Dec. 4, 2020

The A-Ha Moment for Customers and Employees

In this episode of the #CX series, Ethan Beute, Chief Evangelist at BombBomb, explains the value and importance of understanding the a-ha moment related to your business and the problem you solve and shares a few specific examples. 

Listen to more CX conversations on Ethan's podcast, The Customer Experience Podcast by clicking through one of the following links to your favorite podcast player: 

Apple Podcasts 

Spotify 

Sticher 

Google Play 

Google Podcasts 

Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:11.530 the Ah ha moment. It's not quite the eureka moment, but it's still very, 2 00:00:11.530 --> 00:00:16.780 very powerful for each of us. Thesmokinggun is when a concept clicks. 3 00:00:16.790 --> 00:00:21.490 It's when something that you thought or expected is actually confirmed. But 4 00:00:21.490 --> 00:00:25.510 it's not just cognitive. It's often something you feel. It's that feeling 5 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:31.190 of being overcome with clarity or insight or understanding. It's a moment 6 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:38.600 of realization. The Ah ha moment is when you feel now I get it, and very 7 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:43.860 often it's the start of something good. My name is Ethan Butte, host of the 8 00:00:43.860 --> 00:00:49.020 customer experience podcast, host of the Sea, X Siris on B two, B Growth and 9 00:00:49.020 --> 00:00:54.110 chief evangelist at Bom Bom. And in this short episode, I'm going to share 10 00:00:54.110 --> 00:00:59.140 a few thoughts about discovering and supporting the ah ha moment in your 11 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:05.510 business as well as the Ah ha moment in hours that moment that people truly 12 00:01:05.510 --> 00:01:11.070 understand that simple, casual, conversational video messages in place 13 00:01:11.070 --> 00:01:15.820 of some of their typed out text is truly a different and better way to 14 00:01:15.820 --> 00:01:20.780 connect and communicate with people. So when we seek to improve our customer 15 00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:24.740 experience, one of the easiest things weaken Dio. If we don't have a C ex 16 00:01:24.740 --> 00:01:29.270 leader by title or position. If we don't have a C X team, one of the 17 00:01:29.270 --> 00:01:33.680 things we can do, no matter our seat within our organization, is identify 18 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:39.090 key moments along the customer journey and thinking of ways and implementing 19 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:44.460 processes that helped create memories or make impressions in those moments, 20 00:01:44.470 --> 00:01:50.370 things that our customers can feel, remember and even act on. We just 21 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:55.630 talked about this process on Episode 106 of the customer Experience podcast 22 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:59.820 with magician Jeff Caylor. He's dedicated his life to creating these 23 00:01:59.820 --> 00:02:04.170 little moments personally and professionally, for all kinds of people 24 00:02:04.170 --> 00:02:08.639 that he interacts with. And some of these moments can be ah ha moments. 25 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:12.080 People need to understand that they have a problem or that they have an 26 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:16.190 opportunity they need to understand. Perhaps your solution, the way you 27 00:02:16.190 --> 00:02:20.260 approach it. They need to understand your point of true differentiation. 28 00:02:20.260 --> 00:02:23.550 There's so many moments at which we want to create a memory or an 29 00:02:23.550 --> 00:02:27.800 impression for our customers. Talk to your successful customers. When did it 30 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:31.340 really click for them that they had a problem or an opportunity? Or when did 31 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:35.610 it click that you are the right team or right company or right product or right 32 00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:40.520 service or right person toe work with related to that problem or opportunity. 33 00:02:40.530 --> 00:02:45.000 When you're clear about some of the ah ha moments related to your business, 34 00:02:45.010 --> 00:02:49.220 you're in a better position to reinforce those. And when your 35 00:02:49.220 --> 00:02:53.780 customers experience them, it enhances their understanding and their 36 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:58.170 commitment. So for me and the team at Bom Bom, we're working to help people 37 00:02:58.170 --> 00:03:03.390 use casual, conversational, unscripted videos as they connect and communicate 38 00:03:03.390 --> 00:03:09.020 through email, text messages, slack messages and social messages. All these 39 00:03:09.020 --> 00:03:13.290 places where we're typically relying on plain black text on a plain white 40 00:03:13.290 --> 00:03:18.030 screen, intellectual thoughts pecked into a keyboard and sent to other 41 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:21.400 people, hoping that there's no misunderstanding, that there's no 42 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:26.010 miscommunication. And then they get the tone and intent of our message. Of 43 00:03:26.010 --> 00:03:30.800 course, video does that in a better way. We should all be using video messages 44 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:35.630 in place of some of our typed out text for clearer communication for human 45 00:03:35.630 --> 00:03:40.340 connection and for higher conversion. All those micro yeses and macro yes, is 46 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:45.770 that we need to support each other. Our team members are partners and suppliers 47 00:03:45.770 --> 00:03:50.660 and vendors. Of course, our customers and even people in our personal lives 48 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:57.810 Adopting video like adopting any new workflow process. Tool technology is a 49 00:03:57.810 --> 00:04:01.590 change. It can be challenging to get started with video. Of course, one of 50 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:05.280 the common hurdles is that people aren't comfortable. They don't like the 51 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.320 way they look or sound. They're not used to relinquishing control over 52 00:04:09.320 --> 00:04:13.970 their digital communication and just being who they are. It can feel like a 53 00:04:13.970 --> 00:04:17.579 very vulnerable position to be in, and people are uncomfortable with 54 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:21.769 vulnerability. So there's a lot I could teach here, including some of the best 55 00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:25.750 practices to get started. Cem Easy, Low threat ways toe work through this 56 00:04:25.750 --> 00:04:30.660 discomfort, but what I want to speak to specifically is the Ah ha moment, and 57 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:35.720 I'll characterize two versions off a personal video ah ha moment and then 58 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.970 provide a very specific and interesting insight that's related. Thio the 59 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:45.640 employee experience. I have personal relationships with hundreds of our 60 00:04:45.640 --> 00:04:49.390 customers, especially longtime customers, and I've had conversations 61 00:04:49.390 --> 00:04:55.050 of all kinds from casual too formal and these were the two main origin stories 62 00:04:55.050 --> 00:05:00.200 or ah ha moments of some of our best and longest customers. The first one is 63 00:05:00.200 --> 00:05:04.890 receiving a truly personal video when someone greets them by name in the 64 00:05:04.890 --> 00:05:08.130 little animated preview that we automatically created, someone clicks 65 00:05:08.130 --> 00:05:13.040 play on that and they're greeted by name. The person is specifically 66 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:17.290 addressing their needs or interests. If you haven't received one of these, it's 67 00:05:17.290 --> 00:05:21.080 a very novel feeling because we're so accustomed, of course, toe watching 68 00:05:21.080 --> 00:05:26.690 video in a variety of formats. But so infrequently, is it just for us as an 69 00:05:26.700 --> 00:05:30.940 individual human being? If you're a relationship oriented business 70 00:05:30.940 --> 00:05:34.940 professional and you receive one of these for the first time, you get that 71 00:05:34.950 --> 00:05:40.190 instant feeling and you immediately want to make someone else feel the same 72 00:05:40.190 --> 00:05:46.020 way. It all becomes clear that video is in fact, a different, more personal, 73 00:05:46.030 --> 00:05:51.190 more human way to reach out to people so receiving one, feeling it and 74 00:05:51.190 --> 00:05:55.070 wanting to create that for someone else. Theme, other type of ah ha moment or 75 00:05:55.070 --> 00:05:59.770 origin story is when you record and send your first few videos and you get 76 00:05:59.770 --> 00:06:05.950 that first reply back, something like best email ever or it was so great to 77 00:06:05.950 --> 00:06:10.080 see you or oh my gosh, thank you for taking the time to send me that video 78 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:14.670 by the way. You're often saving time by talking instead of typing. But this is 79 00:06:14.670 --> 00:06:17.940 that closed loop. You haven't necessarily experienced a personal 80 00:06:17.940 --> 00:06:22.760 video yourself. You've sent one. But your recipient is replying back to you 81 00:06:22.760 --> 00:06:27.490 with confirmation that this is in fact, a different and better way to reach out 82 00:06:27.490 --> 00:06:33.030 to people. So our team at Bom Bom has sent nearly half a million personal 1 83 00:06:33.030 --> 00:06:38.800 to 1 videos over the years. The exact number is something like 485,000, just 84 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:44.330 shy of a half million. That is a lot of videos, and we're not that big a team. 85 00:06:44.340 --> 00:06:48.300 We just use it very, very consistently. So something I did recently was I 86 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:53.490 reached out to team members of mine who have sent 1000 or more videos or for 87 00:06:53.490 --> 00:06:57.440 newer employees, people who are averaging three videos per day since 88 00:06:57.440 --> 00:07:01.460 their accounts been opened. And I asked a variety of questions, and one of them 89 00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:06.240 was about their personal ah ha moment. Of course, I received all kinds of 90 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.170 responses here, and they generally fit these two characterizations when I 91 00:07:10.170 --> 00:07:14.780 received one and I felt it and I wanted to make someone feel the same way or I 92 00:07:14.780 --> 00:07:18.920 sent one, and I got a reply back that immediately let me know that this was 93 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.780 different and better. But one version of the ah ha moment that I heard from 94 00:07:22.780 --> 00:07:27.140 several of our team members that I especially appreciated involved a 95 00:07:27.140 --> 00:07:31.490 member of our talent management team, an awesome guy named Matt Sow in. He's 96 00:07:31.490 --> 00:07:35.730 involved in our recruiting and hiring processes, and he uses video all the 97 00:07:35.730 --> 00:07:40.010 time in reaching out to candidates. So several of her team members 98 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:44.660 specifically mentioned him by name and talked about the hiring process itself. 99 00:07:44.940 --> 00:07:49.040 They had done some research on the company. They cognitively understood 100 00:07:49.050 --> 00:07:54.700 what we were doing and why. But they hadn't felt the difference. So in 101 00:07:54.700 --> 00:07:58.300 reaching out in those early stages, when Matt is reaching out to people, 102 00:07:58.300 --> 00:08:03.290 he's doing it so often with video. So of the 27 or 28 responses I've received 103 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:07.750 so far, five or six people specifically mentioned the hiring process, since 104 00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:11.830 several of them mentioned Matt by name as the moment that it all came together. 105 00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:17.300 This is different. This is better. This feels different. This is more personal. 106 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:23.260 This is more human. I feel seen and heard and understood and valued. It 107 00:08:23.260 --> 00:08:27.590 reminded me a lot of Episode 80 on the customer experience podcast with Gil 108 00:08:27.590 --> 00:08:32.809 Cohen. He's the founder of employees, experienced Design, and he specifically 109 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:38.919 had this amazing passage about creating raving fans from your potential hires, 110 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:43.220 even when they don't get the job. Now. He wasn't talking about video, but he 111 00:08:43.220 --> 00:08:47.770 was talking about being more human, centered in the recruiting and hiring 112 00:08:47.770 --> 00:08:51.870 process, so that even when you have to tell someone know they feel valued and 113 00:08:51.870 --> 00:08:57.230 appreciated. Certainly, video can help there. So a quick recap if you don't 114 00:08:57.230 --> 00:09:01.770 know the ah ha moments related to your business and the problem that you solve, 115 00:09:01.780 --> 00:09:04.910 reach out to some of your best customers and start to understand and 116 00:09:04.910 --> 00:09:08.540 then start thinking about ways that you can enhance and support it. Obviously, 117 00:09:08.540 --> 00:09:12.640 for us, we send a lot of personal videos to our prospects and our 118 00:09:12.640 --> 00:09:16.540 customers so that they can receive it and feel the difference and want to 119 00:09:16.540 --> 00:09:21.520 create it for other people. We work to get people to send their first 3 to 5 120 00:09:21.520 --> 00:09:26.480 videos, knowing full well that they will get at least one reply that lets 121 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.040 them know that It's a different and better way toe work. The episodes I've 122 00:09:30.040 --> 00:09:34.600 already mentioned here again Episode 106 of the customer experience Podcast 123 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:39.820 with magician Jeff Caylor about creating Magic Moments, an Episode 80 124 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:43.480 with Gil Cohen, founder of Employee Experience Design. He's got some great 125 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.650 tips on how to enhance employee experience. An employee engagement. Of 126 00:09:47.650 --> 00:09:52.220 course, that is a necessary precursor to a great customer experience. If 127 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:55.810 you're interested Maura about video, I've got a few more episodes you might 128 00:09:55.810 --> 00:10:02.830 want to check out. Episode 89 The four stages of Video Adoption Episode 77. 129 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:08.740 The Science of Video and the new Metric that Matters Most. An episode 52 3 130 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:16.650 Moments Where video belongs in your customer Journey 89 77 52. If you want 131 00:10:16.650 --> 00:10:20.840 to check out all those episodes and more, search the customer experience 132 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:25.130 podcast in your preferred player and while you're there, give a click to 133 00:10:25.130 --> 00:10:29.630 rate the show. If you're also motivated to leave a review, that's awesome. But 134 00:10:29.630 --> 00:10:33.350 a single click. It's so helpful to the show. And if you want to browse thes 135 00:10:33.350 --> 00:10:38.640 episodes, check out video clips and a whole lot more visit bomb bomb dot com 136 00:10:38.650 --> 00:10:45.840 slash podcast b o m b b o m b dot com slash podcast Again. My name is Ethan 137 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:49.790 Butte. I appreciate you listening to the customer experience podcast and the 138 00:10:49.790 --> 00:10:55.170 C X Siris on B two b growth. I do welcome your direct feedback. Email me 139 00:10:55.180 --> 00:11:00.420 Ethan E T H a n at bom bom dot com or hit me up on LinkedIn. Be sure to 140 00:11:00.420 --> 00:11:05.270 include a note with your connection request. Just search Ethan Butte E T H 141 00:11:05.270 --> 00:11:10.350 A N B E U T in LinkedIn Thanks again for listening. 142 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:16.410 Are you on Lincoln? That's a stupid question. Of course you're on LinkedIn 143 00:11:16.420 --> 00:11:20.930 here. Sweet fish. We've gone all in on the platform. Multiple people from our 144 00:11:20.930 --> 00:11:24.760 team are creating content there. Sometimes it's a funny gift for me. 145 00:11:24.770 --> 00:11:28.790 Other times it's a micro video or a slide deck, and sometimes it's just a 146 00:11:28.790 --> 00:11:32.870 regular old status update that shares their unique point of view on B two B 147 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:37.110 marketing leadership or their job function were posting this content 148 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:41.410 through their personal profile, not our company page, and it would warm my 149 00:11:41.410 --> 00:11:46.130 heart and soul if you connected with each of our evangelists, will be adding 150 00:11:46.130 --> 00:11:50.770 Mawr down the road. But for now, you should connect with Bill Reed, R C 00 151 00:11:50.780 --> 00:11:54.980 Kelsey Montgomery, our creative director. Dan Sanchez, our director of 152 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:59.320 audience growth. Logan Lyles, our director of partnerships. And me, James 153 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.910 Carberry. We're having a whole lot of fun on linked in pretty much every 154 00:12:02.910 --> 00:12:05.460 single day on. We'd love for you to be a part of it.