Why do some experiences fail to satisfy customers?

According to Bruce Temkin, the most important law is the law of action-reaction, which states: every action produces a reaction.

And the key word in this law is "personal". It means that everyone reacts differently. But what does this reaction depend on? It depends on their characteristics, habits, previous experiences... in short, the type of customer.

Let's look at an example.

Two different reactions to the same experience.

A few weeks ago, we had to service our family car. My husband made the appointment at the dealership, and I drove it in and picked it up on the agreed day.

We were both phoned afterwards and asked to evaluate our respective experiences. For me, it was generally acceptable. Nothing to complain about, but nothing positive either. For my husband, however, there were some unsatisfactory points, which he detailed to the interviewer.

When it comes to cars, the experience of the man in the house is different from that of the woman (at least in our case, and I think it is a repeating pattern). For me, who uses the car every day, it is enough to avoid inconvenience. It gets me to and from where I need to be, and does not require my attention, as my daily attention is focused on other "more significant" matters.

However, for my husband, the vehicle must be prepared to deliver its highest performance. This is done by ensuring that it can respond to particular demands, such as driving in snow or mountainous areas.

This case explains the action-reaction law of customer experience. The same experience, perceived by two different customers, generates different perceptions, reactions, and evaluations.

What are the implications of this customer experience law?

Understanding that each customer reacts differently requires designing different experiences for each customer. Yes, we should not treat everyone the same. An experience designed for any customer will satisfy none.

We must know our customers individually to design and deliver personalized experiences. And for this, we must segment properly.

Which customers do we want to target and which ones will love our service? Often, the fear of leaving out some groups of customers makes us lose credibility and leaves everyone indifferent. This implies a high risk of being unnoticed and not standing out

Don't be afraid to personalize experiences, focusing your actions on the particularities of those customers who make up your most attractive profile.