customers have, while potentially helping more deals get closed along the way.

Today's Mission

Just like two days ago, today's mission is to pick up the phone.

This time, call a recently lost prospect and ask:

What could we have done to earn your business?

This may seem like an incredibly intimidating mission. Maybe you're even thinking "nah, I'll skip this one."

Let's make it easier by setting some ground rules.

What this call isn't:

A pity party
A follow-up attempt to earn their business
A mission to tell them why they made the wrong choice

What this call is:

An opportunity to learn specifically why a prospect dropped off.

Like last time, choose someone you've got a good rapport with. Make sure they understand you respect their decision to go another direction and you aren't trying to change their mind -- you're just trying to better understand what their experience was.

If you're feeling nervous, consider this: They've already decided not be a customer, so there's nothing left to lose.

And that, in the words of renowned CX expert Janis Joplin, means the freedom to improve your customer journey.

Digging Deeper: