Multiple times companies end up getting distracted in the fluff of the service and forget to understand the basics of customer service or small and simple steps that make the actual impact.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AMBIGUITY
Large multinational firms and businesses, usually end up in the whirlpool of wanting to please the customer and winning their loyalty that they end up failing to provide the only thing that customers really want, smooth service. With the rush of profits and a large customer base, companies tend to think of themselves as exceptional service providers and leaders of the game, however only the opposite stands true.
In a survey by Bain & Company, done on the customers of 362 companies, the results show that only 8 percent of the customers thought their experience was superior, and 80 percent of the companies were sure of providing superior experience. This clearly shows the simple fact that companies are in ambiguity of the service they provide and need to act up fast.
Companies are either not sufficiently collecting data on their customers and if they are then there is a lag between the result of the data and the company perceptions and analysis.
THE BAD-SERVICE RIPPLE EFFECT
In a research published by the Harvard Business Review(HBR), which showed the result of 75000 people who were reached over the phone to gain information about customer service and loyalty, provided great insight into the customer experience of people.
The bad- service ripple effect brings to our knowledge the amount of impact that a poor experience can have over a company’s existing customers as well as future customers. The results of the research were as follows:
25% of customers are likely to say something positive about their customer service experience
65% are likely to speak negatively
23% of customers who had a positive service interaction told 10 or more people about it
48% of customers who had negative experiences told 10 or more others
This is a clear explanation of companies constantly losing customer loyalty, and turning their customers into a touch point for future customers and giving them the authority to encourage or discourage more customers.
Let’s see the UAE banking sector suffering from the Bad- service ripple effect and highlight what can be done to bring about this change.
UAE AND ITS VARIED BANKING SERVICES
The national, a UAE magazine, recently reported a survey that was done by souqalmal.com they did on 4,210 of their users wanting to extract the information of “Would you recommend your current bank to a friend or family member?”
The findings must have left many banks to tap into both their CRM (customer relationship management) and CEM (Customer experience management) and figure out the loop holes.
The outcome of the research shows that only 11 percent of the users would like to recommend their banks to someone else, 14 percent were neutral and 74 percent said they would not actively promote their bank.
UAE is known to be facing the challenge of varied customers with diverse demands and needs, challenging the banks to provide an array of services and develop its strategies towards personal banking as well.
The research highlights that in a competitive time where there are over 50 banks and 500 products, banks need to provide exceptional service and unforgettable experience, that generates customer loyalty as well lures in more customers.
Banks need to understand who their target market is and what they are looking for and what can be done to cater a particular customer. The way the service is delivered should be based on who the customer is and what he or she is looking for.
For example, the Emiratis value their bond with the banks, enjoy personal service and choose to go to the specific branches to get their service. The western expats enjoy the modern technology facilities of online banking and self-service, and the sub-continent expats are more interested in the diverse product offerings.
Now let’s have a look at the bank that had 25 percent of its customer responding by wanting to actively promote the bank – Noor Islamic Bank.
Response from Noor Islamic Bank sheds light on their highest priorities of customer service, which our, to collect customer feedback and fix the loop holes that are revealed.
“We are very proactive in seeking customers’ views on our service quality,” says John Chang, Noor’s head of consumer banking.
“Every month we ask our customers to rate us and track their responses. Our quality service team follows up on any criticism directly with the customer and, if necessary, we improve our processes and provide staff with training.”
QUICK AND EASY SOLUTIONS PROVIDE CUSTOMERS A COMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE
Customer experience doesn’t only pertain to moments during the service, but begin way before, when the service is being delivered to a consumer, making how it is delivered, also a major part. A customers experience is created on all steps along the value chain, from looking up a product or service online to buying it and finally having it delivered. Well, it doesn’t end there; consumers star a service exceptional when companies provide thorough and quality post sale services as well.
Customer service management must keep in mind that to make a customer loyal and interested in the company, they must solve all his or her queries and problems, and instantly!
Customers who lose a lot of time trying to get through to the service department to get their problems solved express negative views towards the service, which automatically affects their experience.
Businesses must aim to decrease the time customers spend trying to solve problems related to a product or service which they purchased. Quite often customers get fed up and annoyed by the endless menus and clicks they have to go through while searching for an operator to talk to on the other line, which wastes their time and makes them lose value for the company.
This is when the channel of live chat comes in, providing more efficient and enhanced customer service online. Live Customer Chat Service of LiveAdmins easily integrates with the website and allows live chat operators to greet whenever a visitor lands on the website. With the help of this exceptional customer service tool, businesses can instantly solve customer queries and provide with most precise information or solution, resulting in enhanced customer experience on the website and ultimately increases the level of customer service of the business.
This shows the need for customers to quickly connect to a live representative and not wait on the phone for hours on hold, while another “important” client is being served.
Customer service agents need to be problem solvers who can provide short cuts and solutions at the spot, equipping the customer to solve his or her problem.
However this is growing to become one of the biggest challenge and companies are losing business because of their failure to provide smooth post sales experience. Also published in the HBR, is the research that talks about the amount of effort that customers have to put in, for getting through to the customer service and then finally getting their problem resolved.
This highlights the amount of “customer effort” that goes into getting a service out of the company, which involves the time they spend or the channels they shift, say website to phone, and even the amount of times they have to call back, because their issue wasn’t resolved the first time.
The research by Harvard Business Review also high lights the fact that customers can lose their loyalty with a company when they have to put in extra effort to be able to get their problems solved and the customer service team keeps disappointing them.
Obstacles all Too common
These show the results of the research by HBR on the effort that customers need to put in and how it affects their experience.
56% report having to re-explain an issue
57% report having to switch from the web to the phone
59% report expending moderate-to-high effort to resolve an issue
59% report being transferred
62% report having to repeatedly contact the company to resolve an issue
PLEASING CUSTOMERS THROUGH QUALITY EXPERIENCE TOUCHPOINTS
Strong data collectors and analysts are always focusing on which point triggers a positive or negative experience in the mind of the customer and try to gauge the reasons that instigate it. We recommend that every touch point is evaluated and given weightage in the cycle of pleasing a customer and getting strong loyalty out of him or her.
Managers need to take service as one whole experience which comprises of multiple stages and touch points that total to create the experience for the customer.
Now if the offering is the product, than managers must know that the experience while using the product must be of top quality and fits the needs of the customer. Research companies must understand the needs and trends luring in the minds of customers and tap into them. The first goal is to ensure the product itself has a strong design with no loop holes. Customers will rarely praise a company that makes an average or faulty product but has great service otherwise.
Once we establish that the product is of high quality and is topping the market or at least making its way to the lives of the customer, the second step is to ensure the quality of service, and hence the experience.
If the offering is a service, than the whole experience offered by the business is what delivers the end result. The service industry tends to face more challenges in the experience generating points, since the consumer comes in contact with it again and again, be it booking a ticket, or cancelling a seat or losing your baggage and having no one find it.
Now let’s have a look at Apple, the company has all its experienced structured together in alignment, from pre service, purchase and especially post service. If an apple consumer walks into the store he or she will never leave without a solution. Never.
The top management has given its customer service reps, the training, the knowledge, the mindset and especially the control to decide on providing the customer with an instant solution. That is an experience.
Apple also has experience stores, where customer can go and have a look at all the apple products, have a feel of their design and use, mix match them with accessories and know exactly how the product will be once they have invested in it, and since the products are always so great and user friendly, they end up purchasing them. Its touch points and small experiences like these that generate customer loyalty and beat all market competition.
Experience stores in UAE
Etisalat in the UAE has paired with Apple Middle East in the goals of delivering the customers with better customer experience and service, through an apple experience zone inside Etisalat’s Deira Business Centre in Dubai.
Ayman Eldessouky, chief sales officer, Etisalat, said: “As customers’ operator of choice for smart devices, it is our responsibility to go the extra mile to offer best-in-class experience. So, we will now have dedicated Apple experience areas in some key outlets. These areas will support customers who wish to learn about, experience and purchase the latest Apple devices. We have dedicated Etisalat team members trained by Apple who will be available to assist our customers.”
Purchasing an apple product for the people of UAE will now become a richer experience, which will engage them into a more personalized understanding of the product, by browsing through it, enjoying the tangible feel and asking as many questions as they like.
“The current success of the recent launch of Apple’s iPhone 5S clearly indicates that Etisalat stores are the chosen destination for customers wanting to take advantage of our advanced network with the latest smart devices.
WHAT COMPANIES ARE DOING WRONG AND HOW IT CAN BE FIXED
No matter what the scale of business is, every company you see these days is fixated on the goal to provide exceptional customer service. The need to surprise the customer, or create the WOW factor to be different and innovative in service, has left companies focusing on inventing new strategies instead of knowing what the customer wants from the product or service, and the ways to deliver it.
It is evident that companies are not fully utilizing the data collected by the customers who fill in forms, surveys or even complain about a particular product or service. Front line staff must have a data collecting mechanism of all queries, note down the complaint and transfer it to the back end management so they can act on the issue, and make sure it doesn’t affect another consumer.
Companies spend thousands of dollars on data collection, but seems like no one is putting the data together, evaluating it and actually assigning work to people to focus on the data results to bring about a change.
It’s simple, if a product has an interface issue or a software problem, service reps might give customers quick solutions on how to fix the problem, but hardly ever tell the management about the problems that arise. If the problems come in the notice of managers they can work on how to find solutions for it during the production stage, so these problems never emerge, saving times of customers along with tweaking the product towards perfection.
Customer service teams need to follow up on clients and make sure to ask them everything they liked or disliked about the product ranging from the price, usability, service and all factors that encompass the experience they are trying to provide.
Resources and time is spend on the analysis of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by trying to collect and distribute everything the company knows about the customer etc., which information is then used to make sales to customers in the future and evaluate marketing strategies. This has been a useful way to understand the customer, but in depth analysis on the gauging the experience of the customer and tapping into the expectations can’t be done well through the CRM. This is where CEM (Customer Expectation Measurement) comes in and finds the gap between customer expectation and experience and try’s to fulfill it, by analyzing data, which shows what the customer thinks of the company, and not what a company knows about a customer.
Having detail information, on customer’s interaction and reaction to touch points will allow the company to better understand the customer and his or her preferences and expectations, which will make companies, set targets to achieve and please the customer.
When talking of customer experience measurement, it’s important to bring “voice of customer” research in perspective and use the information to help provide better experience with products and services.
Voice of customer
Voice of customer is the process through which data regarding the feedback and requirement of customers is captured, so better service and product quality can be provided. This process lets the company be more proactive and understand what the customer is looking for, so the service or product can be updated if needed, to cater to the changing needs of the customers.
There are multiple ways through which the voice of the customer can be captured, which includes, feedback , surveys, interviews and direction questions, observations, focus groups, field reports and even customer complaints etc.
After finding out the requirements of the customers, their needs and wants, businesses are more aware of what offers and add-ons to give to customers to please them win them and enjoy high profits and market share.
Voice of the Customer helps management to identify the needs of the customers and then give them hierarchal preference, ensuring the information is put to use. Once the issues have been prioritized the companies need to make plans on tackling the various problems and focusing on the future development.