LIRM: Listen, Interpret, React, Monitor
Posted by Jeffrey Henning on Tue, Mar 09, 2010
No magic pixie dust exists to turn customers into confidants. Instead, companies must do the hard work of continuous learning, over and over and over again. To build outstanding customer experiences, Forrester's Bruce Temkin advocates organizations adopt a process that he calls "LIRM":
- Listen broadly for the Voice of the Customer, as customers express their needs, wants and frustrations in their own words.
- Interpret what this really means for your business. Is an attitude widespread or representative of a small group of customers? If the customer tells you that they want "a faster horse" (a la Henry Ford), how do you translate that into new product specifications?
- React to these needs and change your business accordingly. Most organizations fail to take action on the feedback they gather; put a process in place where customer feedback is used to drive ongoing process improvements.
- Monitor the results of the changes on an ongoing basis, through formal and automated processes.
Then start the process all over again!
Feedback is the axis by which your organization can spin up continuous learning. Ask customers questions systematically after each interaction. Turn to customers for discussion of new initiatives, big and small. Acting on what you learn encourages even more feedback.
Want more information? Our complementary webinar series The Voice of the Customer in Surround Sound uses the LIRM model as a framework for structuring your VOC program.