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Fundamental Truths that Define How Organizations Treat Customers

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Mar 3 2009

A recent white paper authored by Bruce Temkin, Vice President and Principal Analyst specializing in customer experience at Forrester Research, introduces "The 6 Laws of Customer Experience" and rather tongue-in-cheek equates them with the three laws that govern all physics. The "6 Laws" are:

  1. Every interaction creates a personal reaction.
  2. People are instinctively self-centered.
  3. Customer familiarity breeds alignment.
  4. Unengaged employees don't create engaged customers.
  5. Employees do what is measured, incented, and celebrated.
  6. You can't fake it.

According to Temkin, these laws accurately describe the dynamics of customer experience for large organizations and any organization looking to improve customer experience will need to face reality and deal with all of the above.

In looking at the practical implications of the first law, which Temkin considers to be the most fundamental of the six, he lists some key steps that need to be taken by organization to best understand and respond to their customers:   

  • Experiences need to be designed for individuals, i.e. individualize every interaction focusing on narrowly defined customer segments
  • Customer segments must be prioritized, i.e. organizations need to understand who their most valuable customers are, and optimize experiences for this segment, first.
  • Customer feedback needs to be the key metric, i.e. Voice of the Customer programs are superior to internal measurements because they give a truer evaluation of customer experience.
  • Employees need to be empowered. Because situations and customers can vary across interactions, Temkin stresses that front-line employees need to have the ability to accommodate the needs of key customers.

Looking at the first law, which of the four steps has your organization taken and which does it find most challenging?

It has been my experience, working with numerous companies across several key industries, that the fourth step seems to be the most difficult to get right. Many organizations are well on their way to better understanding customer value and needs, and developing customer segment profiles and treatment strategies based on what they have learned about value and needs. And many companies have also started VoC programs to begin to gather feedback directly from customers regarding their experiences - across all parts of the organization.

But allowing employees to make decisions regarding how to best accommodate the needs of key customers requires a lot of training and an excellent understanding of the why's and wherefore's of  different treatment strategies. The bottom line is, this requires top notch employees and a real investment in education and training.

Does your company empower employees to use their knowledge of treatment strategies to improve the customer experience, on a case by case basis?

 

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