I recently experienced a classic situation in which internal process completely reversed my perception of one of our major telecom providers.
A few days prior to that, I had been into the store to return rented equipment after terminating services.
The representative was friendly, efficient and I was in and out in less than five minutes.
She asked the right questions and used their system to verify the items and printed me a receipt, pointing out that one item was missing.
On the second visit to return the missing item, the experience was very different. I was told that there was no “work order” for the item and that the representative would have to call in to get a work order before the transaction could be done.
After fifteen minutes, the representative was still on hold and I walked out, leaving him to sort it out. He seemed completely indifferent to my impatience anyway.
A small and insignificant item to them maybe, but it pushed the company back to the bottom of the pack when it comes to choosing my next provider.
All because this particular transaction was driven by a system that drives internal process without regard for the customer experience.
Are technology, process and the customer experience at odds with each other?
They shouldn’t be. Many dealerships are deploying new technologies on the sales front, on the service drive and internally.
This trend will be even stronger in 2018, not just because the technologies are now more available, but also as a result of dealership ownership changes and incorporation with new or existing systems.
The deployment of new technologies often requires changes in processes in an organization.
While the focus is usually on the internal impact on the business, the impact on the customer experience is rarely a key focus.
This trend will be even stronger in 2018, not just because the technologies are now more available, but also as a result of dealership ownership changes and incorporation with new or existing systems.
In a very insightful 2016 article in Forbes magazine, Micah Solomon, a U.S. based customer service consultant, makes a strong point about how important it is to ensure that internal processes align with the customer experience.
He talks about “the customer journey” — essentially a way of breaking down the customer experience into meaningful and manageable components — being diluted “by making a (customer) journey map that’s essentially a subservient version of your process map or other existing organization-centric documents.”
The author suggests that the customer journey map “should be overlaid on your process map to see the interplay between the two.”
This may sound unnecessarily complicated particularly as, in the view of icons such as Roger Penske, “this is a simple business — it’s people selling cars to people.”
But the business has changed and will continue to change. And if the customer experience is left out of the equation, much of the potential advantage of new technologies and new processes will be missed.
Over years of measuring the customer experience, I have seen many instances where the question “how will this benefit the customer?” is not part of the deployment of new technologies.
A simple “why?” from the customer’s perspective can make all the difference.
In the words of Micah Solomon again, “if you keep your eye on the why, you’ll avoid the trap that so many organizations fall into, the trap of incorrectly framing the issue, of thinking that their customer actually gives a hootenanny about their company’s org chart, it’s staffing levels, it’s internal code of conduct. Which, of course, they don’t”.
How can you keep focus on the customer experience in a time of business transformation? 2018 is sure to see more dealerships becoming part of different or larger groups.
This will no doubt result in the need to merge IT systems, adopt new technologies and adapt processes accordingly.
This can be a challenge for any business and implementation can significantly impact the customer experience. Whenever companies merge, there is always talk of “improved efficiencies, higher profitability, better service and higher customer satisfaction.” But how often do all these things emerge, even in the longer run?
While merging two banks is a highly complicated exercise, a recent case study captured my attention, because it cast light on the importance of people in the mix and on the customer experience.
The case study was published in 2016 by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and focused on the successful merger between Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and the National Bank of New Zealand.
While the focus is usually on the internal impact on the business, the impact on the customer experience is rarely a key focus.
The case is cited as one of the most successful mergers and there are some pointers that even much smaller businesses can use. The authors note that, based on a review of 150 financial services mergers, they find that “on average, M&A activity does not lead to superior financial performance” and “there is no consensus that these mergers benefitted stakeholders or society.”
In preparing for the merger, the two organizations went through all the usual detailed steps regarding technology and processes that you might expect, but a common thread throughout was the customer.
Here’s a graphic that portrays at the highest level, all the aspects they covered.
While this is a much larger-scale undertaking, the principles are directly applicable to much simpler or more limited transformations (such as deploying a new service drive technology or a new digital sales tool.
Also, while this was a more “defensive” strategy (to minimize impact on customers), you may want to maximize impact on customers in a positive way. Again the principles apply and the bottom line is the customer orientation.
Always look at your processes and technologies through your customers’ eyes.
It’s helpful and necessary to look at your processes and technology through your customers’ eyes.
Some of the things you do might be very visible to customers, while others work behind the scene.
Regardless, they should all drive not just to improving your business, but also to improve the customer experience. Recognize that their impact can be positive or negative, depending on how they are deployed.
Imagine you’re standing in front of your customer telling them why you’ve invested in a technology or instituted a procedure. That might start you thinking about overlaying the customer experience or journey on your process and technology deployment maps.
