Syed's Customer Experience Blog

EFM or CIA? the answer is CEM

It has been refreshing of late to see some of our friends in the analyst community have an open debate  regarding whether it is appropriate to continue to categorize solutions such as ResponseTek as EFM (Enterprise Feedback Management) or by a newer term CIA (Customer Insight & Analysis). You can read more about Forrester’s perspective on EFM on Andrew McInnes’blog here, and Bruce Temkin’s perspective on the terms on his great Customer Experience Matters blog here.  EFM is a term formalized by the CRM group at Gartner back in around 2001 and you can read all about its genesis here.

In 1999 when ResponseTek started using the term CEM (Customer Experience Management) and we defined it as, "the people, process and technology strategies focused on monitoring all customer experiences across the customer lifecycle with the aim of connecting frontline employees and management to the actual customer experience to improve the quality and consistency of those experiences."

Back in 1999 no one else was talking about CEM, it was all CRM and when Gartner did start looking at the kinds of things ResponseTek and a few other companies were doing they eventually defined it as EFM in 2001. I always had a problem with Gartner definition of EFM and what it encompassed as I found it way too narrow a definition compared to the actual conversations we were having with clients. EFM always seemed more like a proxy for a ISO 900x system than something focused on customer experiences and employee behaviours.  In 10 years I can't remember a single client that has talked about their objectives as being the implementation of a EFM system. Our clients have always spoken about their goals in terms of "connecting to customer, improving quality, satisfaction, consistency, etc." I believe everyone has been aware of the framework that EFM embodies but always recognized it as a subset of the broader goals covered by CEM or VOC strategies. At ResponseTek, we have always considered EFM to be a subset of CEM and EFM solutions are a subset of the capabilities that most leading enterprise CEM vendors can offer.

As for CIA I think it is too early to tell whether this has legs (read more here). I know and respect Bruce and he has done a huge amount to getting the customer experience space understood. If Bruce's objective was to start a dialogue and challenge the relevance of EFM then I think he has done the job. However, I am not sure we need another term when CEM and VOC are still ill defined and expansive in the topics they cover. I believe that Bruce and Ed Thompson over at Gartner have some of the best thinking on how the CEM space fits together and I hope they can find a way to rally around a single point of view in relation to CEM.

As for the EFM vs. CIA  debate I would say the answer is irrelevant at the moment because clients are not using either, EFM because it is outdated and CIA because it is too new. For me and our clients it is all about CEM and Voice of the Customer but I am not an Analyst so you don't have to listen to me ;)

Syed

 

The power of text messaging for customer feedback

The last 12 months have been really exciting when it comes to use of text messaging/sms as a tool for customer feedback. At ResponseTek we have always held the opinion that the closer you are in time and channel to the customer experience the better the information you will collect. This has been easy in the web and call center channels but in the retail channel it has been a big problem. However there is good news, there is a quiet revolution happening in retail feedback management that is being led by the European Telco's and they are quickly being followed by other retailers. The revolution focuses on the use  of SMS to capture the voice of the customer at the point of purchase.

Text messaging is a great technology for certain types of retailers to collect large amounts of timely information that can be used by the front lines almost every day. In Europe the use of text messaging as a feedback tool is rapidly accelerating as companies move away from more problematic or expensive  programs such as outbound calling or receipt back messaging/surveys. It is also very effective, we have seen clients that can expect a 20-30% response rate from text message feedback programs if designed intelligently. The feedback can also be quite rich, with both quantitative and qualitative information being collected across up to 6-10 questions.  Where text messaging feedback was an experiment for lots of companies in Europe 12 months ago now it has become their core retail satisfaction monitoring method.

One thing I do still find surprising is that although North America is the icon for the iphone/smartphone generation there is very little (if any) adoption of this exciting technology this side of the pond. Even though this approach is an obvious fit for companies like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.  they don't seem to be connecting the dots yet and continue to spend big on more expensive yet less timely research approaches.

Regardless of the differences in North America and Europe relating to text message feedback programs, what we have seen within clients is proof of a technology and approach that is here to stay and one that can dramatically change the way a company connects with it's customers and employees.

Syed

Experience Story: I can’t believe they listened to my feedback! ...(eventually)

I got this story from Gord in Vancouver. It is really a customers perspective about what happens when your CRM systems and marketing campaigns are not working together but it also demonstrates the power of listening to the Voice of the Customer (VOC).

After spending millions of CRM over the past 10 years companies should by now have a pretty good view of who you are, what you buy, and how much you spend. If your marketing departments are not using this information to develop thoughtful campaigns then your marketing spend could actually be working against you! The saving grace in this story is that the company did recognize that they didn't know it all and customer feedback might help them improve their campaign.  It worked! they provided the customer with a feedback channel, the customer used it, they acted on the feedback and they converted one customer from a detractor to a advocate.  They probably used this learning to avoid making the same mistake with other customers as well (I hope?). This story is a great illustration of the power of listening to the voice of the customer and shows the potential value to the business when you think about the number of customers that might have been turned off by this kind of experience.

Experience Story:

"First of all, I have been a Telus customer for a long time, since about 2000 – and I think that means that I deserve some respect from them. So imagine my disbelief when I got a package in the mail from for “our” 5-year anniversary. They sent me a small stuffed animal. I’m not joking – it basically said to me “hey, thanks for being such a loyal customer – here is a stuffed animal to show you what we think of your business”. All I could think was “who thought THIS was a good idea??”. Talk about being disconnected from your customer.

Now for the good part. At the bottom of the letter that accompanied the stuffed toy was an invitation to provide feedback using an on-line survey. I immediately filled it out and very clearly let it be known that after 5 years (and about $4000 of money from my pocket) a cheap stuffed animal was a quick way to lose a customer and that doing nothing would have actually been better. For several months I heard nothing. And then another package showed up, with a simple “thanks for your loyalty” letter, and a headset to use with my phone. It was something useful! And even better, they LISTENED to me. Now I felt like I mattered. You know what happened after that? I started telling people about it. In the end, it created a positive experience for me, and I wanted to tell my friends. Free marketing! And that’s the thing here that so many companies don’t get – all you have to do is ask and listen to what I have to say. It’s really not hard, and it works wonders. Respect your customers and they will repay you with their loyalty. I know I will.  Gord (Vancouver, BC)"

My only other comments would be that it would have been great to have given Gord a number of channels to pick from to give his feedback i.e. sms, voice, ivr, email, etc and the cycle should have been quicker. In the months between the customer feedback and the response, how many stuffed animals did these people send out? Who knows how many customers didn't bother to provide feedback and instead just became active detractors of the brand or even worse switched service.  The fact that it took months indicated that Telusdoes not have a systematic approach to VOC feedback and if they think they do they should call back the vendors who sold it to them.

Syed