Customerspective

We've Moved!

Our Customerspective Blog is now located at http://www.voxinc.com/blog/

From now on our day-today thoughts on the customer experience will be posted there.

Thanks for reading!

Sound of the Music (Today)

Focus your efforts, resources and capital on acquisition or retention?  That is a critical question in today's B2C business environment and one that we at Vox feel the vast majority of firms answer incorrectly.

New customer acquisition is exponentially more expensive than retaining existing customers, but most business place the utmost importance on acquisition while placing minimal, if any, efforts or focus on retention.  Guess what - not only is it more expensive to acquire new customers today, it is only going to get harder moving forward.

As people are inundated with marketing, messaging and communications from an ever increasing spectrum of sources and channels, we are all becoming attuned to just ignoring the vast majority of messages that "hit us" - just as was the case with the Subway Stradivarius - a perfect example of how people just don't have the time or inclination to care about your messaging or marketing efforts even if you have the best next thing since sliced bread.

You may have the best product or service in the world, but if potential new customers tune you out it means nothing... Wouldn't it be easier and more beneficial to focus your limited resources on the customers who are (for the time being) already listening to you? We think so... Check out our Customer Experience Calculators to see how Acquisition and Retention stack up against one another.

Kicking the Customer Satisfaction Index Up a Notch

There's no other real life indicator of how important customer satisfaction is, than in the hospitality industry.

It's almost guaranteed; a satisfied customer in your restaurant or hotel is likely never to forget the warm, fuzzy and happy feeling that comes with superior customer service - almost always ensuring that 100% customer loyalty that most businesses strive for.

And it is cases like the ones noted in this insightful article by By Bill Huigens of HVS Hotel Management an independent third-party management service company, that make me wonder how such a simple equation can keep businesses wondering where they went wrong.

Who cares about customer satisfaction?

The question might seem glib, but really: who cares about customer satisfaction? As this entry from "Mystery Shopping Matters" blogger David Rich suggests, the concept of determining "satisfaction" is fundamentally flawed - it's hard to conduct; it doesn't endear you to customers; and, it leaves you with ambiguous results, let alone actionable steps to improve things.

Rich's blog cites customer loyalty guru Fred Reicheld and his "Ultimate Question," from the book of the same name. Reicheld believes (like we do) that determining satisfaction has very little to do with a number that really matters - customer retention. He suggests that - in place of long surveys - you ask your customers one simple question: "would you recommend us to your friends?" Reicheld attempts to make a strong correlation between that question and financial growth, with mixed success. His logic, however, is sound: loyalty rather than satisfaction is a stronger indicator of a company's success and growth.

In his blog, David Rich recommends more mystery shopping to determine customer perceptions and experience. We feel that "walking in the customer's shoes" is but one key to truly understanding customer experience. The others are included in our Customerspective Audit. But one thing is certain: customer satisfaction surveys are not "the Ultimate Answer."

Netflix and the Blogosphere

I was reading Kim’s recent blog post about her opinions on Netflix. I, too, am a huge fan of the site for a number of reasons. I like its user-friendly personalized features which allow me to rate my movies and share my list with friends. 

Kim and I are not alone. Many other Netflix fans contribute to the Hacking Netflix blog, a really interesting blog about Netflix that aims to “learn as much as we can about this company and share this information.”  In the past, this blog placed Netflix squarely in the media spotlight when a Hacking Netflix blogger asked for an interview with Netflix. The blogger received a scripted email from the Netflix corporate relations department that didn’t seem to take him seriously. He pasted the exchange on Hacking Netflix and went on to explain how this blog helped to evangelize Netflix, as these bloggers were customer advocates for the company.

Following the entire exchange in the publications that picked up the story taught me (and probably others) a valuable lesson about customer feedback: If your customers spend the time to think (and write) about what they do/don’t like about your company, it’s important to listen because they can be your most influential customers (and ex-customers).

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Good News vs. Bad News vs. No News:  Which do you prefer?

Nobody likes receiving bad news. 

Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news either. 

But what if bad news is unavoidable? 

Then what?

As we all know, business tends to be a mixture of good news and bad news – reactive behavior and proactive behavior.  In order to obtain a business case success, one must weigh his options. 

Let’s pretend John works for a bakery.  He is hired to make a 3-tiered cake for a party in three colors – yellow, blue, and pink.  John’s super busy, makes the cake, and colors it yellow, blue and green.  By the time he realizes his error, it’s too late to fix.  The cake must be at the party in 15 minutes.  So, what’s John to do?

John has two options:

a.)     John can drop off the cake saying nothing about the color mix-up.  He can then be reactive to their inquiries about the color of the cake.

b.)     John can be honest and upfront with his customers.  He can be proactive, admitting a mix-up, and offering options on how to rectify the situation.

Sadly, I think many people in business today may have chosen option A (or at least been tempted to) – to avoid confrontation and “bad-business.”  But, in reality, option B is the way to go.  Sure, maybe the customer would be upset at first, but I do believe in honesty and in the attempt to turn a wrong into a right.  This can outweigh any disaster caused – unintentionally or otherwise.

The customer may not end up ordering a cake from John again, but I do believe they are more likely to come back if the cards were all laid out on the table, rather than being hidden under a placemat. 

The moral of this story – be proactive with customers, even if it’s news they won’t want to hear.  The sting will hurt more in the long run if the truth is avoided.   

NetFlix is the new Amazon

As a usability specialist, one of the most enjoyable parts of my job is collecting examples of online customer experiences--both superb and terrible examples.

When I first started doing this, I had my personal "go-to" sites. For the terrible experience examples, I could often rely on some of the old-school banking sites. For the excellent ones,  I often went to...drum roll please...Amazon. I know, surprise, surprise. But well...there are a wealth of thoughtful implementations there. And if there were some lame concepts? Well, at least i knew they had been usability tested, and wouldn't totally stymie my users.

But then I started noticing Netflix. The boldness and simplicity of the pages. The progressive disclosure of information. The way they set Customer expectations about the amount of time actions take, and the way they clearly explain that the customer can change their mind anytime without penalty. It's like, they actually understand that people have a finite amount of time, and that trying to make the customer a prisoner of their service is a bad thing.

Not to mention, being on the NetFlix site...is fun!

So, I've made a lot of NetFlix screen captures in my experience research, to the point that they are starting to outnumber my Amazon captures. But the best thing I've learned from the site is something that all companies should realize. It is this:

Every minute a Customer interacts with your company is a privilege for you. Don't waste it or take it for granted. Ever. 

Be Introspective and See the Customer's Perspective

Last month, Starbuck's CEO Howard Schultz circulated an internal memo to his management team. He asked them to take a step back, look at the company and find ways to get back to the company's core beliefs that started their success.

I've been watching Starbucks' growth with a critical eye, especially after I read Schultz's book a couple years ago. The growth they were experiencing then, and still are, conflicts with those core values Schultz wanted to bring to Starbucks' customer - a quality cup of coffee and the simple experience around it.

You can decide on your own what you think of Starbucks. But the point -- that Schultz has hopefully drawn a line in the sand and said they must step back and reanalyze where they started and where they are now -- is key to understanding any business and how you can be the best to your customers. Because in the end, it's all about the customer and what you give them.

How about a Slice of that Customer Experience Pie?

Bank of America unveiled it's costly new marketing campaign with it's new slogan "Bank of Opportunity" replacing the four-year old slogan "Higher Standards", the Wall Street Journal recently reported. The ads debuted during the annual academy awards telecast on Sunday, Feb 25th.

The shift in marketing strategy hopes to persuade existing customers with checking accounts to buy into the other services and unique programs that Bank of America offers.

Bank of America hopes to get a bigger slice of the banking industry's revenue pie and we hope that they don't jeopardize the customer experience in the process.

Personally the "Higher standards" slogan resonated with me and made me feel that if Bank of America adopted higher standards for it's employees this would translate into higher standards for their customers.

On the Bank of America website I can't help but notice that absence of the Customer Experience in their desire to get a slice of the pie. “Bank of Opportunity,” is emblematic of what Bank of America has always strived for throughout its history ― to create opportunities for the individuals, businesses and communities we serve throughout the world.

We'll just have stay tuned and hope that Bank of America keeps it's higher customer experience standards as it provides more opportunities for individuals.

Read more on the banking industry and the online customer experience.

A Lost Customer...and for what?

Moving is an event all its own. It’s not as simple as, “I’m moving. Pack up belongings. Move. Unpack. Settle in and smile.” Moving nowadays involves many more “little issues” that you don’t think about until you actually move. With that said, my recent move proved to be an “experience” all it’s own.

I hired movers for the first time in my life, which despite all the horror stories, ended up being an expensive, but pleasant experience. The physical move lasted only 3 hours! “Great, I thought, I’m almost done!”

Not quite.

I have to get my mail forwarded to my new apartment. I have to call all my credit cards and student loan companies to update my contact information. I have to locate the Chicago office that sells parking permit #62 so I can stop receiving tickets for parking in front of my new apartment. I have to go through everything I own and throw something out. I have to find a new route to work - what trains do I take? Where is the nearest grocery store? Oh no, my old gym is too far to get to now, but I have a contract with them. Can I cancel that? Where is a closer gym? And most importantly, what and where are the take-out restaurants that will deliver dinner to my place almost 5 days a week? My old “menu” of places consisted of a Chinese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a diner, and a Mexican place - all phone numbers that were efficiently programmed into my cell phone. But now, the comfortability of knowing what was where and what I wanted had vanished. I needed to find dinner delivery, and fast!

Luckily, there were take-out/delivery restaurant menus stuck in my mailbox, scattering the floor of the foyer walking up to my apartment, rubber banded to the front doors, and cleverly shoved underneath my windshield wipers. So, I was in luck. i’m not going to go hungry here!

The first place I ordered from was a somewhat higher class Chinese/Sushi restaurant. I was excited - I had never ordered sushi in before. Nice! So, I ordered in for myself and a friend using a credit card, having been told on the phone that delivery time was 45 minutes to an hour. About an hour and a half later, my doorbell rang and I buzzed the delivery guy in, who emphatically apologized for being late, I gave him a gracious tip (thankful that he acknowledged his lateness) - he then went on his way, and I went on mine. The food was delicious! Even though he was late, he apologized. I thought I had found a keeper.

Again, not quite.

The following day, I was viewing my checking account information online, and to my surprise, “Fantastic But Slow Moving Chinese Restaurant” had charged my account twice for dinner! And not even the same amount - one charge was what the meal, with tip, really came out to, and the other amount was $20 more! So, I called them to inquire about this mystery charge and this is how the conversation went:

ME: “Hello, I ordered from your restaurant last night and was just reviewing my credit card information online, and you charged me twice for dinner- at two different prices!”

THEM: “What’s your name?”

ME: “The order was placed under “Niki.”

THEM: “Oh, yeah, I remember you. The girl must have hit the wrong button. It’s not really a charge.”

ME: “Well, then what is it? I have 2 withdrawals in my account from your restaurant and there should only be one.”

THEM: “She just hit the wrong button probably. It’s not really a charge.”

This conversation lasted a little longer, with this man named Frank insisting that this was not a real charge, though the amount ‘charged’ was no longer in my account! He rudely told me the money would be reimbursed in 5 business days, never offered an apology, and hung up.

Five business days later, and no reimbursement. I called back. I asked to speak with the manager. When he got on the phone, he seemed to know who I was after stating my name. “It should be in there tonight,” he said almost like he was annoyed with my call. Never an apology, never a “sorry for the inconvenience” - nothing. And this was the manager I was talking to! I offered up the fact that I was indeed frustrated, that I hadn’t even been offered an apology. I said I know mistakes happen, but in this instance, I can’t believe an apology wasn’t offered. And still none, and he basically hung up on me.

Lucky for them, I was reimbursed the following day. But the moral of this story is this: Good food. Good location. Wait time was longer than expected, but I was still ok. But, POOR customer experience. And they just lost a potentially loyal customer. And there were three simple words that could’ve changed that, “I am SORRY.”