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Time is Money - Time and Transparency equal Loyalty

By Jack Borland and Anne McLain
September 25, 2006

We all remember the old adage "time is money." In the ultra-fast paced world of today, this rings ever more true. Most companies recognize this by streamlining processes, making operations leaner and eliminating redundancy in a quest to cut wasted dollars out of operations.

What does this mean for the customer? Today, people are more hurried and have more demands on their time. Coincidentally, they are barraged by marketing messages coming through every media channel, each grasping for individual attention. But is this effective?

Today's customers just won't tolerate companies that don't adapt to their way of doing business. Companies that anticipate this and change their business practices have the competitive advantage. Operating efficiently and transparently has taken on new meaning for businesses. It's not just about internal operations or financial transparency to investors.

Most call centers formerly measured effectiveness by how quickly calls could be completed without recognizing that it might not create successful conclusions for customers.

Call centers are now measuring themselves based on single call resolution-placing the customers' needs before a short-term, short-sighted goal.

This is where you stop measuring customer satisfaction and focus on creating customer loyalty

Changing strategies

Companies are now realizing that operational efficiency goes beyond taking the least amount of steps to accomplish a sale. They have to mold their operations to how the customer thinks and wants their sale or service handled. After all, without customers, a company has no purpose or value.

Imagine a world where a customer can tell you something once, such as their interest in a complementary product. That information is captured and flagged to drive further interactions and sales. This creates a more intimate, relevant, and timely experience.

Even better, imagine a world where you solicit your customer for feedback on their experience, and those priceless insights actually drive your innovation. Think it's impossible? It's not! Companies like Enterprise and GE have developed consistent feedback mechanisms that get 90%+ participation by their customers, and allow them to generate superior rates of return in their industries.

Putting it in practice

Customers want to be valued. If they have to jump through hoops to do business with you, they'll go someplace else. Show your customers (and prospects) that you value their time as if it was your own and you'll see an immediate and positive effect.

Consider phone system integrations and call handling. The better types create a seamless handoff from the automated systems to the call specialists without requiring the caller to repeat previously captured information.

Similarly, web sites can offer tools to assist with common consumer shopping or research efforts. When you practice transparency by aggregating industry information you demonstrate your commitment to being a good partner, thus reinforcing the customer's trust in your organization.

Helpful Phrases for Interaction Scripts:

"Before we proceed, let me explain how this process works ."
"So that I can best serve you, I'd like to ask a couple of questions regarding ."

Make Your Reasoning Transparent

When a process requires duplication, or when requesting sensitive information, the reason for this should be explained clearly, regardless of channel.

Thinking through how you'll explain why you're asking for their information will help you understand where to eliminate unnecessary information requests.

Consider All Channels

Different forms of contact are driven by the individual's needs and desires. Think about inquiries through the online channel. Email inquiries are typically prioritized much lower than phone calls, although the consequences of a delay on customer satisfaction are similar for each. Why would you assume that someone who takes the time to write to you will be satisfied with a poorly written, machine generated response?

Consumers are now comfortable interacting through a wide variety of channels. Poor service through any one channel will be noticed. And that negative experience can taint the customer perception of your entire organization.

A recent study ¹ shows that roughly two thirds of all teens use instant messaging (IM), and half of them use IM every day. Are you ready to field IM inquiries? This isn't Live Chat but real, honest-to-goodness IM chat, where the customer has programmed their communication device to allow them to open a chat session as a question occurs to them. Think it won't happen? Think again! And that customer will be looking for quick, concise, relevant, answers.

Be Proactive

Asking questions to understand the root issues behind customer interactions or inquiries will provide you with greater insight into customer needs. Moreover, it also allows you to develop more effective content for communication across all channels.

Review inquiry response processes and scripts. Are you being proactive? What's your standard service level for handling email inquiries? Think about providing an immediate response acknowledgment with service level details on when a complete response will be sent. Be sure to think through the response email's subject line as well as the content. It seems obvious that the message should be easily recognizable to the customer, but a lot of companies are still using systems that fill the subject line with meaningless information. Your response could be overlooked or considered junk mail by the customer.

Think about how you can develop proactive tools to better serve the customers' needs for rapid information access and transparency. Does your company offer customers the ability to create custom alerts? Let the customer decide which communications channel or combination of channels they wish to use.

Ultimately, the quicker you address customers' needs and get to a resolution, the better your long-term relationship. In complex situations where an immediate response is not possible, the best practice is to clearly delineate the process for resolution. Keep the customer informed via customer selected channel, and ensure that any additional interactions (whether customer-initiated or not) demonstrate your company's understanding of what's already occurred.

Jack Borland is a Customer Experience Consultant and Anne McLain is a Senior Consultant at Vox, Inc., a customer experience research and consulting firm. Contact them through the feedback form on our Contact Us page. Copyright 2006 Vox, Inc. All rights reserved.

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