Many people interested in the work that goes on in the customer service or sales teams of large companies are familiar with the term ‘moment of truth’, but much of the population is unaware of what it is.
In a nutshell, moments of truth are identified as the moments when a customer or user first contacts customer service. At this moment, the customer will have an interaction that will generate opinions and feelings about the company, its quality and his or her expectations of it.
What does this mean? It has been proven that this ‘first impression’ is of vital importance to convert the contact into a sale.
If the user’s experience is positive, he will probably feel much more inclined to buy or hire something from the company; if, on the contrary, he has had a bad taste in his mouth, no matter how interested or necessary the service is for him, he is likely to look for other options.
The customer just wants to solve his need
When it comes to creating that ‘moment of truth’, companies must be very clear about one thing: the customer, in the end, does not care whether it is a large, medium or small company, with an R&D&I department or with traditional processes: what they want is to provide a solution to a demand or need.
Therefore, it is useless to overwhelm the user with great data, excellent slogans or luxurious and beautiful reception areas if the reality is that they are going to go home with the feeling that nobody has helped them.
It is important to focus all efforts on providing the best customer service in this first communication. Later, experts say, the time will come to unleash all the artillery about the company’s excellences and achievements, but the first moment should be entirely dedicated to the customer: that they feel listened to, that they find options, that they feel accompanied.
It’s not just the human touch
It is important to highlight something about the ‘moments of truth’ and that is that they are not only related to the human attention received: having a messy website, a building that is difficult to find, a toll-free number or anything else that affects the customer in this first contact can generate a bad feeling and, therefore, make them lose confidence in the company.
Critical moment of truth
What happens when the customer is not satisfied with this first contact? Then what is known as the ‘critical moment of truth’ occurs. It is advisable to assess these cases, as they offer very clear clues as to what needs to be improved in the immediate future to avoid these cases happening again, losing customers and, consequently, money.
Customer service teams must be made aware that users will be continuously and unconsciously evaluating the company and its employees. Therefore, it is vitally important to take care of every detail, every attention, every response or request so that the user adds up positive moments of truth and wants to continue trusting the company.
Values such as empathy, transparency and communication are essential in this. This is something that is increasingly taken into account and that is reinforced, trained and improved with training, team building experiences and other types of actions that increasingly improve the customer service teams of companies. In this way, companies will add up to success and generate the future.
Try Efficy CRM
The most complete CRM
TRY NOW FOR FREE
Learn more about:
Increase Your Customer Retention with a CRM
Level Up Your Customer Service Skills
What are the best customer care tools and why?
Sitting an important exam. Attending a big job interview. Launching a new business.
These are the type of make-or-break events in our lives that we commonly call ‘moments of truth’. They’re situations where people are put to the test or have to make a key decision that could change the course of their future. Heavy stuff.
In marketing and customer service, the phrase ‘moment of truth’ has a similar meaning. It represents occasions where a customer’s interaction is so impactful that it alters their perception of the brand.
Moments of truth can forever change the relationship between a brand and its customer, for better or worse. That’s why it’s as exciting as it is important to recognise and spend some time to hone in on these pivotal interactions. Focusing on the “moments of truth” means spending your time (and budget) on the most valuable parts of your customer journey. You can focus more on the moments that truly matter.
So how do you spot a moment of truth? We’ll come to that. First, let’s dig a little deeper into when moments of truth occur.
The term ‘moment of truth’ was first coined in marketing by AG Lafley, former Chairman, President and CEO of Procter & Gamble (P&G).
In 2005, he claimed there were two moments of truth (with a third being added later by Pete Blackshaw – another P&G alumni):
- First moment of truth: When a customer first encounters a product or service. This is when marketers have the opportunity to convince the customer to buy their goods instead of another brand’s.
- Second moment of truth: Once a purchase is made and the customer discovers whether a product or service meets their expectations.
- Third moment of truth: The tipping point where a loyal customer becomes an active brand advocate.
A moment of truth in customer experience (CX) and customer service can have a slightly different interpretation, however.
For McKinsey & Co, it refers to any time when a person invests a “high amount of emotional energy” in the outcome of a brand interaction. This is where moments of truth become really valuable – in emotionally impactful customer interactions.
When emotions are running high, so are the stakes for brands. And genuine emotional connections are key to whether companies will sink or swim during moments of truth.
The value of moments of truth
Handled well, a moment of truth can foster loyalty and brand advocacy. Handled poorly, and a customer could be lost forever.
We’ve quoted this statistic before, but it’s worth repeating: one-third of consumers will walk away from a brand they love after just a single bad customer experience.
McKinsey & Co research shows similar consumer behaviour. Within the banking industry, for example, 15% of customers who had negative experiences during a moment of truth switched banks shortly after.
A further 20% stopped using a particular product at their main bank. And 23% began buying services from another provider, even if they stayed with their current one. Around 14% decreased the value of the products they purchased.
That’s 72% of customers who actively changed their relationship with their bank (to the bank’s detriment).
Meanwhile, a ‘positive’ moment of truth has the opposite effect. Nearly a third of people (29%) purchase another product from their bank, and a whopping 58% increase the value of the purchases they made with their current provider.
Only 13% did nothing after a great moment of truth experience.
The upshot is that moments of truth inspire customers to take action. What action they take (and the effect on a brand’s bottom line) depends on how they’re treated at those crossroads.
Finding moments of truth – and getting them right!
Not every interaction with a customer can be described as emotionally impactful.
Reporting a lost credit card, getting in touch about a cancelled flight or asking for investment advice. All are classic moments of truth where emotions are likely to be running high. Buying some new toilet cleaner? Not so much…
According to McKinsey, companies often make the mistake of focusing too much energy on humdrum transactions that, frankly, most customers aren’t emotionally invested in.
And even if brands know what to look for, they don’t always get their responses right.
So, what do consumers want? First and foremost, they want good advice. A third of respondents to a McKinsey survey said this was the primary hallmark of a positive moment of truth.
Proactive communication that’s appropriate to their needs (13%) is also important. As is caring, responsive frontline staff who understand their history (11%). Flexible employees with a knack for troubleshooting also ranked highly (10%).
On the other hand, frontline staff who simply stick to the script and offer advice that is not appropriate to the customer’s needs are the top reasons why moments of truth go wrong for businesses. In general, customers also say they don’t like a ‘hard sell’ approach.
The bottom line is that people want a friendly, empathetic and personalised service. And if they don’t get it, they’ll talk with their feet and walk away from a brand – possibly forever.
How can conversational AI help brands with their moments of truth?
We know that emotionally charged interactions are usually when moments of truth occur in CX. Having capable, knowledgeable and emotionally intelligent staff at hand to steer those interactions in the right direction is undoubtedly to any brand’s benefit.
But we don’t have to explain that today’s customers are more often online and out of the direct hands of customer service reps. Even when they are, customer service teams can’t be everywhere at once, 24 hours a day.
And while automated technologies like chatbots and virtual assistants can provide immediate support, are they equipped to handle emotionally charged, make-or-break interactions? After all, customer service AI isn’t well known for building strong emotional connections.
We believe digital humans can, however, do better. With the face, voice and personality of your brand, they offer human-like conversations that go beyond simple customer transactions.
Body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, local dialects, engaging dialogue and accents – they’re all parts of human interaction that make up engaging, emotionally charged experiences. Digital humans use all of these, too, to form a lasting connection with customers.
As a type of conversational AI, digital humans can look after a brand’s moments of truth, instead of leaving emotional connection to the bots. By showing a little warmth and support at the right times, it’s possible to provide a human experience even online and when real people aren’t available.
To discover more, you can read our article on what CX looks like in the age of AI. Or download our free ‘what are digital humans’ eBook for a deeper dive.
So, what moments of truth matter most to your customers – and how can you make sure their experiences in these moments are positive?