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Spring Training: Start with Fundamentals
Author: Bill Cusick
April 6, 2010
Just got back from a few fun days in Arizona with my 12 year-old son for White Sox spring training. Super fun! Bright blue skies, bright green field and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s great to watch professionals up close as they go about the work of preparing for the season.
It struck me that, as these players – the very best in the world, making millions of dollars each year – work back into playing shape, it’s the simple things that they focus on. Each day you see them stretching, then lobbing the ball back and forth. They hit off a tee, then start swinging at softly pitched balls. It’s the stuff of little boys, and yet it’s for a very specific purpose. They understand that – even if you are one of the elite – you can’t walk into a real game situation and expect to hit a 90 mph slider, or throw a ball from deep left field to homeplate. Instead you start with the basics and work up to a high performance level.
So, I’m wondering, why do companies, when trying to improve performance (specifically around customer metrics), often over reach, spending thousands – even millions – on quick-fix solutions like CRM systems or training programs. Why not, instead, start with the little things. For instance, take some small steps aimed at improving employee engagement. Then incrementally increase the efforts to improve customer experience as you get your employees on board.
Major league players understand that trying to hit a home run in your first at bat of spring training will probably just lead to a pulled muscle and a stay on the disabled list. Businesses should realize the same thing.
Small things matter. And if they’re done right, the small things lead to big things.
New Orleans - The Ultimate Customer Experience?
Author: Bill Cusick
March 3, 2010
I just got back from three days on a business junket of sorts in the Big Easy. I’ve been to NOLA a few times and the after-effect is always the same: I need some sleep.
Retailers everywhere - from the big boxes to the corner mom and pop store - universally struggle to deliver a consistent experience that meets or exceeds the customers’ expectations. Yet I would argue that the little town at the end of the mighty Mississippi delivers just that to visitors. Despite dishing up a smorgasbord of services - from high-end cuisine, to loud, live music and tankards of cheap hurricanes (the drink not the weather phenonenom), to certain pay-to-play activities I won’t mention here - the city that almost drowned manages to do it in a consistent spirit and energy, leaving almost all its visitors happy and wanting more. Though one must leave after a few days to catch one’s breath, most will become repeat customers.
And isn’t customer retention the name of the game?
Yes, the city has challenges: Katrina struck a huge blow, the government is rarely in full working order, and there’s a might socio-economic disparity among locals.
So, why does it work? Why do people swear by this city? I think it’s about spirit, not mechanics. It’s not scripted, it’s not “Disney-fied.” For the most part, it’s still authentic. And people can taste that - not just in the food, and the drink, but in every aspect of the experience.
So what’s your “spirit?” If you don’t know, and if all you have are scripts and processes, you may be in trouble. Take a trip south and do some field work. Walk down Bourbon and then branch off. There’s something to learn down there.
It’s not what they say, it’s how they say it
Author: Bill Cusick
February 21, 2010
I was driving back from North Carolina yesterday with a friend of mine and we stopped in Indianapolis, winding through city streets to locate a brewpub we wanted to try. The place was great, and we each picked one (and of course, only one) draught to try.
Though it was 4:00 in the afternoon and less than half full, they put us at a tight table next to the kitchen. Curious, but we tried to overlook it, and just wandered over to another empty table. I noticed that everything the waitress said to us was perfectly civil, but both my friend and I perceived a barely concealed hostility. We went out of our way to be ready to order our sandwiches, and to politely say please and thank you (that’s just how we are). Yet at each interaction the waitress (who never introduced herself so I can’t give you her name) would say something like “great” or “sure” and then roll her eyes.
Not sure if this is an object lesson or I just wanted to get it off my chest. What we preach to clients is that everything matters - not just the words you use, but how you say things. Attitude is everything. And that means who you hire will determine what your customers think about you, not processes or scripts.
When Booking a Flight, Customers Must Confront the Airlines’ Extra Baggage
Author: Bill Cusick
February 1, 2010
A couple months ago, after yet another flight in which I had to plot just how I was going to get my carry-on bag into an overhead bin that was in the same zip code as my seat, I’d had enough. I told my wife that I was going to get “around the system” on my next trip. I would feign ignorance, and then, when my group (I seem to always be in Group 5), was going to finally board, I would request that they just check my wheelie at the gate. I’d noticed others doing the same on past flights.
When you think about it, it’s abeautiful plan: you wander on at your leisure; the airline throws a tag on you bag and it’s last into the plane’s belly (which means first out); and with most commuter flights, you simply wait a moments upon deplaning in the jetway, obtain your bag, and stroll away…all without paying an extra cent!
Well, apparently the airlines are on to my plan, since it seems it wasn’t just my plan. But given the growing frustration of harried travelers (and flight attendants), there’s got to be a better way. Surely the different airlines have the ability to look at this from the customer’s perspective, but the cost pressures override other considerations.
As for me, whether I have excess baggage or not, I check Southwest first. It’s the principle of the thing.
Are Frontline Processes Ruining Your Customer Experience?
Author: Bill Cusick
January 13, 2010
Without processes, it’s tough to run a business. Things fall through the cracks. So you create processes (or as you’ve probably seen, they create themselves).
But as you think for a minute about your customer processes, here’s the question you must ask yourself:
“Are our processes designed to empower good employees, or to control the damage of bad employees?”
Great customer service companies have processes. But, as a rule, those are typically designed to help their employees exceed customer expectations. They provide options and flexibility, they let great employees be great.
So take a look at your customer interactions. If it’s possible for employees to use processes as a crutch (”I’m sorry, sir. Our system doesn’t allow us to do that), you’re probably not a great customer service company.
The 4 Keys to a Successful Customer Strategy in 2010
Author: Bill Cusick
January 4, 2010
If you’re going to dedicate any time and brain power on a real CRM strategy in this fresh, new year, here are 4 questions you need to ask yourself. The answers will determine if you’re going to be successful, or just spinning your wheels:
1. Is It Integrated? - A CRM strategy that sits on its own shelf is destined to fail. Unless you can weave the elements of the strategy into your business plan, through the operations and budgets of your various business units, don’t bother. Silos suck, but you need to figure out ways to latch them together for the benefit of your customers. Integrate or die!
2. Is It Engaging? - Without employees who actually “get it,” and give a damn, you’re CRM strategy is so much dust in the wind. Employees will see the value in the mission, and figure out ways (on their own) to deliver the brand promise, or they won’t. And if the brand promise and CRM strategy aren’t compelling, you’re done before you started.
3. Is It Incremental? - Another reason employees often don’t embrace real change like a customer initiative is that is smells like the “flavor of the month,” especially when it’s touted as “The Year of the Customer” or “Corporate Paradigm Shift” or other such tripe. You need to prove it’s real. To make it feasible and not some sort of pipe dream, the plan for improvements must be incremental. Any large company can’t turn the boat on a dime. Accept it. As you stay focused and win small victories, you build credibility, and you win advocates.
4. Is It Measurable? - “That which gets measured gets done.” It’s now a cliche but it’s also true. Build discipline around customer behavior and results. Why wouldn’t you? Retention, cross-sales, referrals, average revenue per customer, customer lifetime value. They are the key to growth and profitability. And beware satisfaction measurements. Often they don’t translate to bottom-line results.
So go forth and make your company a better place for your customers. They’ll reward you for it!
We wish you a fantastic holiday season!
Author: Bill Cusick
December 23, 2009
Just wanted to be sure I wished all of you a fantastic holiday season. After a recent trip to the mall (and watching some spectacularly rude customers), it’s hard to remember what this time of year is about. So here’s hoping you get to spend some relaxing days with friends and loved ones, and not stuck on the road between Oak Brook and Woodfield malls.
Enjoy, and we’ll see you in 2010!!
Dear Apple: my iPhone had a fatal coronary, but I’m still happy
Author: Bill Cusick
November 16, 2009
My iPhone crapped out on me last week. I marked the time of death as 2:10 PM Thursday. It’s tombstone would say: 2009-2009. It was the day before I was heading to Boston. I called into the service line twice and, despite everyone’s best efforts, it would take a couple of shallow breaths and then, quickly, dash any hopes of resucitation.
Ironically, my 18 year-old college son, who has a Zune, scoffs at my Apple products. Maybe he has a point about their planned obsolescence, but maybe it’s just my bad luck.
So anyway, the next morning, I went into the Apple store in Oak Brook, Illinois, where I met with a “genius.” Not sure if that was an accurate description, but he looked smart enough. The long and short of it was he was pleasant, listened (as opposed to acting like he was listening) and tried a couple of possible solutions. When those didn’t work, he took about 90 seconds of rummaging and programming, and handed me a new iPhone. The whole process took about 10 minutes. No paperwork to speak of. All my contacts and apps were right there – a freakish clone of my first iPhone.
I tried to imagine the same thing happening with T-Mobile, and I laughed to myself.
A 98 Year-Old Woman Tears Her Bank a New One…With Style!
Author: Bill Cusick
October 26, 2009
This was passed my way through email the other day. You may have seen it, and I can’t claim for its veracity, but I’d like to believe it’s real. It’s the letter of a 98 year old woman to her bank after they dinged her with a penalty. Apparently it was published in The Times in London. Real or not, it’s a great lesson to businesses who want to serve customers the right way (i.e. as humans), and also for not underestimating the intelligence of your customers, no matter who they are:
Dear Sir,
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three ‘nanoseconds’ must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it.. . I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years.. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.
My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application
Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, I will issue your employee with PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
1 – To make an appointment to see me.
2 – To query a missing payment.
3 – To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4 – To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5 – To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6 – To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7 – To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact..)
8 – To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through to 8.
9 – To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.
Your Humble Client
Customer experience is built on every little process
Author: Bill Cusick
October 6, 2009
If you want to increase customer retention, referrals, cross sales, etc., you need to drive certain customer behaviors. To drive those behaviors, you must build a certain customer perception (i.e. an idea in your customer’s mind that your business is…fill in blank).
To build that perception you need to build a customer experience. Some companies understand this. But what many organizations fail to see is this: the customer experience is comprised of EVERYTHING. That is every interaction, communication, and process. It all matters. Look at your customer experience not as one grand process, but as an integrated series of processes, each with the goal of building toward an ideal customer perception.
So I ask you: What do you want your customers to do? What do you want them to think? Are each and every customer “moment of truth” consciously created to accomplish that? If not, it’s time to get to work.
