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Archive for the ‘Customer Satisfaction’ Category« Previous EntriesB2B International gauges business sentiment on both sides of the AtlanticMonday, March 19th, 2012  B2B International has done for itself what it does for others – conducted market research to ask clients and prospective clients what marketing concerns/interests they have and what challenges they expect their business to face in the year ahead. The response is an overview of the prevailing mood in Europe and America and a snapshot of business people’s views of the marketplace. The research surveyed 270 business professionals from large organisations, most of which appear in the Forbes Global 2000; a third in North America in December and the remainder in Europe in January, and confirms that brand is definitely the essence of a company. Key challenges are developing brand identity, and communicating to existing and potential customers with a compelling customer value proposition supported by a strong brand. Gaining a competitive advantage (63% Europe; 49% US), and retaining customers and extracting maximum value out of them (58% Europe; 47% US) are the two main requirements for companies – on both sides of the Atlantic – to address over the coming year. Asked if they could wave a magic wand that would solve any challenges their organisation currently faces, most respondents want to better understand their customers and their markets. Many also voice frustrations with internal factors – including investment, communications, CRM systems and inefficiencies with other internal processes, while a significant number are seeking ways to develop their business and brand by identifying solutions around four key questions: who (target customers), where (optimum markets), what (improved and differentiated products/services), and how (fastest and most effective route to market). Businesses constantly look to grow, even in today’s harsh economic environment, and do this through product development, entering new markets, expanding in existing markets or moving ahead of the competition. Given this fact, it was interesting to note that the three main types of market research considered by companies are: market assessment, needs analysis & segmentation, and customer satisfaction. Over £1,200 was raised for worthy causes through this online survey, with B2B International making a donation to charity for each completed questionnaire. Putting the Customer at the Heart of the BusinessThursday, March 15th, 2012  In a special Business Surgery, Carol-Ann Morgan discusses why Greg Smiths letter published in the New York Times (“Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs” – NY Times – 14.3.12 ) should serve as a warning shot across the boughs for any company which considers its customers or clients only in revenue generation terms.
A simple fact that is easy to forget amid the pressures of business success; but forget this at your peril. Some key facts which provide ample justification for a customer centric business approach:
Customer centricity tends to fall in and out of fashion, but it is now most definitely “in”. Customer Experience Management is, in fact, the new buzz phrase. Savvy companies are delving further into the customer experience; placing it at the heart of all they do. With this there has been a flourish of tools, techniques, processes and people who are there to offer their services. Bernd Schmitt’s book “Customer Experience Management: A Revolutionary Approach to Connecting with your Customers” makes a very interesting read indeed, from the perspective of a professional and as a customer myself. The stages he takes you through cause you to examine your own customer experiences from the on-going relationships, eg with banks and utility companies to the regular, occasional or “one off” retail experiences with the likes of Tesco, John Lewis and Hobbs. Schmitt, essentially advocates a paradigm shift from the traditional functional – transactional approaches to marketing (citing Kotler’s work), towards one which takes account of the “experience” of being a customer, from cradle to grave (however long that might be). He argues a need to take the customer seriously; to recognise customers as assets of a business, without whom the company would not exist and worthy of boardroom consideration and respect. Schmitt’s 5 steps towards Customer Experience Management:  Greg Smith states clearly the linkage between the values of the firm, where it positions the customer and the degree of engagement he feels with it.
Companies embarking on a journey of Customer Experience Management need to understand that it has to be a cultural shift across the organisation. It needs to be led by example, from the top, engaging employees in the movement to place the customer at the heart of how the company goes about its business. Risky M&A–Delighting Shareholders to the Detriment of CustomersWednesday, March 14th, 2012  In this week’s Business Surgery, Julia Cupman discusses the risk to customer satisfaction through badly managed M&A The repercussions of the merger of United and Continental airlines are continually impacting on the B2B International team. Many of us here at B2B travel with Continental (sorry, “United Airlines”) domestically as well as across the Atlantic between our North American and European offices, and it is shocking how badly the company is managing the merger. Over the past six months alone, we have experienced canceled and delayed flights with inadequate notifications, call wait times exceeding one hour, uncomfortable flying conditions such as freezing cabin temperatures, and soaring prices. Continental and United were among many companies in the post-recession period–including Microsoft and Skype, Sanofi-Aventis and Genzyme, and Intel and McAfee–that turned to M&A for growth, through investing the significant cash reserves they had built during the financial crisis. Both airline CEOs promised “improved profitability and sustainable long-term value for shareholders”, and the $3.17billion merger of the two companies propelled the new United to the top of the industry, with 21% of domestic capacity. The company has less competition and increased monopolistic power, and can therefore charge higher prices–music to the ears of shareholders. However, as per our experience, delivering value to shareholders is not synonymous with an improved customer value proposition post-merger/acquisition. An article in McKinsey Quarterly points out that the more successful mergers and acquisitions create value, and do so through at least one of the following five archetypes: • Improving the performance of the target company; • Removing excess capacity from an industry; • Creating market access for products; • Acquiring skills or technologies more quickly or at lower cost than they could be built in-house; • Picking winners early and helping them develop their businesses. One could assume that United and Continental’s goal fell within the first of these archetypes, but over a year after the merger, the unified airline is failing to satisfy its customers on a range of critical success factors. Although the company has pleased shareholders in growing market share and achieving economies of scale, United runs the risk of decreasing customer satisfaction levels to the point that more and more passengers will start switching to other airlines. Customers are often neglected while companies pursue M&A as the focus is inevitably on the huge changes occurring internally, from restructuring through to changes in IT infrastructures and brand rationalization. Not surprisingly, the internal chaos results in confusion in the marketplace and disgruntled customers. Indeed a BusinessWeek study reported a 50% reduction in satisfied customers, even two years after a merger. In the case of Continental, decreasing customer satisfaction is reflected in the customer satisfaction scores published by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The company has never been at the level of South West Airlines, but since the merger with United, Continental’s customer satisfaction scores have plummeted.
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As the North American economy stabilizes, more companies are considering M&A to grow. It is critical that these companies incorporate initiatives driving customer satisfaction and loyalty into their change management programs throughout the M&A process. Successful M&A is not just about investing in companies; it’s also about investing in customers. You Have Got To ListenWednesday, March 7th, 2012  This week Peter Mullarkey discusses the simple benefit in listening to improve customer service. One of life’s biggest frustrations is being made to wait. This may occur when a friend runs late, or the online delivery scheduled for the morning eventually arrives after supper, but for me the most frustrating wait is for public transport. You rely on a team of people to assist you to your destination and this lack of control can start to boil over when told of a delay or, even worse, a cancellation. So, frustration for me reached boiling point when travelling back from Edinburgh recently with a colleague: We were informed of a two hour delay because of a broken down plane and our only real choice, while stuck on the air side of the airport, was to sit in the café and discuss the day’s meeting while checking and responding to emails. I went up to the busy counter to order a cappuccino and a latte, which were swiftly delivered to the table. An hour into our wait, the drinks were empty and we needed more, so up to the counter again I went. It was still bustling with activity, but when I heard “would you like the same again?” I was taken aback at their ability to remember what I had ordered an hour ago since at least 60 more orders would have passed through in that time. It was a response I might have expected in my local hostelry, but not in an airport café. This listening and repeating exercise really impressed me. It was simple but also personal, and overall gave a positive customer experience that didn’t cost any extra to deliver. People are always asking about what added value they can receive and top of the list should always be listening and understanding. These values were echoed in a recent service story from Levanter in which they outlined 12 simple tips that can significantly improve your ability to listen to your internal and external customers: 1. Acknowledge the enormous power and benefits that stem from carefully listening to others. 2. When the customer talks, stop doing whatever you are doing. 3. Stay 100% focused on the customer. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. 4. If you face the customer in person, establish frequent eye-contact, but without making him feel uncomfortable. 5. If you deal with the customer over the phone, close your eyes or focus them on a fixed spot. 6. While the customer is talking, write down key words in a sheet of paper. This will help you retain the main ideas. 7. Never interrupt a customer! Be cautious and let him finish talking. 8. Keep your emotions in check. Sometimes we don’t like what we are told, but if you get carried away, your focus will shift from what’s most important: the customer’s feelings. 9. Don’t jump to conclusions until you have listened to everything the customer had to say. 10. Read the customer’s body language and tone of voice. Sometimes they speak louder than words. 11. If something is not well understood, ask the customer to repeat it. 12. Rephrase and double check with the customer. If you would like to listen more to your customers and find out what really makes them satisfied, then don’t wait to get in touch with B2B International. The 5 Pillars Of Good StrategyFriday, December 16th, 2011  First, you must choose a distinctive value proposition. Which needs will you serve, which customers, at what relative price? Have you staked out a positioning that’s different from rivals? Second, and far less intuitive, you must choose to tailor your activities to that value proposition. Competitive advantage lies in the activities, in choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals. These ultimately are the choices that result in a company’s ability to charge premium prices or to operate at lower cost. (Remember, we’re talking about quantifiable performance.) The third test of strategy, making trade-offs, may well be the hardest. It means accepting limits — saying no to some customers, for example, so that you can better serve others. Porter explains why trade-offs are an important source of profitability differences among rivals, and why trade-offs make it difficult for rivals to copy what you do without compromising their own strategies. The essence of strategy, says Porter, is choosing what not to do. Fit is the fourth test. Great strategies are like complex systems in which all of the parts fit together seamlessly. Each thing you’ve chosen to do amplifies the value of the other things you do. That’s how fit improves the bottom line. It also enhances sustainability. Says Porter, “Fit locks out imitators by creating a chain that is as strong as its strongest link.” Continuity is strategy’s fifth test. While managers are often berated for changing too slowly and too little, it is also possible to change too much, and in the wrong ways. Faced with the latest New Thing, managers must choose whether to embrace it or not. Continuity of strategy helps companies to make good choices about whether and how to change in the face of turbulence. Good choices will strengthen tailoring, sharpen trade-offs, and enhance fit. Whether it is competitive advantage, the value chain, five forces, industry structure or differentiation, Michael Porter’s frameworks are the foundation. If you want to understand how companies achieve and sustain competitive success then buy this latest book from Harvard Business School called ‘Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy’ Click here to buy Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy « Previous Entries |
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