Syed's Customer Experience Blog

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