William J. Cusick - All Customers Are Irrational

F irst, let me clear something up. Weve all seen what we think are truly irrational customers. Its the guy at the front of the line at the fast food joint yelling at the teenager working the counter because he asked for no onions on his sandwich. Or the woman in the shoe store screaming at a wincing salesperson simply because the size she needs is not in stock.

Thats not what were talking about in this book.

While stories about crazy, zany customers are entertaining, they dont make for a particularly useful business book. They dont tell you how you can improve your own business. Instead, were discussing all customers, including you and me, and how we all think about and act in the world around us. What weve learned over the last few years is that we are all, in fact, irrational. And irrational isnt all that bad. In fact, it could be the key to a better business for you.

Based on a wealth of research and some surprising new insights into how our brains work (and how they dont work), its now clear that companies have been approaching customer service and retention the wrong way. Those who understand this and embrace new methods of attracting and keeping customers have an opportunity to create a game-changing customer relationship, one that could have an exponential impact on their profits.

While companies have traditionally taken a logical approach to gathering information about their customers, and have made logical assumptions about what their customers want and how they might actand then have tried to fulfill those customer expectationsthe reality is that customers dont really know what they want, and cannot predict (or tell you) what they will do anyway.

Im a business person (I have a law degree too, but dont hold it against me). I help companies become more profitable. I do this by showing them the light regarding the value of their customer relationships and customer experience. For the last twenty-three years Ive been involved, in some capacity, in customer experience issues, and through that experience Ive seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of how companies attract and manage their customers. One thing Ive found is that, what many companies see as best practice regarding customer research, product design, service, and processes was more the result of custom or perhaps even ignorance, than insight. And that led me to move beyond the traditional business disciplines to more fundamental questions about how the brain works.

So in this book well look at recent research, and well delve into neuroscience and behavioral psychology. But, unlike some of the brilliant authors in this area of inquiry, such as Dan Ariely, Daniel Dennett, and Timothy Wilson, who are much smarter about these things, were not going to focus on simply the idea of an irrational subconscious, or how we really absorb and process information. Its interesting stuff, to be sure, and Im fascinated by it. But my concern is how these findings re late to your business generally and to your customer behavior specifically. How do you take this new information about how your customers think and transform your business research, products, services, and processes to maximize desired customer behavior?

There was a hot dog place in my hometown called Little Louies. Id stop there as I was biking home, sweaty and sluggish, from my summer job as a caddy at a local country club. Little Louies sat, slouched really, next to the village green in the center of our suburban town, just north of Chicago. To grab a shake or a hot dog, you would open the squeaky wooden screen door and stand in the un-air-conditioned heat of the claustrophobic storefront. Little Louies was always crowded, hot, and noisy. A group of anxious customers, jockeying for position in front of an old wooden counter, faced forward with mouths open and eyebrows up, trying to catch the attention of either Ed, one of the founders, or Louie himself. There was no line, but more of a mosh pit; it was up to you as the customer to compete with others to get noticed.

The walls were hidden under dozens of paper plates, each listing a scrawled, faded menu itemsome still available, some not. Tacked among the paper plates were assorted autographed black-and-white photos of unknown vintage, many showing older Chicago sports figures like former Blackhawks, Cubs, and Bears, smiling with Ed or Louie.

You! The shout was always shocking. If you werent paying attention, you could get passed over in a micro-second when Louie yelled and pointed at your gape-jawed, confused, 14-year-old carcass.

Hot dog, no peppers, and a chocolate shake, Id mumble.

Speak up! hed scream over the din. Id repeat, louder, a nervous adolescent squeak in my voice. Occasionally, youd hear a first-timer, usually a guy in a suit, ask for ketchup on his dog, and the customers would all shut up and stare, waiting. Ketchup? Louie would start. What are you talking about? You dont put ketchup on a hot dog! (Hint: When in the Chicago area, you traditionally dont put ketchup on a hot dog. Yellow mustard, a kind of neon green relish, and sweet and/or hot peppers, maybe some sauerkraut, though thats more for a Polish, but not ketchup.)

Banging out the screen door toward the shade of the park across the street, sipping on my shake in its misbranded cup (Louies never printed its own cups; they just bought overruns), grasping the crumbled plain brown bag with the dark grease stain spreading along the bottom (from the fries dumped inside, which you didnt order, you just got), I was a happy camper.