For many companies, the economic outlook for 2011 is somewhat of an uncertain one.

Economic recoveries in their early stages of growth are normally rocky and it’s not out of the ordinary to see fluctuations in growth from quarter to quarter.

This has been echoed by previous recoveries, with the quarterly rises in GDP fluctuating from zero to 1.5% in the first three years of the 1980s recovery and from -0.2% to 1.4% in the equivalent period when the UK economy was recovering in the early 1990s.  [1.]

Over the last month, we have seen a deluge of news stories highlighting the uncertainty in the economy with declining sales for retail stores such as John Lewis, Unilever, WH Smith, Halfords, and Mothercare with Dixons, HMV and Clinton Cards being the hardest hit of all posting profits warnings to their shareholders. [7,8.]

These economic pressures coupled with new, enabling technologies and shifting consumer tastes have changed the business landscape for many organisations and have given rise to a new breed of customer who are intelligent, savvy and no longer buy from brands with big budgets but more so from brands they can trust and depend on.

To meet the demands of this new, sophisticated customer, many organisations are paying significantly more attention in retaining their existing customers by analysing the drivers behind why consumer tastes are changing so rapidly and how best they can adapt.

The Multi Channel Approach

One such idea, gaining momentum, is that of the “unified customer view” which essentially involves mapping the customers experience over an organisation’s touch points and adapting them to better suit the needs and expectations of your customers.

In a recent report published by PwC titled “Meeting the demands of the new multi-channel shopper”, they discuss how:

“Increased access to information and a broader set of offers means consumers can now pick and choose how they research, buy and receive their purchases to suit their individual needs.

This has led to distinct changes in the way consumers’ shop – particularly how and why they use store space – which are now shaping the UK retail landscape, and the balance of power in the sector.” PriceWaterhouseCoopers [2.]

So how can organisations make sure they remain competitive in these uncertain times?

In a survey of US and UK business thinkers, Customer Service Measurement Ltd found that 71% of people surveyed regarded a word class response to customer feedback to fall within the “Real-time to 1 hour category” whereas 29% felt as though a world class response fell in the “1-5 days category”. (Sample of 50 respondents) [3.]

A leading practioner using this approach is Coca-Cola where real-time access to customer data allows Coke to develop deeper insight into people’s true motives.

Instead of looking at the past to predict the future, Coke can look at, and make sense of, real-time customer feedback using it to display the right message, in the right media, to the right consumer segment, in a specific geography, at the right time. [4.]

Looking at the broader picture, it is important to remember that a real-time response to a customer complaint is only one factor of a world class experience, and other indicators such as quality of response, time to resolve the issue and the time it takes to connect to a human within the organisation are equally important.

Ultimately, taking your time to respond appropriately is far better for customers than responding quickly and then falling short.

Developing a World Class Customer Experience

Developing and delivering a “World Class Experience” can tie up organisational resources due to the vast amounts of data generated from systems that need to be maintained manually in order to analyse and report back to management teams effectively.

“Now that multiple channels have become the norm, the complexity of the reporting challenge is ballooning, as managers are spending inordinate amounts of time collating data from each channel in Excel spread sheets.” Karl Reed – Marketing Director for Elingo [5.]

To overcome this hurdle, organisations are investing in operational and customer dashboards in order to free up time to spend on higher priorities and respond to customer feedback within a world class time i.e. “Real-Time to 1 hour”

If you’re thinking about investing in a dashboard, you have to make sure that it reports the right data and in the right way, enabling meaningful assessments and decisions to drive your organisation forward in line with your customer expectations and future needs.

When it comes to dashboards Russell Swanborough founder of ScIAM reflects:

“A dashboard is nice like a cup of tea is nice. The more dials, the more you think you are managing. In a sense that is true but it is only partly true.

There is a mantra chanted by the computer literate that goes, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. This is true, but it is only half of the mantra.

The information literate add, “If you don’t set it, you won’t get it”. Don’t believe that if you tell me how you will measure me that it will magically also tell me what I have to do. It won’t.

You can’t know where you need to go and get there by looking only at the dashboard.

Be specific, provide a corporate windscreen as well as a corporate dashboard and your grip on the corporate steering wheel will be considerably more steady and sure.” [6.]

As more and more organisations adopt the multi-channel approach to drive new business through the doors of their retail stores, early adopters are effectively utilising customer dashboards as part of their new tool box to consolidate the vast amounts of data generated from the variety of customer channels they use and grow gracefully in to the new retailer paradigm.

CSM is a renowned supplier of real-time customer insight research and dashboards.  To book a 30 minute consultation with our Customer Champion Oakleigh Wood, please email research@csmsurveys.com or call direct on 0800 970 9940.

References:

1. Bank of England “Let it grow: how monetary policy can support sustainable economic growth” Speech given by Andrew Sentance, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England To the CBI East of England Annual Lunch, Suffolk; 22 March 2011, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/speeches/2011/speech483.pdf
   
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers “Pick ‘n’ Mix: Meeting the demands of the new multi-channel shopper” Article/Report, 19th April 2011, http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/publications/multichannel.html
   
3. Customer Service Measurement Ltd “Poll: What is a world class response time to customer feedback?” 20th April 2011, http://linkd.in/g3DSoH
   
4. ScribeMedia “Coca-Cola Taps Into Real-time Social Data” Interview with Joseph Tripodi, EVP and Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, Article by Peter Cervieri, 18th April 2011, http://www.scribemedia.org/2011/04/18/coca-cola-taps-into-real-time-social-data/
   
5. ITWeb “Info overload haunts call centres” By Admire Moyo, 5th April 2011, http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42640:info-overload-haunts-call-centres&catid=69
   
6. LinkedIn | BP Group “Customer Dashboards… are they good or bad?” By Russell Swanborough founder of ScIAM, 20th March 2011, http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Customer-Dashboards-are-they-good-1062077.S.46141814?qid=b28d7bce-c92d-4bcb-bcf6-fcb20a108b64&goback=.gmp_1062077
   
7. Independent “Retailers report struggling profits”, 7^th April 2011, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/retailers-report-struggling-profits-2264597.html
8. Brand Republic “Unilever plans further cost reductions after inflation warning”, 28^th April 2011, http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1067383/unilever-plans-further-cost-reductions-inflation-warning/

“Loyalty is one of the great engines of business success.”
Frederick F. Reicheld, author of The Loyalty Effect

Customer economics are changing. With one of the deepest recessions to hit the business landscape since the Second World War, it is now more important than ever that organisations keep their ear to ground, listening to what their customers really think and configuring organisational resources to best serve the needs of their customers.

The focus on customer experience in 2010 has grown exponentially throughout the year (see back issue) and although there are some schools of thought that say the bubble will burst in 2011, it is important not to overlook that there are some valuable lessons and ideas that your organisation can benefit from and put into practice to serve your customers better and retain them for longer.

So how can you keep your customers for longer? There are probably many answers to this elusive question but today, I hope to shed some light on some of the triggers we have uncovered here at CSM and share them with you.

Richard Branson has been as influential in the business industry as what Marshall Amps have been for the music industry.

With business empire that spans from music to health care to formula one race teams, what can we learn from one of the most poignant figures in business today?