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Peek-A-Boo…I know you see me!
Author: Jeannie Walters
August 29, 2007
Peek-A-Boo!
All parents can relate to the seemingly never-tiring game of peek-a-boo. How many times can this possibly entertain? How is he so surprised each and every time that I’m still there? How much more entertaining can I make this before it becomes too complicated?
The amazingly simple concept of peek-a-boo is “I see you.” I see you’re there – even if, for a second, you don’t see me.
At its essence, peek-a-boo is a concept we all hold near and dear – acknowledge me! Let me know that you know I’m here, even if I can’t always be your primary focus.
Perhaps I seek acknowledgment too much…but I want it! I want it at work, I want it at home, and I want it as a customer.
At work, I want acknowledgement that I’m doing what’s expected, that I’m serving my colleagues, and that my clients acknowledge the work we’re doing. Even negative acknowledgement gives me information. I can take it and work on improving skills, coaching employees, or resetting expectations with clients. It’s when there’s NO acknowledgement that I am truly left with nothing, actually worse than nothing – because even negative feedback means someone cared enough to give it. No acknowledgement translates into a total lack of caring.
At home, it’s common to hear other mothers of young children lament that they’re not being acknowledged for all their hard work. Very rarely do you hear a “Way to Go!” in response to scheduling a play date or pediatrician appointment. Likewise, nobody pats you on the back after successfully feeding vegetables to a picky three-year-old. So moms tend to lean on each other for acknowledgement. We often say “I know just what you mean,” to each other, which alone is enough to satisfy the acknowledgement animal.
Why do I need acknowledgment as a customer? Why do I need a complete stranger to care about me and my situation? I don’t know. I won’t try to rationalize it. But I do know I need it.
There are times we stand in line and wait because a customer needs a price check, or because the cash register ran out of tape, or countless other reasons. Do you know how much a smile and nod of acknowledgment from the cashier would mean to me? Everything! It’s when she doesn’t acknowledge me, but in fact avoids eye contact, that I really get mad.
I also want to be acknowledged when I’m a long-time customer. CRM systems aside, when I call customer support for a product or service I’ve had for a while, I want my loyalty acknowledged. Instead, these calls often become sales-focused faster than you can say “thank you.” Chase Bank, anyone? No thanks, still don’t need that Visa.
So what is it about acknowledgement that’s so important? I believe it’s an innate need to connect. From the beginning, (and I do mean the very beginning), we all are programmed to seek acknowledgement. Peek-a-boo anyone?
If companies do nothing else, helping coach employees on how to connect with customers could go a long way.
Vox Study Shows Auto Insurance Websites Improving, But Still Leaving Customers Frustrated
Author: Bill Cusick
August 28, 2007
Most major auto insurance companies profess a desire to improve customer experience over all channels, and there’s plenty of evidence they’re sincere in that intent. At the same time, good intentions and four bits will buy you a cup of coffee (ok, maybe four bucks at Starbucks, for a non-fat half-caf latte). What the recently completed Vox Mind-Model Study shows is – although there have been real improvements overall in the design, usability and functionality of many auto insurance websites – there’s still lots of room for improvement. Register here for the full Mind-Model study: http://www.voxinc.com/insurance-mind-model.htm.
So, if you’re a customer like me, feel free to be encouraged, and disappointed.
In this, the third iteration of this comprehensive study of online auto insurance environments we were impressed by some of the improvements we observed. These include:
- More emphasis on cross-cultural awareness (makes sense since Hispanics, for example, are the fastest growing minority in the United States);
- Moderate improvement in both the number of sites offering online insurance quotes, and new options to help someone get a quote quickly, like anonymous quotes and Live Chat; and
- The availability of search functions on almost all the sites we studied – a necessary feature these days.
At the same time, we were disappointed in the lack of progress on several fronts, such as:
- Search tools (I know, I just said search was good) that, while they exist on the site don’t perform the way a user would like, which means the value for this “added feature” is less than zero;
- Standard quote processes that are still too lengthy and convoluted for most users to find the will to complete;
- Typical browser settings for sites that seem to belong back in 2003 – most users now have monitors set to at least 1024 x 768, yet many sites are still at the almost-obsolete 800 x 600 setting, resulting in most companies cheating themselves out of valuable screen real estate.
If the online channel was an important part of the overall customer experience when we conducted the last study, it’s now essential – and in many customers’ minds the most important or only channel – for communicating, researching, and transacting the relationship. Companies that don’t realize this will proceed at their own peril.
The comprehensive study examines 14 of the major auto insurance company sites in depth, utilizing several methodologies and analysis techniques, which revealed some bright spots but also some surprising inconsistencies and flaws. Go here to register for the full Mind-Model study http://www.voxinc.com/insurance-mind-model.htm.
Customer experience is in the details
Author: Bill Cusick
August 27, 2007
I used to run the customer communications area at a Fortune 50 corporation. We mailed out millions of bills, account statements, and letters every month. At the time, there was a perception that it was important to assure the information was accurate (we didn’t want to get sued!) and the processing was efficient (how can we send millions of pieces of mail for less money?). But there was a lack of emphasis, let’s say, on the actual communications aspect in terms of clarity for the customer, friendliness, consistency, etc. Our area was almost a backwater in the company.
I was reminded of this with the recent iPhone/AT&T marriage. There’s been plenty of ranting on the exclusivity arrangement, with customers feeling trapped to the point where hackers are proudly posting ways to “break the lock” inside the iPhone so you can jump carriers.
And then there’s the traditional, mundane AT&T billing statement itself, with the now infamous example of the 300-page bill shown in this video.
You know when Apple starts pissing people off, somebody screwed up. Nothing in this arrangement is inherently bad, but cumulatively they’ve missed the boat. And that’s the point, isn’t it? It’s the details. You don’t send a young, hip Apple enthusiast a 300-page phone bill (one-sided, of course, to waste more paper). You don’t open a beautiful high-class restaurant, and shrug about water spots on your drinking glasses. You don’t promise “next-day service” and then create a bunch of niggling exceptions to the rule.
Your customers live in the details. You can’t afford to ignore them.
So, what’s your story?
Author: Bill Cusick
August 23, 2007
I know you have one, a story, that is. We all have a life story in progress, whether we know it or not. Part of what makes us human is that we possess, as a recent New York Times article described, a “natural affinity for narrative construction.” Several other recent studies confirm this exclusively human characteristic.
What it means is that we are always attempting – in the deep, dark subconscious recesses of our minds – to cobble together the myriad circumstances and events of our day-to-day existence into a cohesive, linear story that helps us makes sense of who we are. By creating this logical narrative, with you-know-who as the protagonist, it allows us to better look back at our behavior and judge the “hows” and “whys” of our actions. We yearn to get our arms around this novel of our lives, even if only subconsciously. Maybe it gives us some comfort, some predictability in our future as well: just look at the story arc so far, and you can make some educated guesses of what’s going to happen next. Perhaps we also sense we have the ability to “change the storyline” if it’s not all we hoped for.
What does all this mean for companies and customers?
If we know that our customers are doing this – creating their life stories – whether we want them to or not, it could present an opportunity to make some fundamental, emotional connections. By creating a customer experience that makes it easy for a customer to thread all of the interactions and communications into a story that makes sense and is universally positive, you could create powerful allies among your customer base. Look at MINI and Apple. They attempt to create something more than just “products” and “transactions.” They build an experience that includes the product, but connects it to much more. It’s not all based on features and functions but on creating a consistent emotional adventure.
What are you doing to create a compelling, emotional experience that can weave into a customer’s life story?
Too much customer service
Author: Bill Cusick
August 20, 2007
OK, maybe this is more about me than about a particular store or customer experience. See, I tend to have pretty bad luck in stores, restaurants, bars, etc. trying to catch the attention of a clerk, waiter or bartender. It must be my intimidating good looks.
Anyway, I need help. I’m having a hard time processing this experience so throw me a bone with your own analysis.
The place was a Sears store, the time mid-afternoon on a recent sunny Saturday. I was shopping alone (this doesn’t happen often). I was looking for an electric razor – it was going to change my world! No more blades! I might even shave every other day now, like some adults.
Like any item I’m searching for in a large retail space, the razor was hard for me to locate in my first quick pass through. Housewares? No. Electronics? No. Men’s? No. But on my second lap, there they were, in a large free-standing glass case: myriad options for the discerning gentleman. Three rotating “floating” heads, some with their own lather and after-shave shooters, 10,000 whirling RPM, all promising a baby-butt soft face.
I approached.
There was a gaggle of young polo-shirted Sears employees standing directly in front of the case, all listening half-heartedly to an earnest Sears manager. It was a floor meeting. “And you, Jason,” she was saying. “How do you feel when you have a poor experience with a customer?”
Jason shuffled in place for a minute, staring at his feet, before mumbling, “Bad, I guess.”
So they were talking about why you should care about customer service? Awesome! That’s a great sign. It’s just that they were talking about it right in front of the case I was trying to get to.
I slunk behind the group, to the back side of the case, where I could just make out some of the amazing razor features and benefits on several boxes: use it in the shower, easy clean-up, silky-smooth skin. I was ready to buy! I just needed an available employee to open the case and I’d be on my way. Yet, I was invisible.
“You have to create a positive experience every time,” the manager was saying, exhorting her troops on. She was on a roll; some seemed to be paying attention. I wandered a couple yards towards the nearest employee who was actually working, but she steadfastly avoided eye contact with me before moving away.
And still the manager preached, her captive audience staring over her head, towards a nearby clock, everywhere but at the customer (me) who had been hovering next to their group for the last ten minutes.
Finally – defeated – I wandered towards the exit to take my leave, ruefully rubbing the burgeoning stubble breaking out across my face.
I’m sure that, later on that sunny Saturday, there were Sears customers who were going to require a stick to beat back the attentive sales people.
I wouldn’t know, of course. I was long gone.
The People/Process Paradox
Author: Bill Cusick
August 15, 2007
Is it your process or your people that send customers packing?
Research shows the reason fully two-thirds of customers leave a company is “employee indifference.” That sure seems like an important issue for a company that’s bleeding customers. But defining – let alone solving – this problem isn’t easy.
You’ve probably seen stories over the last several years regarding Best Buy’s customer centric-strategy. The approach includes heavy training of its sales associates, a focus on “personas” (like “Sally the soccer mom”) and the use of a key measurement of “employee engagement” to determine the sales potential of a store location. It’s an impressive emphasis on the employee-customer relationship.
And yet, I can’t get a Best Buy experience I had last year out of my head. I went in to purchase a laptop. To say I was dressed casually is an understatement. Still, my wallet was fat, and I wasn’t just window shopping.
Nobody helped me, which actually doesn’t bug me in retail environments – low pressure, right? Besides, I knew more or less what I was getting. So I browsed, compared features and prices, and made a decision: that one, the Toshiba. I looked around; the blue shirts were hovering nearby a minute ago…
I needed somebody to pull the boxed laptop out of the stockroom (so I could purchase it). But there were none to be found. After ten minutes of searching for somebody to help me, to in fact allow me to buy an expensive laptop, I wandered – dazed and empty-handed – back out to the parking lot.
So forgive my jaded perspective on Best Buy. I have no doubt there are scores of great employees running around right now helping customers at Best Buys throughout the land. And one could ask: was that the “people” or the “process”? There weren’t any employees available, but it was the process that dictated I needed a person to purchase something. At Office Depot, you grab a ticket for the item you desire, and just take it up to the cashier.
But I’m going to say it was the people.
On the other hand, I have a banker who pays attention to me. I don’t sense any “indifference” when I call him with a stupid question. He inquires after my family, he offers me extra services at no charge. I sense that he’s looking out for me. He knows I’m a good customer, with the potential to be an even better customer.
But, man oh man, their website is not good. It takes 13 mouse clicks to navigate my way to my current bank balance. Yes, I counted, and yes, that is bad. It’s confusing and they use technical jargon when plain language would suffice. In short, they make it hard to do business with them. Bad process: it’s inconvenient at the least, and at times infuriating.
So which is more important, your processes or your people? Obviously it depends on your industry, and what your customers might say is important to them. Ideally you want to create an overall experience for customers, and that means a seamless flow between processes and people.
But I ask again: which is more important? Well, since my experience at Best Buy, I haven’t bothered going back (too many other choices).
But I’m still at my bank. You figure it out.
3 Reasons to Be Wary of Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Author: Bill Cusick
August 14, 2007
Why your “satisfied” customer is probably eyeing the door
I’ve done several talks recently at industry events, discussing why traditional customer satisfaction surveys are notoriously unreliable as tools for improving customer retention. Here’s the gist of those talks…
There is an entire industry devoted to helping companies determine customer satisfaction levels through surveys and analysis. But just how much value does your knowledge of “satisfaction” really add to your ability to keep your most profitable customers?
The answer is, unfortunately, often not much. While surveys do serve a purpose (primarily showing trending: “Are we doing better or worse than last year?”) below are three fundamental reasons it’s dangerous to rely on customer satisfaction surveys to help you improve the Customer Experience:
1) Dissatisfied customers don’t speak up
Yes, some customers respond to satisfaction surveys, but which customers? Using which channels—online, phone, mail, email? In fact, scary as it might sound, recent studies show that for every 100 dissatisfied customers only two bother to say anything to the company; while the rest “vote with their feet,” and just leave.
If you think about it, this makes sense. When you’re unhappy, as a customer, with a company, do you try to somehow remedy the situation, to “fix” the company, or is it easier to just say “the heck with it” and leave? Of course, that doesn’t mean customers don’t tell others about their bad experience. Research shows people share bad-experience stories with around 15 people (mainly other prospective customers), while good experience stories are shared with only roughly half as many people.
2) Customers won’t tell you the truth
In many cases, when customers do take the time to respond to satisfaction surveys, they’ll indicate that they are “satisfied” or “mostly satisfied” regardless of how they really feel. A study of people who recently left their banks illustrates this: 80% said they were “satisfied” with their former institution. Of course, some people leave a bank because they move, or for some other valid reason—but not four out of five.
Why? Simply put, it’s easier. Also, the notion of “satisfaction” is a very soft concept. What does satisfied mean? For most, it indicates meeting expectations. Human nature is to be “nice.” If things aren’t great, that usually equates “satisfaction.” And satisfaction most definitely does not equal loyalty.
3) Even if customers want to tell you the truth, they can’t, because they’re irrational
Customers are sensitive, emotional and, let’s face it, irrational beings. How do we know this? Because research indicates we’re all emotional irrational beings, and in recent years, we’ve learned just how irrational. Shockingly, 95% of our brain activity centers around the irrational or subconscious; leaving a meager 5% busy trying to explain why we act or feel certain ways. And we do this, not by tapping into our subconscious, but by making inferences based on our behavior. In essence, we make things up. So, these findings beg the question: If we can’t even tell ourselves the truth, why should we expect customers to provide truthful feedback on satisfaction?
If not satisfaction, then what?
What’s a company to do? Customers won’t tell you how they feel, or if they try to, they’re lacking—even incapable of—veracity.
Here’s what it might mean for you: implying that you shouldn’t worry about satisfaction responses, but look instead to customer behavior. If most of your customers indicate they are satisfied, but you have a serious attrition problem, (i.e., too many customers leaving) you’re probably paying attention to the wrong numbers.
Behavior is the ultimate truth test. What you profess and what you do are often two very different things. For example, when doctors ask patients how much alcohol they consume in a week, they typically double the patient’s answer; they’ve found most people will drink more than they think, even if the patient is trying to be truthful. Do you know anyone who says he or she only watches one or two hours of television each week? More importantly, do you believe them?
The rule of thumb: It’s not what they say; it’s what they do.
The key is behavior. Don’t start with satisfaction metrics, start with attrition. How many customers are leaving and which customers are leaving? After all, your goal is to keep (and acquire more) profitable customers.
