Filed under: Customer Experience | 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 Experience | Tags: Customer Satisfaction, questions, survey
It’s easy to ask a question. In fact, it might be too easy. Brainstorming survey questions seems simple, but there are plenty of traps to fall into. The way a question is asked has a profound effect on the response it produces. I asked one of our consultants for a few tips on choosing quality questions. He also gave me examples of weak questions. For survey results that give you what your business needs, you have to give customers the information they need to answer your questions. Use these tips to make that happen.
1. Beware of double-barreled questions.
Bad: “Were the employees who served you helpful and knowledgeable?”
Sure, your waitress could recite every single beer they had on tap, but she couldn’t remember to bring you a pint. “Knowledgeable” and “helpful” do not go hand-in-hand. A question like this confuses survey respondents. It asks people about two different characteristics, and this will not result in actionable survey results. It’s like asking if the bathroom was “clean” and “tidy,” or if the food was “warm” and “delicious.” Cold food can be delicious, right? And believe me; tidy bathrooms can still be dirty. Don’t make this mistake. Split the one question in two.
2. Be specific- do not use ambiguous words in your questions.
Bad: “Do you believe gun control law should be changed?”
This question makes assumptions and gives no clarification. It assumes the respondent knows all current federal and state laws on gun control. It also presumes that survey-takers have an opinion. And are they asking about all gun laws? The important point here is to specify what you are talking about. The people reading your survey need to know what you are talking about. Don’t leave room for questions on their part. You should be the only one asking questions here.
Better question: Do you feel Minnesota handgun laws should be more or less strict?
3. Avoid using emotional words in your questions.
Bad: “Do you believe gun control law should be changed?”
“Gun control” is an emotionally-charged phrase because people have strong opinions about the idea. So when you ask customers if you should use cage free eggs in your cooking, expect the possibility for skewed responses. You are asking for a response to an idea or belief, and not about what you really care about such as quality service, value, etc. Stick to the point and don’t start a political debate in your survey.
Every survey question requires a second thought. Read each one out loud, or ask multiple people the questions before you present it to your customers. Make sure the questions you ask allow you to measure the points you want to know about. It might help to think backwards; if you want to measure customer service, think of the question to be asked, and then write it. The next step is choosing the appropriate scale. But until then, work on those question-writing skills.
-Liz Giel
Photo credit: Ethan Lofton (Flickr)
Filed under: Customer Experience | Tags: customer engagement, Customer Satisfaction
As a new Netflix customer, I’ve been impressed with their dedication to customer satisfaction. A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from them asking for the arrival date of my latest movie, so they could make sure the delivery was timely. Today, they sent me another message:
“Dear Liz, You recently watched Goal! 2: Living the Dream. To help us ensure a great experience for all members, would you take a moment to tell us about the picture and audio quality?”
Two things came to my mind. 1. What in the world is “Goal! 2: Living the Dream,” and why was my husband watching it? 2. Netflix is dedicated to their customers in a way that other companies are not.
Netflix communicates one-on-one with their clients and genuinely cares about their experience. Being a web-based business, this is fairly easy for them to do. Still, I believe every company has the ability and technology to do the same. Imagine buying a computer from Dell and receiving an e-mail from them a few weeks later asking if you like it. Retail stores frequently ask for e-mail addresses during transactions. In addition to adding these patrons to an e-mail newsletter list, why not ask them if they are happy with their purchase, or how the service was? This is customer appreciation. This is making sure customers know that their opinion is valued. This is one of the reasons why the $14 bucks a month I spend on Netflix will be one of the last things ever cut from my budget.
-Liz Giel
Photo credit: HackingNetflix (Flickr)
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
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
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
Filed under: Customer Experience | Tags: Broccoli Effect, Customer Experience, Customer Satisfaction
Welcome to Questar/CEM’s new blog. Our intent is to keep our clients, partners and staff updated on new and interesting issues in customer experience management.
One of the great challenges in effectively managing the customer experience is that it has to be attended to everyday, by every employee, at every location. Consistently maintaining any type of effort over time is one of the most daunting tasks a company or person faces. We all know it is necessary to eat vegetables every day for a healthy diet, but how many of us are deliberate about it? Every company knows it needs to focus on customer satisfaction every day. Even though managers realize that it only requires a little reflection to remember a dissatisfying shopping or service experience, how disciplined are they at giving the customer experience ongoing, deliberate attention?
We will use this forum to post our ideas for keeping customer satisfaction fresh and relevant. We also invite you to send us your ideas for sharing with this community.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Now, I’m off to eat my vegetables…
Tom McGoldrick
