Guest Blogger 1to1 Customer Champion Janet LeBlanc: Simply the Best Customer Experience
Not a day goes by where I don't read about or hear about how the customer experience is the new frontier...the next competitive advantage...a new differentiator.
I am already a proponent, developing and leading a customer management program at one of Canada's largest company's; one of the believers who know (and can prove) that improving the customer experience will drive bottom-line results.
Yet, dissecting, managing, and improving the customer experience is an enormous challenge. Each day that experience becomes more complicated to improve ― just the sheer complexity of trying to manage all customer channels (sales, customer service, online, retail outlets) to provide a consistent and accurate interaction is a monumental feat; one not accomplished by many companies and more difficult to manage every day, as power shifts to consumers through online channels, including the social networks that give them the ability to share their levels of dissatisfaction at the flick of a wrist.
I often wonder how many companies truly get it right or have it all together?
A recent 1to1 webcast "Investigating the Maturity of Customer Experience Capabilities" gave me the answer: Not many. Not enough.
Most companies are still struggling to manage it all ― few are good at creating a complete and integrated view of each customer and predicting future behaviour. Even less are able to create individual customer treatment tracks.
We all struggle to make the best possible customer experience a reality, especially with the pressure to meet annual expense cuts and head count reductions. It's far easier for executives to approve investments in operational efficiencies because the return is simple to calculate and typically goes straight to the bottom line. On the other hand, customer experience investments can take years to realize even though successfully managing the customer experience will differentiate the business in its market and provide sustainable business benefits.
That being said, with all the turmoil building in the background, I often need to bring my executive team back to the basics. Our customers want simple things...
"I want quick and easy access. I don't want complicated rules. I want you to deliver as promised and refund me if you don't. I want the same answer to my question regardless of who I talk to. I don't want to wait. I want people to be polite to me and appreciate my business. I don't want to hear your side of the story."
It's that simple. Of course, execution is where the challenge lies.
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Read about Janet's customer strategy work for Canada Post in "Profitability: Delivered."
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