Filed under: Customer Experience, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction Issues, Employee Development
Here I am, Tuesday night at a major retailer. I’ll be in and out in a jiffy, I tell myself—just need one thing, that’s all.
“Can I help you find anything, sir?” a young employee asks me as I enter the store.
“Nope. I’m good. Thanks.”
“Can I help you find anything?” another employee asks me twenty seconds later.
“Nope. I’m good. Thanks.”
“Can I help you find anything?” Another employee.
“Nope. I’m good. Thanks.”
It was at that moment—thirty seconds before another “Can I help you find anything?”— that I asked myself “can there really be too much of a good thing when it comes to customer service?” I think, the managers at this retailer and this particular location must take a lot of pride in servicing customers well. They definitely understand the importance of the customer experience and employee accessibility and attentiveness. They’ve trained the staff well…and the staff is following through. I should be proud. This validates the work we do every day at Questar.
And yet my answer to that question “can there really be too much of a good thing when it comes to customer service?” A resounding yes!
Filed under: Customer Experience, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction Issues
Every encounter with a customer – whether it is face-to-face, over the phone, through the mail, in email, etc. – is an opportunity to build company credibility and put to rest any post-sale jitters that sometimes come with making a large purchase.
I recently bought a new vehicle. Putting on my customer experience management hat and reflecting on what I encountered, there were soooooo many missed opportunities to positively engage me as a customer. The whole experience turns out to be a great case study in how NOT to cultivate a positive relationship with a new customer and gain their loyalty for the long haul.
I know that for some of you, car shopping is a fun, energizing undertaking. For others – like me – it’s a dreaded, torturous necessity of life. While I was looking forward to downsizing to a smaller vehicle and improving on fuel efficiency, parting with my mini-van after seven years was a bittersweet thing. With all the fond memories associated with it, it was sort of like saying good-bye for the last time to an old friend. (more…)
Filed under: Customer Experience, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction Issues
A few weeks back, Joe Stanton wrote a blog entitled “Return…I Don’t Think So.” He told us two stories of recent shopping experiences, one he had while returning a stuffed toy and one his friend “Mike” had while returning a blue ray player. Both returns were done at different national retailers. Mike had an awful experience with his return while Joe had a great experience. Would they shop at these stores again? Mike claimed he would never shop at the store where he had the poor return policy experience. Joe, on the other hand, said he would definitely shop at his retailer again.
How would other shoppers react? Well, 56 of you shared your opinion via the poll on our website. And the results were….….(Drum roll, please)………
Do return policies at stores affect where you shop?
Yes – 46%
No – 29%
Sometimes – 25%
So what can we learn from both the experiences of Joe and Mike and our small poll? It seems that for most of you return policies play a role in where you shop. In fact, over 70% of those who responded, “sometimes” take into account what the return policy of the store is before they shop there. In times like these, where every customer counts, it might not be a bad idea for retailers to take look at their return policies to make sure they aren’t losing customers before they’ve even stepped into the store.
– Beth Holine | Strategic Communications & Marketing Coordinator
Filed under: Customer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction Basics, Customer Satisfaction Issues, Great Moves in Customer Satisfaction | Tags: Best Buy, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service
Best Buy Store
Recently while traveling I lost the charger for my portable DVD player. Last night I ran into a Best Buy and told the greeter I had 7 minutes and what I was looking for. He steered me to the Home Theater area where via headset he said someone would be waiting for me. I was thinking at this time, “wow, great customer service.” Three employees indeed were in the department, but I felt like I was interrupting something more important than me, the customer. They didn’t have the part. Call the whambulance. Don’t you hate those rush nights when you get nothing done?
Today, however, I checked Best Buy’s website for the Eagan location which stated they opened at 9 a.m. I rushed over once more as I am traveling again. The store wasn’t open until 10 a.m.! But OMG, the store manager, Cole was outside telling me to come in. They would take care of me. Cole had changed the hours last night on the website, and understood there would be customers this a.m. based on the listed website store hours. Guess what, yup, I left with my charger and am loving Best Buy again.
These are two great examples of why it is so difficult for a large brand to have consistently great service across all locations. There is nothing worse than the feeling you get as a customer when employees don’t treat you with respect. In contrast, the manager of the second location knew the change in store hours might create confusion for his customers, so he made sure the store was open and ready at 9 a.m.
Lynne Vannelli
Photo credit: Asian Sarah’s (Flickr)Filed under: Customer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction Issues | Tags: brand management, customer engagement
By now, you may have heard about Skittles handing over brand power to their customers via their website. I promised myself I wouldn’t blog about that, or the recent situation in which Tropicana reverted back to their old brand design when the new cartons bothered their loyal customers. Like I said, I promised myself I wouldn’t write about it, so I’ll keep my opinions to myself. However, I think it’s important to reflect upon whether or not these bold acts of confidence are good for the company.
These businesses are putting a lot of trust in their customer-base by letting them make such important decisions about their brand image. Many people believed that what Skittles had done was brilliant, while others remain undecided about the new homepage. Let’s look at the bigger picture of these circumstances: what do you think about putting customers in the driver seat?
Paying attention to customer feedback is paramount for a business. But my thought and question is this – is it a good idea to lose complete control of your brand by handing it over to the general public?
-Liz Giel
Photo credit: The Adventures of Kristin and Adam
Filed under: Customer Satisfaction Issues | Tags: chrisbrown, kellogg, michaelphelps, wrigley
Celebrity endorsements do nothing for me. I can see some logic though; Tiger Woods is promoting Nike golf equipment, so it must be good. In a discussion on Marketing Profs about the use of superstars in advertising, one response states that “Celebrity endorsements can be quite effective. The key is finding the right celebrity and communicating the right message in the advertising.” Okay, so how exactly can brands find the right celeb?
According to an article from the New York Times, Sarah Jessica Parker turned out to be the wrong celebrity for the Gap. Allegedly, her association with high-fashion didn’t align with Gap’s image. This resulted in a decline in sales for the retail store. Although a high-fashion image isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was bad for the Gap. So what happens to brands that end up with lawbreakers representing their products?
Time will tell, because in the last month alone Michael Phelps and Chris Brown lost endorsement deals due to criminal behavior. There have been plenty of discussions about these news stories already. What I’d like to know is how this affects customers. I assumed that these situations would not affect sales. On second thought, as seen with Gap, it is clear that the wrong spokesperson can potentially cause a major drop in sales. On the flip side, a company’s decision to can an endorsement deal can backfire as well. Since throwing out the agreement with Phelps, upset consumers are petitioning and boycotting Kellogg products. This means trouble for the company, since over 5,000 people have now agreed to not purchase from Kellogg.
I see how celebrities can be both good and bad for advertising. People care about what they do, and they especially care when they screw up. My question for brand managers: is it really worth risking the overall integrity of your company (or worse, your loyal customers) by having famous people endorse your products? In my opinion, there are much better ways of building loyal customers that do not involve paying high-profile people to attract them. Lately, celebrities seem to be hurting companies much more than they are helping them. Why not focus on mobilizing existing customers to spread the word about your products? Something tells me that would be much more effective.
-Liz Giel
It was a pleasant surprise for me to see some of our clients in the “Top 10 limited-service restaurant chains based on customer satisfaction.” The research study by Sandelman & Associates also revealed that 13% of QSR chains had significant improvements in satisfaction ratings in 2008. Props to that 13% who realized they better start treating their guests well, or they’re not going to have them in the future.
Allow me to be somewhat critical in this post. If QSR chains want to stay afloat in times such as these, they need to focus plenty of their attention on customer loyalty. About a week and a half ago, I attended space150’s deepspace event on trends and insights for 2009. Ted Souder, Head of Travel for Google mentioned that marketing is now turning into service delivery. I couldn’t agree more.
Word of mouth marketing is going to be more powerful than ever this year. Consumers are relying less on what they find out via advertisements and much more on what they learn from other customers. There is no science to this- customers should be top priority. What is a business without customers? So, when I see that only 13% of QSR chains had significant improvements in their customer satisfaction ratings, I have a grim outlook for many QSR chains. 13% is really not a very high number. These businesses need to ensure that they are providing a service worth coming back to.
On a more positive note, congratulations to the top 10 for providing great service; but more so for recognizing that this element of their business is vital during a recession. For the other chains that didn’t quite make the grade, it’s time to make sure your employees are treating visitors the way you want to be treated as a consumer. Again, give your guests a reason to come back. All it takes is one bad experience to isolate a once-loyal customer. Moreover, it really only takes some follow up to rectify the situation, if you just pay close enough attention. A savvy businesswoman once told me “for every customer that complains, there are ten who don’t.” If she’s right about that, one complaint is a bigger deal than it seems.
-Liz Giel
Filed under: Customer Satisfaction Issues | Tags: Customer Satisfaction, twitter
Generally, I praise brands for being on Twitter. I love to see how different companies use the network to connect with their customers. But here’s a different question- what about the customers who don’t even know what Twitter is?
I’m not aware of any wireless company who currently has a representative on Twitter- my cell phone provider included. The last time I had a problem with them, I was on the phone for over two hours. I was not pleased. I’m an impatient millennial and even though I have nothing else to do, I have no time for this. Not to mention wasting my precious wireless minutes…
Had this company been on Twitter, I could have contacted them there. But they aren’t. However, this is probably not a big of a problem for them (yet), because I’m guessing the majority of their clients are not on Twitter (yet), either.
So what is a corporation to do? One company who handles this swimmingly is Comcast. I’ve praised them before, and I’m about to do it again. Comcast has customer service representatives who can be reached through their website. You engage in a live chat with someone who can help you solve your issue right then and there. I used this service to straighten out a billing blunder with them. I was immediately attended by a representative, and my problem was solved in minutes.
And Comcast is on Twitter, too! I could have probably asked Frank, but I know how busy he is.
I know other companies take a similar approach to customer service on the web as well. The downside to this, though, is that customers have to reach out to these companies by visiting their website to receive this kind of service. My point is that companies should take a more comprehensive approach to customers on the web, and not only be on Twitter- they should be monitoring their reputation everywhere they can. Are brands reaching out to customers in other ways on the web? What else are they doing, beyond using Twitter?
-Liz Giel
Filed under: Customer Satisfaction Issues, Research | Tags: automakers, consumers, reputation management
Out of 31 responses from Liz's Twitter following, 9 said they would consider buying a US-made car, and 22 said they would not.
Out of curiosity, I asked my Twitter followers yesterday if they would consider buying a US car right now. I should have known that this would turn in to a blog post, but that isn’t why I asked. This has been a frequent topic of discussion on the social sphere lately. Ford has Scott Monty managing their reputation on the social web right now, and he frequently reminds us that Ford’s quality numbers are right up there with foreign automakers. But nobody seems to care about that.
The results of the poll in a nutshell: Most people said they would “probably not” and a few people said they’d consider it. I received 31 responses that I could determine a “yes” or “no” from (a lot of people informed me that they would not consider buying any car right now, maybe I should have noted that this is a hypothetical question). I will also note that my Twitter following is not at all a valid sample of the US population, but I follow them because I think they are interesting and intelligent; therefore I value their opinions.
This conclusion is unscientific and based on the explanations from those who responded, but I believe that perceptions of the auto industry right now are much more of a deciding factor than quality numbers. Most of those who said they would not buy an American car believed that foreign cars are better. A lot of people said they never have and never will buy American. Although Ford’s quality numbers are comparable to those of foreign automakers, consumers are in disbelief. The Big 3 need to do something about changing consumers’ perceptions of their brand, and quality numbers will not suffice.
I will admit; I thought everyone would say no. Nine people said yes and twenty-two said no, so it’s not as bad as I presumed. However, it is clear to me that perceptions of US automakers need to change if they want to compete with foreign companies, and it’s going to take more than quality numbers. This is going to take both stability and reliability.
I’d love to hear more in-depth reactions to this topic from those interested in sharing. Thanks again to everyone who responded!
-Liz Giel
Filed under: Customer Satisfaction Issues | Tags: CMOs, Customer Satisfaction
I saw this headline from Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim blog in my feed today. Good grief- 76% of all CMOs are so bad at their job that they should be fired? Not that I didn’t trust you, Andy- but I had to download the full report from the CMO council.
Apparently marketers are forgetting the “basics.” In a time where marketers are obsessed with using new tech tools to launch elaborate marketing campaigns and reach consumers, the basics have been left in the dirt. Among key findings of the study, the following is quite relevant to what we believe at Questar:
The CMO Council study highlighted three key obstacles and deficiencies for not optimizing the full revenue potential and lifetime value of existing customers. This included:
- Lack of real-time data and analytics that captures insights from across all customer touch points.
- Information not only being selectively gathered, but often inaccurate or incomplete.
- Data being siloed and restricted in its availability and use across the organization.
The world is always changing and new ways of reaching consumers are always surfacing. But are CMOs paying enough attention to their brand’s existing customers? The report suggests this as a problem. The introduction includes these sections, which (in my opinion) offer a valuable take-away:
Identify new routes to revenue; Resilience during recession…Get more personal; Own the entire customer experience; Mobilize brand advocates and co-innovate
I haven’t read the entire report yet, but I definitely think it is worth taking a look at. Even the introduction and executive summary inspired this blog post from me.
So alright now, CMOs, this is what I think: Get on the social web, find your customers and have a dialogue with them, delve into new technologies, and keep up with changing times. But don’t forget about gathering customer data! At Questar we know the importance of this, because that is what we do (and we do it well). This report accuses senior marketers of leaving these basics out of the mix. So, here we are to remind you. Attention expert marketers- time to dig these fundamentals out of their early grave.
Be sure to check out Andy’s blog post and the CMO Council report.
And just for fun- I asked an actual CMO (Barry Judge of Best Buy) for his thoughts on the report (via Twitter). His response:
BestBuyCMO: @emgiel CMOs don’t last long for a number of reasons. Top 2 reasons: Difficulty in being able to measure impact followed by narrow scope
-Liz Giel
