More than ever before, the customer continues to be king in 2016. Along these lines, we would like to share some of the insights and highlights from a recent TSW session, “Why Customer Experience is Vital to Your Company's Success.” In this session, co-presented by Verint and Snap-on Tools, a leading global innovator, manufacturer, and marketer of tools, we discussed how the Snap-on Tools Customer Care Center uses Verint Speech Analytics to capture critical feedback from their customers and has incorporated it into their customer journey mapping to quantify the customer experience.
It All Starts With the Customer Experience
During the presentation, we referenced the Steve Jobs quote, “You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, and not the other way around.” Many products and services sold today are commodities with some exceptions—this has been the case for some time now. A few years ago, customer service was seen as the main differentiator for companies, but now it is the experience that customers have with companies that makes the difference. It’s the holistic experience that matters—not just what happened in the store or through the contact center agent.
Companies tend to look at themselves as siloed operations—the branch/store organization, customer service, product development, finance and accounting. However, customers view the company as a whole and expect the company to know them no matter where they interact. They also expect everyone to know where they have been in previous interactions, no matter where in the cycle the interactions have taken place.
The Benefits of Improving Customer Experience
There are a few key benefits to focusing on improving the experience for their customers, including:
Increase Customer Advocacy and Referrals
Creating amazing experiences for customers often makes them willing to tell others and recommend that they take their business there as well. In essence, your customers become your greatest spokespeople. When you reach this level, you are head and shoulders above your competition.
Reduce Customer Churn
It is generally recognized that the cost of acquiring a new customer is somewhere between five and eight times more than the cost to keep an existing one. Yet, most companies spend more money on courting new customers than keeping the ones they already have. If customers know that whenever they interact with a company they are going to have a consistently good experience, then they are usually going to stay. And, if they do happen to wander off and try someone else for the same product and have a lesser experience, they might even come back! It’s all about creating relationships with customers that will last a long time, and this privilege is earned every time a customer interacts with a company.
Create Competitive Advantage
In today's marketplace, competition is fierce, and the last remaining differentiator is a great customer experience. Today's customers have higher expectations than ever, and have little patience for ineptitude. They are only going to be satisfied if their problem was solved properly and efficiently. By focusing on the customer experience and creating something that customers want to come back for, loyalty for your brand usually follows.
A Real-World Example From Snap-on Tools
Through the use of Verint’s Speech Analytics application, the Snap-on Tools Customer Care Center has been working toward improving the customer experience by listening to identified calls to gain a deeper understanding of current customer trends.
The true value of the speech analytics solution was realized when the data was incorporated into journey mapping projects. This not only captured the crucial moments of impact on customers' experiences, but also helped Snap-on better identify how to address issues that were prompting calls and customer frustration.
Capturing the voice of the customer and taking action has helped Snap-on's Customer Care Center create a cultural shift from that of a typical contact center, now, to a customer experience center.
After all, isn't that exactly what today’s contact centers are trying to do?