Quit competing on price. Period. Consumers are bombarded with “We’ll Save You Money!” all the time, and it seems like everywhere you turn someone is having some sort of sale. There’s always going to be someone out there that can do what you do for less, but with an amazing deal often comes a sacrifice of some sort.
For example, you’ve probably seen Quicken Loans new Rocket Mortgage commercials where they are making finding a mortgage quick and easy online. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying finding a mortgage online is a bad idea. If you like doing your own research and shopping online, then this product definitely fits a need in the market. I’m just pointing out that the service piece (actually working with a human being) is taken out of the equation here and there is always give and take when it comes to price and convenience.
Too many companies place a high level of emphasis on being the lowest price in the market and I really think they are missing the ball here. Many times price isn’t the deciding factor in a customer’s decision to come back or, more importantly, refer friends and family your way to help build your business. This is exactly why I talk about the customer experience all the time. A great customer experience is what builds brand loyalty and keeps people coming back.
Every title company offers the same products and services, just like banks do, so how do you set yourself apart in the title industry? The answer is customer experience! We’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into differentiating the customer experience at TitleSmart, Inc. over the past 9 years and it shows in our growth.
But how do you build an amazing customer experience in title when your customer only comes in to sign what seems like a million documents and the leaves? Well… take a moment and imagine:
You’ve just received notice that your offer was accepted on your dream home. Yay! Your realtor calls and gives you your closing date and you mark your calendar for the most exciting day of your life.
Today is closing day and your emotions are all over the place. You’re excited to finally own your own home and you’re nervous about owning your own home at the same time.
You park your car outside of TitleSmart, Inc. where you meet your realtor. As soon as you walk in the door, the smell of fresh baked cookies and Caribou coffee hits you and you remember baking cookies with your grandmother as a kid.
You notice a big “Welcome (your name)!” on the monitor in the lobby as the receptionist greets you with a big smile and offers you something to drink along with a freshly baked cookie. You think to yourself, “Where are we? Is this really a title company? All my friends told me it was going to be the longest and most boring hour of my life.”
Your closer meets you with excitement and takes you back to the “Manhattan Room” where everything is neat and your papers are all ready to go. You notice more freshly baked cookies on the table along with a plethora of TitleSmart “trinkets” to pick from when you’re done.
Your closer explains all of the documents and you actually understand why you’re signing each document. In no time you’re done signing everything and you finally have your keys! What seemed to be the most stressful purchase of your life didn’t seem stressful or boring at all. In fact it was a fun and stress-free process at the closing table.
Before you leave with your keys as a happy homeowner, you grab a quick selfie with your realtor in front of the TitleSmart selfie wall and ask the receptionist for a cookie to go.
We care about the customer experience because people care about their experience as a customer. We could be like every other title company out there and not put as much emphasis on how our customers feel throughout the process, but that doesn’t help us stand out from the competition or create a paradigm for change within our industry.
I challenge you as a company owner, a leader, or an individual, to look at how you’re positioning yourself or your company within the market and put a larger emphasis on customer experience. Without innovation in customer experience you’ll get lost in the sea of companies that are doing just enough to survive today without a solid plan for how they’ll compete in the future.