This is a guest post from Jeanne Bliss — customer experience expert and author of “I Love You More Than My Dog.” See the original post this is adapted from and more like it on her blog.

Many companies try to copy the actions that result from beloved companies’ decisions. The fact of the matter is decisions that earn customer love are not easily reached. To achieve the same impact, what enabled the decision must exist. You must get beyond the decision itself and possess what lies beneath it.

  • What is the intent at the core of the decision?
  • What motivated leaders and employees to make their decisions?

It’s the intent (the “what”) and the motivation (the “why”) behind decisions that bond people with companies.

When your intent (what you want to accomplish) and your motivation (the reason why you make your decision) are driven by your awareness of and empathy for the people impacted by your decisions, the outcomes will set you apart. The humanity and empathy of your decisions will connect you emotionally with customers. And those customers will grow your business by telling the story of their experiences to everyone they know.

In uncovering intention and motivation, what becomes clear is that beloved companies defy traditional practices and resist restricting customers and employees with a set of rules and regulations.

With each shipment you make, with each call, with each customer contact, decide what you want your customers to get from you. Decide how you want them to describe you. Choose what story you want them to tell about your products and services. Making it happen begins with how you make decisions. It’s about the intent and motivation that guide them. Are you ready?

Jeanne Bliss

About Jeanne Bliss

As “Chief Customer Officer” for Lands’ End, Mazda, Coldwell Banker, Allstate, and Microsoft, Jeanne got “customer” on the strategic agenda, earned 98% loyalty rates, and changed experiences across 50,000-person operations. Jeanne now runs CustomerBliss to create an actionable path for profitability and business growth -- through earning customer and employee raves. Her best-selling books are Chief Customer Officer and I Love You More than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive

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