Blog Updates

Receive notification of updates to this blog.

  Subscribe

Blog Categories:

• Current Affairs
• Customer Experience
• Customer Loyalty
• Customer Retention
• Customers
• Film
• Food and Drink
• Healthcare
• Marketing
• Music
• Social Media
• Sports
• Travel
• Uncategorized
• Usability
• Video
• Vox
• Web/Tech
• Weblogs

Blog Archives:

• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• April 2006
• March 2006
• February 2006
• January 2006
• December 2005
• November 2005
• October 2005
• September 2005
• August 2005
• July 2005
• June 2005
• May 2005
• April 2005
• March 2005
• February 2005
• January 2005
• December 2004
• November 2004
• October 2004
• September 2004
• August 2004
• July 2004

Contact Vox to learn about how we can help you create a comprehensive Customer Experience that drives bottom-line results dramatically higher.

We’ve all been bombarded by the wireless ads offering better plans, less commitment, and more choices. Most focus on the perceived customer friction points of their competitors. Why is the wireless market so volatile?

Well, it all started with the birth of the industry. The traditional phone companies and the new start-ups both bought in to the argument that you had to put up as high a barrier to exit as possible in order to offset the tremendous build-out costs of the wireless networks. That, plus the traditional telecos’ legacy billing systems meant that no vendor was willing to treat wireless access as a commodity service.

The result? Tremendous customer frustration, leading to tremendous customer churn, even in the B2B market. Studies of customer satisfaction pointed to quality of service issues – which have been generally addressed as the market has matured. However, customer satisfaction is now approaching that of a number of other service industries – without a corresponding decrease in the churn rates that vendors are experiencing. In a recent study, Walker Information found that while 79% of B2B wireless customers were satisfied, only 41% are truly loyal. Their conclusion? Customer satisfaction is a poor indicator of future behavior.

What does this mean for you? If you’re using standard customer satisfaction questionnaires to predict your customers’ likelihood of defection, you need to start thinking about other measures. Understanding your customers’ total experience and how that experience can develop and enhance customer loyalty is key to retaining (profitable) customers and to improving your bottom line. And the reality of the customer experience is their perception of your organization - not your perception, your intention, or your assumptions.

It’s funny how much of the brilliant and insightful advice on improving customer retention comes down to plain old common sense. Here’s an example. Companies are finding that if they provide decent benefits and a supportive work environment for their employees, then the employees are more inclined to be decent and supportive to customers.

Let’s see if we can follow the logic on this: if you are nice to people, they tend to be more likely to be nice to other people. Hmm. There’s a really fundamental lesson in there somewhere.

Last weekend I had what was the most enjoyable customer service experience I’ve ever had. My son Robbie just celebrated his 2 year birthday. My wife and I packed up a number of items which we’d stored away for Christmas that duplicated things he just received for his birthday. We also packed up Robbie and headed out to the nearest Toys-R-Us. On the way there, we were joking about our last (bad) experience with store returns.

Getting to the store, the place was packed. We got in the (long) customer service line, which was moving surprisingly fast. Expecting a somewhat surly customer service rep, I was amazed to be greeted by a bright, enthusiastic “Hi, how can I help you today?” This CSR was at the top of her game – she moved us through the whole return process very quickly. She explained everything she did, such as her checking price on each item to make sure we got the right amount of credit. She also gave us a phone number and reference number for the credits and reminded us to call if we didn’t see them posted within a week. While quick and efficient, she was also very warm and friendly, asking us about our son, and what kinds of things he liked (and suggesting a couple of items that would be on sale in the next month).

I’ve had all sorts of customer service experiences in my life, some good, some bad. I’ve also never been a great fan of the megastores, feeling that they’re too impersonal. In fact, I wasn’t part of the original purchase because I didn’t want to go through the mall experience. I’ve got to say that Toys-R-Us has changed my attitudes, at least about them. And you can bet we’ll be back for those cross-sell items she suggested. Isn’t it amazing how the customer experience can increase the “stickiness” of your brand? This sort of experience gets to the heart of how you build loyalty; with simplicity, benevolence, transparency, and trustworthiness.

What’s your best “stickiness” experience? What kind of service makes you want to come back for more?

I usually say that I am a very practical person.  I am proud of my capacity to research the best possible deal before purchasing anything.  Moreover, when asked, I always say that price DOES matter to me.  It matters a lot!

Well, if this is true, why do I frequently end up paying more for the products and services I buy?

To answer that, I started recalling my last purchases.

• First, my wife’s birthday present – OK, that doesn’t count… I couldn’t be concerned with price on a special date.  It HAD to be the right gift!
• Second, our last vacation – Yeah, I didn’t get the cheapest package available, but it was our vacation!  Why not seize the moment and get something better.
• Finally, our last grocery purchase. – That should be an easy one… Hmm…  I could have bought less expensive stuff, maybe used some coupons. But what can I do if the products I like most are not on promotion.  After all, I can’t spend all my valuable free time saving a cent or two.

After analyzing that, I came to the conclusion that nothing really went wrong and that, despite my bravado about low prices, what really matters to me is the tingling feeling that I made the right choice and bought what I really wanted or what I really needed, for me and for my loved ones. There is no better deal than that!

Yeah, well.  I think I am no different from any other consumer after all…

What’s the best way to attract customers to your bank? Oh, yeah - free checking! Awesome! How about a new i-pod? Whatever works, right?

Wrong - unless you were looking for ways to spend a bunch of money to acquire a customer who is much more likely to leave your bank at the slightest wind of change. Some recent research shows that customers who feel they were lured into a bank based on a special offer are much less likely to stick around than those who felt they joined on their own intitiative.

So, what’s it mean? Basically, you should key on customers who are seeking a banking relationship, not just a new toaster.

I know I’ve yapped about automated customer service systems before, but - despite so-called cost efficiencies - there are compelling reasons to seriously think about abandoning this technology until somebody can come up with a truly better mousetrap.

Consider these numbers from Forrester - only 16% of callers to automated systems felt "completely satisfied" after calling with a problem, and almost 3 out of 4 felt "customer rage," according to another survey.

The overall frustration is so high, there are "tricks" being shared on the Internet that allow you to skip by several layers of options and get to a person more quickly on some of the huge company systems. When people are trying to figure out how to "beat" your automated system in order to resolve an issue, you should know that you have a problem.

Sure, having a person answer the phones is more expensive than an automoton in the short term. But if the current answer ticks off three quarters of your customers, how much are you really saving?