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Putting Data Collection at the Forefront of Designing Products And Services

Putting Data Collection at the Forefront of Designing Products And Services

May 2, 2022

Over the past three weeks I have focused my Insights column on strategies involved in building a customer-centric organization.

Research is clear that customer centric organizations have better customer retention, better bottom lines and overall much more promising long-term sustainability. Customer-centricity is about putting the customer at the center of everything an organization does, and, according to Harvard Business Review, enhancing the customer experience is the new competitive battleground.

Yet, according to PwC, only 38 percent of U.S. consumers say the employees they interact with understand their needs or their customer experience. Recent articles in Harvard Business Review, HubType and Optimove identify a common set of areas to focus on when serious about building a customer-centric organization including developing a customer-centric culture:

  • Hiring staff through the lens of their commitment to customer service;
  • Ensuring customer data is easily shared across the organization and that any organizational silos that inhibit sharing are eliminated;
  • Implementing technology that is flexible and allows ease of access to consumer information, allowing companies to rapidly course correct when indicated; and
  • Designing products and services with data collection in mind.

Today we will focus on the process of ensuring that collecting data about the consumer experience is at the front end of designing products and services. In other words, “Design the input to get the output.”

Companies need to design programs and services so that collecting customer data and feedback on their experiences is built into multiple stages of the customer experience starting with the first interaction. Building technology to capture these data throughout the consumer experience with the organization allows for individual consumer as well as aggregate analysis of how customer centric the organization really is.

When mapping the customer experience, as discussed previously in this series, it is important to determine the points in which the customer experience should be moving them toward achieving their goals. At these points, time should be set aside for information gathering and analysis and course correction as indicated. According to Harvard Business Review, “What companies really need to home in on is the progress that the customer is trying to make in a given circumstance—what the customer hopes to accomplish. This is what we’ve come to call the job to be done.” And rather than trying to piece the puzzle together after products and services are launched, design them with the desired output in mind and then use that data to drive company interactions with their customers.

As I have discussed in this series, customer centricity is critical to organizational growth and sustainability. Getting it right requires that companies examine the current status of their customer centeredness using data and rigorous analytics, using the information to make cultural, practice and technological and changes as needed.

Next week I intend to focus on how CEOs can demonstrate that they are serious about customer centricity.

2 de mayo de 2022

Poner la Recopilación de Datos a la Vanguardia del Diseño de Productos y Servicios

Durante las últimas tres semanas he centrado mi columna de “Insights” en las estrategias involucradas en la construcción de una organización centrada en la atención al cliente.

La investigación es clara en cuanto a que las organizaciones centradas en la atención al cliente tienen una mejor retención de clientes, mejores resultados finales y, en general, una sostenibilidad a largo plazo mucho más prometedora. La centralidad en la atención al cliente se trata de poner al cliente en el centro de todo lo que hace una organización y, según Harvard Business Review, mejorar la experiencia del cliente es el nuevo competitivo campo de batalla.

Sin embargo, según PwC, solo el 38 por ciento de los consumidores estadounidenses dicen que los empleados con los que interactúan entienden sus necesidades o su experiencia del cliente. Artículos recientes en Harvard Business Review, HubType y Optimove identifican un conjunto común de áreas en las que centrarse cuando se toma en serio la construcción de una organización centrada en la atención al cliente, incluido el desarrollo de una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente:

  • Contratación de personal a través de la lente de su compromiso con el servicio al cliente;
  • Garantizar que los datos de los clientes se compartan fácilmente en toda la organización y que se eliminen todos los silos organizacionales que inhiban el intercambio;
  • Implementar tecnología que sea flexible y facilite el acceso a la información del consumidor, permitiendo a las empresas corregir rápidamente el rumbo cuando se indique; y
  • Diseñar productos y servicios teniendo en cuenta la recopilación de datos.

Hoy nos centraremos en el proceso de garantizar que la recopilación de datos sobre la experiencia del cliente esté a la vanguardia del diseño de productos y servicios. En otras palabras, “Diseñar el aporte para obtener el resultado.”

Las empresas necesitan diseñar programas y servicios para que la recopilación de datos de los clientes y la retroalimentación sobre sus experiencias se integren en múltiples etapas de la experiencia del cliente, comenzando con la primera interacción. La creación de tecnología para capturar estos datos a lo largo de la experiencia del cliente con la organización permite el análisis individual del cliente, así como el análisis agregado de cuán centrada en la atención al cliente es realmente la organización.

Al esquematizar la experiencia del cliente, como se discutió anteriormente en esta serie, es importante determinar los puntos en los que la experiencia del cliente debe moverlos hacia el logro de sus objetivos. Para estos puntos, se debe reservar tiempo para la recopilación y el análisis de la información y la corrección del curso según lo indicado. Según Harvard Business Review, “Lo que las empresas realmente necesitan para centrarse en el progreso que el cliente está tratando de hacer en una circunstancia determinada, o lo que el cliente espera lograr. Esto es lo que hemos llegado a llamar el trabajo que debe hacerse. Y en lugar de tratar de armar el rompecabezas después del lanzamiento de los productos y servicios, diseñarlos con el resultado deseado en mente y luego usar esos datos para impulsar las interacciones de la empresa con sus clientes.

Como he dicho en esta serie, la centralidad de cliente es fundamental para el crecimiento y la sostenibilidad de la organización. Hacerlo bien requiere que las empresas examinen el estado actual de su centrado en la atención al cliente utilizando datos y análisis rigurosos, utilizando la información para mejorar los cambios culturales, prácticos y tecnológicos según sea necesario.

La próxima semana tengo la intención de centrarme en cómo los directores ejecutivos pueden demostrar que se toman en serio la centralidad en el cliente.

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For Luc Samuel Kuanzambi and His Family, a Desperate Journey Leads to a New Life in Maine

For Luc Samuel Kuanzambi and His Family, a Desperate Journey Leads to a New Life in Maine

Families Forward was well-positioned to help Luc and his family settle into a community where they could put down roots.

Luc Samuel Kuanzambi and his wife Paulette were a happy young couple living in South Africa with very promising professional careers. They had a five-year-old son, Lael, and a newborn daughter, Ticvah.

Little did they know they were heading into some tremendously difficult times. A month and a half after Ticvah’s birth, the baby developed jaundice and it was determined she would most likely need a liver transplant. The frantic parents began calling everywhere for help and advice. They were advised by medical contacts not to have the procedure done in South Africa where transplants were still experimental.

Taking their plight to social media, Luc and Paulette were told about a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska with the capacity to provide a second opinion and possibly perform the transplant, but they would have to raise the money on their own. With no other options, the family applied for and obtained a medical visa, left nearly all of their possessions behind, and headed for Omaha. They managed to raise a little over $30,000 from local community donors and online appeals, far short of the $750,000 required by the hospital. As a result, all the hospital could do was stabilize Ticvah.

Luc couldn’t work, rent a house, or buy medical insurance because he lacked a Social Security number, so the family lived off the kindness of strangers, staying for a few nights in various charity homes and relying on charity for food and essentials. Five months after arriving in Omaha, with Ticvah’s condition worsening, their visas about to expire and $116,000 in debt, they left Nebraska for Maine, where Luc had a cousin who told them that they could expect more generosity. Arriving in Maine on a hot July night, the heat aggravated Ticvah’s condition and was hard on Paulette, who was now pregnant. The family hadn’t eaten all day. Luc said he prayed and wept that night.

“I felt broken. I was wiped out of everything, we were so afraid our daughter would die, and my family was facing the reality of living in poverty. We had no idea what to do next.”

In Maine, the family’s fortunes finally changed. A community shelter, where other African immigrants were staying, welcomed them with open arms. At Maine Medical Center, Luc and Paulette talked to social workers, who explained that Ticvah had legal protections in Maine and that the family qualified for emergency housing while Ticvah was hospitalized. When her condition worsened, the miracle they had so desperately sought finally arrived—Ticvah was sent to Boston for a liver transplant at no cost to the family.

“I don’t know who footed the bill,” Luc said. “We were just told at the hospital not to worry about money.”

In the midst of the crisis Luc was connected to Maine’s Families Forward, a statewide program funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and operated by Fedcap, Inc. Families Forward provides support and services to refugees and immigrants from more than 22 different countries and was well-positioned to help Luc and his family settle into a community where they could put down roots. They sponsored Paulette’s driver training and certified nurse assistant (CNA) training; Paulette is now on track to become a registered nurse. Fedcap was able to secure funding for the renewal of Paulette’s work permit, and is doing the same for Luc.

Luc eagerly undertook workforce training as he was eager to get off public assistance. “So many immigrants face the same struggle,” he said. “All our background means nothing and our work history is wiped out. I did not want to be a liability and my goal is to be independent as soon as possible.”

Today life is so much better. Ticvah, now five, is doing amazing—she has so much confidence and such a “strong personality”. Lael, now 11, is a gifted piano player and Alexander-King, the youngest child born in Portland, Maine four years ago, is showing signs of being gifted in math.

Luc has become a powerful advocate for Maine’s immigrant community. On October 28, 2021, he gave a presentation to Families Forward leadership and funders about the immigrant experience, the challenges he and his family faced, and the value of Families Forward and the kind of immigrant services and support they received from the staff of Fedcap.

“These programs are lifesaving,” Luc said. “Without Families Forward and the support of the community and local benefactors, our daughter would not be alive today. Families Forward made it possible for us to begin building a new life.”

 

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Fedcap’s Families Forward Employs Mainers in Their First Step Toward Economic Well-Being

Fedcap’s Families Forward Employs Mainers in Their First Step Toward Economic Well-Being

The people who drive Families Forward live and work in the state of Maine including the Executive Director Serena Powell and every member of her leadership team.

 

Families Forward is committed to helping people obtain long term economic well-being. Families Forward was designed and implemented to meet the existing and emerging needs of the people of Maine. The people who drive Families Forward live and work in the state of Maine including the Executive Director Serena Powell and every member of her leadership team.

93 Maine residents are employed in Families Forward, with wages that exceed most social service jobs in the state of Maine. Of those 33 were born in Maine. They have robust benefit packages and are provided numerous opportunities for professional training through our Brown Bag Lunches and Professional Development Collaborative and leadership development through our Leadership Academy. They are raising their families, including 133 children, in Maine and contributing to the Maine economy.

Nearly 60 percent of the staff of Families Forward have lived in Maine for over 20 years. They are “Mainers” to their core and implement the program with the strong work ethic and integrity the state of Maine is known for.

Families Forward leadership honors individuals who have serve our country demonstrated by the fact that 12 percent of the staff are veterans.

Just under 30 percent of the staff working in Families Forward have been with us from the very beginning—a very high retention rate in social services. Given that this period includes two years of a global pandemic, this retention rate is remarkable. Staff range in age from 18 to 70 with the majority between the ages of 35 and 50, reflecting the average age in Maine. Four percent of the staff are over the age of 70—demonstrating our commitment to hiring people who bring diverse views and experiences to the work.

Maine has a diverse population of immigrants and over the past five plus years, Families Forward has intentionally and successfully recruited diverse staff, 32 percent of whom speak more than one language.

Families Forward also “walks its talk,” with 30 percent of staff having been former participants; after education and training they found that they were the perfect fit for working in this field. Their “lived” experience is invaluable to other Families Forward staff and to every participant who walks through our door.

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Creating a Customer-Centric Organization: Ensuring Your Technology is Up to the Task

Creating a Customer-Centric Organization: Ensuring Your Technology is Up to the Task

Customer-centricity is about putting the customer at the center of everything you do. Customer-centricity is more than just a good business practice—it's key to survival.

Jenna Alburger, HubType

April 25, 2022

Research demonstrates the impact that customer experience has on the bottom line and that customer-centric organizations are more successful in critical metrics including percentage of repeat customers, winning new business, customer engagement and overall profitability. As I shared previously, Deloitte found that customer-centric companies were 60 percent more profitable compared to companies that were not focused on the customer, and 64 percent of companies with a customer focused CEO are more profitable than their competitors. Companies that put the customer at the heart of their organization experience an increase in customer lifetime value and a reduction in churn.

According to Harvard Business Review, enhancing the customer experience is the new competitive battleground. Yet, according to new research by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with their companies are customer centric.

During my literature review the following stood out as the most effective strategies to becoming customer centric:

• Developing a customer-centric organizational culture;
• Ensuring ease of customer data sharing;
• Robust technology that allows a company to understand the consumer experience; and
• Designing products and services with data collection in mind.

Over the last several weeks I addressed developing a customer-centric culture and ease of sharing consumer information. This week’s Insights is focused on ensuring that your technology is robust enough to capture the critical information required as a consumer centric organization.

Technology is fundamental to customer-centric business models. To be successful, companies need to map their customer experiences, compile and analyze data and apply their learnings rapidly. The ability to respond rapidly to issues identified in the customer experience is critical to achieving sustainable growth. But large, complex and outdated systems can make it difficult to make the kinds of changes required to enhance the customer experience.

According to a recent article by Sharma, Gill and Kwan from Deloitte, “the ever-changing technology landscape has solidified the need for businesses to adopt a customer-in mindset, shifting focus from selling a product to nourishing a customer relationship- understanding expectations and maximizing customer value from offerings. This requires robust, flexible technology.” In this same article the authors stressed that in a customer centric environment, the right kind of information shifts leadership conversations from the traditional “What are our profit and revenue this quarter?” to, “How are we providing value to customers? What are their experiences with us? Are they getting value from our products/services?”

These are critical questions to ask—and obtaining the answers in real time, requires robust technology that:

• Is structured to engage the consumer during key times in the customer experience;
• Allows for ease of information aggregation;
• Has detailed reporting capability; and
• Is agile enough to be modified to capture additional information deemed essential.

Technology that provides this kind of functionality, implemented within an organization prepared to use the information, will benefit the company’s bottom line through better customer experiences, cost reduction, and higher product quality.

La centralidad en el cliente se trata de poner al cliente en el centro de todo lo que haces. La centralidad en el cliente es más que una buena práctica comercial: es clave para la supervivencia.

Jenna Alburger, HubType

25 abril 2022

Crear una Organización Centrada en la atención al cliente: Garantizar Que Tu Tecnología Esté a la Altura de la Misión

La investigación demuestra el impacto que la experiencia del cliente tiene en el resultado final y que las organizaciones centradas en la atención al cliente tienen más éxito en parámetros criticos, incluido el porcentaje de clientes habituales, la obtención de nuevos negocios, el compromiso del cliente y la rentabilidad general. Como compartí anteriormente, Deloitte descubrió que las empresas centradas en la atención al cliente eran un 60 por ciento más rentables en comparación con las empresas que no se centraban en la atención al cliente, y el 64 por ciento de las empresas con un/a director ejecutivo centrado en el cliente, son más rentables que sus competidores. Las empresas que ponen al cliente en el corazón de su organización experimentan un aumento en el valor de por vida del cliente y una reducción en la deserción de personal.

Según Harvard Business Review, mejorar la experiencia del cliente es el nuevo competitivo campo de batalla. Sin embargo, según una nueva investigación realizada por el Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), solo el 14 por ciento de los especialistas en mercadeo dicen que la centralidad en la atención al cliente es un sello distintivo de sus empresas, y solo el 11 por ciento cree que sus clientes estarían de acuerdo con que sus empresas estuvieran centradas en la atención al cliente.

Durante mi revisión de la bibliografía, las siguientes estrategias se destacaron como las más efectivas para centrarse en la atención al cliente:

• Desarrollar una cultura organizacional centrada en la atención al cliente;
• Garantizar la facilidad de intercambio de datos de los clientes;
• Tecnología robusta que permita a una empresa comprender la experiencia del cliente; y
• Diseñar productos y servicios teniendo en cuenta la recopilación de datos.

En las últimas semanas abordé el desarrollo de una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente y la facilidad de compartir información del cliente. En “Insights” de esta semana, se centra en garantizar que tu tecnología sea lo suficientemente robusta como para capturar la información crítica requerida como una organización centrada en la atención al cliente.

La tecnología es fundamental para los modelos de negocio centrados en la atención al cliente. Para tener éxito, las empresas necesitan esquematizar las experiencias de sus clientes, recopilar y analizar datos y aplicar sus aprendizajes rápidamente. La capacidad de responder rápidamente a los problemas asociados con la experiencia del cliente es fundamental para lograr un crecimiento sostenible. Pero los sistemas grandes, complejos y obsoletos pueden dificultar la realización de los tipos de cambios necesarios para mejorar la experiencia del cliente. Según un artículo reciente de Sharma, Gill y Kwan de Deloitte, “el panorama tecnológico en cambio constante ha solidificado la necesidad de que las empresas adopten una mentalidad como de cliente, cambiando el enfoque de vender un producto, a nutrir una relación con el cliente, entendiendo las expectativas y maximizando el valor del cliente, de las ofertas. Esto requiere una tecnología robusta y flexible. En este mismo artículo, los autores enfatizaron que, en un entorno centrado en la atención al cliente, el tipo correcto de información cambia las conversaciones de liderazgo, de las tradicionales de: “¿Cuáles son nuestras ganancias e ingresos este trimestre?” a “¿Cómo estamos proporcionando importancia a los clientes? ¿Cuáles son sus experiencias con nosotros? ¿Están obteniendo valor de nuestros productos o servicios? “

Estas son preguntas críticas para hacernos, y obtener las respuestas en tiempo real requiere una tecnología robusta que:

• Esté estructurada para involucrar al consumidor durante los momentos claves en la experiencia del cliente;
• Permita facilitar la agregación de información;
• Tenga capacidad de presentación de informes minuciosos; y
• Sea lo suficientemente ágil como para ser modificada para capturar información adicional que sea considerada esencial.

La tecnología que proporcione este tipo de funcionalidad, implementada en una organización preparada para usar la información, beneficiará los resultados de la empresa a través de mejores experiencias de los clientes, reducción de costos y una mayor calidad del producto.

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Brian Bell Presented with Prestigious UK Employment Services Sector Award

Brian Bell Presented with Prestigious UK Employment Services Sector Award

Brian Bell, CEO of Fedcap Employment and Fedcap Scotland, was recently presented with The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) Outstanding Contribution to the Sector award. ERSA, the national membership body for the employment support sector that advocates for high-quality services for the UK’s jobseekers and low earners, presented Brian with the award in a virtual ceremony in July, 2020—and in person on April 5th of this year at ERSA’s annual conference.

“Brian has devoted his career to readdressing social injustice – and has helped millions of people in the process,” ERSA said in a statement. “From his roots as an Unemployment Benefits and Jobcentre Officer in the 1980s to the prominent employability expert and leader of an international company that he is today, Brian has never forgotten why he does what he does.”

“What an absolute honor to win this award,” Brian said. “I’ve worked in the employability industry pretty much my whole working life. Along the way I’ve met, and learned from, some remarkable people, and been fortunate enough to get involved in so many incredibly interesting projects – some in the U.K, some further afield including Ireland, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. I have a wonderful team around me, who I love working with. They are as passionate about their work as I am, and they keep me right.”

Leaders across The Fedcap Group praised the great work of Brian and his team, and the recognition by ERSA.

“I want to congratulate Brian for this well-deserved award, and for his remarkable work on behalf of individuals and families seeking a path out of the cycle of unemployment,” said Christine McMahon, President and CEO of The Fedcap Group. “Brian understands the root causes of unemployment and what it takes to motivate and prepare people to find and keep sustainable work. The energy, empathy and professionalism he brings to this critical work are an inspiration to his customers and his great UK team. His innovations have changed countless lives and helped to rebuild communities across the UK, and are now being exported around the world.”

“Congratulations to Brian Bell, for the impact of his work on so many, and his professional contributions over the years,” said Grant Collins SVP Workforce Development the Fedcap Group, and President of Fedcap UK. “Brian is a true ambassador for the industry, and this is a well-deserved honor reserved for only the very best!”

Susan Paterson, UK Operations Director for Fedcap Employment and Fedcap Scotland, has been working with Brian for 17 years, starting at Working Links, an employability organization that was founded in 2000. “Brian has always been close to the front of the business and, and he has never lost his human touch,” she said. “He is completely customer focused, he understands the impact of unemployment and economic hardship on customers, families and communities. He knows from a customer perspective what solutions will work, and that is what makes him so unique.”  

Growing up in an economically deprived area of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, in North East England, Brian witnessed firsthand the impact of inter-generational unemployment on individuals and families. He noted the lack of effective supports and interventions, early experiences that inspired him to seek new and innovative solutions to support those caught up in the cycle of unemployment.

Today, Brian is widely recognized as an expert in creating innovative interventions that work for the people who need them most, consistently using his expertise and deep sense of empathy to support people on the road out of poverty to sustainable employment. The impact of his work extends well beyond the UK as his work readiness practices are exported to governments in the Republic of Ireland, Singapore, Chile, France, Poland, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the US, and Canada.

Brian began his career in 1980 as a Frontline Unemployment Benefit / Jobcentre Adviser, part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the UK’s largest government department with responsibility for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. After 20 years with DWP in a variety of positions, he was a founding director of Working Links, where he served as Managing Director. Brian has served as CEO of Fedcap Employment and Fedcap Scotland since 2019

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Ensuring Ease of Customer Data Sharing

Ensuring Ease of Customer Data Sharing

April 18, 2022

Last week’s Insights was the first in a four-part series on the importance of becoming an authentic customer-centric organization. Research continues to demonstrate the impact that customer experience has on the bottom line and that customer-centric organizations are more successful in critical metrics including percentage of repeat customers, winning new business, customer engagement and overall profitability. Deloitte found that customer-centric companies were 60 percent more profitable compared to companies that were not focused on the customer, and 64 percent of companies with a customer-focused CEO are more profitable than their competitors.

Companies that put the customer at the heart of their organization experience an increase in customer lifetime value and a reduction in churn.

According to Harvard Business Review, enhancing the customer experience is the new competitive battleground. Yet, according to new research by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, only 14 percent of marketers say that customer centricity is a hallmark of their companies, and only 11 percent believe their customers would agree with their companies are customer centric.

This is a problem a company can solve if they are committed to change.

During my literature review the following stood out as the most effective strategies to becoming customer centric:
• Developing a customer-centric organizational culture;
• Ensuring ease of customer data sharing;
• Flexible technology that is able to make rapid changes; and
• Designing products and services with data collection in mind.

Last week I focused on developing a customer-centric culture. Today I plan to focus on customer data sharing.

In the past the lines between marketing, sales and customer support were more defined and organizations structured themselves along these lines. And a result, data silos formed. A data silo is a group of raw data that is accessible by one department but isolated from the rest of the organization. This results in lack of transparency, efficiency, and trust within the organization.

In an article entitled Marketing and IT: Big Data an Obstacle, an Opportunity, and Key to Customer-Centricity by MarketingProfs.com organizational silos were cited as the most common challenge in achieving customer-centricity. And according to a recent survey by CMO Council, 52 percent of marketers and 45percent of IT professionals stated that functional silos block aggregation of data from across the organization, making it difficult to truly achieve customer-centricity.

Harnessing Big Data is imperative to building a customer-centric corporate culture. Access to in-depth data, and the ability to translate it into insights, is a competitive advantage and a critical component to becoming customer centric. Customer insights and data are no longer just the concern of marketing teams. Customer centricity requires companies to share data among the relevant teams to get a 360-degree view of the customer experience. However, in this same survey, most respondents view the flood of incoming data as part obstacle and part opportunity: 61 percent of CMOs and 60 percent of CIOs say so, admitting they still have a long way to go in using Big Data properly.

Here are some of the solutions identified in my readings:

Consolidate data management systems, starting with systems used to manage customer communications. With open-source frameworks available today, even companies with legacy systems can transform their customer communications. Data cannot be shared if departments don’t have access to proper technology. The most important step is to find the right platform for your company on which you can streamline all your data. That means no more loose Excel spreadsheets and random software shared only by individual teams.

Aggregate and analyze customer conversations (and data). Customer conversations are a trove of information. Understanding them at scale is fundamental to customer-centric business models. It can seem very daunting to go through what may be years and years of outdated, isolated data. However, collectively deciding the data that best tells the customer story and weeding out unnecessary data is an excellent way to build a customer centric culture.

Design a Customer Centric Dashboard, Review the Data and Act. When an organization is able to view, organize, analyze, and share the right data about its customers, it can easily collaborate across departmental teams to develop actionable insights to improve customer experience, loyalty, and retention.

As always, I welcome your comments.

18 abril 2022

Garantizar la Facilidad de Uso Compartido de Datos de los Clientes

Insights de la semana pasada fue el primero de una serie de cuatro partes sobre la importancia de convertirse en una auténtica organización centrada en la atención al cliente. La investigación continúa demostrando el impacto que la experiencia del cliente tiene en el resultado final y que las organizaciones centradas en la atención al cliente tienen más éxito en parámetros críticos, incluido el porcentaje de clientes recurrentes, la obtención de nuevos negocios, el compromiso del cliente y la rentabilidad general. Deloitte descubrió que las empresas centradas en la atención al cliente eran un 60 por ciento más rentables en comparación con las empresas que no se centraban en la atención al cliente, y el 64 por ciento de las empresas con un/a director ejecutivo centrado en la atencion al cliente son más rentables que sus competidores.

Las empresas que ponen al cliente en el corazón de su organización experimentan un aumento tanto en el valor de por vida del cliente como en una reducción en la rotación de estos.

De acuerdo con Harvard Business Review, mejorar la experiencia del cliente es el nuevo campo competitivo de batalla. Sin embargo, de acuerdo con una nueva investigación realizada por el Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, solo el 14 por ciento de los especialistas en mercadeo dicen que la centralidad en la atención al cliente es un sello distintivo de sus empresas, y solo el 11 por ciento cree que sus clientes estarían de acuerdo con que sus empresas estuvieran centradas en la atención al cliente.

Este es un problema que una empresa puede resolver si se compromete con el cambio.

Durante mi revisión de la bibliografía, las siguientes estrategias se destacaron como las más efectivas para centrarse en la atención al cliente:
• Desarrollar una cultura organizacional centrada en la atención al cliente;
• Garantizar la facilidad de intercambio de datos de los clientes;
• Tecnología flexible que sea capaz de hacer cambios rápidos; y
• Diseñar productos y servicios teniendo en cuenta la recopilación de datos

La semana pasada me centré en desarrollar una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente. Hoy planeo centrarme en el intercambio de datos de los clientes.

En el pasado, los campos entre mercadeo, ventas y atención al cliente eran más definidos y las organizaciones se estructuraban en ese campo. Y como resultado, se formaron depósitos de datos. Un depósito de datos es un grupo de datos sin procesar al que puede acceder un departamento, pero aislado del resto de la organización. Esto resulta en una falta de transparencia, de eficiencia y de confianza dentro de esta organización.

En un artículo titulado Marketing and IT: Big Data an Obstacle, an Opportunity, and Key to Customer-Centricity by MarketingProfs.com, los depósitos de datos operativos se citaron como el desafío más común para lograr la centralidad en la atención al cliente. Y según una encuesta reciente realizada por CMO Council, el 52 por ciento de los especialistas en mercadeo y el 45 por ciento de los profesionales de “IT”, declararon que los depósitos de datos operativos bloquean la agregación de datos de toda la organización, lo que dificulta lograr realmente la centralidad en la atención al cliente.

El Empleo de Datos Mayores, es imprescindible para construir una cultura corporativa centrada en la atención al cliente. El acceso a datos detallados, y la capacidad de traducirlos en información, es una ventaja competitiva y un componente crítico para centrarse en la atención al cliente. Los conocimientos y datos de los clientes ya no son solo la preocupación de los equipos de mercadeo. La centralidad en la atención al cliente requiere que las empresas compartan datos entre los equipos pertinentes para obtener una visión de 360 grados de la experiencia del cliente. Sin embargo, en este mismo sondeo, la mayoría de los encuestados ven la avalancha de datos recibidos como una parte obstáculo y una parte oportunidad: el 61 por ciento de los “CMO” directores de mercadeo y el 60 por ciento de los “CIO” directores de informática lo dicen, admitiendo que todavía tienen un largo camino por recorrer en el uso adecuado del empleo de Datos Mayores.

Estas son algunas de las soluciones identificadas en mis estudios:
Consolidar los sistemas de gestión de datos, comenzando con los sistemas utilizados para gestionar las comunicaciones con los clientes. Con la infraestructura disponible de código abierto de datos en la actualidad; incluso las empresas con sistemas heredados pueden transformar sus comunicaciones con los clientes. Los datos no se pueden compartir si los departamentos no tienen acceso a la tecnología adecuada. El paso más importante es encontrar la plataforma adecuada para tu empresa en la que se puedan optimizar todos sus datos. Eso significa que no más hojas sueltas de cálculo de Excel o de programas de datos al azar compartidos solo por equipos particulares.

Agregar y analizar las conversaciones (y los datos) de los clientes. Las conversaciones con los clientes son un tesoro de información. Comprenderlos en amplitud es fundamental para los modelos de negocio centrados en la atención al cliente. Puede parecer muy desalentador pasar por lo que pudieran ser años y años de datos obsoletos y aislados. Sin embargo, decidir colectivamente los datos que mejor cuentan la historia del cliente y eliminar los datos innecesarios es una excelente manera de construir una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente.

Diseñar un panel centrado en la atención al cliente, revisar los datos y actuar. Cuando una organización puede ver, organizar, analizar y compartir los datos correctos sobre sus clientes, puede colaborar fácilmente entre los equipos departamentales para desarrollar información procesable para mejorar la experiencia, la lealtad y la retención del cliente.

Como siempre, agradezco tus comentarios.

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Becoming a Customer-Centric Organization Requires Diligence

Becoming a Customer-Centric Organization Requires Diligence

April 11, 2022

The concept of becoming a customer-centric organization has been around for decades. Research continues to demonstrate the impact that customer experience has on the bottom line and that customer-centric organizations are more successful as measured by repeat customers, new business, customer engagement and overall profitability. Customer-centricity is about putting the customer at the center of everything an organization does and according to Harvard Business Review, enhancing the customer experience is the new competitive battleground.

In order to function as a customer-centric organization, the customer’s needs must be fully understood. Yet, according to PwC, only 38% of U.S. consumers say the employees they interact with understand their needs. For many companies this is a daunting task in that the volume and variety of data that exists about our customers is overwhelming. Some companies don’t have the systems and technology to segment and profile customers, and others lack the processes and operational capabilities to target them with personalized communications and experiences. Recent articles in Harvard Business Review, HubType and Optimove identify a common set of areas to focus on when serious about building a customer-centric organization.

They include:
1. Developing a customer-centric organizational culture.
2. Systems for easily sharing customer data.
3. Flexible technology in order to be able to make rapid changes.
4. Design all products and services with data collection in mind.

Over my next several blogs, I intend to review these areas of focus and discuss some interesting strategies being tested by companies across the globe beginning with the development of a customer-centric culture.

#1 Develop a customer-centric organizational culture. Essentially, company leaders must strive to develop customer empathy across the organization, stressing the importance of understanding customers’ needs and respond to those needs rapidly, effectively and appropriately. In the book The Customer Culture Imperative by Linden and Christopher Brown, the authors stress that focusing on real value for customers is often talked about by company leaders, but only sincerely acted on by a few. They go on to stress that in order to successfully implement a customer-centric culture, a company must operationalize customer empathy and to not do so is to “lack an understanding of the economics behind customer centricity. Fundamentally, customer centricity is about ensuring the financial sustainability of the organization.”

Here are some ideas that are being tested to enhance the customer-centricity of companies:

  • Ensure Staff Know the Customer Experience. Slack, the business communication software company is doing just that. Employees are required to spend a lot of time reading customer messages, surveys and observing customers to try to better understand what they need. Teams are charged with detailing the customer journey, creating a clear picture of their consumers, their needs and where true customer-centricity may fall apart in their organizational structure.
  • Hire for customer orientation. From the very first interaction with prospective employees, organizations should make thinking about customers and their needs a clear priority. At Hootsuite, the social media management platform, marketing and human resources executives collaborate to do this. During the interview process, hiring managers are required to ask every candidate, regardless of role, a question to gauge their customer orientation. According to Kirsty Traill, the company’s then-VP Customer, “this practice not only assesses candidates and ensures that every new employee is aligned to customer-centric thinking, but also sends a clear message to everyone — recruits and hiring managers alike — about the importance of customer experience at the company.”
  • Facilitate direct interaction with customers. Companies need to develop ways for employees to interact with customers directly, even in “back office” functions. Every employee impacts the customer experience in some way, even if indirectly, so every employee can benefit from interacting with customers to better understand them and learn about their successes and challenges. Airbnb considers hosts, the people who rent out their homes, to be customers, so it facilitates employee-host interactions by requiring employees to stay in Airbnb rentals whenever they travel for business.
  • Link employee engagement to customer outcomes.According to Diane Gherson, now retired as head of HR at IBM, employee engagement drives two-thirds of the company’s client experience scores. In other words, the more employees feel good about IBM, feel engaged in the company’s mission and direction—the better the customer experience.

Next week we will look at sharing customer data and the flexibility of technology as strategies for creating a customer-centric organization.

As always, I welcome your comments.

11 abril 2022

Convertirse en una Organización Centrada en la atención al Cliente Requiere Diligencia

El concepto de convertirse en una organización centrada en la atención al cliente ha existido durante décadas. La investigación continúa demostrando el impacto que la experiencia del cliente tiene en el resultado final y que las organizaciones centradas en la atención al cliente son más exitosas según lo medido por los clientes habituales, los nuevos negocios, el compromiso del cliente y la rentabilidad general. La centralidad en la atención al cliente se trata de poner al cliente en el centro de todo lo que hace una organización y, según Harvard Business Review, mejorar la experiencia del cliente es el nuevo campo de batalla competitivo.

Para funcionar como una organización centrada en la atención al cliente, las necesidades del cliente deben entenderse completamente. Sin embargo, según PwC, solo el 38% de los consumidores estadounidenses dicen que los empleados con los que interactúan entienden sus necesidades. Para muchas empresas es una tarea desalentadora, ya que el volumen y la variedad de datos que existen sobre nuestros clientes es abrumador. Algunas empresas no tienen los sistemas y la tecnología para segmentar y describir a los clientes, y otras carecen de los procesos y las capacidades operativas para enfocarse en ellos con mensajes y experiencias personalizadas. Artículos recientes en Harvard Business Review, HubType y Optimove reconocen un conjunto común de áreas en las que centrarse cuando se toma en serio la construcción de una organización centrada en la atención al cliente.

Entre ellos se incluye:
1. Desarrollar una cultura organizativa centrada en la atención al cliente.
2. Sistemas para compartir fácilmente los datos de los clientes.
3. Tecnología flexible para poder realizar cambios rápidos.
4. Diseñar todos los productos y servicios teniendo en cuenta la recopilación de datos.

En mis próximos “blogs”, tengo la intención de revisar estas áreas de enfoque y discutir algunas estrategias interesantes que están probando las empresas de todo el mundo, comenzando con el desarrollo de una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente.

#1 Desarrollar una cultura organizativa centrada en el cliente. Esencialmente, los líderes de la empresa deben esforzarse por desarrollar la comprensión con el cliente en toda la organización, enfatizando la importancia de comprender las necesidades de los clientes y responder a esas necesidades de manera rápida, efectiva y apropiada. En el libro The Customer Culture Imperative de Linden y Christopher Brown, los autores enfatizan que centrarse en el valor real para los clientes que a menudo se habla entre los líderes de la compañía, pero que solo unos pocos reaccionan ante ello sinceramente. Ellos continúan enfatizando que para implementar con éxito una cultura centrada en la atención al cliente; una empresa debe poner en práctica la compenetración del cliente y no hacerlo es “carecer de una comprensión de la economía detrás de la centralidad en la atención al cliente. Fundamentalmente, la centralidad en la atención al el cliente se trata de garantizar la sostenibilidad financiera de la organización”.

Aquí hay algunas ideas que se están probando para mejorar la centralidad en la atención al cliente de empresas:

  • Asegurarse de que el personal conozca la experiencia del cliente. Slack, la compañía de software de comunicación empresarial está haciendo precisamente eso. Se requiere que los empleados pasen mucho tiempo leyendo mensajes de clientes, encuestas y observando a los clientes para tratar de comprender mejor lo que necesitan. Los equipos se encargan de detallar el recorrido del cliente, crear una imagen clara de sus consumidores, sus necesidades y dónde se desintegran los verdaderos conocimientos centrados en la atención al cliente en su estructura organizativa.
  • Contratar para orientación de atención al cliente. Desde la primera interacción con los posibles empleados, las organizaciones deben hacer que el pensar en los clientes y sus necesidades sea una prioridad clara. En Hootsuite, la plataforma de gestión de redes sociales; los ejecutivos de mercadeo y recursos humanos colaboran para hacer esto. Durante el proceso de la entrevista, los gerentes de contratación deben hacer a cada candidato, independientemente de su papel, una pregunta para estimar su orientación de atención al cliente. Según Kirsty Traill, la entonces vicepresidenta de clientes de la compañía, "esta práctica no solo evalúa a los candidatos y garantiza que cada nuevo empleado esté alineado/a con el pensamiento centrado en la atención al cliente, sino que también envíe un mensaje claro a todos, contratantes y gerentes de contratación por igual, sobre la importancia de la experiencia de atención al cliente en la empresa."
  • Facilitar la interacción directa con los clientes. Las empresas necesitan desarrollar formas para que los empleados interactúen con los clientes directamente, incluso en funciones de la "parte administrativa". Cada empleado impacta la experiencia de atención al cliente de alguna manera; incluso si es indirectamente; por lo que cada empleado puede beneficiarse de interactuar con los clientes para comprenderlos mejor y aprender sobre sus éxitos y desafíos. Airbnb, considera que los anfitriones, las personas que alquilan sus casas, son clientes, por lo que facilita las interacciones entre empleados y anfitriones al exigir que los empleados permanezcan en los alquileres de Airbnb cada vez que viajen por negocios.
  • Vincular el compromiso de los empleados con los desenlaces de los clientes. Según Diane Gherson, ahora jubilada, como directora de recursos humanos de IBM, el compromiso de los empleados impulsa dos tercios de los puntajes de experiencia de atención al cliente de la compañía. En otras palabras, cuantos más empleados se sientan bien en IBM y se sientan comprometidos con la misión y la dirección de la empresa, mejor será la experiencia del cliente.

La próxima semana analizaremos el intercambio de información de clientes y la flexibilidad de la tecnología como estrategias para crear una organización centrada en la atención al cliente.

Como siempre, agradezco sus comentarios.

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