Turning Feedback Into Action

As you probably know, every 10 years, the United States government attempts to survey the entire population of the country. To me, this is the ultimate survey program, and while there are differences to the feedback that we try to gather from our customers on a regular basis, there are a lot of parallels as well. In fact, I think there are several things that we can learn from the government’s efforts here that can help us execute and act upon feedback we gather. This is the first of three planned articles about the 2010 US Census. Over the next couple of months, I’ll explore the process in three parts: Pre-Survey, Data Collection, and Post-Survey.

Pre Survey:

The founding fathers of the United States helped to instill a culture for surveying the population of the United States all the way back in 1790 – in fact, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States dictates that a survey will be conducted every 10 years

"The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 10 years, in such manner as they shall by Law direct."
-- Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States

This is an important lesson for us to learn from. The fact that this has been planned for, mandated, and carried on as tradition allows for it to continue, relatively unquestioned. Couple that with the decisions that are made based on the feedback, and there is little doubt that the US Census is part of the DNA of our culture, and process whose value is demonstrated consistently to the country.

The process for determining the questions to ask is a well thought out process, and ensures buy-in from key stakeholders in the U.S. Government. In fact, three years prior to the survey process, the U.S. Census Bureau must inform Congress of the subject areas they’d like to cover in the survey, and must have the questions locked down two years before the survey is launched. By going through this process, the information needs and question-owners must be identified and the potential decisions to be made must be considered long before any feedback is gathered. This ensures that "nice to know" questions are challenged, while "need to know" questions are given priority. 

While having such long lead times might be nice, obviously in our efforts we cannot afford this amount of time in gathering information for business decisions. But, the key lesson here is that every key stakeholder gets an opportunity to weigh in and is required to demonstrate how the information gathered will be used. This process continues to ensure buy-in and sorts out the key information needs long before the process is underway.

If there is one thing that the U.S. Census Bureau has done well, it is communication. They certainly have covered all the bases, from buying commercial time during the Super Bowl, sponsoring a NASCAR team, to making sure that children are aware (thanks to Dora the Explorer).


They've also developed a robust website, and have mailed out individual communications directed to respondents. As you can see, the Census does not suffer from underexposure. Its owners have done a great job of building awareness, while also branding the effort. It has been dubbed “In our Hands,” and provides a call to action for us as respondents:

 “We can’t move forward until you mail it back.”

While the process is expected to cost $15 billion (that’s about $48 per person), it is necessary to achieve the response rates that are necessary to allow for proper actions to be taken as a result of the feedback. This year, the Census Bureau is expecting a response rate of 64% (in 2000, 72% of Americans participated).

This biggest lesson in communications that we can apply to our efforts is how the census has demonstrated it has the full support of the President of the United States, as exhibited by the following video.

Note that the video is not just available in English, but also has been offered in other languages, an acknowledgement of the differing needs of the target audience.

The final item that’s critical in the pre-survey planning is illustrating the importance of the program to potential respondents. Their site has a section dedicated to providing reasons to participate, and outlining decisions and actions that will be impacted by the results. There’s also a threat, which I suppose we could incorporate into our survey efforts, but it probably left to those who could conceivably enforce a penalty to the very audience they’re targeting.

On Census Day (April 1, 2010), we’ll look at the data collection process, and identify some of the best practices that the Census is employing to make this as effective as possible. Hopefully by then, both you and I will have participated, and we can share our own experiences.

 

Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

The past few weeks, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading customer comments submitted in their survey feedback. And when I say “a lot of time,” I mean, a LOT of time.

The more time I spend reading through these comments, the more I realize that everyone should be reading these comments. Maybe not every single comment, but there are some customers who tell us very succinctly (and for the most part, politely) what they see going on in the relationship – calling out the strengths, the weaknesses and what they want to see improved. These comments are what tie together all of the numbers, all of the quantitative aspects of the information and summarizes it in a handful of statements, directly from the customer. These are the comments that should be shared with those who need to take action on the feedback.

The challenge I’ve given myself, and would challenge all who are responsible for driving action, is to be sure to incorporate customer voices along with all the numbers. We may find that by using the customer voice, truly in their own words, it will help drive understanding of customer perceptions and motivate others to take action.

Lauri Jones

Senior Analyst

Recently I had the privilege to assess nominations to the Hall of Fame sponsored by the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Red Cross. 

It was humbling to learn about the many individuals and organizations that embody the core humanitarian values of the Red Cross – those who saw a need and responded with specific acts of courage or kindness, those whose contributions enhance the community, and those who have had a lifetime of service. 

The heroes who might be easiest to recognize are those who risked their lives for others – those who helped others trapped in a burning building or who were submerged underwater or who were being viciously attacked. 

But we cannot forget the quiet heroes – those whose contributions are perhaps less spectacular, but every bit as important.  They make a difference in their community and in the lives of those around them.  (The Hall of Fame event will not be held until April, so it would be unfair for me to comment more about these quiet heroes at this time.) 

Participating in the selection process made me think about the quiet heroes of our customer feedback programs, such as those who:  

1. Ensure the customer contact list is correct and up-to-date.
2. Communicate program updates, making sure everything is accurate.
3. Review survey translations to ensure meaning across languages. 
4. Disseminate results to others in the organization.
5. Follow up with participants to address specific issues or opportunities.  

There are a lot of quiet heroes, let’s be sure to recognize their efforts!   

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President

 

Have you heard that Comcast is changing its name? Starting Friday, they will be known as Xfinity. Most customers will learn about the change through an advertising campaign set to air during the Winter Olympics. Comcast is hoping the name change will emphasize their focus on innovation and new products, as well as better suit them to compete with the likes of Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T’s U-Verse.

Although Comcast emphasizes that the name change aligns with their focus on providing customers with better products, many believe that they are also trying to distance themselves from the Comcast name that is synonymous with poor customer service and high prices.  Currently, they are among the bottom in the industry in regards to customer satisfaction.

It seems obvious, but improving your image with customers needs to be more than just a name change. Being customer focused means truly listening to customers and including their perspective when making business and strategy decisions. For a company like Comcast, this can seem like an overwhelming change, and it might just be easier to ditch the baggage associated with Comcast by becoming Xfinity. However, if they don’t address the issues that garnered them the poor customer service image in the first place, then a simple name change won’t help. Domino’s Pizza is a great example of how a company can turn things around by listening to customers. 

Time will tell if Xfinity proves to be a smart decision. I, for one, plan on sticking with my U-verse service.  In the meantime, if you are interested in reading more about companies who have stumbled with name changes, check out the Top 10 List from Time.

Melissa Meier
Vice President, Client Service

Many of you are surely familiar with the legendary John Wooden, one of the greatest teachers, coaches and mentors of all time. While he made his name in basketball, he has often been cited for his principles on leadership and success both personally and in business. One of his most famous quotes is “Be quick, but don’t hurry”. This quote is one that I often use as a reminder in my professional life, but I also believe it applies very directly to the situation facing Toyota Motor Corporation today.

Faced with the daunting task of responding to harsh criticism from current customers who are fearful for their lives, prospective customers who have lost faith in Toyota’s reputation for quality, the U.S. Transportation Secretary quoted as saying, “My advice to anyone who owns one of these vehicles is stop driving it,” thus fueling a traditional and emerging media that thrives on sensationalism, Toyota must indeed “be quick, but don’t hurry,” as they sort out how to repair upwards of 8 million automobiles.

Toyota must "be quick" in order to stem the tide to prevent the backlash from overwhelming them. Current estimates suggest that they may have already lost $2 billion either in repair costs or lost sales, and the longer the story lingers as headline news, the greater these losses become.

However, at the same time, Toyota cannot "hurry" with the repairs or sweep this under the rug, as they should be very aware that people’s lives are at stake here. While solutions have been posed to drivers who experience a stuck accelerator, another serious injury or death related to this issue could cause irrevocable damage. However, even worse, if repairs are supposedly completed by dealerships, but haven’t corrected the problem, or cause other unintended issues, it could strike a critical blow to Toyota’s credibility in the eyes of all involved.

I’m an owner of a Toyota, and I do have faith in the products that they make, but their reputation is at stake, and how they respond to the feedback received will lay the foundation for how they are seen post-crisis. Perception truly is reality, and there is no better time for Toyota to begin proving themselves again than today. So, I do hope that Toyota will be quick, but don’t hurry. There’s too much at risk not to be.

Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

It’s a new year and many of us dove headfirst into 2010 – wrapping up year end activities, moving swiftly into getting new initiatives underway and focusing on what we want to accomplish for the year. I was recently at a conference where different community organizations discussed all the effort that went into their work and one speaker’s closing comment was “Be sure to celebrate success, no matter how big or small it is.” That one statement stuck out to me as something that may not happen enough, particularly the “no matter how big or small”. How often do we celebrate the little milestones that take us one step closer to accomplishing our larger goals?

While planning for 2010 and all that it may bring, celebrate the small success each of us have when taking action on the feedback customers provide. Recognize the account manager that followed up with the customers for participating in the survey. Acknowledge the team members that assisted others in gathering customer names for contact. Compliment the functional teams that incorporated customer feedback into their roadmaps. Let the customers know what your organization is going to do with their feedback and thank them for their support. 

While we need to keep our eye on the big picture, celebrate the small successes accomplished along the way. It can only motivate those taking action to continue as they are acknowledged for the efforts that take place.

"Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now."

~ Jonatan Martensson

Lauri Jones

Senior Analyst

Since the earthquake struck in Haiti last week, it has become so apparent of the need for people to mobilize and get involved.   My colleague Michael Good encouraged us to take action in his blog “You can do something.”  I would like to echo his encouragement to get involved. 

The news media has communicated the tremendous need for food, water, relief supplies, and medical treatment.  If, like me, you have been following the rescue efforts and response from organizations like the American Red Cross and ministries like Nehemiah Vision Ministries, then you have seen many examples of people taking action. 

These groups, along with many other nonprofit organizations, churches, and other organizations are responding to the disaster.  Fundraising efforts have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to provide the necessities.  Medical professionals are heading to Haiti to help people in need.  Many families have volunteered to bring Haitian orphans into their homes if they can get the children out of Haiti.  Groups are packaging food to send to Haiti.  Sports organizations are raising money at local sporting events.  There is a need; people want to help. 

What lessons can we take from this and apply to our efforts in managing customer relationships?  

1. Recognize each associate in your organization can make a difference.  
2. Be willing to accept help from others.
3. Communicate your needs.
4. Encourage team members to get involved. 

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President
 

There has been a lot of buzz the past week regarding NBC’s late night line-up and the drama associated with how to handle the failure of Jay Leno’s ill-fated 10:00 prime time slot. It’s hard to remember the days when NBC was on top and they owned “must-see TV.” A string of questionable decisions NBC has made regarding programming has allowed the other networks to catch up and surpass them. When it was announced last year that Jay Leno would be leaving The Tonight Show and get his own show airing at 10:00p.m. every night, many experts questioned the logic of this decision. It was a risky move to be sure, considering that NBC was giving up a time slot usually reserved for scripted dramas.

Now NBC is left dealing with how to deal with the repercussions of this decision. What will become of The Tonight Show? Will Conan agree to share the time slot with Leno? Given recent comments from O’Brien, it doesn’t sound likely.

One could argue that if NBC was more in touch with what their audiences were looking for, they might not be in this situation right now.   The situation at NBC is one that is well publicized and we are all aware of, but the same thing happens every day when businesses do not take the voice of the customer into account when making business decisions.   The best way to avoid this is to make certain that your organization has an integrated approach to collecting and acting upon the feedback your customers provide. Companies who put customers at the center of everything they do outperform those that have not developed effective ways of customer listening. 

Melissa Meier
Vice President, Client Service

If you’re anything like me, you can probably count on one hand the number of times that you’ve had Domino’s Pizza in the past. In the hierarchy of chain pizza restaurants, Domino’s was always about 34^th  on my list of options (even beneath places that I have since found out were no longer in business). But recently I noticed that Domino’s has taken a bold, creative approach to addressing their customer feedback that mirrors the perception I had in my mind whenever Domino’s was mentioned.

If you haven’t seen the commercials (if you’re a football fan, don’t worry, you will soon), Domino’s basically lets us behind the curtain to see and hear the nature of the feedback they’ve heard. Things like ‘the crust tastes like cardboard’, and ‘the sauce tastes like catsup’ were continually mentioned in customer focus groups and on social media vehicles like Twitter (http://twitter.com/dominos) and Facebook.

However, instead of trying to divert attention to other aspects that don’t matter as much (like they used to do with the "30 minutes or its free" guarantee), they’ve now addressed this feedback head-on, and have totally recreated their pizza, as well as their approach toward customer feedback.

You can learn more in a pretty candid take in the video below, or at www.pizzaturnaround.com

 



While it remains to be seen how effective this approach will ultimately be (I’ve yet to try their new pizza, but I have to say I’m at least a little intrigued now), I believe that Domino’s should at least be commended for actually listening to what their customers are saying, doing something about it, and crediting their changes to their desire to be customer focused.

Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

As we head into 2010, many people will look back and reflect on the past year.  The media helps in the reflection process, providing lots of “Top 10 lists.”  The most comprehensive list I have seen is Time Magazine’s The Top 10 Everything of 2009.  There are lists of movies, pictures, sports moments, and awkward moments.  There are lists of the best websites, the best television shows, and the best inventions. 

The end of year just seems like a good time to take stock, to reflect on what went well and what didn’t work out exactly as expected.  You might reflect on whether you have achieved your target fitness level, or trained to run a marathon in a certain amount of time, or spent more quality time with your family, or read a certain number of books.   After reflecting, a logical next step is to make resolutions for what you want to do differently in 2010.  What habits will you change?  What things will you stop doing?  What will you start doing?

Similarly, this is a good time to take stock of your Customer Feedback program.  You might reflect on the actions you have taken this year.  What initiatives have been put in place?  What has worked well, improving the customer experience?  What efforts stalled?  Why?  Given what you know about your customers, what habits should you change in 2010?  What should your team stop doing?  Or, start doing?

With any good resolution, it is important to keep your goal measurable and achievable.  For example, if your goal is to ensure all account teams have easy access to customer information, then consider making Walker Link available to all account managers. 

2010 Resolution:  Take action on customer feedback!

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President
 

The time of year is upon us when we will be bombarded with “year in review” lists. Over the next few weeks we will be talking about the biggest stories of the year. Some of the top ones that come to mind include the inauguration of a new President, the continued economic crisis, the concern over H1N1, the death of Michael Jackson, and most recently the embattled Tiger Woods. Then, of course, there were the stories that just seemed to get more and more outrageous such as “Octomom”, the Gosselins, and the “Balloon Boy” hoax. Whereas there is a lot of fun in reminiscing about all of the events of the past year, hopefully there are lessons to be learned as we reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

What does the year in review look like for your organization? How effective were you in being customer focused? If you were to create a year in review list for your company, how would you answer the following questions?

·         What was your biggest success in using customer feedback to improve customer relationships?

·         What was your biggest disappointment in delivering optimal customer experiences?

·         What was the biggest surprise you learned from listening to customers this year?

As you reflect on the past year, think about the ways in which you can communicate back to customers the lessons you have learned from them.  This will demonstrate your commitment to listening to your customers and using their feedback to improve their experiences.

Melissa Meier
Vice President, Client Service

If your customers were helping Santa Claus check his naughty and nice list, which one would your company fall into this year? Have you been good all year? Just like Santa, your customers see you when you’re sleeping (or simply ignoring their requests), they know when you’re awake (like when you’ve actively listened to their feedback, and made changes accordingly. They know when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.

If you haven’t done so yet this year, as you prepare for 2010, perhaps now is a good time to take stock of the things that your company has done to improve how you listen and engage with your customers.

•  What things have you started doing this year based on customer feedback?
• What things have you stopped doing based on customer feedback?
• What things have you done more of based on customer feedback?

Do your customers know what you’ve done, and if so have you seen the benefits of these changes yet? While customers are typically forgiving, it may take some time for them to believe you’re not simply trying to fool them into a false sense of security with you.

If you’ve made changes, have you remembered your former customers in your communications? If they left you for a particular reason that has been fixed, have you made an effort to patch up the relationship in order to grow your business?  I’ll cite one personal example of a company that did just that.

I used to be a long-time subscriber to XM Satellite Radio (now Sirius-XM). However, after their recent merger, I felt like the quality of their programming was weakening, and the amount of programming I received for my regular subscription fee was shrinking, so I decided to call them up to cancel. Amazingly, during my conversation with the very polite representative, no questions were asked about why I wanted to cancel, and I was not enticed by any other offers to stick around. 

However, prior to the holiday season, the folks at Sirius-XM sent me a note indicating that they were re-instating my subscription for a short period of time to reacquaint me to their offerings and how they’ve changed since my cancellation. They caught me at a good time, because I’m a bit of sucker for holiday music, so I took them up on their offer. I did listen to their content for another two weeks, and I’m contemplating renewing my subscription as a result of the personal attention I received. It was a small gesture, but one that made me feel like more than a number to them, and gave me reason to put them in my thoughts.

So, don’t forget to make sure that your customers, and Santa, know when you’ve been nice this year.

Happy holidays and best wishes in 2010!




Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

It’s official.  We have entered the holiday season!  That usually means a very full calendar with events, holiday parties, and casual get-togethers with family and friends.  Yet, there also seems to be many more things to get done.  

1.  At risk customers were segmented based on their value to the organization. Six high value customers rise to the top of the list.  
    
2.  Other vulnerable customers who plan to reduce their spending are a secondary priority.  They’re next on the list.
    
3. Finally, the last part of the list is made up of those who are not only at risk of departure, but who also have an affinity to the competition.

We’re currently in the midst of planning a holiday trip to Florida for our family.   All of our conversations lately focus on which day to leave and return, where to stay, the route to take, what impact on the holiday it may have, what activities will be available when we are there and concerns of the weather.  The planning phase is so intense, with so many aspects to consider and debate and negotiate, I actually asked the question if taking a trip to Florida (in the dead of Indiana winter) was worth it!

Planning for anything, including a Voice of the Customer program, is intensive but without a plan, the outcome may fall short of expectations. And when there are significant investments towards learning what your customers think, the planning phase is critical to ensure that investment is fully recognized. As customer advocates, we develop strategies around contact gathering and survey development. But do we spend as much time on planning our internal and external communications throughout the program?  

With a well-developed and executed communications plan, continual awareness building of the program can be attained, clearing the path internally to take action on the feedback gathered.  Plan key communications for customers throughout the customer survey cycle to garner buy-in, participation and awareness of actions being taken. Leverage current communication avenues already in place, be creative in the messaging and send information out at key junctures in the program to help keep awareness levels high. The upfront planning stages may already be intensive and adding another area to plan is not necessarily what we’d want to do. However, the efforts put forth in creating a communications plan will be worth it in the long run.

Lauri Jones

Senior Analyst

Have you ever had a situation that you were dreading, but turned out to be not so bad? That happened to me recently when I needed to take my son to a local flu shot clinic. We weren’t having any luck with the flu shot supply at our doctor’s office, so we loaded up the family and went to a flu shot clinic. I expected it to be a torturous experience. I imagined a line of people hundreds deep, with a wait time that was measured in hours, not minutes. Much to my surprise, the event was very well coordinated and staffed, which resulted in us getting right and out. When leaving, it struck me how easy the whole thing was.

What lesson is there for us as customer advocates? In order to motivate our organizations to take action, we must make it easy for them to participate in the process. If we don’t, employees will view it as just one more thing that they need to and will be looking for ways to avoid it. Think of your company when answering the following questions:

• Is there an efficient process in place for sales teams to provide customer contact names?
• Do people know where to go to get feedback that customers provided?
• If they do know where to go, is it easy for them to retrieve it?
• Is there an easy way for people to document the action they have taken with customers?

If you are like most organizations, the answer to one or more of the questions above is “no.” When designing the customer feedback system, focus on making the process easy for people to participate in.  Think about how the process can be embedded into existing processes and management systems. Use technology to enable efficiency around program administration and documentation activities. If successful, I bet you find that the uphill battle on getting employees to participate won’t seem so steep.

Melissa Meier
Vice President, Client Service

One thing that often gets overlooked in the gathering of customer feedback is what your customers tell you about the competition. Obviously, one of the primary objectives of any customer feedback initiatives is to gauge how your customers perceive their interactions with your company.

But, how you factor in any comparisons to other relationships your customers have may change the perspective on the feedback. For instance, let’s assume that 70% of your customers view your company as Easy to Do Business With. Sounds great, right? You might even be tempted to take this nugget of feedback and trumpet it out to the marketplace. That’s fine if you have benchmarking information that suggests the industry average for this concept is 50%. But, if 80% of your customers view your key competitor as Easy to Do Business With, then this is something you likely need to work on before you celebrate.

Two good examples of taking what customers have complained about have been used in high profile ads recently. Apple has done a good job exploiting feedback about Microsoft in humorous campaign around the launch of Microsoft’s new Vista OS.

Apple has not escaped criticism, and Motorola has recently launched a campaign targeted at some of the negative feedback received about the iPhone.  


 

Both campaigns are humorous, but are made possible only when these companies listen to feedback about themselves, but also about their competition. 
 

The same concept works on Loyalty, and can be even more powerful. In this scenario, if you’re measuring your customers’ relationships with the competition, you can begin to understand how plausible dual-loyalty is in your relationships. It’s very possible that while a customer is Truly Loyal to your company, they may also have a similar level of Loyalty to your biggest competitor. In that case, the ability for you to increase your share of wallet may be harder to achieve. However, if another customer is Truly Loyal to you, but High Risk to your competitor, this represents a very strong opportunity that should be explored to help you prioritize your time and resources.

So, while it’s good to be selfish when it comes to customer feedback, don’t forget that it’s not always just about you.

Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

Recently, the topic of encouragement came up in a small group discussion – the question being “Why is it so difficult for some people to encourage each other?” The general sense being too often we don’t recognize the efforts and lengths people go to since they are “simply doing their job.”

You may have seen the video where two students at Purdue University,The Purdue Compliment Guys, show us it is not difficult to encourage others.  Last spring they gained national attention for standing on a prominent walkway at the center of campus every Wednesday and offering free compliments to hundreds of passersby. Their goal is simply to brighten people's days.

Their praise might be surprising, but is definitely appreciated and makes people feel good:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShPNcjgtfs

As a customer advocate, you likely recognize the importance of motivating individuals to take action on customer feedback. It’s true some people are motivated by linking their personal success with customer success (through pay and other rewards). But, let’s not forget the importance of reinforcing or sharing positive messages to keep people motivated. Recognizing their efforts can go a long way in motivating for action.

You’re doing a great job!  And, I encourage you to offer a word of encouragement to your colleagues…


Kitty Radcliff
Vice President
 

It is at this time of year where many conversations start to center around fantasy football. In fact, you are probably in the minority if you don’t have contact with fantasy football, either directly or through someone you know.   Just think if the amount of time and energy that went into research and making decisions for a fantasy football team could be channeled into taking action on voice of the customer!

What it is about fantasy football that draws people in? It makes football even more fun to watch - especially if you are watching a game with no vested interested in either team – because you are rooting for your fantasy team’s players. It also taps into the competitive spirit in all of us. It is fun to engage in friendly competition with friends, family members, and strangers all with the goal of coming out on top.

There are applications here that can apply to voice of the customer programs. Sales organizations are famously competitive, so think of ways that the competitive nature of your sales teams can be levered to drive action. For example, reward and recognize those sales teams who provide the most contact names or who are first to complete close the loop activities. Many companies use a “wall of shame” approach to encourage superior performance across all teams…no one wants to be at the bottom of a performance list. Also think of ways in which fun can be incorporated into these competitive elements. Creating some excitement around the voice of the customer program is a great way to motivate people to participate, and prevent them from viewing this as "just one more thing to do."