Tame chaos with consistency
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This document discusses how companies are struggling to provide consistent, positive customer experiences due to increasingly complex customer journeys across multiple channels. It uses Archstone, a real estate company, as an example of a company that improved its customer experience by developing a "Commitment to GREAT" promise and training employees to consistently deliver on this promise. The document advocates that companies should focus on understanding customer expectations, developing people's capabilities to meet those expectations, and engaging leaders to champion the customer experience vision.
Tame chaos with consistency
- 1. point of view Tame Chaos with Consistency: The Superior Customer Experience Authored by Janet Goddard,Customer Experience Practice Lead and Tom Atkinson, Ph.D. Defining and improving the customer experience is five channels to manage: tellers, ATMs, the web site, the beyond dynamic, even beyond complex—it is becoming call center, and mail, all of which have to be consistent chaotic. Many organizations struggle to sift through the and interlinked.” Add the social media component to data, touchpoints, and noise to provide their customers this picture, and the tumultuousness of the customer with a predictably positive experience, every time. Take experience ecosystem increases even further. Archstone, for example. Archstone is a $1.5 billion real- In an effort to put new focus on the customer experience, estate company that owns, operates, and develops many companies have hired chief customer officers upscale apartment properties. The company is highly (CCO). Forrester Research reports that the CCO role regarded and successful in the markets it serves. In 2008, exists in an increasing number of B2B and B2C firms: Archstone’s management was looking to improve the Allstate, Dunkin’ Brands, USAA, Philips Electronics, customer experience. The leadership team realized that FedEx, Cleveland Clinic, and SAP, to cite just a few.2 in order to sustain their preeminent position in the market These individuals serve as top executives with the power and achieve growth targets, the company needed to to redesign and improve customer experiences across transform its relationships with its upscale clientele. They this ever-more-complex range of customer interactions. knew that in our fast-paced, ever-connected economy, Three-fourths of the CCOs that Forrester interviewed sit on their customer experience was showing signs of becoming the executive management team of their company. Some chaotic. Archstone’s experience is not unique. In general, firms’ customer experience leaders spend their time fixing customer experiences are becoming more complex, problems that are creating unhappy customers, while other so creating a predictably positive, consistent customer firms use the CCO role to accelerate growth or improve experience is challenging. efforts to integrate acquired companies. But even with A typical customer experience comprises a journey that this increased executive focus, the path to a consistently begins at the customer’s first point of contact, ends with superior customer experience is rarely clear or smooth. the last invoice, and often includes numerous interactions At Forum, we have determined from our work with in between. Information flows to the customer from clients that best practice involves making the process of your company across multiple channels and, now more improving your company’s customer experience as simple than ever, from many sources beyond your company’s as possible. Our experience tells us that it is important to control. As Coca-Cola executive Joe Tripodi states, focus on the key elements of service that drive customer “Now information flows in many directions, consumer loyalty for your company. The goal becomes to get touchpoints have multiplied, and the old one-size-fits- employees working in concert with each other, like the all approach has given way to precision marketing and players in professional symphony. We define a superior one-to-one communications.”1 Thus, for nearly every customer experience as the consistent, intentional delivery organization today, a complex customer experience of your customer promise through every interaction your ecosystem has evolved in which engagement with customers have with your people, processes, products, customers no longer follows a straightforward pattern that and services. And our process cuts through the customer can be easily controlled. Recent Forum research confirms experience chaos and complexity, and enables employees this point of view. In an interview with Forum, a financial to deliver service that customers value and will pay for. services executive said, “In the old days you just had to train tellers to give good customer service. Now there are
- 2. point of view Getting this training right can prove Forum’s Point of View: difficult, because a company’s service employees often live in Stake Your Reputation on Service different functional areas that don’t communicate naturally with one another. But the reality is that Base service on what customers want customers don’t care if they are talking Clearly understand what your customers expect, identify the make-or- with a teller at a bank location or a call break opportunities to deliver on those expectations, and develop service center employee. Customers want their standards that ensure it happens. problem solved and the experience to be consistent, regardless of the channel Develop people’s capability to deliver they choose. consistently good service Train all who touch the customer in the processes and 3. Engage leaders as champions. behaviors that will consistently meet or exceed customers’ This is a key step in creating a superior expectations. customer experience. Without the commitment of a company’s senior Engage leaders as champions leadership, gaining the necessary Get buy-in from senior leaders, and equip them with the momentum for making the required knowledge and tools they need to drive the effort across cultural shift is nearly impossible. the entire organization. Leaders must be intimately engaged www.forum.com 1 in the process, so that they can clearly communicate and even model the Our research and experience indicate that there are three service behaviors the organization key areas that successful organizations focus on to build a needs to manifest. superior customer experience: In the most successful examples we’ve seen, the 1. Base service on what customers want. company’s leaders receive a significant amount of This seems so simple, but so many organizations executive coaching. This equips them with the knowledge fail to do it. Organizations with a superior customer and tools they need to drive the customer experience experience clearly understand what their customers effort across the entire organization. It also provides them expect and value. They use market research, CRM with the time and space to carefully consider how their data, customer ratings, touchpoint maps, complaint functional organization impacts the customer experience. information, and other valuable sources to determine Recall the symphony analogy: leaders need to learn to how to deliver consistent service and sometimes play their parts and integrate that learning with the rest of even deliver a WOW experience. Importantly, the orchestra. these organizations know where their key customer At Archstone, the solution centered on the development of touchpoints are, so that they can deliver on make-or- a powerful customer promise that the employees used to break opportunities every time. They put standards in define their service activities. The promise was this: Great place to ensure that the right level of service is being apartments. Great Service. Guaranteed.™ provided at the right times. The rallying cry became “A Commitment to GREAT,” and the employee and leader behaviors worked with 2. Develop people’s capability to deliver consistently the GREAT acronym: Go the extra mile, be Reliable and good service. Responsive, Empathize, Ask questions and listen, and Again, while this may seem obvious, many Take ownership. Each audience in the organization had organizations simply do not do it. Once they the opportunity to “learn about” and “learn to do” the understand the behaviors that drive customer GREAT behaviors. The Archstone employees developed satisfaction and loyalty, superior customer experience a common and consistent mind-set with regard to organizations mobilize their people to exhibit these resident expectations, service tools, and language. And behaviors as they do the work that they do day in and leaders put the right enablers and supports in place. For day out. This part of the process is about training— example, in an effort to increase employees’ power to getting employees to recognize great service and to serve customers, management allowed each associate practice delivering great service, all within the context to spend up to $1,000 to resolve an issue without having of the company’s values. to seek prior approval; if, say, a resident’s car was towed inadvertently, an associate could pay the towing costs. 2
- 3. point of view After 3 years of focusing on their Commitment to GREAT, Archstone has seen a dramatic improvement in the customer experience as evidenced by more effective Would your employees do this? and engaged employees, increased compliments from At Archstone, employees take their “Commitment residents, and fewer resident complaints escalated to to GREAT” very seriously. At one of their high-end management. In fact, as local residential staff gained properties, a tenant accidentally dropped her cell competence and authority to handle customer issues, phone into the garbage, and she did not realize there was a 90 percent drop in escalations of complaints she had done this until after the trash had been to Archstone’s central call center, which was subsequently relocated to the dumpster. To rescue the lost phone, disbanded. a staff worker making $14 per hour jumped into Within the dynamic customer experience ecosystem, the dumpster and rooted around until he found the where customer interactions are constantly increasing tenant’s lost phone. When asked about his heroic and coming through multiple channels, an opportunity efforts, he replied that he was “acting in the spirit of exists to focus your company’s efforts on developing a the Commitment to GREAT vision.” consistent, intentional delivery of your customer promise. The truth is that, while markets, technologies, products, Such responsiveness to a customer’s need and channels have become more complex, customer demonstrates the power of training employees to expectations have not changed all that much. Customers deliver a superior customer experience. In the heat want to be confident that when they interact with your of the moment, employees that have internalized how company—no matter where, when, or with whom—their to deliver a predictably positive experience will rely on needs will be met and their problems solved. If your what they know and make decisions that align with company can ensure that the right level of service is being your company’s customer-focused values. provided consistently across all functions and channels, the effectiveness of your customer experience strategy will increase substantially. To begin taming the chaos and creating a consistently positive experience for all your customers, contact us at The Forum Corporation. 3
- 4. point of view What is the status of your company’s customer experience? Customer Experience Assessment Instructions: Please circle the number next to each item that best represents your opinion. Then tabulate your ratings to identify areas of strength and opportunity for your company. 1 = not at all; 2 = to some extent; 3 = to a moderate extent; 4 = to a great extent; 5 = to a very great extent Customers 1. We have a brand identity that promises customers a unique and satisfying experience. 1 2 3 4 5 2. The company believes that giving customers a consistently superior experience will lead to 1 2 3 4 5 profitable growth. 1 2 3 4 5 3. We put the interests of customers ahead of the interests of other stakeholder groups. 4. Our products and services are designed to provide superior value to targeted customers. 1 2 3 4 5 5. Our customers tend to be highly loyal because of the quality of service we provide. 1 2 3 4 5 Sub Total: Leaders 1. Our leaders provide an engaging, customer-focused vision for employees. 1 2 3 4 5 2. Our leaders have the courage of their convictions when it comes to the customer experience. 1 2 3 4 5 3. Our leaders believe in our customer experience strategy. 1 2 3 4 5 4. Our leaders develop and implement customer-focused standards. 1 2 3 4 5 5. Our leaders coach employees to behave in ways that benefit customers. 1 2 3 4 5 Sub Total: People 1 2 3 4 5 1. We keep employees informed about business results. 2. We reward customer-focused employee behaviors. 1 2 3 4 5 3. We involve frontline employees in decisions about which potential co-workers to hire. 1 2 3 4 5 4. Our employees have a spirit of collaboration and teamwork in serving customers. 1 2 3 4 5 5. Our employees are passionate about serving customers. 1 2 3 4 5 Sub Total: Processes 1. Our employees are trained in a reliable service model that creates a consistently 1 2 3 4 5 positive experience for customers. 1 2 3 4 5 2. We monitor the quality of the company’s interactions with customers. 1 2 3 4 5 3. In the interest of customers, we avoid creating bureaucratic processes. 1 2 3 4 5 4. We gather customer feedback from customers on a continuous basis. 1 2 3 4 5 5. We use customer feedback to manage the business. Sub Total: Total: 4
- 5. point of view Interpretation Guidelines If your total score is greater than 80: Your company appears to be solidly customer-focused; you communicate a customer-focused image, your leaders are aligned around the company’s customer experience vision, and they equip and engage employees in taking action to create a superior customer experience. Your company’s processes and systems are more likely to support creating a positive customer experience than to detract from the customer experience. If your total score is 60 through 80: Your company has an uneven approach to the customer experience. While the customer experience may be an important part of your marketing efforts, leaders are inconsistent in supporting the customer experience, people may not have the direction or tools they need to create a positive customer experience, and processes may be more internally focused than focused on enhancing the customer experience. If your total score is lower than 60: Your company does not appear very customer-focused. The customer experience is likely to be variable or negative. Leaders are not in agreement about the importance of creating an excellent customer experience as central to your business strategy. Your employees are unclear about the customer experience vision, if there is one, and what their role is in creating the customer experience. Your processes and systems may be strong in meeting internal needs but are not apparently very effective in serving the customer. Recommendations: „„ Reflect on the findings: Think about where your company is on its “journey” to creating excellent customer experiences and what might be the major challenges and opportunities in taking the next step. „„ Share with others your ratings and observations and ask them to do the same. „„ Identify opportunities for action. Examine the sub-scores: In what areas is your company relatively strong, upon which you can build? In what areas are there greatest opportunities for gaining competitive advantage by enhancing the cus- tomer experience? Endnotes 1. Tripodi, Joe, HBR.org blogs, “Coca-Cola Marketing Shifts from Impressions to Expressions,” April 27, 2011. 2. Hagen, Paul, Forrester Research, HBR.org blogs, “The Rise of the Chief Customer Officer,” April 18, 2011. Forum is a recognized global leader in linking learning to strategic business objectives. Our learning solutions help organizations effectively execute their business strategies by focusing on their most important asset: their people. We provide clients with practical and research-based advice and tailored programs that mobilize employees, accelerate business-initiative implementation, and improve agility. Forum’s 40-year legacy as a pioneer and thought leader continues with the release of our latest book, Strategic Speed (Harvard Business Press). For more information, visit www.forum.com. © 2011 The Forum Corporation. 5