Nick J. Kyte: 5 Ways To Create a Wow! Customer Experience
Follow through on what you say you will do.
Doing what you said you’ll do is the most basic principle of customer service…yet it’s still often overlooked as a top priority. Delivering what you promised starts with making your promises/mission clear. If your terms are a little vague or difficult to understand, customers might not get what they were hoping to from their experience with you. A strong and direct Mission Statement is your foundation and should not be overlooked.
As part of my series about the five things a business should do to create a Wow! customer experience, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick J Kyte.
Nick J. Kyte is an internationally quoted expert on all aspects of real estate and real estate investing in Canada, with a particular focus on the luxury market. Nick has established himself as a skilled top producer with experience in providing global exposure, tailored marketing and pricing strategies, exceptional consultations and negotiations. In the competitive Ottawa real estate market, Nick is renowned among colleagues and clients alike for his integrity, loyalty and offering the highest in quality representation, professionalism and a 93% referral rate. Certifications including the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and Smart Home Certifications. Nick connects clients to qualified domestic and international buyers and an active luxury branding community.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I’ve been in real estate for 8 years and just love the business. It matches my sense of creativity and drive, to protect and help my clients buy and sell real estate. I’m born and raised in the Nation’s Capital of Ottawa and is where I reside with my wife Lisa and our daughter Audrina. Prior to that, I worked for a local Hospital and the Federal Government of Canada, in Human Resources.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
When I first started in real estate, faxing of documents was standard, so I sent an offer to the listing agent with the fax # listed. I was so excited, that I didn’t press send, called the agent 10 mins later to confirm receipt of offer and agent said they never got it. I was certain I sent it, so the agent checked again and nothing. I went back to the office, found the paperwork, as I left it and pressed ‘send’.
Lesson learned — concentrate on the task in hand, prior to moving on!!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
It would be my Mother. Leaving a well paying position that had benefits and pension, was no easy feet. My Mother, whom is a retired Teacher, was my sounding board and relied on her wisdom to go after what I’m most passionate about, which is real estate.
Thank you for that. Let’s now pivot to the main focus of our interview. This might be intuitive, but I think it’s helpful to specifically articulate it. In your words, can you share a few reasons why great customer service and a great customer experience is essential for success in business?
We have all had times either in a store, or online, when we’ve had a very poor experience as a customer or user. If the importance of a good customer experience is so intuitive, and apparent, where is the disconnect? How is it that so many companies do not make this a priority?
I believe, that many companies overthink, client service by trying to come up with new ways that are just not required. Keeping it simple and direct, in forms of the process and how you provide the ‘experience’ for your clients doesn’t have to be flashy, just meaningful and consistent, in approach.
Do you think that more competition helps force companies to improve the customer experience they offer? Are there other external pressures that can force a company to improve the customer experience?
100% agree. Whatever, the reason is that focuses a company/business on their client’s experience, is vital and a lot of the time it comes from seeing a competitor, doing better or succeeding by sheer support from clients. The most important feedback is that of the clients, so this would be the baseline to obtain and take the pros/cons etc and see how to improve the overall client experience, before they go elsewhere.
Can you share with us a story from your experience about a customer who was “Wowed” by the experience you provided?
I’m lucky to have many and grateful for my clients. I had a family that was selling their father’s building, after he had passed. This building provided for the family for over 35+ years, and there was a lot of emotion attached to the sale. It sold for more than they expected and the mother/wife who had signing authority, gave me a huge kiss and said you took great care of us and my husband would be so proud. We’re forever grateful. It touched my heart and continues to today.
Did that Wow! experience have any long term ripple effects? Can you share the story?
Yes, the family has referred and used my services, multiple times. They have become a huge advocater of mine, in my referral based business, and this is purely out of the goodness of their hearts and wanting others to experience what they did during a very difficult time in their lives.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a founder or CEO should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience. Please share a story or an example for each.
1. Follow through on what you say you will do.
Doing what you said you’ll do is the most basic principle of customer service…yet it’s still often overlooked as a top priority. Delivering what you promised starts with making your promises/mission clear. If your terms are a little vague or difficult to understand, customers might not get what they were hoping to from their experience with you. A strong and direct Mission Statement is your foundation and should not be overlooked.
2. Say ‘Thank you’ by sending a hand written note to your client.
One of the most powerful phrases in any language is ‘thank you’. And yet, how often have you received a personal thank-you from a business? I’m not talking about the standard reply after a purchase. Sending an automated email when someone buys a product or service is generally expected. However, a personalized note simply to expresses gratitude for their patronage will go a long way in reaffirming your clients decision to use and refer your business to family and friends.
3. Call to confirm hand written note received and reinforce your gratitude for their business.
When was the last time a company gave you a call to see if you received their card in the mail? Even if a voice message is left, as you’re too busy to answer the phone, goes a long way in the client’s eyes. The stacking affect is key, going even further than a personalized note, a phone call shows that you genuinely care enough about your client’s experience. It’s usually completely unexpected. This is also an excellent opportunity to get valuable feedback from your client and reaffirm your appreciation for their business
4. Send e-mail, as follow-up to offer assistance with any questions, concerns or feedback, they have about their experience and say Thank you.
Especially, if a voice mail was left and further to the brief discussion with the client, asking for feedback or seeking any concerns they have is vital and can then be incorporated into further improvements in your overall client experience. That’s all priceless information you can use in future interactions with them. They’ll be wowed by the attention to detail and genuine concern about their experience.
5. Follow-up on concerns, feedback and advise how it will be reviewed, so they feel their time spent offering feedback was justified. Start back at Step One!!
When you immediately act on their feedback and let all your clients know what you’ve done to make their experience easier to understand, you create a ‘wow’ moment. You can follow-up by one or all of the following: a call, e-mail, hand written note, to show your gratitude for improving your client experience because of the time they spent in offering their feedback. Again, nothing is more important than time, and all these easy to implement steps will create the ‘wow’ client experience in your business.
Are there a few things that can be done so that when a customer or client has a Wow! experience, they inspire others to reach out to you as well?
Allowing a client the opportunity to share their experience, is the single most impactful way to communicate to the world your client experience. Whether it is written, on video or shared via telephone, the client has taken the time to share their experience, so others can see/hear it, which the value add is limitless.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
It would be that everyone has someone that they can rely on or reach out to, in good and bad times, to listen. So many do not have this, which I’m very fortunate to have and would like to see others given the same support.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Look for me @NickJKyte on all platforms and via website NickKyte.com
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
