Does technology help to create an exceptional customer experience or an interaction that leaves a sour point of connection with your prospect to loyal customers?

Technology is a boom for many companies.

From GPS tracking devices to pages to cell phones, management can communicate with both external customers and internal customers to help achieve the goal to increase sales.

Yet, this same advantage has the potential to become a disadvantage.

For example, you as the manager or owner want to check with your on-site salesperson. As you are talking to him or her, a customer comes up to conduct a transaction.

The salesperson continues to talk to you while you are conducting business with this external customer (paying patron).

This interaction touches on several Points of Connection from the customer experience perspective.

First, is visual.

Do you want your customers seeing one of your employees on the phone?

Next is hearing.

What is the customer hearing?

The third point of connection is feeling.

How does your client feel about this customer experience?

Technology is also involved in many of your operating systems or what I call Points of Potential.

Each of these systems when operating at full efficiency can generate incredible profits. And conversely, if not operating at peak efficiency can drain the bottom line.

The question you need to ask yourself is: Does technology help to create an exceptional customer experience or an interaction that leaves a sour point of connection with your prospect to loyal customers?

One of the best examples is automatic telephone answering systems.

This operating system probably creates more negative feelings than any other operating system.

Just think back to your own most recent experience with an automated phone system. How did you feel?

Great? Or did a negative attitude immediately set in because you knew from past experiences that this was going to be less than a positive customer experience?

Remember, business is still about people connecting with people.

Technology should never become a barrier to that customer interaction especially if your goal is to increase sales and build loyal customers.

What other actions are costing you loyal customers?