Removing Friction from Customer Relationships
Posted by Brian Koma on Mon, Feb 14, 2011
Recently the Washington D.C. area was afflicted by a perfect winter storm that uniquely combined freezing rain, sleet and 8 inches of snow into a mélange that completely banished friction from roadways. Thousands of people spent the night in their cars or beached them along major roads because there was virtually no way to maintain contact with the pavement.
As I was trudging home in the slipperiest conditions I have ever found myself in (after abandoning my vehicle) it occurred to me that this is exactly what those of us responsible for customer experience and loyalty really want: a world with no friction -- in customer relationships.
In the last 6 months, those of us at Vovici have noted a dramatic increase in the number of organizations who are seeking to implement a comprehensive view of their customer relationships and experiences. About one in every two conversations we’ve had with prospective customers is centered around identifying and taking action against those points of friction.
This is not to say that bad things will never happen in a customer relationship. Human beings will always make mistakes, miss deadlines or disappoint others in their day-to-day interactions. The key is to understand what is causing friction, take action to eliminate it, and then measure the effects of these actions over time. By consistently monitoring customer perception of the changes, then and only then do we have an opportunity to reduce and eliminate friction.
Many organizations are now instituting a combination of relationship surveys, transactional surveys, one-on-one conversations with customers, online communities and social listening to identify friction points. There is a tremendous amount of listening going on. Sadly, however, there is not a lot of action being taken as a result of all this listening.
Achieving frictionless customer relationships is only possible when organizations take action and then continue to measure the reaction to those steps. I believe that’s why one of the most used features in Vovici’s enterprise feedback management platform is the ability to implement action alerts. This ability to associate satisfaction and experience thresholds with survey questions and then automatically fire off alerts to relevant individuals, along with all necessary customer data, puts listening into action.
By taking action against issues, showing customers you’re listening and reacting, and then measuring their reaction again, you can differentiate yourself against competitors who are listening but not taking action. And while you may not be able to achieve the same frictionless environment that I experienced the other day, you can make great progress in building customer loyalty and dramatically improve their willingness to spend more money with you.