Loyalty360 CX Award Winners Discuss Customer Experience

happy customer experienceA quartet of executives from brands that garnered considerable recognition at the inaugural Loyalty360 CX Awards on Monday, gathered Tuesday at the 4th annual Loyalty360 Engagement & Experience Expo for a unique panel discussion about many facets of customer experience and loyalty metrics.

Loyalty360 CEO and CMO Mark Johnson moderated the discussion, “Innovate to Elevate, A Discussion with the Loyalty360 CX Award Winners,” which offered compelling insights regarding how these award-winning brands view customer experience.

“Customer Experience is very personal to us,” Jonathan Pettus, Manager, Owners Access, Hilton Worldwide, said during the discussion. “We frame this through the lens of a personal touch. We treat everyone equally from a Customer Experience perspective.”

Sami Hassanyeh, Chief Digital Officer, AARP, told attendees that the challenge for AARP is to balance the customer needs of people looking at Social Security with those who just want a discount at a Denny’s restaurant.

“We have to treat them on a very personal basis and it depends on the context of the moment,” he explained. “The challenge evolved from AARP’s rebranding 15 years ago because 50% of our members are not retired. We have to balance needs and be relevant to members in their late 40s with those who are 65.”

Tyler Ransburgh, Manager, Digital & Customer Experience, Safelite AutoGlass said that one of the big challenges for his company is keeping top of mind with its customers.

“We try to be personable and sympathetic,” Ransburgh said. “We always like to send our technician out to talk to someone in the waiting room to explain to them exactly what will be done. If we have a technician go to a house to work, we send the customer an email with the technician’s photo and pertinent background. We also have simplified our process where customers now will be able to upload VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) numbers into our system.”

Andrew Ashman, Lincoln Client Experience Manager, Ford Motor Company said that the customer experience is crucial.

“The customer experience is everything,” Ashman said. “For us, Customer Experience is very much defined by what happens in the dealership.”

In terms of metrics, Hassanyeh said AARP considers time spent on its website, ad revenue, and social mission activities.

“We’re moving the needle on engagement,” he explained. “Our digital metrics are sent to everyone in the organization on a daily and weekly basis. We’re very much steeped in data.”

Pettus said the Owners Access Club measures engagement through its concierge team, adding that nearly 60% are highly engaged with the service.

“The more times our team interacts with our owners, the more personal of a relationship we can have with them,” Pettus said.

Ransburgh said Safelite uses NPS significantly to measure customer engagement.

Meanwhile, Ashman said that Ford has measured customer satisfaction “forever”, but only according to short-term results.

“We’ve shifted toward focusing on engagement and loyalty,” Ashman explained. “We’re re-measuring engagement and asking different questions such as, ‘Do you love your dealer?’’’

Hassanyeh said Customer Experience responsibilities are shared across all departments at AARP.

“We have about 20% of our business is mobile now and we think it will be about 50% next year so we have to shift and evolve with that from a digital perspective,” he said.

Having a strong advocate in a senior level position that spearheads Customer Experience across an organization is critical, Ashman explained.

“The Customer Experience process is a key element around our mission,” Ashman said. “The experience is a key pillar for us, along with personalized service.”

Pettus agreed.

“Some of our senior leaders are involved in the club so they have the same experience as our owners,” he said. “We want our owners to keep us top of mind. We do that by getting to know them and what’s important to them and their families.”

Ransburgh said Safelite’s mission toward creating memorable customer experiences drastically shifted in 2013 when the nation’s leading provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services launched a strategy that intensified its promise to always place customer front and center.

This strategy is called People Powered, Customer Driven.

“People Power, Customer Driven came from the top down,” Ransburgh said. “Communication is a big thing for us. You can see a big difference. Our NPS scores are great and this strategy has been key for us.”

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