Measuring the customer and employee experience is a continuous process, not an event
Businesses do not exist without customers and employees, yet few companies have a systematic process in place to measure and improve the experience of both customers and employees.
Yet we all (or most of us) follow our financials faithfully to the month, week or even day. Customer experience should be measured the same way - continuously. And their feedback should always be available in real-time. Employee feedback should be collected quarterly at a minimum.
After all, there is no cash without customers and employees!
Start your customer experience feedback program with your most important touchpoint
You probably interact with customers in a variety of ways: website, app, contact center, location, field services, etc.
Begin your customer experience measurement program with the touchpoint that if it does not go well, you will lose that customer.
For some customers, that will be a customer visit to a location, for others it will be visit to a website. No matter what it is, ask for feedback immediately after that experience, every time, all the time.
And make the survey as short as possible - 3 minutes maximum!
Customer feedback should NOT be anonymous
This one comes as a shock to many who are used to anonymous market research surveys, but customers in 2020 WANT you to know if they had a poor experience and EXPECT you to follow up to make it right.
Have you checked Twitter and Facebook lately? That’s right, you can save a potentially lost customer who recently had a poor experience by systematically following up with them BEFORE they take it to social media.
Depending on your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), this can be a complete game changer. You can set up real-time alerts that go to the appropriate person in your company who is responsible for following up with the customer and “closing the loop.” This activity alone with make your company 10x more customer-centric.
Identify your CX Heroes, celebrate them and model them
Customers love providing feedback on exceptional experiences, especially about an employee who did something special for them.
If appropriate, make sure you ask customers 1) if any employee went out of their way to create an exceptional experience, 2) the name of that employee, and 3) what they did to make the experience special.
You will get so much out of this!
You will identify the “CX Heroes” within your company. Recognize them, model their behaviors, and hire more just like them. The ultimate result is a culture that is laser-focused on the customer.
Measuring employee experience is the foundation for a great customer experience
If you want customers who love you, recommend, buy more and return, then treat your employees really well. They are the ones who make those things happen.
Employee experience measurement is not optional - it’s essential to a customer-centric organization that is growing and thriving.
Regularly reach out to your employees via anonymous surveys to see how they are doing and what could be better. Communicate about which changes are being made. Treat your people right.
Your customers will thank you in more ways than you can imagine.
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About the Author
Sean McDade, PhD is the author of Listen or Die: 40 Lessons That Turn Customer Feedback Into Gold. He founded PeopleMetrics in 2001 and is the architect of the company’s customer experience management (CEM) software platform. As CEO, he guides the company’s vision and strategy. Sean has over 20 years of experience helping companies measure and improve the customer experience. Earlier in his career, he spent five years at the Gallup Organization, where he was the practice leader of their consulting division. His company offers CEM software with advanced machine learning solutions and hands-on analytical support to help companies make sense of their CX data. Sean holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a specialization in marketing science from Temple University in Philadelphia. He has published eight articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and has taught over 25 marketing classes. Sean was named a 40 under 40 award recipient of the Philadelphia region. He is an active Angel Investor, including investments in Tender Greens, CloudMine and Sidecar.
Topic: Customer Experience