Why Does Every Touch Point Matter?
It is one of those simple things that so many of us do badly. Unfortunately, people underestimate/do not prioritise the importance of a good “touch point”. Wait… what even is a touch point?
To me personally a “touch point” is any interaction/point of contact that you have with an individual or group. This could be through verbal or written communication, along with: body language, how you present yourself etc.
Every single one of us goes through hundreds of touch points per day. With advances in technology we can communicate pretty much any time, anywhere and to almost anyone – although there is nothing wrong with a face to face conversation! Have a little think, what are some of the touch points that you have gone through today?
I guarantee you’ll have…
1. Had a touch point with someone whilst having your morning coffee/any meals
2. Had a touch point with someone who you either report into or reports into you
3. Had a touch point with someone whilst using your mobile
Touch points don’t just happen at work, they can also happen in our personal lives as well, whether it be you texting your partner asking what’s for tea or getting the dreaded 3 o’clock “you coming to the pub” message off a friend on a Friday! Both are examples of touch points that we can go through but why do touch points matter and why on earth have I wrote a blog about it?
Why touch points matter?
Every single time you go through a touch point with someone it affects the relationship. For example, if you turn up to a client meeting not prepared/drunk, what sort of impression does that give?
For me personally I see everyone as having their own personal brand, just like a business has a brand image – in the most simplistic terms… we’ve all at some point bought a good/service off a business. During that sales process you will have gone through a number of touch points and every single one will have affected how you view that brand. For example: if you were able to buy what you needed quickly and efficiently with no hassle, you’re likely to be happy and view that organisation with a positive mindset/may refer to a friend. Whereas, if every single item was sold out on the website, you may start to ask questions and build a negative association with that business. It’s just the same with humans, we all go through touch points, give yourself a strong personal brand.
Benefits of Good Touch Points in Business Terms:
Better Communication – You’ll find that you have a better understanding of your business, are more trustworthy and will naturally be more engaged
Developed Network – If people generally enjoy working with you or even just speaking to you across multiple touch points, it may gain you access to a broad network of opportunities
Better Relationships – Similar to the point above your relationships internally and externally will improve
Personal Wellbeing – We’re at work too long to not enjoy it, if every touch point that you go through has a positive impact, then your mental wellbeing will increase
Improved Brand – As eluded to earlier in the blog, your personal brand and organisations brand image will improve, increasing your chances of attracting or retention of customers, employees, candidates etc
Examples of Touch Points In the HR?
Recruitment Process:
o Stakeholders often underestimate the importance of a good recruitment process and how touch points can affect an organisations brand image
o E.g. many organisations send a generic reply or don’t even respond to certain candidates, this person could go on to be a potential future client – why risk not winning business for the sake of a 2-minute call/email?
Onboarding Process:
o Again, done badly by many organisations. How did you find the onboarding process when you joined your company?
o After recruitment, this is the next phase employees will go through – all of this builds up a picture an organisations people, processes and their ability to utilise digital solutions – sometimes good, sometimes bad!
o E.g. turning up on your first day with no laptop, no work phone, your email is “being set up” and then a half hearted scripted induction which sucks the life out of you
Employee Engagement Strategy:
o For anybody who believes that technology or process is more important than an organisations people, then I’d like you to give me 3 good reasons as to how… PEOPLE MAKE A BUSINESS – TECHNOLOGY AND PROCESS ARE ENABLERS
o If an organisation invests into an employee engagement strategy that “gives employees a voice”, makes them feel valued and improves trust/communication then that can only be a good thing
o E.g. regular touch points through a survey that captures feedback from employees, which can be used to guide the leadership team’s priorities and actions can only improve employee experience for an organisations people
For me personally I have a number of key internal and external touch points. E.g. interaction with internal stakeholders and touch points with clients. The one thing I have learnt over the last couple of years is that no matter how I am feeling, ensure that I do not dent that personal brand image – make the right call on a situation by situation basis.
To conclude I ask that you all please think about every single touch point you go through with someone and how would you feel if you were on the receiving end. I’ve noted some points below on potential touch points that you could improve?
· Email communication with stakeholders
· Body language during meetings
· Use of corporate jargon
· Use of multiple tools to communicate e.g. email, LinkedIn, phone call etc
The biggest question is…
What can you do to improve your touch points that will have an impact on your personal AND/OR organisations brand?
As always it would be great if people could comment/like. At the same time appreciate that I am yet to be introduced to many of my connections so please do feel free to reach out.
Harry Wright
Client Relationship and Delivery Consultant
Rencai Group
