EGYII : blog » Customer Experience

Why Every Business Encounter Should be a Great Experience

tripallen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:56:38 +0000

Customer experience is comprised of three things: the Technology, the Design and the Connect.

But why does “customer experience” seem only to be emphasized in the mass market such hotels, airlines, retail banks and stores and telephone companies?

Shouldn’t it apply to every business encounter or client facing scenario?

Of course.

Let’s look at the area that is most overlooked-the “Connect,” which is the face to face encounter and where real relationship and business building opportunities exist.

When I personally operate, I look at every face to face encounter as an opportunity to connect and create a great personal experience for the person I am connecting with.

Think about it.

Whether I am calling on a CEO, a Managing Director, a Human Resource Leader or a Learning and Development Officer…..it doesn’t matter.

If you don’t create the right experience, you lose the opportunity. Period.

Let’s look at the reality of it all. When you walk into a retail store do you like being harangued by the retail clerk? Followed after when you need no help at all. “This would look good on you.” Who asked for your comment?

Or in a restaurant where the waiter obnoxiously starts recommending dishes-without asking what you like or what you might prefer.

What is the difference between the retail and restaurant scenario and a larger, complex, more expensive business to business or business to client sales scenario where the product portfolio-bits/bytes, features/benefits-is the focus?

There often is no difference. In both instances the encounter lacks sensitivity.

Why does it lack sensitivity? Because the encounter is all about the company and/or the intent of the deliverer. It is all about YOU and not the client.

In both instances, if you add sensitivity, real client focus (and a little bit of empathy), you will see amazing results.

Focus on the client.

Put yourself into the client’s shoes.

You are the front to your company, your product, yourself.

Think GREAT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!

Everytime.

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, HOT HOT Singapore

Introducing…Andrew Sidwell

tripallen — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:47:13 +0000

Welcome, Andrew, to Team Egyii.

In a nutshell, Andrew brings to clients years of hands on experience in the call centre space and in the learning and development arena, working with major banks, insurance and technology companies, to name a few.

Andrew helps clients with the effective sales conversation and the reinforcement behind it. His focus is on solutions for front line service, sales teams and management:

Frontline sales and acquisition

Frontline customer experience

Leadership and coaching development

For more on Andrew, see Andrew Sidwell and for more on the programmes he has delivered to banking, finance and the tech sector, see the following.

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

Why the rules of quality control don’t work in customer service and client relationships

jfirvine — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:07:37 +0000

The fundamental mistake that management in service organisations make is to assume that human interaction follows a set of fixed rules such that all staff should be able to provide outstanding service in exactly the same ways. This assumption leads to training programs which offer a ’scripted’ set of behaviours for all employees to follow in an attempt to create consistency of good customer relationships throughout a large organisation.

Let me summarise the story of Plowman’s State Bank, told in John H. Fleming and Jim Asplund’s book Human Sigma.

Ferdinand Gustafson founded Plowman’s State Bank in the early 20th century in a small town in the U.S. Gus and his employees created value by treating every customer interaction differently, so that each relationship with a customer was unique. The service provided to each customer was personal, individualized and, above all, authentic. As a result of this highly personal way of building customer relationships, the bank thrived and grew.

Of course, we all know that individualized, personal service is the key to creating value in the customer’s eyes. The challenge comes when we try to scale up this model across a large organisation.

As Plowman’s State Bank grew and opened more branches, it became less feasible for Gus and his small team to see everyone who did business with the bank. As he entrusted service delivery and relationship building to a growing number of selected associates, he noticed that in some branches service deteriorated while in others it remained of a high quality. As a result, customers could not be sure which version of Plowman’s State Bank they would encounter when they visited a particular branch – the poor service version or the excellent service version.

The obvious solution was to ensure consistency throughout the bank by applying the principles of quality control. Thus they tried to create hundreds of Gus clones by scripting service. They sent their staff on training programs which told them what to say and do through a set of specified scripts and steps. The result was that the steps to follow (how to interact with the customer) were emphasised over the desired outcome. As the authors of Human Sigma say, “Unfortunately, you can’t find the solution to building genuine customer connections in making the steps of service into a routine.”

In her book The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, the late German social psychologist Fritz Heider described the concept of equifinality. To quote the authors of Human Sigma again, “In essence, equifinality describes that there are as many paths to achieving a desired outcome as there are people willing to try. No single path is appropriate for all individuals because the conditions required to reach the desired outcome are different for every individual. In other words, though the end remains constant, the means to achieve the end will inevitably vary from individual to individual.”

Needless to say, Plowman’s State Bank became just another bank indistinguishable from the rest. They lost their unique, key point of differentiation – their ability to create value in their customer’s eyes through the right kind of relationship management.

What can a service organisation do, then, to make sure they focus on a common outcome while allowing the journey to reach that outcome to vary from customer to customer and interaction to interaction? The solution is to free your people to express themselves in their own unique ways and tap into their individual talents and strenghts. And the way to do this is to provide them with powerful self-management and relationship-management tools which they can use as they see fit to create value for their organisation.

This is the new direction of people development today: a focus on the individual such that each staff member is motivated by being given the opportunity to fully express herself while building great, lasting customer relationships.

James Irvine, Team Egyii, Singapore

Customer Experience and Trust in Banking: The Links in Loyalty

tripallen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:34:29 +0000

Customer Experience and Loyalty

The main driver behind customer experience for companies is building and maintaining customer loyalty. Happy, loyal customers tend to buy more products at higher margins with less associated costs (vs the banks’ cost acquisition of new customers). Loyal customers are also great marketing channels for the banks- word of mouth marketing (and therefore referrals) are the best way to attain well-qualified prospects.

Customer Experience and Loyalty in Banking- 5 Key Factors

“In banking, every 1% increase in loyalty is associated with a 17% higher likelihood of repurchasing. “ (Lariviere, 2008 banking study)

According to Market Force Information Inc, there are 5 contributing factors that enhance the customer experience and therefore loyalty in banking :

Efficiency

Problem Experience

Knowledge

Relevancy

Trust

(Efficiency and Problem Experience are “the critical and necessary factors,” and Knowledge, Relevancy and Trust are “the factors that drive truly loyalty”)

So what is it that bank clients want?

The Market Force studies showed that customers wanted a knowledgeable banker (“value”) who is engaging (“relationship”). “Being enthusiastic, sincere, and having a good rapport with customers has the highest impact on customer satisfaction, reinforcing the need to build knowledge, relevancy, and trust.” (Why the Bank Customer Experience Matters. Market Force Information 2008) This will help drive loyalty.

Building Trust to Build Loyalty- One Piece to the Customer Experience Puzzle

There is a lot of talk around building trust, but there is very little action. How to build trust and trustworthiness? It is not simple and it takes time.

Trust in banking needs to be inherently absorbed both internally and externally. Internally is within the organization- front office, back office and management. Externally is between the customer facing individuals and the customers. Without both forces at work, trust does not work.

Trusted Advisor Associates uses the Trust Equation, which consists of building trustworthiness:

Credibility

Reliability

Intimacy

Self orientation

So building trust and trustworthiness is one of the key factors in customer experience and therefore customer loyalty. Live it and breathe it to increase your business.

For more information on trust, see: Egyii- trusted advisor edge and Egyii’s partner in crime-Trusted Advisor Associates

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

A Simple Explanation of Customer Experience

tripallen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:23:16 +0000

Let’s simplify an overused, sometimes “overcomplicated” term: customer experience.

There are three important drivers of customer experience:

Technology: Technology is the IT systems in place to track and gather the data that is necessary to understand who the client is, the client satisfaction points, their history, Etc. This would be CRM systems, call centre operations and unified communications as examples. Often companies rely too much on this driver- it cannot stand alone.

Design: Design gives us the “look, smell & feel” of customer experience. We leave this to the web designers, interior and industrial designers who enhance the “click,” the bank lobbies and the Apple iPhones.

Connect: This is the interface to the customer and the most difficult of all three, as it involves direct contact with “fickle” humans and requires a behavioural change in the company delivering the experience, to be effective.

Both Technology and Design play an important role in Connect and without Connect, you lose the overall customer experience.

Customer service, ease of use on the company’s website and face to face interactions are the heart and soul of Connect and customer experience. It is where most companies fail and where they should be focusing,

Overall, if you use Technology, Design and Connect you will deliver great customer experience, which drives…

word of mouth marketing

loyalty

higher profits

…and more business.

Do or die.

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

A Customer Experience Success Story: Engagement & Client (Customer) Focus

tripallen — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:40:08 +0000

Some Get it and Some Don’t. Why?

There has been a lot of recent news and write ups of success (and failures) on retail customer service/experience programmes.

A few success stories:

Tony Hsieh of Zappos (of course!).

Nordstrom’s department stores.

Wegman’s supermarkets.

Why are some retailers more successful than others and generally more successful than other industries at customer experience?

Because the successful ones focus on and reach out to the customer. The customer is King. The service culture is instilled in the business and comes from top down.

They engage and focus on the client and all aspects around the client.

To back this up, a recent retail survey by the Retail Council of Canada (along with Wharton and Verde) titled “Discovering WOW,” shows that, of the top five categories of great shopping experiences, the top priority for loyalty and customer experience is ENGAGEMENT.

Statistics and Gaps

The following statistics and information from a CMO Council study tells us something….

“38 percent said their companies have no programs in place to track or propagate positive word of mouth among customers.”

“Only 31 percent rate their company’s commitment to customer listening highly.”

“Many companies have are discovering that they have no idea what their clients’ real customer experiences are. ”

It tells us that there are a lot of gaps when it comes to customer experience.

Filling the Gaps: Success in the Insurance Business Through Engagement and Client Focus

One insurance company has filled the gaps and understands why it is important..

Aviva (Norwich Union) are the fifth largest insurance company in the world and the largest in the UK. They deal with “real moments of truth”- floods, fires, accidents, death- and need to get customer experience right.

Aviva’s worldwide mantra is ”Prosperity, peach of mind, health & wealth. ” They need to live up to this to survive. And during these tough times it is even more important, since the insurance industry’s reputation is jaded and there is lack of trust overall.

Darren Cornish, Director Customer Experience, Norwich Union, worked with Beyond Philosophy (a leading customer experience consulting firm in the UK) to help them fill the gaps.

Quoting Mr. Cornish on his work with Beyond Philosophy: ”The best thing to do before designing any form of startegy is to go out and talk directly to the customers (and to the staff)- the front line.”

He found out that there was a degree of disconnect and it all distilled into two principles- customers want to trust us and want Norwich Union to “do what we say we do. ”

He also discovered that Norwich Union (and the insurance industry in general ) did not seem to demonstrate that they cared- they were not interested in “me (the client) as a person”.

Customers were often seen as a number. Customers felt like THEY were the victim. This killed the trust factor.

So what were the first steps? Engage senior management- work it from the top.

He discovered that “Our processes have been designed from the inside for efficiency and not with the customer in mind. The measurement and the incentives in place were damaging the customer experience. The IT systems needed to be shifted towards the customers. Marketing and communications were all about acquisition and not customer connections.”

Norwich Union went on to build a successful customer experience program through engagement and client focus.

“I am a broken record when it comes to saying, ‘We have to focus on the consumer.’…I don’t think the answers are just in the numbers. You have to get out and look.” - A.G. Lafley, former CEO, Procter & Gamble

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

Tips and Advice for Financial Organizations from a Leading Research Organization

tripallen — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:34:58 +0000

The Egyii team recently attended a financial services briefing in Singapore, hosted by Gartner, one of the global leaders in research and analysis.

The following is some of the advice offered to the Singapore and global banking community.

(Highlighted in Bold Italics are quotes from the analysts. The rest are comments from Team Egyii)

Technology can help but it’s not the be all to end all. CRM systems, online support, Etc are important, but facing the client (face to face), is more important.

Banks going back to basics- focus on core business away from the peripherals. Too many complicated programmes were rolled out over the years. This caused too many problems and contributed to the collapse. Keep it simple moving ahead.

Be more inclusive with clients as they have lost your trust. Remove yourself from siloed thinking and involve the customer in more decisions.

Best innovations come in time of bust- don’t stifle innovation. If you wait you will be left behind- you will never catch up. Be bold- try new things, otherwise someone else will beat you to it.

Life goes on (during the crisis) so understand what your customers are doing. Don’t put everything to a halt as business continues- keep client focused.

Internet usage and popularity in Singapore facts and stats: Facebook ranks 4^th, users spend avg 23.2 mins. DBS ranks 17^th, users spend avg. 4.1 mins. Times are changing. How do you engage and listen to the voice of your clients in these times?

Customers say- “It’s my money, so listen to me.” Retailers get it & respond. Banks don’t. How do you respond to your clients needs?

Banks need to get more advice from peer groups. The web community is one way…face to face is another.

Know me (the client). Know my life. Retailers know it & get it. Banks don’t.” retailers engage well with clients why don’t financial organizations?

The client is pleading…”Please. I need a helping hand. Help.” They are calling for you- respond please.

How many helpful and meaningful messages have been sent to customers during the crisis about what is really happening (and what to do about it)? 0- zero.” (from research of 25 major banks) Banks need to communicate better, not just from a broad sense but from a personal sense.

Customer experience is about building trust and understanding the entire customer experience process. Don’t segment it- look at the whole experience and the different ways of delivering it.

Customers want help. The financial organizations are not there- they are too internally focused. How do you focus on the client when he is crying for help?

Your customers have interests outside of banking and insurance. Look beyond the immediate financial services relationship. Look at building personal relationship where you can…

In conclusion, times are tough but you must forge on. Don’t sit back- take advantage of the situation as you will benefit long term. Keep it simple and focused on the client..

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

Research Firm Forrester Cites Egyii as “Hot Banking Tech Company”

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:47:30 +0000

Independent Research Firm Forrester cites Egyii in latest “Hot Banking Tech Companies to Watch in 2009: Q2 Update” report.

Senior Analyst and author, Ellen Carney, is part of the technology industry strategy team and focuses on Product Management and Marketing professionals in banking, insurance and securities industry.

Egyii’s role in customer experience programmes played an important part of this recognition.

For more, see Forrester’ “Hot Banking tech Companies….”

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore

Why is it that Banks Don’t Get Customer Experience?

tripallen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:33:24 +0000

Banks just don’t get customer experience. Why?

Hotels get it.

Umpqua Bank in Oregon, USA gets it. But only partially…

Bank clients clearly are not happy. Banks continue to operate in the same manner.

So what are they missing?

The true client relationship. A genuine, authentic interface. Bankers are too busy pushing products, too pre-occupied with short term bank and personal results. They are too focused on the bank and the bank’s operations.

CRM, processes and the bank’s physical environment all help- but they don’t go far enough.

Hoteliers focus on the client - not the company.

That is the difference.

I spoke with the head of Customer Experience at one of the major Singapore banks the other day and she said that the banks’ staff ARE too focused on THE BANK. They are are tied up with too many regulations, compliance, rules, Etc.

Banks need to start focusing more on the personal side of the client, the relationship (the real experience), to really add value and capture the audience.

Customer focus. Customer value. Customer Experience.

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore.

Investors Continue to Lose Faith & Trust in Banks

tripallen — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:06:00 +0000

According to a recent study published by Dow Jones titled “Wealth Management After the Crunch,” the following numbers on banks’ performance were presented: 74% of the banks in Asia thought they over-performed through the crisis whereas 91% of the US banks were under the illusion that they performed well.

But, the reality is just 29% of the clients concurred with this.

The author, Bruce Weatherill, a former PWC consultant and now representing his own firm Bruce Weatherill Executive Consulting, states: “Clients are saying they look for service from life to death to the next generation. Wealth managers are delivering that by changing advisers very frequently moving in and out of markets. They don’t understand to be successful, wealth managers need to provide security, a long term vision and not just transactions.”

As for trust, Mr. Weatherill states that 65% of the wealth managers in Asian banks think their clients see them as “trusted advisors.”

But, again the clients have a different perspective on this. Only 32% agree with this.

Mr. Weatherill states in the report that “Wealth managers underestimate the loss of trust that has resulted from the credit crunch. They need to recognise the damage and work rapidly to repair it.

There are other statistics around low numbers of loyalty between clients and the wealth managers, disagreements on the clients’ view of performance Vs the banks, Etc.

All of this leads to dissatisfied clients and all in all it is not positive (to say the least).

So much so that many of the clients are switching to other institutions and private wealth management firms.

We all don’t need to have these numbers to recognise that there are levels of denial and a lack of real client focus.

When will the banks and other financial institutions realise that it is time for a change?

Trip Allen, Team Egyii, Singapore