“Friction-less” customer experience

Friction and the Consumer Experience

A great article written by Michael Hyatt, who is the president and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. He talks about how friction reduces the opportunity companies have to quick-sell to their customers.

His theory was put to the test to me today when I was searching for a photographer for my upcoming graduation photo-taking. Initially, I thought of going with Werkz Photography since I got the gown from them and they  offered a rather affordable package.

I wasn’t so convinced I was getting the best quote so I decided to get in touch with Vincent, whom we use quite a bit at work, for another  quote. He not only gave me a good quote, but he made it easy for me to go down and actually give him business. Apparently, he was already full on for Saturday when I called him to book an appointment. He suggested Sunday but because I’ve got church and we’ve got other appointments in the afternoon, it didn’t quite work out. I told him I would think about it but 10 minutes after I put down the phone on him, he called back to say that he had given his Saturday morning job to a colleague and he would take me on.

For his effort, I’m taking him and cancelling my reservation with Werkz. On top of that, I’m adding another set of photographs that I want to take. I’ve also seen his work and like it.

Simple, easy and I love it that he made an effort to accommodate my schedule.

Translating that to my own work, what kind of processes can I change or improve so that my “internal” and “external” customers experience the least “friction” when I “sell” them a “product”?