Have you ever put on your customer’s shoes? How does it feel to be a customer of your organization?
Good, bad or ugly… it’s a vital exercise in the journey to become a customer centric organization. As Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, said, ” Any time a customer comes into contact with any aspect of your business – however remote – they have an opportunity to form an impression.”
The first step is taking the time to map out the touch points customers have with your organization? Touchpoints are any time your organization directly interacts with a potential, existing or former customer.
At what points in your relationship with the customer do you create memorable experiences? Do you delight them at each touch point or disappoint them, creating a negative memory they associate with your organization.
I challenge you to undertake this exercise.
Granted, if this is one of your organization’s first exercises in customer centricity, it can be a lot to bite off as an initial step. I suggest walking before you run … choose one area of your business. Preferably a customer facing piece of the organization. The contact centre is a great place to start.
Start by identifying the direct interaction touchpoints your customer has with the contact centre. Among many things, these points are likely to include
– the structure of your IVR
– how quickly the call was answered
– the experience while on hold waiting to have a call answered
– the existence or lack of self-service tools
– the interaction with an agent
– how the reason for calling was resolved
These are all customer interaction points or opportunities to build evangelists, passives or detractors.
Once you’ve identified the interaction points, take off your business hat and replace it with your customer hat. Call into your contact centre, email or initiate a chat inquiry with a customer’s perspective and objectively evaluate what your customer experiences.
Is the experience creating evangelists, passives or detractors?
The answer can be a real eye opener!
Seth Brickner | Trainer & Developer, Impact Learning Systems International
[email protected]
http://www.impactlearning.com/blog/author/sethbrickner/
Good points Nathalia, especially your last two bullet points. Even those who have navigated a difficult IVR maze and spent more time on hold than anticipated can end up having an excellent service experience if the agent with whom they speak:
– uses excellent communication skills;
– demonstrates a service-oriented attitude;
– handles the call/contact efficiently, and
– provides additional value for the customer (e.g. pointing to web resources, sending links or attachments via e-mail, sharing tips for preventative maintenance or improved performance, offering special promotions in which the customer might be interested).
If the “frontline” employees at your company fall short in any of these areas, consider communication skills training (http://www.impactlearning.com/Call-Center/call-center-training.aspx) to help bridge the gap between the current level of service you offer and outstanding, memorable and loyalty-building service.