Tag: customer experience

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Customer service Engagement Marketing

Reflections in The Employee Customer Mirror

To describe the impact that employees have on customers, I often use a mirror metaphor. This “employee-customer mirror” reflects the reality that customers are affected by what employees experience on the job. If employees are frustrated by company policy or internal politics, their attitudes can be projected onto dealings with customers. And who wants to be served by disgruntled employees? It takes only one or two such encounters (depending on the customer’s tolerance threshold) before a customer takes his/her business elsewhere. And who knows how many other customers will hear of the experience?

It’s an easy principle to remember: the way employees feel is the way customers will feel – and if our employees don’t feel valued, neither will our customers. Unfortunately, too many organizations take this relationship for granted. (Don’t even think about using current economic conditions as an excuse.)

How do you manage employee-customer care? I’m talking the basics here:

  • open the lines of organizational communications (top-down, bottom-up, and laterally)
  • involve employees in improving the business operations – whatever is needed to survive and thrive
  • provide opportunities for continued learning and professional development
  • recognize employees who continue to rally the energy and enthusiasm to serve customers and co-workers despite limited resources.

What do you see when looking into your organization’s Employee-Customer Mirror?

  • a shiny reflection of employee- and customer-satisfaction?
  • a blurred image that needs polishing to be more employee- and customer-focused? or
  • a cracked image opening up opportunities for your competitors?
Categories
Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing – New Definition

Internal marketing is a critical management concept that is difficult to explain, let alone define. Throughout my work in the field, I’ve defined internal marketing simply as “the application of marketing inside an organization to instill customer-focused values.”

But now there’s a new, more comprehensive definition – thanks to the Fall 2005 graduate class in internal marketing, part of Northwestern University’s Integrated Marketing Communications program.

“Internal Marketing is the ongoing process whereby an organization aligns, motivates and empowers employees at all functions and levels to consistently deliver a positive customer experience that helps achieve business objectives.”

What I love about this expanded definition is that it captures aspects of both internal marketing and internal branding. The new definition is a result of an Internal Marketing Best Practice Study funded by the Forum for People Performance Management & Measurement.

I’ll have more on this study in my next post.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

The Sweet Sound of Brand Love

I just attended my first brand “love-in” experience thanks to my husband, a member of the Martin Owners Club – a special group of Martin Guitar aficionados.

The first official gathering of the Martin Owners Club was held recently in Nazareth, PA, site of the company’s home base, factory, and new Martin Guitar Museum & Visitors Center. The day’s events included factory tours guided by employees, museum tours, re-stringing of club members’ guitars by Martin technicians, a special address by C.F. Martin IV (company CEO), music performances, and lots of food and brand mementos.

Brand Passion Inside & Out

More than 500 members & their guests, from 40 U.S. states and six countries, came to the one-day event.  According to Steve Carletti, VP of Sales & Marketing, the Martin Owners Club started just three years ago and has grown to approx. 3200 members. Members pay an annual fee to belong to the club – reflecting their devotion to this incredible brand.

Equally impressive is the employee passion & pride for the brand that I witnessed during the factory tour and throughout the event. Martin & Co. has a dedicated workforce with low turnover. And those employees who don’t play guitar are proud to say that they own one or two (or more) Martin Guitars.

I highly recommend a visit to Martin & Co. The exquisite craftsmanship that goes into the making of these guitars in incredible. Yes, some of the process is automated, but the actual assembly of the guitars is done by hand. (Upon first entering the factory for your guided tour, you’re greeted by the scent of fresh cut wood.)

In full disclosure, my husband is involved with Discover Lehigh Valley (of which Martin & Co. is a member), and he’s the proud owner of several Martin guitars. But that’s not the only reason I encourage you to check out the place.

The Martin Guitar Museum & Visitors Center is a great place to visit, and admission is free. It’s also a great place where you can feel and understand the depth of brand loyalty and love.

What an incredibly sweet sound.

Categories
Customer service Marketing

Customer Care – Why Sweating the Small Stuff is Good

I loved Sean D’Souza’s article about creating “accidental evangelists” in a recent issue of Marketing Profs.com.  And it got me thinking how it’s the little things that truly make a difference in connecting with customers.

This reality was also reinforced by a client’s Customer Experience Team who met recently to report on what they’re doing to improve communications & relationships with their customers; for example:

  • Sending a small welcome gift to new customers and acknowledging a current customer’s order with a thank you card
  • Referring a customer to another supplier for a product line that the client doesn’t yet offer
    (shades of “Miracle on 34th St.” … customer response was just as positive as in the film!)
  • Checking on product ship dates to ensure there’s no disconnect between a promised ship date and delivery
  • Letting customers know where to access their account numbers when they need to call in for something
  • Identifying the source of a problem with frequent repairs & letting Customer Service know so they can help customers avoid future problems.

In today’s hectic world we’re told “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  But often times it’s the little things we do that matter the most.

In what small, but impactful ways, do you show your customers that you care?

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Organizational Culture: Internal Customers (Part 3)

As mentioned in my last post, overall job satisfaction is affected by an employee’s relationships with managers & co-workers. And the quality of these relationships trickles down to the bottom line – you can’t build strong external (customer) relationships without strong internal (customer) relationships.

That’s why internal marketing considers employees “internal customers.” When employees take care of each others’ business service needs, they tend to do even better for customers.  In other words, internal customer service drives external customer services.

Who’s your customer?

Too often, customer relations training is focused only on staff with direct customer contact. But it applies to everyone – Purchasing has its internal customers; so does Human Resources, Information Systems, Operations, etc.

Think of it this way: if you’re not serving the ultimate customer (those who purchase your firm’s offerings), you’re serving someone who is … for example, the sales staff, customer service rep, call center staff, delivery person, store manager, etc.

To what extent does your organization acknowledge and serve its “internal customers?”

Categories
Customer service Marketing

Customer Discrimination is Risky Business

A recent posting on Adrants featured a bank promotion that’s getting some bad press in the blogosphere.  It’s one of those promotions that offers a great premium to (attract) new customers, while offering ‘bupkis’ to existing customers.  A great lesson in How to Alienate Current Customers 101.

It’s a business development dilemma for most companies — how to recruit new customers and not alienate current customers in the process.   The challenge is current customers are likely to notice ads from companies they deal with, and when they see a promotion for new customers, they’re likely to ask the company “So what have you done for me lately?”

Delivering customer value on an ongoing basis is key.  The smart companies are driven to continually ask: “How do our loyal customers know we value their relationship?” and they focus on delivering that value.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Happy Employees, Happy Customers

“Happiness in the workplace is a strategic advantage.”

So says Hal Rosenbluth in his book, The Customer Comes Second (2nd edition).  He explains: “Service comes from the heart, and people who feel cared for will care more. Unhappiness results in error, turnover, and other evils.”

I agree with him 1000% … it’s what internal marketing is all about.

Beyond the inherent logic linking employee and customer satisfaction, there’s a lot of research that supports a positive, mutually reinforcing relationship between employees and customers.  (Check out The Service Profit Chain in addition to Rosenbluth’s book.)

But do happy employees = happy customers? (It’s a question I’m often asked in my internal marketing seminars.)

It’s an oversimplification to be sure … but you can’t have one without the other.  Remember, if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers!

Categories
Customer service

On-line or In-store Shopping? It’s the Experience That Still Matters

Do you prefer to shop on-line or in a store?  While the factors affecting your choice may vary (depending on store location, access, time, convenience, etc.), the outcome is still the same — a satisfactory shopping experience

So who’s more likely to be satisfied with their customer service experience — on-line or in-store shoppers?  According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation’s NRF Foundation and American Express (reported in a recent Marketing Management magazine article), it’s on-line consumers.

Interesting? Yes.  Surprising? Not really … especially given my recent in-store experience.

Who Are They Kidding?

I went to return a purchase I had made earlier in the week.  Since I was a fairly new customer at the store’s location, I approached a sales clerk at one of the registers located in the front of the store.  (If I lament about the old days when sales registers and sales staff were located throughout the store, I’d be giving away my age.)

Me: Where can I return this?

Clerk:  You have to go back to customer service.

Me: Thank you. (Feigning politeness while thinking I’m the customer and I don’t “have to” do anything.  If you were trained properly, you would have told me: “Some one can help you in Customer Service” while pointing the way.)

So I walked back the length of the store to where Customer Service was located … under a sign proclaiming “Customer Convenience Center.”  (Yeah, right … if it were “convenient,” it would have been located in the front of the store!)

Maybe next time, I’ll shop on-line.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Customer Service for Nonprofits: Can You Hear Me Now?

To membership-based nonprofits, listen up: the concept of the customer experience also applies to you!

 

Here’s the situation: about a year ago I joined an organization that serves leaders in the nonprofit field with offerings that include information & idea-exchange, e-newsletter, discounted publications, annual conference, etc. But I decided not to renew my membership since I hadn’t gotten much out of it. It was only when working on my budget for memberships that I even realized they never sent me a renewal notice.) I also realized I never received the quarterly journal promised in their new member material, and they were unresponsive when I e-mailed them with a question about one of their events.

                                                                                                                                           

Welcome Back!?
                                                                                                                         

So I was surprised when I got a letter telling me my membership was extended for one year. I e-mailed them asking why — given my service to the nonprofit field as a professional advisor/facilitator as well as a volunteer leader, I was just a bit curious. Was it a matter of member service recovery? Or did the organization have such a great year they decided to “share the wealth” with their members?

Guess what? No response (surprise, surprise). So I sent a letter with a copy of my earlier e-mail to the organization’s Board Chair, a well-known & highly respected leader. This time I got a response (while it wasn’t directly from the Chair, at least I got through to someone). I received a phone call and letter from the staff apologizing for the situation (which was acceptable) and offering an explanation based on insufficient staffing, mis-communication with the members, etc. (which I found lame).

There’s no excuse for this treatment of members, especially given the prestigious founders & supporters of this particular organization. (Sorry, I know the power that dissatisfied customers have in spreading negative word-of-mouth and the more current “word-of-mouse,” but I’m reluctant to divulge the name of this group).

Acquisition Without Retention = Leaky Bucket

Membership-based organizations, no matter how well-intentioned their missions, won’t survive without members. They have to pay attention to the “customer” experience, and I’m not talking about anything complicated here — just the basics of being responsive to members, answering their concerns in a timely manner, communicating effectively to manage member expectations, and delivering what was promised. 

When it comes to member/customer satisfaction, this is Customer Service 101. My friend Mike McDermott and his colleague, Arlene Farber Sirkin, wrote a great book on this entitled “Keeping Members”, published by the ASAE (American Society of Association Executives (Foundation).

What’s surprising and disappointing is that there are member-based organizations out there who still don’t get it. Trust me, they won’t get my membership either.

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

It’s the Experience, Stupid!

I used these very words (in the title) in response to a recent post by a colleague Dana (Feb. 21, 2005) ranting about the lack of customer service. Customers have lots of choices these days, sometimes too much. It’s one of the reasons the “customer experience” has become a critical differentiator – treat customers right if you want to keep them coming back.

Too bad more companies don’t get it. I’m seeing this more & more as a business traveler. Wading through airport security … being herded on planes like cattle … and without the amenities we used to get (a small package of pretzels just isn’t enough on a cross country flight). Fellow passengers share the same frustrations, complaining about a particular airline or the industry in general.

On my last trip I heard a traveler comment about some surly airline staff. A few passengers tried to empathize with the staff given the instability of the industry and the fact that their jobs are in jeopardy. (In my experience, it’s only a handful of staff who have poor attitudes. But if they continue to to alienate passengers, their companies may not last much longer.)

My concern is for those airline staff trying to stay positive while taking care of customers. It truly is a delicate balance: as a result of cost-cutting reductions in staff & operations (needed to remain viable), airline staff have less resources at their disposal. (The good news was the last leg of my flight arrived on time; the bad news was we had to wait for baggage handling staff to unload the carry-on luggage.)

Remember, we’re also talking about employees who have taken pay-cuts, given back benefits, or haven’t had salary increases in a while. So yes, we passengers may need to be more understanding & perhaps lower our expectations a bit. At the same time, airline management needs to know it’s not a good experience – for either passengers or employees.

There’s no magic bullet for this. I just hope airline executives & managers are doing their best to be supportive of their employees — recognizing those who continue to take care of customers (despite the situation), while providing remedial attention to those don’t.

(Hint to those employees with a negative attitude: customers aren’t the only ones who have the option to leave!)