| Listening to Customers Members of Walker’s client service team discuss the different ways to listen to your customers. |
My daughter is a picky eater, but what toddler isn’t? Her eating habits have caused some disagreement between my husband and me – he suggests a reward any time she eats even a little bit of her dinner, while I think a reward should be reserved for those times when she does something out of the ordinary, like asks for more because she enjoyed the meal.
This got me thinking about the similarities between my situation and customer feedback programs. How should we tie customer feedback to rewards for team members? Is it best to keep motivation high by rewarding even the small successes, like improvement over the previous period, even though scores are only mediocre, or do you reserve the reward for outstanding performance, such as reaching a “best in class” goal? I think it depends.
Most sources cite a few key components of effective reward systems:
· Make it timely
· Be creative
· Match the reward to the interests and goals of the recipient
· Ensure the rewards align with the current state of the organization
On the last point, if an organization is currently receiving moderate scores from customers, it would be silly to promise a reward only when scores exceeded best in class comparisons. The goal seems unattainable, and motivation would evaporate. On the other hand, if the same organization set the goal at 3-4% improvement year-over-year, team members could get behind this goal and work together to achieve it. It is critical to understand the current state and what is realistically achievable before you develop a rewards system.
Back to the situation with my daughter: because I know she is capable of eating a whole meal, I think rewarding her for “above and beyond” behavior is entirely realistic and attainable. Plus, since I’m the one making dinner every night, I think it’s only fair that I get the final say… right??
Marla Mast
Senior Analyst
Those of us who still use the Post Office probably have a vast array of stamps that indicate a previous lower price for 1 ounce First Class mail. So we are well aware of the price increases that happen quite frequently. We also hear that the Post Office continues to lose money and will in all likelihood cut services. How can the Post Office become more customer centric and gain patronage loyalty?
Standing in line recently at a local Post Office, it was clear that a recent policy was not in the right direction. This particular customer had a package that needed some tape and requested it from the Post Office employee, who had a roll of tape at her fingertips. However, the customer was told that she could purchase a whole roll of tape, but the Post Office employee was not able to give her any - a recent cost saving measure coming from the Post Master. How about even selling a 12 inch strip?
This example is repeated in many businesses, where cost savings are put in place which are in the face of creating customer value and loyalty.
Vice President, Client Services
I’m a planner - always have been, always will be. I like the opportunity to carefully think through my options, make the best choices based on the information I have gathered and processed, and deliberately move forward with a plan (including milestones and deadlines of course). I can go with the flow - as long as it is involves one of the options I’ve considered in my plan (grin).
As a planner, thinking about my new year’s resolutions is often overwhelming. There are so many things I want to improve upon, try for the first time, or mark off my life list. Sometimes, I don’t make them right away, or because of procrastination, I don’t make any at all.
I recently listened to a Podcast, Making and Keeping Your Goals with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and Christie Nicholson from Scientific American. I was surprised to hear him say that we should try to set 45 goals and see which two we actually end up achieving. Think about all of the things you could learn along the path to achieving those 45 goals. Although he refers to our personal lives, I think the points he makes could also apply to our professional lives.
Specifically, when you gather and reflect on the results of your customer listening programs – how do you go about setting goals? Do you think about what has happened over the past 12 months, and what you hope for the next 12 months to look like? Do you involve key decision makers in determining the right set of goals - those who will be accountable for achieving those goals? Do you set too many (or maybe too few) and end up missing out on what the voice of the customer is telling you?
While I think a list of 45 goals might be difficult for me to come up with, I think I could start with a list of 25 – and by this time next year, I’ll see with which three I have made the most progress. This year, I am also going to do things a little different - I plan to make notes of the lessons I learn along the way to reaching the 25 – who I met with, the discussions I had that made me consider other perspectives, when I stay on the path I originally intended, and when I discover a shortcut or detour.
What goals have you set for this year? What will you learn about your customers, your team, and yourself on the path to reaching them?
“If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." Lewis Carroll
Amanda Loyd
Customer Experience Analyst
As a planner, thinking about my new year’s resolutions is often overwhelming. There are so many things I want to improve upon, try for the first time, or mark off my life list. Sometimes, I don’t make them right away, or because of procrastination, I don’t make any at all.
I recently listened to a Podcast, Making and Keeping Your Goals with David Allen, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and Christie Nicholson from Scientific American. I was surprised to hear him say that we should try to set 45 goals and see which two we actually end up achieving. Think about all of the things you could learn along the path to achieving those 45 goals. Although he refers to our personal lives, I think the points he makes could also apply to our professional lives.
Specifically, when you gather and reflect on the results of your customer listening programs – how do you go about setting goals? Do you think about what has happened over the past 12 months, and what you hope for the next 12 months to look like? Do you involve key decision makers in determining the right set of goals - those who will be accountable for achieving those goals? Do you set too many (or maybe too few) and end up missing out on what the voice of the customer is telling you?
While I think a list of 45 goals might be difficult for me to come up with, I think I could start with a list of 25 – and by this time next year, I’ll see with which three I have made the most progress. This year, I am also going to do things a little different - I plan to make notes of the lessons I learn along the way to reaching the 25 – who I met with, the discussions I had that made me consider other perspectives, when I stay on the path I originally intended, and when I discover a shortcut or detour.
What goals have you set for this year? What will you learn about your customers, your team, and yourself on the path to reaching them?
“If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." Lewis Carroll
Amanda Loyd
Customer Experience Analyst
Well, it finally happened. I know a big lottery winner! As I’ve shared the news with people I know, there is always the same reaction. How long do you give them before they blow all of their winnings? Is it really responsible to be spending any of it? You know what’s going to happen, right? They’ll blow it! Ouch. These are just a few of the reactions I received, and who can blame them? This is exactly what I thought as well, and history proves it. Listed here are the stories of 10 lottery winners who won big and lost it all.
So, what happens? What causes people’s luck to run out? Let’s be honest - a lot of it is just plain foolishness. However, some of it is friends and family taking advantage and turning their backs on the big winners. Interesting what the power of money can do. As corporations, we are all focused on gaining profitability and focus on our customers and competitors to maximize the bottom line. However, what if all of that effort was wasted because we were sitting on a jackpot the whole time and didn’t capitalize on it?
Case in point - many organizations do not have a centralized way of gathering customer feedback. There could be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars ready to be spent by your customers that the organization doesn’t know about. That revenue, if not noticed, will end up in someone’s hands. There is also always some revenue at risk of moving to the competition. You have to locate it, save it, and start to repair the relationship.
There is simply no way to collect on and retain your jackpot if you aren’t centralizing and organizing feedback from customers. Sure, many in your company know and understand customer needs. Often times, however, that feedback is too decentralized to make any sense of it on a broad scale. Do yourself a favor and start to think about collecting on a jackpot that already exists, your current customer base. From there, the mega-jackpot of starting to take share of your competitor’s customer base is more within reach!
Do you have examples of revenue that was saved or gained through a centralized customer feedback program?
Katie Kiernan
Senior Analyst
Just walked through our break-room and heard a news anchor say that the FBI has 400,000 names on the terrorism watch-list. She stated adamantly (and as though it wasn’t already obvious to everyone listening): “we should be able to do a better job with list management and creating a clean list of names” to use regarding national security matters.
List management seems to be a universal problem, doesn’t it? It makes sense that it would be, too, considering how much change goes on around us everyday.
In our realm of customer listening programs, we experience the same types of problems with contact list management quite regularly. (Although, in comparison to the FBI list, it certainly seems like a whole lot less to groan about all of the sudden, doesn’t it?) It is difficult to cleanly and efficiently maintain an accurate and timely record of customer contacts, especially considering the variety of potential sources at our disposal.
Recently, we’ve seen an encouraging trend, though. Multiple clients I work with are planning to tap into a new, more centralized source of customer contact names in 2010. With these clients, we are planning SalesForce.com integrations. Leveraging a new Walker app available on the SalesForce.com app exchange, we can now integrate customer listening programs into the mix. For my clients, our mission is to rid ourselves of collecting lists in Excel, cleaning them, and dealing with rounds and rounds of updates. But, more importantly, it also means that customer information will be made available in real-time within the SalesForce system that account teams already rely upon on a daily basis. They won’t have to learn another tool, and they won’t have to go searching for feedback provided by their customers – it will all be right there in one centralized system.
We’re just at the beginning stages of these integrations now. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on our progress in future entries.
Krista Roseberry
Senior Analyst, Walker Information
Well, the time is finally upon us. It’s the time of year when we should be enjoying the holidays and thinking about what lies ahead in the upcoming year. I know I’m not alone in feeling that every year the holiday season seems less and less relaxing. It’s more about last minute shopping, lists, parties, and wrapping up year-end activities. Sometimes I feel more like the Grinch than anything!
I recently read an article called Productivity Unplugged: Take Two Vacations and Call Me After the Holidays. Conceptually, of course this makes sense. We all need to take time off to recharge our batteries so we can do better work when we are “plugged in." The part that really struck a chord with me, though, is that we need to “unplug” – even if just briefly over the holidays – to better serve our customers. We must use the few days we are given around the holidays to clear our minds and reflect upon what we originally set out to do for our customers.
It’s very easy to get entrenched in day-to-day activities and completely lose sight of the customer’s goals and objectives. During your “unplugged” moments over the holidays, perhaps you should take just a moment to reflect back on a few items:
· What are my customers trying to achieve today and in the future?
· How can I help them achieve those objectives?
· How will their goals and objectives change as we head into 2010?
As we close out 2009, reflect on these questions, and start to think about what the New Year may bring, we should challenge ourselves to define how well we are really listening to customers, particularly during our busy times of the year. Take just a moment to “unplug” and think about how you could improve your relationships by just re-tuning in to your customer’s needs. It will certainly help you to be more successful in 2010!
Katie Kiernan
Senior Analyst
Call me a planner-at-heart. True to form, I keep many lists - one in my phone, one on the side of my fridge, one at my desk. And yes, my holiday shopping is nearly done. I've even hired a painter for next February already.
But some of our best laid plans don't end up the way we intended at the start. Consider this Gartner study from 2006 that shows how companies employ feedback programs. I can hardly imagine that 50% of these companies made the investment to collect feedback and never tell anyone about it!
95% Collect Feedback
45% Alert Staff
35% Use Insights
10% Deploy and Improve
5% Tell Customers
It's a gloomy tale of failed efforts to make real change. I'm sure a lot of us are amazed at the magnitude of drop-off, too, with only 10% that Deploy and Improve their companies based on feedback!
The good news? I think there's an enormous ROI potential revealed in this data. Imagine the difference in customer loyalty, market differentiation, and even revenue growth that a company could have if they achieved the last two (tough, but critical) steps, particularly when their competitors are getting hung up in "Just Collecting".
Krista Roseberry
Senior Analyst, Walker Information
But some of our best laid plans don't end up the way we intended at the start. Consider this Gartner study from 2006 that shows how companies employ feedback programs. I can hardly imagine that 50% of these companies made the investment to collect feedback and never tell anyone about it!
95% Collect Feedback
45% Alert Staff
35% Use Insights
10% Deploy and Improve
5% Tell Customers
It's a gloomy tale of failed efforts to make real change. I'm sure a lot of us are amazed at the magnitude of drop-off, too, with only 10% that Deploy and Improve their companies based on feedback!
The good news? I think there's an enormous ROI potential revealed in this data. Imagine the difference in customer loyalty, market differentiation, and even revenue growth that a company could have if they achieved the last two (tough, but critical) steps, particularly when their competitors are getting hung up in "Just Collecting".
Krista Roseberry
Senior Analyst, Walker Information
It’s fall, it’s football season, and in my house, we get our fill of college football on Saturday afternoons. My husband is a fan of a certain Big 10 team who finds itself in its second lackluster year after many past winning seasons and bowl game appearances. Fans were elated when, in 2008, the university brought in a fresh new coach to turn things around and take the team to the next level. With the new coach came an entirely new strategy, which requires the full commitment of the entire organization, recruitment of new players who are best equipped to adapt to the new plan, and willingness from existing players to adjust to the new coaching style.
Unfortunately, the past two seasons have produced more losses than wins, and disgruntled fans are already calling for the coach’s replacement. Looking at the sweeping changes that have been implemented, you can easily draw the conclusion that it would be impossible to turn the team around in just two short seasons.
Like football, instituting or reinvigorating a customer listening program is not a “one season” activity. It takes year-round practice, shifting of team members to ensure those with the right skills are at the forefront of the action, commitment from the entire organization, and internal and external support. From the beginning, the entire team needs to be committed to the program and willing to deal with the growing pains in order to see the return. Too much time, effort, and money is invested in these programs to stop them short of their full potential. Organizations need to set short-term goals to monitor steady progress towards achieving long-term success.
While it takes time to ingrain a customer listening program into an organization, customers expect to see a timely return on their investment. Companies must communicate with customers that they are listening and taking action on the feedback that is received. While it might take time to fix the big issues, telling customers that you’re working on it will go a long way in terms of their patience and continued support even during the rocky times.
Sports teams can’t be expected to turn things around in one season, just like customer listening programs shouldn’t be expected to reach their full potential in a short timeframe. Both take time, repetition, and a lot of practice to develop the team and the process into a cohesive unit. But along the way, be sure to let customers know that you value their commitment and that you’re taking steps to ensure they support you for a long time to come.
Marla Mast
Senior Analyst
We’ve all had those “duh” moments in our life that we aren’t necessarily proud of. You know - those situations where someone asks you a seemingly easy question that you swear you know the answer to. You search your brain and….nothing. Blank. Or, better yet, you blurt out something that sends the room into explosive laughter. Oh yes, we’ve all been there.
Jay Leno makes a point of exploiting unexpecting citizens on the sidewalks of U.S. cities in the segment of his show called Jaywalking. By simply asking questions that we would think anyone could answer, he finds many people who after being interviewed will never live down the public embarrassment. He may even ask something like, “Who was the first president?” Even this simple question can often be met with blank stares. Unbelievable, right? You would never be caught in a situation like that, right?
Perhaps when it comes to customer listening we can often be a bit too presumptuous about what we know. It’s not uncommon for our sales and account teams to say that they don’t need to gather feedback because they already know everything there is to know about their customers. While to some extent this can be true, often we find that what they think they know is not aligned with what customers actually say. Or, at best, it is only part of story.
We need to encourage our account teams to really use unbiased customer feedback in addition to what they already know. The combination of both perspectives can be quite powerful, particularly when the customer feedback is used as a radar on internal metrics and performance. Tracking actual performance on metrics relative to perceived performance on those metrics can provide direction on where you should actually focus. Determine what the “breaking point” is in the eyes of the customer and use that as your indicator for the performance level you should be achieving.
It pays off to truly listen to customers – ask for their feedback, really understand what they are saying in comparison to what you already know, and then act. Don’t get stuck thinking you know your customers and then scrambling to explain why their sales are declining or even worse why you have lost their business. You may just end up in a bind like one of Leno’s Jaywalkers!
Katie Kiernan
Senior Account Analyst
We always want to listen to customers … but sometimes we also want customers to listen to us. That’s not as easy as it sounds.
There can be any number of hurdles to even getting a message ready to send (content, appearance, approvals, delivery options, etc.) But the real trick is then getting the customer to pay attention to the message. It is interesting to note these scores from B2B customer surveys since 2000:
Yes, communication is 10+ points lower than the other scores. Customers consistently give lower scores for the way that their partners/suppliers communicate with them compared to other areas of the relationship such as the products, services and account team.
So what are the lessons?
How are customers going to know about the great things going on at our companies or the exciting plans in place due to their survey feedback if we don’t tell them? Let’s accept the challenge to find better/smarter ways to reach our customers.
Chris Sego, Vice President
There can be any number of hurdles to even getting a message ready to send (content, appearance, approvals, delivery options, etc.) But the real trick is then getting the customer to pay attention to the message. It is interesting to note these scores from B2B customer surveys since 2000:
Yes, communication is 10+ points lower than the other scores. Customers consistently give lower scores for the way that their partners/suppliers communicate with them compared to other areas of the relationship such as the products, services and account team.
So what are the lessons?
- Customers don’t notice messages. So communicate often and use a variety of approaches.
- Customers can be annoyed by messages – there are too many/not enough, they are too flashy/not flashy enough, they are useful/wasteful … you get the picture. Spend time planning/testing so your messages will be on target with your audience.
- Develop a consistent ongoing communication approach with customers so they are more alert to your messages and more likely to pay attention. Focus on a long-term dialog, not just a one-time dazzle.
- Communication is often an after-thought and does not receive the kind of resources given to our product and service offerings. Make sure that communication is an integral part of your customer engagement process, and make the most of the puny budget.
How are customers going to know about the great things going on at our companies or the exciting plans in place due to their survey feedback if we don’t tell them? Let’s accept the challenge to find better/smarter ways to reach our customers.
Chris Sego, Vice President
Recently when traveling by air I had an experience which made me wonder to what degree do airlines really listen to their customers.
We had been served our drink and the flight attendants were coming back down the aisle, asking if anyone wanted something else? This is obviously more than what often happens. When I handed my empty cup to the attendant asking whether she could take that from me, her response was, I don't have a place for it right now! That was it!
When did this airline last look at identifying customer needs and expectations, and seeing how they are currently meeting them, and/or how they might be able to adjust to better meet them. This has to go further than customer satisfaction surveys. It requires intense customer listening in order to tease out what aspects could make the relationship 'outstanding'. In this example, yes, the cart is small, but there was a section at the bottom that was empty.....could that have been used to collect used glasses? Or what about a plastic bag that is hooked to the cart. At the very least, the response should have been I don't have a place for it right now, but I will return shortly to collect!
Pamela Toft
Walker Information
Walker's bi-annual Fall Forum is in full swing -- today, we explored several potentially powerful ways of using customer feedback to make a real impact on the business. As just one example: have you ever really thought about how customer information could help inform an Aqcuisition decision?
One forum attendee confided during a break: the number of applications and potential audiences for customer information is overwhelming, especially in my current company culture... I don't know where to start! I'm sure you can relate to feeling that way at one time or another, and we all know what usually happens next too: Nothing. No action. No change.
Perhaps it's human nature to ignore all of those bright ideas we had and chug along status-quo when we cannot quickly find a simple and meaningful place to start.
So where do we start? One way would be to develop a roadmap - whether formal or informal. I like to keep informal 'roadmap' ideas on my internal team wiki space, for instance. Another good way is to ask for help from someone who has done it before. What approaches have you found to be effective?
Krista Roseberry
Senior Analyst
Walker Information
Today’s management tip-of-the-day from Harvard Business publishing was titled: Ready to Use Social Media? Proceed, with Caution, which was distilled from a full article on the same topic. Naturally, I wondered... what are they cautioning me against? Here's the synopsis:
"In 2006, McDonald's launched its first blog, Open For Discussion, signaling a desire to engage with customers. Less than a year later, the blog was flooded with customer complaints about the company's decision to include toy Hummers in Happy Meals — and McDonald's was slow to respond. When your company decides to venture into social media — by starting a group on Facebook, launching a blog, or Twittering — be prepared to truly hear what your customers have to say, and act on it. Providing a forum for people to share opinions about your products and services is a great way to build customer relationships, but only if you're ready to engage. If your customers are Tweeting that your products aren't durable, maybe they have a point. Demonstrate that you hear them and take their feedback to heart."
It turns out that their caution is just like that of any other voice of the customer program: We need to be ready to listen and ready to take action! Gathering and distributing customer insights is one part of the job, but truly listening and evolving our companies based on the good, the bad and the ugly experiences of our customers is what it’s really all about – no matter what type of forum we're using.
Krista Roseberry
Walker Information
Krista Roseberry
Walker Information
Listening to the customer becomes even more crucial in economic downturns. It is the company that continues to meet customer needs by creating customer value, even if it means cutting into profits, that will come back quickly once economic conditions improve.
Some of this is seen by watching current tv advertisements. Take for example, LensCrafters, an eyeglass company, who is currently advertising free lenses for children 17 years and under - www.lenscrafters.com. They have reached out to parents at a time before the new school year starts, recognizing that when there is a diminished household budget, children will be a high priority. By drawing the family into the store, they are also building household loyalty, not just that of a single customer. In many households there are multiple members who need corrective vision.
Another example is Sears' protection plan when purchasing appliances, should the consumer lose their job - www.sears.com. Again this program is designed to attract and retain customers.
In both of these examples, the companies are striving to create customer value, which in turn has been shown to result in increased customer loyalty.
Pamela Toft
Vice President
Walker Information
I was talking with an account manager this week who received a fairly negative loyalty survey from one of his customers.
For background... he was being asked to complete what we call a “follow up” with this customer, and had some questions for me. Part of his initial (and almost defensive) response was: “well, I wouldn’t want to just call them…”
Yes, you would! and, here’s how it might go –
Krista Roseberry
For background... he was being asked to complete what we call a “follow up” with this customer, and had some questions for me. Part of his initial (and almost defensive) response was: “well, I wouldn’t want to just call them…”
Yes, you would! and, here’s how it might go –
- Thank your customer for the time they spent providing feedback and acknowledge its importance to you
- Clarify and try to learn more about the issues that you’ve learned about from the customer’s perspective
- Let your customer talk uninterrupted. Really listening will defuse the situation and demonstrate your desire to address their concerns.
- Talk about your suggested resolution. This is also a chance for you to educate them on any misunderstandings or miscommunications that may have occurred.
- Confirm the next steps and the timing for resolving their top concerns.
Krista Roseberry
I have had the chance to talk with several companies over the last week about their overall customer measurement strategies. While there is always good conversation about the goals, best techniques, and desired outcomes, there was a new tone that I was hearing.
“Will the customer enjoy taking the survey?”
“Will the customer feel like the survey is focused on them?”
“Will our communication and approach make the customer trust us enough to give us some meaningful feedback?”
We know the goal of a customer survey is to learn how we can improve the customer experience. What are we doing wrong? What are we doing right? Of course we care about the customer, or we would not be making the investment to do the survey.
But we do not always talk about the customer’s feelings while they are taking the survey. Are the questions focused on what matters to the customer or what matters to us to better take care of the customer? Do we ask about the steps of making a return (our viewpoint) or whether the return was handled easily (customer’s viewpoint)? Do we show enough empathy that at the end of the survey the customer will take an extra minute and write us a note about something that has been bothering them, so we have a chance to get better?
I admit, I am guilty of not always giving this enough thought. On the next survey, I am going to think about ways I can listen to the customer in a little different way, and hope that encourages them to give a little better feedback.
Chris Sego, Vice President
I love when I get great service, don’t you?
All of us have many opportunities to experience service in our daily activities as business professionals and consumers.
As a follow-up to that service experience,
many times I’m asked to complete a short
survey to provide feedback.
I’m happy to oblige.
Here are some examples, which I’m
sure you might be familiar with:
- Booking a flight on a Web site. A short survey pops up to get my thoughts
on functionality and design of their Web site, ease of navigation, speed of pagination, organization, etc.
- Taking my car in for service. An evaluation card is left on the front passenger seat for me to assess the overall service received, the convenience and time taken to book the service, the cleanliness of my car when I pick it up, etc.
- Dining at a restaurant. A code to a survey is included on my receipt for me to complete an on-line survey about my dining experience, i.e. wait time for a table, my waiter, wait time until the food arrives, quality of my meal, etc.
These are but a few of the examples where companies seek the voice of the customer to make our experiences more pleasurable. I’m sure you been asked for your feedback in these or similar situations.
I must admit, I have become used to receiving great experiences when I shop, dine, or do business. It brightens my day. Moreover, I want to continue to receive great experiences. Providing feedback takes but a small amount of effort to help companies create more value as they listen to us, their customer!
I commend these businesses for taking the time to obtain the voice of the customer, monitor the service they are providing, and make adjustments as needed – all with the desire to provide us a better service experience. They’ve not only earned my business, but they are building a repeat and loyal customer!
How about you? Have you seen a connection in providing feedback and an improvement in one of your service experiences?
Jane Gehlhausen
Vice President
We all know about the role of positive word-of-mouth advertising (WOMA) and its impact on influencing prospective buyers. In the past this has largely come through friends and colleagues. More recently, grass-root organizations have sprung up as the ‘go-to’ site for prospective purchasers, for example of home services, such as Angie's List. More and more prospective shoppers are surfing the Web to look at others’ evaluations of products and services that they are in the market for. Shopping sites, such as Amazon support this by asking for and providing reviews of products by those customers who have purchased.
I think the world is amazed at the role of social networking in initiating and sustaining the uprising in Iran following the recent election. As expressed by Daniel Nations in About.com , "If there were any doubts just how important a role social media was playing in today's society, those doubts were quelched in the aftermath of Iran's election."
Do we have any idea of how impactful social networks are going to be in the future in terms of marketing of products – both being for them as well as against? Are these social networks going to make customer loyalty more volatile? Some savvy organizations are both participating in social networks, as well as incorporating them into their customer loyalty research and overall customer relationship strategy.
Pamela Toft, Ph.D.
Vice President
Walker Information
I am part of a book club, and this week's discussion was about Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. It is a good read about the innovative ways companies are using social media to engage customers and employees to enhance their businesses. One topic in our discussion was the comfort level that Gen Yers have with all of the social media and the impact this is going to have on the business world.
As has always been the case, the “new generation” will bring many fresh ideas to the work place – which is all good. However, as I think about customer measurement and putting the customer first I think there are a few things they can also learn from us “oldies.” Consider these recent adventures I have had:
• Tuesday night, softball game of 14-year old girls. A high fly goes to center field. The fielder runs wildly around with mitt in air, the ball hits the ground, and the fielder just stands there staring at it while the hitter zips around the bases. I am shrieking, “throw the ball in.” But guess what many other parents are saying? “Oh, that is OK.” I can’t tell you how many times that is said at kid's sporting events these days. Gosh, we would hate to say anything critical to our precious children. In 10 years, when they mess up a work assignment, is the customer going to say, “Oh, that is OK.” Certainly not.
• Thursday evening, Abercrombie and Fitch, low light, loud music, overpowering perfume (yeah, I’m with the same 14-year-old). We are greeted dozens of times by the many flawless, well-clothed, chirpy young people that man the store. Until we are ready to try on clothes. We go to the locked dressing room with arms of over-priced clothes and there is no one to be found to let us in. We look around, we walk from room to room, and 5 minutes later stumble across a clerk. They say, kind of puzzled, “Oh you want to try those on???” Duh. After trying them on, we wait another 5 minutes at the empty checkout counter. These young people are the future of our world, and they don’t have a clue of how to serve customers.
• Sunday afternoon, local grocery store. The bag boy is carrying on a very important conversation with a friend. Every couple of minutes he remembers where he is, looks my way, and puts an item in the bag. By the end he has asked me 6 times “how are you doing” without listening to my answer, used plastic bags when I asked for paper, and put the hamburger buns at the bottom of the bag. Not sure about you, but my customers would not settle for this inattention or mediocrity.
There are some interesting times ahead as the different generations integrate the best of both worlds into the workforce of the future. But I think one thing will stay the same – when I am a customer and paying for a service, I am going to want attentive, accurate, and competent service.
Chris Sego
Vice President, Client Services
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