Need information from a customer? Always set expectations so they can have that information top-of-mind.
My boys and I went camping this past weekend. When we pulled up to the ranger station at the state park, the ranger told us to park and come into the office with our license plate number.
We dutifully parked and went into the office to pay our entrance fee. The ranger asked for our car’s license plate number and printed out a permit to put on our windshield.
Imagine if when we pulled up at first that the ranger hadn’t told us to bring in our license plate number. We would have parked the car, walked inside, waited in line, and then would have been frustrated that we hadn’t commited that number to memory.
By simply setting expectations of what would be needed later in the process, a lot of possible frustration was eliminated. Additionally, the rangers were able to more efficienly process visitors to the park.
When you look at your processes that require customers to provide some kind of information, think about how easily accessible that information is.
Is it something that people will know off the top of their head? Or is it something that needs to be retrieved and brought with them to your point-of-sale?
Consider the steps before a customer sees you and help ease the burden by preparing customers before the transaction.
A prepared customer is easier to process and will be more content with your service if they don’t have to retrace their steps or delay their purchase due to missing information.