Ashley Verrill, CRM Analyst at Software Advice, participated in a compelling Q&A with Loyalty 360 and offered her views on Daily Deals, Customer Experience, Customer Engagement, Loyalty, and how a Customer Service Department should operate.
What is your perspective on Daily Deals from a customer experience/customer engagement/loyalty perspective?
Previous to my current role, I actually worked for a daily deals startup. At one point, we didn't have anyone in the customer service department so I had to handle issues. Let me tell you, that was an eye-opening experience. We had way more volume than I could accommodate (while still doing my other job) and I saw our numbers suffer first hand. It was really difficult too, because we were working between the actual service or product provider and the customer -- but customers still expected us to solve the issue. Honestly, it was a mess a lot of the times. Outside of that perspective, I was also a Daily Deals user and had similar experiences with other sites -- I would call with an issue, then not hear from anyone for weeks (or never in one case). I found myself more often than not just giving up. It's also important to remember, however, that not all customers are like me. Some really just care about price -- they are willing to endure a less than optimal experiences because they love getting a deal. I like getting a deal, but I like quality service more.
With so much talk today about customer experience, what is your view on it and how it should be used by brands to enhance customer engagement?
The most important thing companies should keep in mind when thinking about customer experience is effort. This is one area where we are mostly the same. We've become so accustomed to instant gratification that we expect the same in our experiences with businesses. As a result, organizations should strive to remove every feasible obstacle in the buyer experience. As far as customer engagement, this means providing the information they want at the moment they are most likely to realize they need it -- or even better, before they know they need it. Don't force the customer to reach out to you, make excuses to engage with them.
If loyalty is based on a behavior, as we believe, how has that behavior changed in recent years?
The behaviors associated with loyalty haven't changed -- loyal customers buy more from you -- however, there are other indicators that a customer has the propensity to be loyal, even if they haven't yet become a return customer. Social engagement is a really good example. Customers who follow you, share your content, engage with your social ads/contests/promotions are sending you signals that they want to engage more with your brand. Companies can use these kinds of signals to better prioritize who they target with loyalty programs.
What are the major challenges some companies face with providing memorable customer experiences?
Not listening to the customer. If you don't know what matters most to your customers -- and when I say matters most, I mean what affects their decision to buy from you -- then you don't have a chance at improving their experience. In order to create more memorable experiences, you need to find out what customers consider "memorable." Beyond that, scalability will always be a challenge. Providing memorable experiences requires resources. Organizations need to stop seeing customer service strictly as something they have to do. It requires strategy, dedication and a desire to improve.
How, in your opinion, should a customer service department be operated and run?
A customer service department should empower employees and give them ownership. You need to impress on them that they are not simply following directives -- they are directly responsible for whether or not that customer is happy. In this way, they have some autonomy to decide what needs to be done to accomplish that goal. Virgin Air is a really good example of this. I heard one story where passengers were stranded at a gate waiting for their plane to be ready. People were getting frustrated. So, a flight attendant took the initiative to bring the beverage cart out into the airport to start providing waiting customers refreshments. Richard Branson was so impressed he personally called the attendant and thanked her for going above and beyond. You need to do what you can to empower customer services reps in this way.
Ashley Verrill, CRM Analyst at Software Advice, participated in a - See more at: http://loyalty360.org/resources/article/loyalty-360-qa-ashley-verrill-crm-analyst-at-software-advice#sthash.JLyY0r3I.dpuf
http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/