The Beauty of Customer Experience – Bruce Temkin

Got a great chance to hear Bruce Temkin speak at an event sponsored by Adobe this week.   Bruce has been a great leader in both thought and action in helping companies move to be customer centric.  He’s getting ready to release a new report on a survey of 6,000 consumers rating the experience the deliver.  I’ll comment next week after he releases the study, but certainly retailers, both online and store based top the list of leaders.  Bruce also made a great point about how customer experience is viewed as an important way to differentiate a brand – something I’ve believed and worked with clients on for awhile.  And that while many firms are not where they want to be, more and more investment is headed toward improvement in this space as a growth strategy. More on this next week.

Adobe is impressive in their commitment to this pace.  Their recent software acquisitions of Day Software and Omniture give them real depth in solutions for the digital experience, and position them extremely well for helping firms put both intelligence and responsiveness into their delivered experience.  They’ve built a new platform for Customer Experience Management, and I think are showing great leadership in this space.

Lastly, I got to spend a few minutes with Bruce on a new initiative he has launched for customer experience professionals – CXPA – the Customer eXperience Professionals Association.   He’s been recruiting corporate sponsors, as well as developing CXPA to be both a resource as well as a way to bring together business people who are advancing the art and science of customer experience.  Kudos to Bruce and to Jeanne Bliss, the co-founders of this interesting and exciting venture.

Check it out at http://www.CXPA.org

 

Hey Hey for the Caveman – A Great Customer Experience in Auto Insurance

I’ve never been particularly taken with GEICO’s Caveman ads – it was curious it could actually drive the creation of a television show – but good for them that they’ve made both that and their down under gecko stand out as brand icons.

Recently, I was looking for auto insurance for a new used car -  and was surprised and slightly shocked to find a couple of the larger agent based channels either very expensive or even unwilling to quote a new policy.   I had a couple of very minor violations (the 5 over in a 30 MPH zone was particularly galling!), and even though I have had no accidents in over twenty years, I figured there might be a higher premium to pay, but couldn’t have expected either the quotes I received or the outright refusal.

Perplexed, I decided to follow the “caveman” path and check out GEICO.  Initially skeptical, I headed for their website to see if I might at least get a quote.   As I had already completed four other quotes, I was prepared with the raft of information on myself, my history and my vehicle the other sites had requested.  While completing the effort at other sites, I couldn’t help but compare the experience to completing a medical history at the doctors.  Where this experience differs from the doctor is that you feel your medical history is to give a context for the doctor to see your situation to diagnose and help you.  In the insurance case, the online info gathered feels like so many reasons to NOT insure you.  A delicate and actually emotive situation, as the dance between need, approval and rejection plays across the full experience.  When looking at driver history, vehicle type and history, credit rating, you know you are being “rated” – and with no agent in play, there feels like no recourse to explain where that violation happened or plead a case of accident free driving.  Similar to a bank loan, the dynamic of the sale and establishing a customer relationship is changed, at least temporarily, from a brand saying they want your business, to one where they might “grant” their company’s services to you but very, very much only if it is on their terms.   The brand expectation of trust and “being there for you” can be disappointed in a powerful way.

Which brings us back to the GEICO experience.  The site gathering the information needed for the quote was friendly in its tone; in a funny way, the gecko’s presence reinforces a brand expectation of friendliness, and eased some of he concern I brought to the site based on my experiences with other insurers.  While the offer to speak with an agent is prominently displayed, and I’m sure saves my potential customers from quitting their application, I didn’t need to use that part of the channel.  A couple of “Almost There” messages, about ten minutes to complete the quote request. Just as I was thinking it might take some time to prep the quote  an almost instantaneous and positive response came back. As I had conditioned myself to expect an expensive or negative quote, I was bowled over the see a very, very, very reasonable quote, between one a third and a half cheaper than the others I had received.  I had to do a couple of double takes – but was pleased that in just a couple of additional minutes following both my acceptance of the terms and selection of  an easy arrangement of payment options, I was aproved and on my way.

Mind you this was  at 7:30pm in the evening, and the next morningI received an email from the Tony Nicely, the Chairman of GEICO welcoming me to the GEICO family.

Dear Bryan Lee, Thank you for joining the GEICO family. Your auto insurance policy is now available for your review. Log into to view your policy paperwork. Again, thank you for choosing GEICO. We look forward to continuing to serve your insurance needs. Important Notice – Certain option forms and questionnaires may need to be printed, completed, and returned to GEICO. Customers in certain states will receive their ID cards in the mail. Sincerely, Tony Nicely Chairman

A welcome indeed.  I believe this is one of the most impressive customer experiences I’ve had  with a financial services firm bar none.

GEICO has a great account management site as well – intuitive and to the point.  While I have not had to try the call center, and hope to one day to see if the assisted experience matches the quality of the online experience.  I suspect it will be well thought out as the online is.  While I don’t know for sure, I could easily imagine the effectiveness nd efficiency of the online experience GEICO has created to help keep their costs under control.  More importantly, to create a self service experience around an emotive product experience like insurance and carry it off well for their new clients and their firm is in my mind a differentiating factor in their market competitiveness.

“So easy even a caveman can do it!”   I get it now, and am happy to return to my pre-historic days.

Easy indeed.  Well done!

 

More On Journey Mapping

Got a letter from an excellent consulting firm in the customer experience management space, Mulberry Consulting.  David Hicks leads that group, and he’s simply great in this field.  He’s got some great thoughts in particular for retail banking which is very timely given the state of trust in banks among consumers.

Here’s the latest news from David and team:

Dear Bryan,

The global recession has provided a sharp reminder for retail banks on the fundamental importance of maintaining open, honest and fair relationships with customes.  In the wake of a number of high profile negative news stories the trust on which banks’ relationships with their customers are built has been severely damaged.  In addition, and despite industry protestations to the contrary, most banks have done little in the last few years to become more customer-focused.

A key theme at the Financial Services Forum Annual Members Conference (London March 30 2010) was “Trust is built more on what banks do rather than just what they say”. Several speakers set out that more

effective management of the customer experience is an opportunity area for retail banks seeking to rebuild customer trust and create sustainable competitive differentiation. It has the potential to help customer retention, create better internal alignment of actions, identify cost savings, and drive incremental revenue growth.  To show how these areas can be effectively addressed Mulberry Consulting has published a new White Paper entitled:

“Optimizing the Customer Experience – An Opportunity for Retail Banks to Rebuild Trust and Create Differentiation “.

The paper, written by Simon Turner and I, together with input from industry experts in the UK and Canada (Anthony Thomson, Chairman of Metro Bank; Tim Hughes, Head of Group Customer Experience at Nationwide Building Society  and Jason Farris, former President and CEO of CitizensBank), shows that a practical and effective first step towards achieving these goals is to deploy Customer Journey Mapping.

Click here for your personal link to the paper and see the real business benefits that Customer Journey Mapping can deliver.  I will also be pleased to schedule a no-obligation 30 minute online demonstration of how “best practice” customer experience companies are using Customer Journey Mapping.  I can be contacted at david.hicks@mulberryconsulting.com.

STOP PRESS: Forrester, in a recent review of vendors and Customer Journey Mapping approaches worldwide, recently cited Mulberry Consulting as delivering best in class Customer Journey Mapping.

My note:

Follow the link in the letter or on the right “Links” sidebar to get to this paper and more from Mulberry Consulting.

Good mapping to you!

 

Following the Journey Map to a Great Experience

Recently, I needed a new windshield wiper blade.  The day was a sloppy mix of rain and snow, and the driving would be a hassle if I didn’t take care of the problem.  I stopped into a local O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store, and picked out the basic wiper blade.  As I went to check out, the clerk, a pleasant, elderly gentleman suggested I look at the next blade up in quality (and price).  He vouched for them, saying he had great luck with them.  He walked me back to the display, helped me pick out the new blade, which happened to be on a two for one sale.  Going a few steps beyond, he offered to install the new blades for me!  Having mangled more than my share of new blades, this was a great but unexpected (and free) service. In five minutes, I was on my way, and thanks to my new friend John at O’Reilly Auto Parts, equipped with a clean windshield and ready to drive safely.

What had happened?  O’Reilly anticipated not just my purchase experience of a commodity product, but gone deeper into the journey of my experience – beyond purchase to installation and use.  It was unexpected, totally satisfying and worth a story for me to tell.

Sometime back, we were encouraged to look at our companies’ business processes, to get a better handle on what was efficient and inefficient in the way we did work.  Many a quality or re-engineering method had us looking at inputs, outputs, and the steps people and machines or computers took to produce goods or information.  And while many of these helped companies better understand cost and quality, it left us short on how to provide great service.

But many of these process maps take the view of how our company sees it… what about our customers’ view?  I’d suggest many an internal process improvement was never visible to a customer. Why?  Our view in many cases was “inside – out” – how we saw it.  On top of that, we tend to think of processes as “linear” – first this step happens, then that one.  All of us in customer service know it NEVER happens that way – there are always interruptions to our neatly honed processes when CUSTOMERS are involved!

OUTSIDE – IN

So, how can we take a customer’s view of our company?  I’d like to suggest a tool many in the Customer Experience Management community use – The Journey Map.

What is it?  The Journey Map is a way of looking at the experience a customer has with a firm, its products or services.  It goes beyond the step by step process map to envision how customers live, work and play – and to deepen our understanding of how our products and services can make a positive and winning impact as customers use them.

A few years ago, one of my favorite business leaders, Richard Branson, was introducing business class travel from the United States to London on Virgin Air, and competing with vaunted British Airways and the American airlines.  His competitors focused on in-plane features and amenities and relatively competitive fares for a lucrative route.  Virgin Air chose to go several steps beyond:  while competitors focused on the business lounge and the in-flight experience, Branson took a view of the FULL journey by a business person: he had his team look at the experience of a valued business traveler and what they needed to accomplish to have a successful trip.

• His view of the journey included the journey TO the airport – so Virgin Air business travelers were picked up by limousine and transported to the airport.  Bags were checked in as part of the pickup service.
• Once at the airport, the business class lounge provided a full meal buffet, not just snacks
• Upon arrival at Heathrow, complimentary use of showers, a massage, suit, shirt or dress pressing.
• Limousine service to your business meeting.

In this way, Virgin demonstrated it understood that business traveler’s journey neither started at the airport nor finished at the airport.  That the things that taxed a traveler could be addressed by Virgin as a travel companion AND as a business partner.  Impressive.

Let’s try on an example:

Let’s say you make a great add-on accessory case for a phone or portable music device.  You have some choices about the product design:  what material is the case made of, how it is packaged, how you promote the product and how you stand behind your product as customers use it.

A Journey Map would envision and document several aspects of the customer’s use of mobile devices and accessories:

• How do customers use their phone?  Is it carried in a pocket? A Purse or backpack?  On a hip?

• Product material – is it slippery or grippy?  Can it survive the “drop” test?
• Packaging – is it easy to open?  Or do you need a large pair of scissors or an acetylene torch to open it?
• How is your product merchandised in store?  Can the client try it out on their phone? Does the online information contribute in a positive way to differentiating the product? Is there a chat capability to help with product or usage questions?
• Customers exchange or buy a new phone every couple of years… can you extend the relationship by getting them to buy a new case of yours with a loyalty promotion or coupon or referral to a friend?

Around each of these areas of questions you need to answer about how your product would work and how the customer experiences your firm.  It would examine the emotional attributes of the buying and ownership experience, and build standard but differentiating service procedures into each step of the Journey. Build your website, call centers and other sales and service channels to anticipate the full customer experience – from research, to selection, to product usage, to problem resolution, to proactive service and deepening the customer relationship and building follow on business.

Lessons about the using the Journey Map to create a great experience

• Extend your view beyond the sale
  • Pre-sale
  • Sale
  • Ownership
  • Renewal
• Understand why and how a customer uses your product or service
  • What situations does your client use your product in
  • What can happen emotionally?
  • What would cause them to use your channels – both assisted and self service?
• Anticipate these uses and build them into your processes
  • Don’t miss an opportunity to demonstrate your excellence in service
  • Don’t miss an opportunity to build a deeper (and more profitable) relationship
  • Don’t miss an opportunity to differentiate

Invest in the effort to really understand your customers and how they experience your firm, your competitors and the market from their view – the Outside-In.  Like John and O’Reilly, you can create a clear view to a better customer experience.

 

One Step Further – Hertz Warms Up

The other night it was snowy and cold as I landed at the airport.  It was late – and I was late – about two hours beyond my scheduled arrival.  I had reserved a rental car at Hertz, with whom I’ve been a long time customer.  One of their “Gold” and “Presidents Club” members, I’ve found their service excellent over the years.  Their check-in is almost universally excellent, using handheld scanners and terminals that get you through the check-in process easily – really good for those of us who tend to cut it close.

On this night, I was concerned that perhaps they would take my reservation down, since I was so late.  Having sat on the runway for most of our delay, I wasn’t able to call and adjust the reservation.

As the bus pulled into the lot and up to the Gold Members display board, I searched for my name.  And there it was!  I walked to the numbered stall  under the canopy and found my car with the trunk open, awaiting my bag.  And what a pleasant surprise to open the driver door and be greeted by a wafting, warm air from the inside of the car.  They had started the car and its heater on this cold night, and what better way to take the chill out of the late night air.  Impressive.  Equally impressive was the time noted in marker on my rental folder – they had checked my flight and noted I was delayed, so were ready for me when I finally did arrive.  It was a nice way to improve my outlook after the “delayed travel blues”!

These small things are always improving my experience at Hertz – they do well to anticipate the things that make travel  challenging, and the anxiousness that comes along with it – and take those extra steps to let ou know they know about travel.

Learning Point for the Day

• What can you do to anticipate how your customers use your products or services?  Consider both “normal” circumstances, as well as those that arise when “stuff” happens.  Then put  extra touches into your processes and procedures that show your customer you are ready and will intercept the nagging or troublesome path things can often take.  I guarantee your customers will not only notice, but will tell someone about it!

P.S.     General Motors has been running an interesting set of television ads comparing their vehicles to others and challenging, “May the Best Car Win”.  The car I had this night was the Chevy Malibu…. in a word, wow!  A very pleasant surprise – nice lines, well appointed, comfortable and great handling – if you haven’t checked it out, take a look.  It may be a best car indeed!

 

More to the Story – A Word from Asurion’s Top Office

Soon after my last Asurion entry, I wrote a letter to the CEO Bret Comolli and Colleen Mullens, the head of customer care.   I complemented them on their team’s responsiveness and service .  I chose to contact them through their “Send Us Your Feedback and Ideas” link on the website.

Not knowing whether the email from the “Write Us!” links actually get read, I was pleasantly surprised to get a letter back from Bret’s office later that evening!

Letter as follows:

Good Evening Bryan,

My name is Jabriel.  I am with Asurion’s Office of the CEO.  I’d like to thank you for sending your highly complimentary feedback.

It is always a delight to hear about a great customer experience; as we strive to make sure that each interaction is a positive one.

I will make sure that your kind words are passed on to Bret, Chuck, and Colleen; as they will absolutely be delighted that you took out the time to send this feedback.

Please feel free to contact me directly, should you have any questions or concerns in the future.  For your convenience, I can be reached via email or phone.  My direct contact info is listed below.

Thanks again.

Jabriel Allah

Office of the CEO

************************************************************************************************

My thought for the day:  With many firms monitoring tweets as well as more formal feedback, I encourage you to set up and use ALL the listening posts you can – and encourage more customer contact by responding when they take the time to write.  It’ll make for more Word of Mouth stories to tell!

 

Un-tethered! Asurion to the Rescue!

In today’s uber-connected times, losing your phone is like using your last lifeline on “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”!  You panic, wondering how to even let others in your work or personal space even know you are cut off.  Your electronic tether is cut, and you are headed for open waters.  A couple of weeks back, I was grocery shopping and for some reason musing about how reliable my LG ENV2 phone had been the past year.   How brazen to even be thinking about why I bothered to sign up for the phone insurance plan, in this case supplied by Asurion.  Sure enough, after loading my groceries into the car, I closed the driver side car door, but it “bounced” back open.  I pulled my coat in further ad re-closed it without much of a thought.  A bit later I went to make a call and realized the display was an interesting piece of new modern art – an array of black and white pixels that no longer resembled anything in english I could read! I must have closed the door on my coat with the phone in it!

Wow!  How would I even let people know I was “un-tethered”! Panicked, I tore through my files looking for my Asurion contract.  Finding it, I went to the site, and found the Claims page (it’s actually their first page – you know what business they are in!)  Picking my carrier, I followed the site’s claim process through. While Asurion tells you you can receive your replacement phone the next day, I was concerned, since it was just going on 5pm.  I also had appointments out of the house and a trip looming, so I had to have it the next day or risk being on the road with no phone.  I completed the claim process in five minutes, and anxiously awaited the confirmation. It arrived in minutes to my email, letting me know I had a claim and tracking number for the phone’s delivery.  The next day, I checked on my shipment before heading out for the morning.  Arriving back home in the afternoon, I was delighted to find a small box from Asurion sitting on my porch (they delivered it with no signature required as I had requested).  Using Verizon’s great BackupAssistant app, I reloaded my contacts and was up and running.

I was delighted – for the time being!  Over the couple days of my trip I realized the battery on the new phone kept dying after about eight hours. I called Asurion this time, spoke with a tech representative, who helped me with some problem determination.  She determined they should again replace the phone for me, so we set up for another delivery.  While this new problem gave me an opportunity to be upset with Asurion, they actually turned it into another opportunity to delight by again demonstrating professional, quick response, making sure my new phone arrived the next day.

Fast. Easy. Professional.  That, apparently, is Asurion’s way.  If you haven’t signed up for this, give it a thought!  Find them at http://www.asurion.com

Lessons for our businesses:

1. When customers are in crisis, emotions are high.
2. Handling customers situations well in crisis is not easy to do.
3. If you go beyond the basics of expectations, you can delight.
4. If you delight in THIS situation, your customers WILL advocate for you and the Word of Mouth will be very, very powerful!
5. Pay attention to the processes and customer interactions where crisis can occur and emotions will be high – if you get it wrong, beware!  If you get it right, you will distinguish yourself from the field!

 

Great Service in Tough Times

Much has been written about the problems of the Big 3 auto companies – and while the future still looks dicey, Michigan has been portrayed as a place the recession hit a long time before the financial meltdown.  Having lived in Michigan much of my life, it’s not been easy to watch.

Still, small experiences and interactions tell you a lot more than what you can learn from a sound bite about a company, an industry, or a region.  While many dining establishments are struggling for business, it’s interesting to me to find both the pulse of everyday Americans and those in customer service at your local neighborhood breakfast place.

On a recent morning, I stopped into a local Ram’s Horn restaurant in the heart of Motown.  As I ordered the “hearty” breakfast of eggs, sausage and he first of a few cups of coffee, I watched the morning crowd slowly build.  My waitress was exceptionally courteous and professional, as was the bus boy/support staff.  My order was delivered quickly, and Karen stopped several times during my meal.  “Is everything to your liking?” ” A bit more coffee?”  “Yes!” seemed to be my frequent answer.  At one point I turned the question to Karen, “you do a great job and make customers feel welcome, feel at home.. what’s your secret?”.  She smiled, and said, “you know, there are a lot of people worried and hurting right now.  If I can make their time over breakfast one they enjoy, that gets everyone’s day going well, including mine!”

As I thanked her and thought about it, I thought about these servers not just as servers, but as people… who make the difference in whether I’ll stop by this or another Ram’s Horn the next time I’m in the mood for eggs and sausage.  I was impressed that the bill had a customer satisfaction survey printed on it.  Of course, I filled it out with high marks  and hope the manager reads it.

I recently rode an airport parking shuttle with a nice driver.  As we chatted a bit, I learned he had recently been called back to is job at National Steel, where he had been laid off eighteen months earlier.  He was hanging on to his shuttle driver role – in this case on the very late night shift – partly to hold the financial line until he had re-established his engineering job, but also because he wanted to support his parking shuttle company, who had been supportive and had seen him through his difficult time.  This driver, having walked the gauntlet of layoffs as many in the area and across the country have, was grateful to have both his old job back, but also to have worked in a very different capacity and in an appreciative way for his temporary company.

Having had my own “Up In The Air” moments and journey this past year, I reflected on how the effects of a difficult job market might impact customer service industries.  In these two instances, the connection I felt with these people was one of shared hardship – but also a renewed appreciation for being employed – for dedicating yourself to quality work, but also to good service.  Moving from what only a year or two ago seemed a time of abundance to a time of shortfall, I think you can find that employees will be more focused and determined in  getting the job done- but I urge you to also look at the web of issues clouding their professional and personal lives… and to take the opportunity to demonstrate why you are the company worthy of their dedication.  An old boss of mine used to harp, “You must inspect what you expect.”  True enough, but I think you also need to “inspire what you expect.”

It will pay off for all involved.

By the way, don’t believe everything bad you read about Detroit. The people of Motown and Michigan are pretty darned resilient.

 

Design and (gasp!) Drying Hands

This summer I was in Union Station in Chicago, waiting for my daughter to arrive on the train.   99.99% of the time there’s nothing interesting or nice to say about public bathrooms in places like train stations or airports, but on his day and in this place I was struck by an interesting device hanging on the wall in the men’s room.

This was my first encounter with the Dyson Air Blade, brought to us by the inventor and maker of some of the coolest vacuum cleaners in the world.  I hadn’t heard anything about the Air Blade, and was intrigued by it.

The traditional air blower you find in most bathrooms are noisy, blow water off your hands and on to the floor, and only work if you rub your hands together quickly while it is blowing; then wipe your hands on your pants since they are not dry after using the blower! You know this experience, and it is not good.

The Air Blade is a clever and cool design that has you insert your hands and arms into what looks like a chute that is open on the sides.  It senses when you have placed your arms inside, turns its blowers on and effectively and efficiently dries both sides of your arms simultaneously.  As you move your arms up and down, water is blown away, but not onto the floor.  Your arms are actually dry, your shoes remain dry, your pants are dry and you are left wondering how we could go so many years with products that were all variations on an inferior design that didn’t work.  The Air Blade uses sheets of clean air traveling at 400 mph to dry hands in twelve seconds.   It uses 80% less energy, and is certified hygienic by the NSF.

It is third of the major product lines of Dyson and its leader, James Dyson.  Makers of innovative, bag-less vacuum cleaners that achieved market leadership in the U.K. 22 months after launch, and now blade-less cooling fans, Dyson is a leader in applying true innovation to the necessary tasks in life.  He and his company is showing us that leadership in innovation, design and engineering can all combine to improve the way our lives work, and contribute to customer experience, sustainability and the bottom line.

Checkout the Airblade on your next trip to the rest room.  Especially if you visit the paragon of modern design, the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  No, it’s not on display, though it should be.  Instead, it’s hard at work.

What other parts of life can be improved with a customer experience centric view and true innovation in design?

 

Home, Work, and the “Third Place”- your thoughts needed!

Some number of years back, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz talked a lot about his vision of Starbucks as the “third place” where people would spend time other than home and work.  While Starbucks is essentially about coffee, it has brought to life the “third place” described by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book The Great Good Place.  The Starbucks community experience is defined by a good crowd, comfy chairs, good music and a pretty reliable delivery experience.  To top it all off, there is great consistency of product.  Starbucks is a company that is out front with strong business practices including fair trade, good employee benefits, and a well developed culture – all of which instill in people the desire to remain loyal customers.

In my travels around the world, I have seen many cultures use coffee drinking as a gathering time during the busy day.  I’ve found it interesting that, aside from the Starbucks stores now found in countless countries, you cannot carry out or take away coffee from many restaurants or coffee shops.  The act of coffee drinking in many cultures is about taking a pause, joining in conversation, and discussing business or life in person.  I don’t see many smart phones or laptops in motion at the cafes in Spain, Italy or Brazil.  Instead, people come together in the face to face form of communication that has been lost in our ever-growing digital age.  In this way, I think Starbucks has introduced a place for Americans to slow down just a bit, and get together.  Different from most current developments, Starbucks allows us to switch to a slower gear – a positive shift for today’s hungry culture.

Of course, many people are passionate about their favorite coffee or team shop, often with experiences very different from Starbucks.  What is your favorite “third place”?  How and why do you spend time there?  Weigh in with a comment!