Editor’s Note - This story was originally published in February's Loyalty Management Online, and is part of Loyalty360’s “Best of 2016.” We wish you and your family a happy holidays, and will return to our regular content schedule in 2017!
Every brand wants to have an internal culture that extolls shared values that permeate the entire company and the entire customer experience. That’s what exists at Publix Super Markets.
Catering to and exceeding customer needs and expectations have evolved, and Publix has evolved along with them.
Maria Brous, Director of Media & Community Relations, Publix Super Markets, talked to Loyalty360 about how the 86-year-old company maintains a unique and committed internal structure that pervades each and every customer interaction.
We hear a good deal about alignment within the organization to increase the efficacy / impact of the CX efforts and that successful organizations are “committed” to such efforts. In your opinion, what does this commitment mean to you?
At Publix, we operate under a shared values system. As company owners, we have skin in the game. We understand the importance of customer service and the customer shopping experience. Each associate knows the pivotal role they play in achieving customer satisfaction – however, mere satisfaction isn’t enough. We want to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers. We have a strategy map that reinforces our culture, depicts our processes with expected outcomes, and represents the company’s goals. Each associate knowing their piece of the pie and executing toward that goal is what makes us highly efficient and committed.
There is a lot of talk about new media (social) and how it can increase impact. How is social media being used differently today than a year ago, and how do you see it changing over the next year?
We have seen more customers use social media as part of their Publix experience. In the last year, more customers have utilized our Facebook page to ask questions, share their shopping experience and learn more about Publix. With that, there is an understanding that social media will be able to respond quickly and effectively. Social media isn’t something anymore that just a niche group uses for customer service.
We have seen even more of our customers love content focused on tips and ideas to help save time or make things easier in their life as it relates to cooking, preparing food and planning.
Compared to last year, our customers are interacting more with video content. For both video and a photo with text, we’ve found that it’s important to engage our customers while they are scrolling their feeds. If it’s easy to absorb and compelling or just fun, they’re more likely to comment and also share it with their own friends to further the dialogue.
What are the challenges you face with data, analytics, and creating insight today and how has that changed over the past 18 months?
As I’m sure you’ve heard similar sentiments, data changes quickly. Being able to absorb the data from multiple facets of the operation is critical, but even more critical, is the ability to course correct. For Publix, the customer experience is vastly important. We’ve been committed to enhancing the shopping experience of our customers for more than 85 years. We have a culture that is rich is the service philosophy, so in every business decision we make, we ask, “What is the impact to our customers and associates?”
What is the key to effective customer engagement?
You have to meet your customers where they are. If you ask the question, then you need to listen to the answer. Above all else, it starts with a company’s culture and the value they place on the customer experience.
How has mobile impacted your business, and what is your outlook in this regard for the future?
We recognize that our customers want to engage quickly and conveniently. As we make business decisions, we explore the impact to our customers and determine how to create the WIN. We look at the use of mobile to help our customers engage with us outside of our stores, but also as a way to move through our stores quickly and efficiently through services such as Publix Online Easy Ordering, our product catalogs and the plethora of information located on our company website, www.publix.com.
What does customer experience mean to your organization?
Mr. George Jenkins created a company where customers would feel like kings and queens when they entered our stores. In addition, he knew company ownership by our associates would be pivotal in our success. He knew that associates would take better care of something that was theirs. Therefore, we take great care of our associates and they take great care of our customers.
We are built on a service: We serve our customers in stores; we serve our communities by donating our time, talents, and monetary support; and we serve each other in times of need.
There are a lot of metrics, studies, and benchmarks in the market around CX. What are the ways you measure that have led to such great success?
We have departments committed to filtering through the information as a part of their daily interactions. However, we are still most connected directly to our customers. It’s the interactions they have in our stores and on our online community – and extension of our in-store experience. We learn most from our customers – sharing their thoughts, praises and suggestions. The same is true with our associates. The highest compliment we can receive is when a customer or associate refer to us as “Their Publix”.
What does (customer-centric culture, customer insights, employee engagement, measurement, technology, brand messaging) mean to the bigger CX efforts you are focused on?
Consistency is key in this area. For more than 85 years, we’ve operated under shared values with our associates and created high expectations for our customers. How we go to business each day reinforces those commitments on behalf of our associates and exceeding customer expectations. While the tools and technologies may change, our approach and culture have not and that has been key to our success.
We are constantly evaluating metrics and feedback, looking at opportunities to improve on efficiencies and executing on our company strategy.