Realising, Measuring and Meeting Customer Expectations

In 2011, more and more organisations will be asking themselves how they can serve their core customer groups better to increase customer loyalty, reduce attrition and transform their culture to one which resonates customer centricity through its people, processes, technology.

Customer Journey Mapping

Customer Journey Mapping, or sometimes referred to as Customer Experience Mapping can be beneficial for organisations as it allows organisations to map their customer touch points and processes which create them to measure them in terms of how they contribute to overall customer satisfaction scores and customer experience.

Real-Time Customer Feedback

Responding to customer feedback in a timely manner is a pitfall that many organisation fall down on. As the customer can now communicate to an organisation anytime through an increasing number of communication channels, it is important that organisations seize the opportunity to respond in real-time to neutralise any negative publicity and to effectively engage communities.

Customer Intelligence (VoC)

Understanding the voice of the customer will become one the most important priorities in 2011 as building up a view of the “Total Customer” and driving that feedback into an organisations strategic planning process can ensure that new initiatives rolled out are in line with the organisations mission and vision as well as the customers needs and wants.

Interactive Customer Engagement

With the UK announcing the roll out of high speed broadband for the nation, and rate at which new socially focused technologies are being developed and deployed, it has become important for organisations to embrace new channels to interact with their communities.

For 2011, this will include many concepts that were introduced in 2010 such as Apples Face Time which for customer service professionals, may open up the door to interacting with customers face to face but across geographical regions.

Customer Co-Creation & Collaboration

With a recent study by the London School of Economics highlighting how customer co-creation and collaboration has gained in momentum.   They explain that it can not only be the difference between your organisation winning business through new initiatives, it can also help your organisation engage with communities in the market place as this is where many great ideas and initiatives grow their roots from.

Customer Loyalty

Looking after your existing customers, especially your core is a trend that has already begun in 2010 and will definitely carry on into the 2011 as organisation offset changes in the macro and micro economic climates,  and look to reduce their customer acquisition and operational costs and keep their most profitable customers.

Cross Channel Metrics

When organisations look at the “Total Customer”, they will need to ensure that the view they have of the customer is one distilled from many customer touch points with the appropriate metrics in place to turn the data collected into a usable format for management to take appropriate action on.

Aligning Business Architecture to Customer Needs

Aligning an organisation IT infrastructure to the fit in with an organsiation customer centric culture will be a big focus in 2011 as more and more organisations embrace the power of the social web.

It will also be important for organisations to look at their Enterprise Architecture to ensure that the processes they have in place are as effective and efficient as they can be in delivering a “best in class” service or product to their customers.

Customer Experience Measurement

Measuring Customer experience involves how your product or service is communicated to your customers and how it is interpreted by your target audience and customer groups.

In essence, your value proposition has to be in line with what the customer expects from your service in your industry and how your performance in service delivery is perceived.

Measuring changes or shifts in customer perceptions and behaviour can be integral for an organisation wishing to stay competitive in the market place as it can allow you to maintain your journey with your customers for longer/