A WOW customer transaction means...

Demonstrating all the behaviors that meet the basic product and service needs, transactional needs and emotional needs of your customers so that your organization can efficiently exceed all of its goals.

OK.... so, let's break that down and really understand what that means.

I'll use an example of visiting the grocery store. When I go to the grocery store and put my milk, bread and eggs on the counter in order for the clerk to ring up my order, the behaviors she needs to demonstrate in order for me to walk out the door with my order is to:

Know how to use the cash register

Have the math skills to count my change

Know how to open the bag and put my grocery in the bag

I can get those behaviors at any grocery store!! But now let's move to my transactional needs as a customer. Transactional needs enable me to feel that the employees are efficient, reliable, and confident with doing business with me. If I think to myself, she's not efficient, she's not reliable or she's not paying attention to me- I am observing behaviors that do not meet my transactional needs. Some of those behaviors would be:

Filing her nails

Talking on the phone with friends

Sorting her coupons

Counting her change

When they demonstrate those behaviors while I am standing at the register- my transactional needs are not met and I am NOT happy!

Now- let's review the emotional needs of our customers. Our customers have a need to feel respected, guided, appreciated and cared for when they bring you their business. If I get up to the register and I don't feel respected, guided, appreciated or cared for it's probably because of these behaviors:

The clerk did not make eye contact with me

The clerk did not smile

The clerk did not ask me how I was doing or if I found everything ok

Then she did not thank me for my business or tell me to have a good day.

But- if she DID demonstrate those behaviors- I would have had my emotional needs met.

The most important thing to remember when defining WOW is:

Employees' behaviors create Customer feelings and Customer feelings drive them to actions that positively or negatively impact our business.

In order to create WOW you must analyze all the behaviors that your employees are doing. Then you must relate how those behaviors make your customers feel. Then, because of those feelings- you will be able to determine the actions that your customers will do.

When customers feel that you are efficient, reliable and confident in your business then they will come back to see you, they will tell their friends and they will give you more of their business. If they don't feel that you care about them, they feel that you are rude or inconsiderate they will file complaints, inform the media and boycott your business.

In your quest for WOW- observe your employees behaviors. Relate those behaviors to how your customers feel and then compare those feelings to your results. Do you have complaints, low sales, low customer satisfaction surveys? These are not WOW results and therefore your business is not living up to its potential.