Turning Feedback Into Action

Besides customers, there is nothing more important to customer strategists than our teams. Think of all the different things we do – plan, gather information, review it, communicate, refine customer strategies, and take action. We can’t do it alone. Our team needs to be organized for action. 

Unfortunately we can underestimate the need to coordinate with other people. This article by Dan Heath and Chip Heath in Fast Company reinforces why we often do not work well as a team. No one wants to "drop the baton" but it can happen if the team isn't coordinating with each other.

Be assured, it’s possible for teams to function well. I recently learned about W. L. Gore & Associates (known for GORE-TEX® fabric as well as many other products). They have been named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the past 13 years.  (They are currently ranked #13). Their team approach is a big factor in their success. 

Terri Kelly, President and CEO notes "We recognize the importance of fostering a work environment where people feel motivated, engaged and passionate about the work they do." Time is spent conveying team objectives, as well as matching associates with projects that fit their skills. Watch this short video to get a better feel for how they operate: 



What a great reminder to foster teamwork with your Customer Advocacy Network!

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President 

Recently I had the privilege of visiting a client about their customer feedback program. A flight to Dallas and car rental was in order to make my way to their facility.
 
Perfect flight.  Perfect service.  Horrible car.  On the highway I realized there was no visibility when I wanted to change lanes. “Blind spot” is an understatement. I couldn’t see a thing. My colleague had to check the traffic to see if it was safe to change lanes. Truly it is amazing we didn’t get in an accident.

Afterwards, the car rental company sent a survey about the experience. Being in the customer strategy business, I shared my thoughts – the positive about the service and the negative about the car. The customer service area sent an email back in response. In theory this is good practice; I also encourage my clients to follow up on certain survey responses. 

However, no one took the time to review my feedback prior to sending that email. I had already provided input on why I was dissatisfied with the vehicle. Instead of asking me to reply to the email “If you would like to provide more feedback on why your rental was unsatisfactory” I wish they would have asked what the obstacles were to seeing out the driver’s side or how tall I am to understand if there are limitations to who should drive that type of car.   

At the end of the day, fortunately we made it home safely. I provided feedback to prevent an accident for someone else because they couldn't see other traffic. My hope is the rental car company cares enough to get past the task of follow-up -- to drive change and ensure the safety of other customers.  

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President
 

I’ll confess. Sometimes I add a task to my to-do list, something I actually just completed, simply to get the satisfaction of immediately crossing it off. I sometimes have those days that, no matter how hard I try, I feel I am not accomplishing anything on my list. So to help keep me motivated, I write it down and cross it off. 
 

I have to believe I am not the only one who sometimes needs a mental boost in the middle of a hectic day, week or project. It’s difficult at times to believe you are making progress when the list just seems to grow (or never get smaller).  There are times I have to remember that I may not accomplish one large task, but if I break it down into smaller steps that I can accomplish, I can then cross it off.

It is important for any individual or team tackling a large project to keep an eye on the end goal. However, it’s just as important to recognize the small steps that must be taken to reach that goal. When developing action plans based on customer feedback, keep the ultimate change in the forefront; however make sure to break down each step necessary to reach that goal. Document those and, if necessary, break those down into smaller actions for the team to tackle and cross off the list. Continuing to feel as though strides towards making a change are happening, will help keep everyone motivated and dedicated to the project. 

While at times a team (or I) may feel they are not able to accomplish anything on their list, most likely there is some task that has been or can be done to move one step closer to reaching the end goal (and crossing it off the list).

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
-John Wooden

Lauri Jones

Senior Analyst

One struggle that seems common among most companies that gather feedback from their customers is how to best understand and use unstructured feedback (often called verbatim comments). On one hand, these comments are often the best way to truly understand an individual situation, as some customers will provide paragraphs of information describing their issues, concerns, and improvement suggestions. People love these comments. However, sometimes users of feedback will latch onto one or two comments and consider those representative of the entire customer universe, which can be dangerous, and flat out incorrect.

The best use of feedback is a balanced approach using both quantitative feedback to understand trends, strengths, weaknesses, and areas driving future behaviors, while leveraging the qualitative feedback to drill deeper once the focus has been narrowed. Traditionally that has required sifting through comments to categorize them by theme, and then identify meaningful ones based on the kind of customer, their experiences, and the prominence of their voice in the eyes of executives. However, we’re entering an age where much more can be done with customer commentary.

Technologies have emerged recently, with some initial human-based teaching and support, will automatically categorize customer comments. What’s more, software can also convert the comment into a quantitative form of feedback based on the tone of the comment (positive, neutral, or negative).  Linking this to other information about customers (revenue, profitability, loyalty, and other items), may potentially open many doors that have not been visible in the past.

The one shortcoming of these technologies to this point has been the ability to properly handle sarcasm, a common tactic that humans use, particularly when displeased with something to add even more of a negative tone to a comment. Most humans can pick up and interpret quickly, while machines have been prone to taking the comments at face value, and thus misinterpreting them.

So, a comment like:

“Great idea, now try again with a real product development team!”

... would likely be determined by a computer program as a positive comment, but you and I know this is a slam on a company’s product development team.

Most of you have probably seen the recent advertisements from Domino’s Pizza announcing their pizza turnaround. They owned up to the fact that people just didn’t like their pizza and used feedback from customers to change their pizza recipe. To learn more, check out my colleague’s blog on this topic from January. 

I will be honest, prior to hearing about this change at Domino’s, it had probably been 10 years or more since I had even thought of calling Domino’s for delivery. But, I was intrigued by their creative advertising and confidence that if people gave them a second chance, the pizza would speak for itself. Our family gave it a shot and we really did like the pizza. In our opinion, it really was much better!

My family is not the only ones that have been drawn in by the new approach. Domino’s recently announced their Q1 earnings and they are posting a record quarter of growth based on same store sales in the U.S. What a great example of using the voice of the customer to shape business strategies and drive growth! 

The Walker Book Club is currently reading the Dan and Chip Heath book titled Switch.  (They wrote the book “Made to Stick.”)  One recommendation that resonates with me is to “Find the Bright Spots” aka the successful efforts worth emulating.
 
Perhaps the issue seems too big or has too many intertwined problems to easily find an effective solution.  In their malnourishment example, analysis points to poverty, sanitation, nutrition, and other potential causes that are not easily solvable.  Instead, they show that by investigating what mothers of healthy children were doing - the bright spots - they discovered key difference makers and implemented cooking classes for other mothers as a result. 

Finding bright spots and understanding what makes them different can help set the stage for change.  Thinking about your customer loyalty program, a bright spot could be:

• The Customer Service Representative who consistently resolves customer issues on the first call, when others require multiple contacts.
• The Account Manager who understands the business impact of following up on opportunities generated from their customer program and does it when others do not.
• The geo that improves customer perceptions, when all other geos have declining trends.

You may be aware of the bright spots in your program.  But, how much time do you spend to uncover the differences between the bright spots and the not so bright (or dark) spots?  What makes the bright spots bright?  And, what do you do once you understand the differences? 

Now, compare that to how much time and energy you spend trying to fix problems. I’m just saying… 

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President

Fast Company has an exclusive excerpt from the book. You can read it here.
 

I heard an interesting comment the other day that I’ll paraphrase here:

"Words are like containers. You put a bunch of meaning into your words; all wrapped up into a container and give the container to another person. That person opens the container, the words come out and you believe they hear the same meaning from those words that you put into them. But do they?”

 
How many times have I made a comment or statement that, in my mind, was completely innocent but the person I said it to, heard something different. The way they heard it gave them information that was different from what was intended, or caused them to take a different course of action than where I thought it would take them.

How does this relate to Customer Listening? Here are a few ways:

1. Writing the survey: Are the questions written pulled from the customers’ terminology or from the company’s viewpoint? Understanding how customers view interactions or describe interactions or experiences are important to understand and use so the subsequent feedback is truly from their viewpoint.
2. Internal and external communications: Are the communications long, full of detail and describing the process only, or are they concise, to the point, and describe the benefits of participating in the process? Not all communications can be succint, however, if they convey the right message of how the time and effort will pay off in the end, the subsequent action may be more positive.
3. Results dissemination: Are the results clear and concise, providing the account teams or functional teams absolute direction on what they should focus on to improve customers’ perceptions? When closing the loop with customers, are the top actions being undertaken clearly defined and described so customers know what is being done? 

Despite best efforts, I’m sure there will continue to be the occasional misinterpretation or misunderstanding of our words. However the more thought, consideration, and multiple viewpoints that go into survey design, communications, and results sharing may help prevent some of those misunderstandings and provide clearer courses of action for everyone to take to improve the customer experience.

Lauri Jones

Senior Analyst

Last month, I took a preliminary look at the US Census, and all of the efforts that have gone into preparing 300 million potential participants to inform and encourage them to respond. This month, we’ll take a look at their data collection process, and some pros and cons of their approach.

First, let’s look at the methodology that is used to gather feedback. In 2010, the primary method is a paper survey that is mailed to individual households, and expected to be mailed back in an accompanying postage paid envelope. Respondents have approximately 30 days to respond on their own. After this 30 day period (starting April 10), there will be a period of in-person follow ups provided by volunteers to encourage participation. After a review of the success of this activity, the Census Bureau will hire employees to conduct face-to-face interviews with those who have yet to respond.

Now, you may note that, in this day and age where internet adoption feels nearly universal (62% of US households have internet access, according to the Census Bureau), the Census is not available to take online. There was an online component in 2000, but not this year. They are actively looking at providing this option in the future, but it does seem odd that with a budget of $15 billion, it would benefit them to provide an option that is convenient, cheap, and already utilized by many in their daily lives.

However, recognizing that the US is a diverse culture, the paper survey is available in 6 languages:

·         English

·         Spanish

·         Chinese

·         Korean

·         Russian and

·         Vietnamese

Although these are available by request only, it is encouraging that it is being offered in multiple languages to ensure participation across the country.

As you can see, the Census has taken a very hands-on, and costly approach to their survey this year, in hopes of securing a very strong response rate. If stacked, the paper used to print the surveys would be 29 miles high, and weigh 11.6 million pounds. Concerned about how much the government is spending? Well, the best way to help is by sending your survey back. For every one percentage point improvement in response rates, the government will save approximately $85 million in salaries and mailings to encourage responses. Or, think of it this way – it costs the government $0.42 for your mailed in response, but would cost them $57.00 if they have to visit you in-person to gather your responses.

So, what information is the Census looking to gather? Well, this year, not a whole lot. Very basis, need-to-know information encompasses most of the feedback, which is prudent in terms of ensuring a strong response rate and minimizing the time to complete. In past years, some unique questions have popped up in census surveys.

In 1840, questions such as the number of blind residents, the number of ‘insane and idiotic in public or private charge’ were asked, while in 1930, the census inquired about employment (or more importantly, unemployment), although due to the severity of the Great Depression, a special unemployment census was conducted the following year to get even more specific into the gravity of the situation.

Expect the time you spend to be pretty brief, particularly if you have a small household. If only one person lives at your house, it’s just a 10 question survey. If more than one, expect a few more questions. The Census Bureau anticipates their average take time to be 10 minutes or less per household, which is among the shortest in the history of the survey, and an ideal time to shoot for.

But, wait, do you remember taking ‘the long form’ in the past? This was sent out to a relatively small percentage of households in the past, but was much more in-depth, capturing a wide variety of economic data which was useful in assessing trends and planning for the future. However, the long form has been eliminated this year.


In its place, and in a move that is consistent with an approach favoring short but continuous feedback, the Census will repurpose the American Community Survey, which has been around for 10 years or so, to gather this data. This survey will go out to about 3 million households annually, and will help to fill in the gaps between each census, while reducing the burden on individuals during that time.

Now, what happens with the information that is gathered? Well, if you’re concerned about confidentiality, don’t be. All individual information is completely confidential while being maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). While aggregate information is available in near real time, your data is safe for at least 72 years. No one can access your individual results until 2082. This wasn’t always the case, though. During WWII, the Second War Powers Act of 1941 allowed results to be used to identify and track Japanese nationals due to fears of attacks from Japan. Fortunately, this act was repealed in 1947, and confidentiality of results has been intact since then.

So, where do we stand with responding to the 2010 census now? As of April 8, the participation rate is at 64% (which takes out any undeliverable addresses), so well done to everyone, especially those of you in Livonia, Michigan, Green, OH, and my neighbors in Carmel-Clay, Indiana, who lead the response with over 79% participation so far. The overall rate has already met the goal established by the Census Bureau, and gives us a chance to exceed the participation in 2000 of 72%.

In my opinion, the Census has done a lot of things right and just a few things wrong. We can certainly learn from their communication efforts, and their dedication to gathering this feedback. They’ve acknowledged our diverse needs, and have attempted to make this as short as possible, while still attempting to obtain the information that the government needs to allocate resources appropriately. They’re enabling us to participate confidentially, so that any fears over participating are allayed before we respond. And, they’re giving aggregated data to those who can use it quickly, which helps everyone leverage the feedback with minimal time lags. Also, transparency regarding response rates is great, which helps people know how things are going and what to expect.

The biggest beef I have is the cost associated with the efforts, which is linked to the methodology. In this day and age, and the focus of the current administration on leveraging technology and being socially responsible, I find it hard to believe that an online survey would not tremendously improve response rates and diminish the costs for conducting. Perhaps concerns over confidentiality might have trumped this method, but it seems as if cost concerns would have helped make this an easy win.  The only other concern I have is perhaps a greater understanding of what is to come. I think they’ve done a decent job of this, but helping the less informed connect all of the dots and ensure a common understanding of what is done with the data gathered might be more useful. We’ll examine this topic further in our next installment.

So, have you taken your Census yet? Have your neighbors?

Let me know what you think about the process, and how you perceive it benefitting you and your community.

Until next month...

Brad Harmon
Vice President, Consulting Services

I don’t know about you, but it sure has been a busy first quarter! While I personally enjoy a fast-paced environment and like having my days filled with activity, the downside can be all of the different areas competing for my attention. I find myself constantly having to make choices about where my time gets spent. This can lead to tough choices regarding mission-critical vs. secondary priorities, as well as focusing on a good work / life balance.   I am certainly not alone and I know that this is something that all of us are faced with on a daily basis. Earlier this week, the White House hosted a “Forum on Workplace Flexibility” to address the challenge that Americans face when balancing the demands of jobs and families. If you are interested in reading more about this, click here.

So, how is this relevant to our roles as customer advocates? One of the most common challenges we hear from our clients is engaging their organizations to take action on customer feedback. Functional areas and customer facing teams often view VoC activities as just one more thing they need to do, on top of an already overwhelming to do list. We are competing for their time, and this is a competition that we are hard-pressed to win unless we demonstrate the value of taking action. Here are some ideas on how to align customer feedback and make it relevant within the organization:

• Provide sales teams with opportunities to follow-up with customers who indicate they are likely to increase wallet share
• Tell stories in the organization about success that that teams have had in growing revenue by taking action on customer feedback
• Have an infrastructure in place that makes it easy for people to view customer feedback and document action plans
• Tailor communication messages to make certain information is relevant to the recipient

The more we integrate VoC into the culture of our organizations, the harder it will be for people to push it further down their to do list.

Melissa Meier
Vice President, Client Service

The Fall 2009 issue of the University of Miami, School of Business alumni magazine (Business Miami) had a short article detailing some key insights by organizations using customer feedback to drive innovation. Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean noted the close connection they have with customers. “We live with our guests. That really arms our people in a way that is unique to our business.” 

That idea resonated with me and makes me wonder what “living with our customers” might mean for those of us not blessed with the chance to literally live together on a cruise ship.

"Living with our customers" could mean:

• Building relationships outside of the business context, such as having dinner, going golfing, or going to the Indianapolis 500 Mile race.  It’s amazing the things you can learn in a casual conversation when you are face-to-face with someone.
   
• Having a periodic customer forum where you can get together with like-minded individuals to share current best practices, to discuss challenges, and to provide a networking opportunity (think: Walker Forum).
   
• Touring their facilities to better understand their processes and procedures. (A personal favorite was visiting a chocolate factory!)
   
• Meeting on a regular (e.g. quarterly) basis to discuss their overall strategic goals, progress on initiatives underway, and the state of the partnership.

But what can you do if you have a lot of customers?  One option is to use social media, such as being “friends” on Facebook. One of my clients currently has an online group with over 70,000 fans. 

• They share alerts, tips and other relevant information with customers. They even offer a complimentary subscription to their product on the site!
   
• Group members come from all over the world, sharing their own experiences using the products and services – pros, cons, and challenges – thus this company is able to use the group as another customer listening tool.   
   
• The key to success will be in harnessing all of the information available and using it as input into product development and their customer strategy.

What are some of the ways you can “live with” your customers?

Kitty Radcliff
Vice President 

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