I love books. They are full of knowledge and inspiring. Still, some books just have it coming to them. You know the type –depressing and with horrible sad endings. What could make them better? Customer experience, of course (and, sadly, some internet using ability)!
The Merchant of Venice
When the merchant asks for a pound of flesh, it is not a nice moment. What if the whole moment could be averted? What if the merchant had a website, through which he could get in touch with his customers? There would be no need for a pound of flesh! Everything would be much more organized, and Shylock would never have met the Antonio. Why let politics inside the business if there is no need to?
Jane Eyre
I love Jane. She was a feminist before it was even a word. She was clever, and most of all, she was a warrior. Still, she fought battles that she could have avoided. What if everyone who went to get married, would be checked? If only she knew Mr. Rochester’s secret from the beginning, the whole horrible fire could be avoided. The English church should have had a website database for here to check through marriage records and discover whether her husband is already married or not.
Sherlock Holmes
The best thing about Sherlock, is his wide knowledge. He can read any situation and any person. Still, when he is sometimes wrong, it is because of his lack of experience. If only there could be, like in a TV show I saw once, a Sherlock Holmes today? One that could use the internet and had all that information at his disposal? If only the 19th century world had the customer experience we have today, perhaps Holmes would have known what was Moriarty about to do!
Pride and Prejudice
Oh, the pride, Oh, the prejudice. Dear Elizabeth Bennet did not know what was going to happen to her. If only she knew Darcy was going to propose! Actually, some CX skills could have simply improved that: a matching site, a good application or even a social network with decent customer experience, could have solved the problem. Darcy would have an easier time flirting and chatting with Elizabeth on a well-functioning dating platform.
Tips for good CX before 1995
- Have a website
- Have electricity and computers, to be able to enter those websites
- Use your language correctly – it’s the 1800, your grammar is different and people leave sites when they cannot understand the writing (for example, if you write color in the Pride and Prejudice site, and not “colour”!)
- Adjust the colors to the culture – a color that is not appropriate in the native culture a person comes from, can make customers run away
- Have your website tested monthly, so you can be sure it’s functioning and understandable to all users
- Have your URL address easy to remember – if your book is Pride and Prejudice, you would like the site to be much easier to use – PAP, for example
- Don’t focus on the negative – and if you do, make it fascinating. Customers usually tend to like positive and not negative sites, and if they already go all the way to the 21th century to buy computers and internet, at least make it easier on them by making the negative things interesting.
- Use gold and silver trimming – the 18th and 19th century users love those kinds of decorations on their sites