Little did I know that amidst all the traffic, noise and hustle, I’d find one truly excellent analog user experience (AUX) from a gentleman named Juan who owned the food cart on the corner.

Being a friendly New Yorker myself, I started having conversations with Juan each day, which he seemed to appreciate as much as I did. Because I was so impressed, I felt I needed to share …

The Details of My Analog User Experience

• From the moment I approached Juan’s food cart, he was friendly and approachable — even though he was busy with a line of people, he made me feel like a friend.
• Juan and his wife took our order each day and cooked everything up fresh, right in front of us.
• Even though they were cooped up in a tiny food cart, there was a very positive vibe coming from this small business — it was obvious they loved what they did, and they loved each other, which made me WANT to spend my money there.
• The food was great! Fresh, hot and made to order.
• The price? $3 for each bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a kaiser roll.
• He gave us free stuff — even though there was nothing in it for him. Juan and his wife seemed so appreciative to have our brief conversations that they started giving us free treats each day. Honestly, I was very impressed to see such a good-hearted gesture.
• I looked forward to seeing Juan and his wife each morning.

How this Relates to Your Website & Your Business

Approachability
Is your website or your storefront as approachable as Juan’s? It doesn’t matter if it’s a food cart, or a Ferrari dealership. Friendly service goes a long way in building trust and making customers feel at home.

Finding the Right Solution for Each Client
From a global view, Juan listened to what my needs were and delivered exactly what I asked for. He didn’t try to up sell, supersize or add extra dollars to his pocket by pushing me to buy more. In a way, this is a simplistic view of delivering custom solutions. For many of us, solutions are much more nuanced and complicated than: “egg over easy, with bacon and cheese on a kaiser roll,” but Juan had the service concept mastered — specifically, what does the customer need, and how can I provide the best solution?

Exceeding Expectations
From delivering an excellent meal, to free treats and better service than many fancy restaurants, Juan exceeded my expectations.

A word on free: There’s an excellent example here of giving something of value for nothing. I’m not saying you should give away free products or services, but there is something every business can give away for free with no strings attached — valuable content. Whether it’s a blog, webinar, workshop or infographic, delivering useful information to clients and potential clients can go a long way in building trust, raising credibility and positioning you as an authority in your industry. And in today’s content marketing age, it’s also a necessity if you want to grow your business.

Price
The one thing I had trouble wrapping my head around was why Juan charged so little for a fresh meal. My wife, Kara, had pointed out that Juan’s Food Cart had a lot of local competition surrounding him and the price point was probably where he needed to be to remain a relevant choice to his customers.

This can be debated both ways, though, as better service can often warrant higher prices — because the perceived value of the product is heightened by the service that surrounds it. Of course, if you’ve done your homework and clearly defined your customer demographic, you should have a good idea of where your price “tops off” before it becomes unacceptable to customers. Juan seemed like a smart guy, so I’m not questioning his business tactics. On the contrary, taking his lead and discovering the right price for your products or services is always a good idea.

Thanks for visiting Cuppa SEO! If you’re ever on 43rd St. and 9th Avenue in New York, be sure to stop by Juan’s Food Cart for breakfast.

The post My Family Road Trip & the Analog User Experience, Part 4: Juan’s Food Cart appeared first on Cuppa SEO.

On the first leg of our road trip home from New York, we got hungry in Ohio.

And although one of Cuppa SEO’s web designers knows Ohio like the back of his hand (he’s from there), we had no idea where to eat. But with the help of a Google search, wefound a Dunkin’ Donuts and a Waffle House in close proximity to each other.

Figuring the food might be a little healthier, we chose the Waffle House. And although it was an interesting analog user experience (AUX), it was not a pleasant one.

Upon arriving at the parking lot, everything seemed fine … until we entered the restaurant, which was freezing! It literally must have been between 30-40 degrees inside.

We spoke with the waitress about it, and she explained that during the employee orientation process she learned that the directive from leadership was to “get people in and out in 20 minutes or less,” because they “didn’t want people getting comfortable and hanging around.” And since employees aren’t allowed to adjust the temperature, many of them wear three layers of clothing to work each day.

Other things that made this a poor analog user experience included the fact that they got my younger son’s order wrong, and the incessant chatter from the wait staff about their personal lives for all patrons to hear.

What’s interesting is the leadership team also felt it was important to post the sign you see above, “Welcome to the Waffle House Experience,” which states their goal is to deliver a great experience where everyone is treated with “courtesy, fairness and respect.” Maybe their customer demographic is penguins?

The philosophy on the Waffle House collateral told a very different story than the actual customer experience of both the internal and external customer.

How this Relates to Your Website & Your Business Overall

The worst part of our experience wasn’t the cold, but the fact that the Waffle House made it all about them.

It wasn’t about the customer experience, the best crispy bacon in town or the waitress that gave just the right amount of attention. It was a transaction, one which had no meaning other than monetary gain.

It was all about volume. Making the most profit possible, which was so prevalent that there was a purposeful desire to cause discomfort by “freezing out” the customers.

To avoid giving customers a “Waffle House Experience,” it’s important for all of us to ask the following questions about our website AND our in-person interactions …

• Is my website about my customer, or is it about me? If it’s not customer facing, it needs to change.
• Are we addressing customer pain points and needs, or telling them how great we are?
• Are we showing customers how our product or service can be a benefit to them? Or are we just asking them to buy?
• What can I do to make it so people want to hang around longer on my website? Do I have a single, clear call to action for them to follow on each page? Is the content on my pages, and on my blog, chock-full of relevant information that’s actually helpful?
• Are we developing relationships with customers?
• And to the above point, are my employees following a customer-centric philosophy, or are they me-centric? Commission structures make it very difficult for employees to look at a customer as a whole person, as opposed to a sale. One of the greatest customer-facing philosophies I’ve ever seen, and been a part of, was at Apple. Why? Because when a customer entered an Apple store, it was never about how much you could sell — it was about understanding who they were, what they needed and then offering the very best solution possible. 

Whether your business is trying to make its $50 million annual revenue quota, or simply trying to make sure there’s enough income to pay the bills and your team, it can be very easy to start perceiving people as things that need to be moved through a funnel.

And although the funnel analogy is excellent for analyzing your processes, once people are no longer looked at as individuals, your company runs the risk of becoming me-centric. Avoid this narcissistic trap by always making it about your customer. They’ll appreciate it, they’ll tell their friends and colleagues — and most importantly they’ll never freeze their butts off in your office or retail store!

The post My Family Road Trip & the Analog User Experience, Part 3: The Waffle House appeared first on Cuppa SEO.