Good customer education is a hallmark of a trustworthy business. This year at KnowledgeFest Las Vegas, JC Audio won the Best Customer Experience award. Owner Jeff Cantrell said improving customer experience and raising awareness of the shop’s services and categories is a process that never ends. With an eye toward continual improvement, a business can only get better. Customer education goes hand-in-hand with sales techniques, and many strategies are similar across numerous fields.

This past week, while getting estimates to build a fence on my property, I interacted with two companies: One did a quick measurement and gave me an estimate without any additional information or resources. The second gave me a thorough estimate, told me about different types of materials and fasteners, and handed me a sheet with extra information I could review at my leisure. Which company do you think I hired?

Bringing Compassion And Comprehension To Customer Experience

Last month’s KnowledgeFest Fort Worth was a small show, but well-worth it in terms of educational opportunities. Attendees enjoyed hearing from Gene Cella of Jazz Audio, who shared his experience with television’s “The Fixer.” You can read more about it in this month’s What’s Happening feature. Improving any business always comes down to customer experience—after all, without customers, what’s the point?

Sometimes people clam up around a salesperson. Making clients comfortable involves being transparent about cost and information, and demonstrating a level of expertise.

I’ve got a lot of work to do around my house, and it’s been difficult finding the right people to help me. I thought of JC Audio while interacting with a representative from a home repair and renovation company. I told the rep about Mobile Electronics magazine and our industry, and we had a brief side conversation about sales. He said compassion is an essential element of working in sales, and he also mentioned the importance of comprehension when explaining things to a customer: “Comprehension matters.” We know there’s a balance, too—especially when we talk about being overly technical when it comes to car electronics...and then watching the client’s eyes glaze over.

Even with clear displays and signage, though, JC Audio still had difficulty making sure clients knew what they could do. Cantrell wasn’t quite sure if people truly didn’t know about some of the available offerings, or if it was just an excuse. Perhaps they didn’t trust it, or felt they could get a better deal elsewhere. The team at JC Audio, as in many shops, asks, “What can we do better?”

All We Can Do Is Keep Working On Ourselves

The message remains the same. Nothing ever stops changing, and we can’t control it, so here’s what we can do in the face of daily challenges: Educate ourselves. For those businesses that have yet to attend an industry event, make your plans. Trade shows, networking and education are paramount to continuing evolution. No matter how good we are at what we do, we can always do better. Additionally, many 12-volt shops have found that by pursuing the Industry Awards, they learned more about themselves and came up with ideas on improving their businesses— even if they didn’t win or even make the list. When you deal with a company or a salesperson, regardless of the industry, what kind of experience are you looking for as a customer? That’s the kind of energy and service you should bring to your shop.

No matter how good we are at what we do, we can always do better.