In today’s “experience economy,” perhaps the most important aspect is the connection you have with your customers. In today’s episode, Scott reminds us we should make our customers the star of our organization’s “show” — and gives three specific ways we can make that happen.

You can’t be distinctive unless you’re delivering an Ultimate Customer Experience ® to those who are doing business with you.  In today’s PROJECT DISTINCT, recorded from Hong Kong, Scott McKain (whose company owns the Federally registered trademark on the term “Ultimate Customer Experience”) reveals the initial steps required to get started. It’s an important topic for every professional because it gets you closer to your customer so you can enhance retention and referrals. A vital message is waiting for you in today’s episode!

Creating a “customer journey map” is all the rage among customer experience professionals. And, whether you work for a large organization — or you’re a solopreneur working out of a back bedroom — you need to work on enhancing the experience that your customer has at every touchpoint with you.  However, there is a singular problem with this approach that goes against the grain of the relationships we desire with our clients — and that’s the topic of today’s episode. Scott McKain will reveal the basic problem that’s wrong with the customer journey map.

When Scott McKain and friends visited a winery in Hunter Valley, Australia, they were denied the chance to sample one of the wines on the vineyard’s menu because they were told, “We aren’t tasting reds today.” As they left without purchasing any of the wines they were selling, Scott was reminded of the great customer service story from Bob Farrell of the old Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours: “Give ’em the pickle!” That powerful story is at the center of today’s episode of Project Distinct.

The statistic caught Scott McKain’s eyes: “53% of sales professionals had not been to any type of sales training for five years!” In today’s Project Distinct, Scott looks at the importance of sales training — and how it has to change in the rapidly evolving world of selling. The movement from subscription to transaction means that sales professionals need training more than ever before. Yet, few look for what they really need — and scant organizations provide it. Today is a controversial and compelling edition of Project Distinct!

Is it really better to be different? Scott McKain says, “Maybe not.” The distinctive professional or organization finds unique approaches that creates more traction and higher engagement with customers.  So, where do you find the best ideas on how you accomplish that difficult task? On today’s Project Distinct, Scott reveals that — as counterintuitive as it sounds — the way to be distinctive is to be derivative…and he shows you how.

For today’s Project Distinct, Scott McKain researched several resources looking for the answer to the question: “What is the single most important skill required to deliver excellent customer service?” While many experts offered complex answers, today’s episode will reveal one from a post on CustomerThink.com that captured the essence of service and the one skill that will never fail to enhance any touchpoint with a customer. Do you have it — use it — and provide to your customers?