Forrester Research Announces 2011 Voice Of The Customer Award Winners

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NEW YORK—Adobe Systems Incorporated, Fidelity Investments, and JetBlue Airways are the winners of the 2011 Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) Voice Of The Customer Awards, announced today at Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum 2011. The Voice Of The Customer Awards recognize organizations that excel in collecting, analyzing, and acting on feedback from their customers. Nearly 1,400 people attended the New York event, which was targeted at Customer Experience Professionals.

“This year’s nominees set a new bar for the scope, scale, and quality of voice of the customer programs,” said Forrester Analyst Andrew McInnes. “Compared to previous participants, they incorporate more customer data, influence more internal stakeholders, and deliver more value to their customers and their bottom lines.”

More than 40 companies representing leading brands in financial services, healthcare, retail, technology, and travel submitted entries to this year’s Voice Of The Customer Awards. Winners were judged across five categories: clarity of approach, business value to the organization, positive impact on customer experience, innovation, and potential for other companies to repeat the practice. “The best VoC programs this year drew a direct line from their VoC activities to their business results, earning themselves a permanent seat at the executive table,” said McInnes.

Adobe Systems Incorporated. The software provider won for its comprehensive program and focus on executive engagement. In addition to other activities, the firm created a Customer Immersion Program where executives step into customers’ shoes for a day, attempt relevant customer scenarios, discuss opportunities for improvement with frontline employees, and engage with actual customers.

“Adobe’s VoC programs have driven significant experiential gains by providing our senior leaders with first-hand knowledge of the customers’ point of view – what works, what doesn’t, and how we can evolve our practices and products to better meet customers’ needs,” said Lambert Walsh, vice president, customer success, Adobe Systems Incorporated. “We’re honored to receive this recognition from Forrester. This award represents the commitment of teams across Adobe to deepen our customer listening practices, and to truly engage with our customers to act on their feedback and learn from their ideas.”

Fidelity Investments. The investment firm won for its ability to clearly tie VoC activities to large-scale business results. By focusing on “Moments that Matter” to retail customers, the company has been able to improve its business in line with a significant focus on customer experience by soliciting feedback and using it to enhance customer interactions.

“At Fidelity, the voice of the customer is central to our commitment to providing the best customer experience in the financial services industry,” said Parrish Arturi, senior vice president of Customer Experience at Fidelity Investments. “For 65 years, we have been a firm dedicated first and foremost to our customers. We’re honored that Forrester has recognized us for listening to our customers and acting on their feedback to create better products, services, and experiences.”

JetBlue Airways. The airline won for its success in improving customers’ experiences at an operational level. With a VoC team mining structured and unstructured feedback, uncovering customer pain points for particular flights, and communicating findings to ground-level employees, the firm has driven dozens of specific experience improvements and achieved huge gains in its Net Promoter Scores.

“By focusing on customer service we have pioneered a new standard for air travel, one that brings humanity back to the skies,” said Dave Barger, president and chief executive officer, JetBlue Airways. “It is our mission to earn our customers’ business by offering friendly service and a comfortable airport and in-flight experience, but we’re only as good as our last baggage delivered to the carousel. Our dedication to engage our customers and maintain a high service standard based on their feedback will never end. We are honored to receive Forrester’s recognition for these efforts.”

Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum 2011

Nearly 1,400 people attended Forrester’s Customer Experience Forum 2011 in New York. New research presented at the forum illustrated how companies can holistically explore all customer touchpoints that make up the entire customer experience journey. According to the Forrester report “The Customer Experience Ecosystem,” firms can provide superior customer experiences by bringing together all of the elements that make up the customer experience ecosystem: employees, partners, culture, and processes. Customer Experience Professionals can use the examples and analysis in the report to manage and improve their own customer interactions.

Industry leaders who spoke at the event included:

Jim Bush, Executive Vice President, World Service, American Express
Robert J. Deluce, President and CEO, Porter Air
David Dentry, General Manager, Customer Relations, Nikon
Jeff Harvey, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Global Head, Emerging Industries, SAP
Frederick S. Leichter, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Fidelity Investments
Jim Merlino, Chief Experience Officer, Cleveland Clinic
Wayne Peacock, Executive Vice President Member Experience, USAA
Kevin A. Peters, President of North American Retail, Office Depot
Nick Primola, Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing, Citizens Financial Group

Attendees took part in peer networking and a technology showcase where 39 sponsors — including platinum sponsor Acxiom and gold sponsors Autonomy, EffectiveUI, ForeSee Results, IBM, LivePerson, SapientNitro, Sitecore, and Tealeaf Technology — shared their solutions.

Members of Forrester’s Marketing & Strategy Leadership Boards, including members of the Customer Experience Council, took part in peer networking events. More information on Forrester Leadership Boards is available at: www.forrester.com/LeadershipBoards.

About Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 19 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 27 years, Forrester has been making IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit www.forrester.com.