Editorial
The Gist
- Self-examination. A customer-centric approach requires managers to interact with their own contact center, shaping and improving its capabilities.
- Data importance. For a customer centric approach, Knowing the top reasons for customer interaction helps proactively improve services.
- Metrics matter. Adopting the right mindset demands aligning internal processes and metrics with customer needs.
In today’s competitive environment, practically every company will claim publicly that their business strategy revolves around a customer-centric approach. Everything they strive for includes a goal for understanding or knowing their customer and on providing world-class customer experience. Yet, the reality reveals a different picture — as evidenced by the commentary posted by customers all over social media.
Customer-Centric Approach Parameters
In my experience over the years, both as a customer as well as a consultant, I have observed several key trends. Based on these trends, I have put together a set of parameters for company leaders to determine how customer-centric their companies truly are. This essay covers three of those most important parameters for contact centers as a representative function of customer experience.
1. How Often Do You Interact With Your Own Contact Center as a Customer?
It could be calling your company’s 800 number seeking to solve a problem, or trying to find relevant customer information on your website or web portal, or perhaps conducting a self-service transaction via the company’s chatbot.
I would pose this question to every manager at every level in the company, and across all functional organizations. Mark one point for every member of the management staff who answers affirmatively, and a negative point for every negative response. Add a point for all those who have interacted very recently, or do so with regular frequency. Add an extra point if these experiences have shaped, and continue to improve, your contact center capabilities, policies and procedures.
Related Article: Customer-Centric Marketing Strategy: A Leader's Inside Look
2. Can You Easily Name the Top Three Reasons for Customer-Initiated Interaction Over the Past Year?
You score one point for every operations manager who can answer this question correctly at the appropriate level of detail for business insights, and without having to refer to any data or reports. There is no credit for partially right answers, nor is there credit for generic or high-level categories. Answers should match the actual data from your systems, of course. You score a negative point for every "no response" or wrong answers. Add a point if key managers can state how these top reasons have changed over the past year, and why. If we know the top reasons for customer calls, then the company should be working proactively to improve in these areas. Add one additional point for every concerted effort to fix these problems. A negative point should apply for no action or resolution.
Related Article: Helming True Customer-Centric Journey Orchestration
3. Are Your Internal Processes and Metrics Truly Aligned to a Customer-Centric Strategy?
This one is tricky to measure and depends wholly on the specific parameters and the associated weight of those parameters relative to your company. Nonetheless, we’ll take a simple example as a use case.
Handle time is one of the most popular metrics in the contact center business. The typical calculation for one call is as follows.
Talk time + Hold Time + After-Call Time
If your company uses this formula, or a variation thereof, you are part of a very large community. After all, this is considered by most to be a contact center best practice. However, this formula is oriented toward internal operations. By itself, it is not exactly though. If this is the only formula you use, then mark a negative point for your company. The customer formula might go something like this…
(Search-for-answers-on-your-website-FAQ-or-knowledge-base + Chat-with-chatbot time + Find-your-customer-service-number time + Dial time + IVR time + Queue time + Talk time + Hold time) * X
Where, X = the number of times the customer has to call, or seek digital support, to resolve that problem.
Important note: This is simply a mathematical formula. It does not take into account the exasperation and stress your customer endures in negotiating with the long IVR menus, or errors by the voice recognition software, or lack of an easy and direct way to reach an agent.
Tracking Queue Time
Many companies track Queue time because that enables metrics like Average Speed to Answer (ASA), or Service Level (SL). These metrics often translate into obligatory customer required Service Level Agreements (SLA). Violation of SLAs often results in financial penalties that the company has to pay the customer.
If your company tracks any of the elements before Queue time, then mark a positive point. You are ahead of most companies. Add an extra point if you have used this information to improve upon the process to reach an agent.
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The Action Required
The action required of operations managers here is to closely inspect all metrics. Take every metric you track in your contact center and determine if you measure it only from the internal operations perspective. Mark a negative point for such metrics. On the other hand, if you really have metrics that represent the customer’s perspective, then go ahead and mark a positive point.
The Points Tally
The points tally should reveal how close you are to your publicly announced customer-centric approach; and whether or not you know what your customer really wants. It will also provide you with food-for-thought on what you need to do to realize the desired, and publicly announced, strategy.
The Real Question You Should Ask About a Customer-Centric Approach
The whole strategy and public perception aside, the real question is: given the current state of your company’s customer service and experience, would you be a loyal customer of your company if you did not have your employee discounts and/ or the inside track to problem resolution?
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