Customer Experience

Are big business decisions really driven by the customer experience?

While big business decisions have traditionally been determined by metrics, facts, or figures, big data has now turned its gaze on the customer experience (CX) as the top priority for real business growth. Customers are moving away from product, price or brand loyalty, and now support businesses based on the customer experience they receive. How do we know this? Big data.

What is big data?

Big data refers to the wide range of often complex data that businesses collect over time from different sources- websites, social media, advertising, market research etc., giving them insights into exactly who, what, where, when and how customers are interacting with their business. Wikipedia says it best- ‘the term big data tends to refer to the use of predictive analytics, user behaviour analytics, or certain other advanced data analytics methods that extract value from data’. And the key is in those last few words- ‘extract value from data’, which in turn leads to actionable insights to improve the customer experience.

What sort of data is collected?

This is not a trick question- whatever technology allows us to do and whatever the customer is prepared to share. Without going into a privacy debate, we’ll focus on the collection of customer experience data which the customer has actively provided. Depending on the method of data collection, even the simplest data can identify:

exactly when a customer had an experience
where that experience took place
if the experience was positive or negative
how many other customers had a similar experience
how many other customers had a different experience

When this seemingly simple data is collated and analysed over time, it becomes rich data, which is extremely valuable for actionable insights which inform big business decisions.

Case Study: Netflix

Big data is even more serious for big players like Netflix. With over 100 million subscribers, Netflix has a wealth of data they can analyse to improve the customer experience. Data algorithms have helped Netflix save $1 billion a year in value from customer retention and they attribute big data to helping them become the ‘King’ of streaming services. Big data really does mean big dollars for Netflix. Read more about Netflix’s love affair with big data here: https://insidebigdata.com/2018/01/20/netflix-uses-big-data-drive-success/

Big data for actionable insights

Big data is driven by the need for meaningful business insights to support strategic growth, through comprehensive data analysis over time. But all the data in the world won’t be any use unless it’s used effectively.

Firstly, a business has to be clear about what they are trying to achieve, or specifically what they are trying to find out. Defining objectives which are aligned to business needs with clear key performance indicators (KPIs), gives data collection and analysis a focus- although these objectives and therefore the focus of the data collection will evolve over time.

Data then needs to be extracted, cross referenced and compiled for analytical reports and meaningful and actionable insights to improve the customer experience. But these insights aren’t powerful unless action is taken!

It’s easy to get caught up in the mechanics of data collection and the rich information that is gained. But these insights need to be leveraged for real customer experience improvements that impact a business’s bottom line- to be responsive in real time, for long-term business strategy, as well as supporting overarching marketing goals.

More bang for your buck

This is where it gets interesting. While the focus of data collection can be on long-term strategic business development, data collection is also extremely powerful in real time. Real-time data collection gives businesses actionable insights so they can immediately respond to customers’ needs which improves the customer experience, increases business efficiencies and potentially averts expensive disasters.

Read more here about how data collection can help your business mitigate big insurance claims: https://www.drvoxx.com/are-wet-floors-sinking-your-business/

You can listen to the voice of your customers in real time with comprehensive data collection at the point of experience. With this immediate feedback, you ensure your customers feel valued, while you improve customer experience as well as overall service delivery. And the benefit is twofold- you gain quality data for actionable insights in the moment, and for future analysis.

You can also save on costs by monitoring staff in real time- to identify whether contractors are fulfilling their service obligations, respond immediately to service issues, evaluate staff services over time, and get the data you need to improve overall operational efficiency in the long-term.

The value of big data for businesses of all sizes lies in the consistency of collection, the depth of the analysis and the ability to gain actionable insights now and into the future. With a genuine focus on customer experience, companies can cultivate customer loyalty, identify new business opportunities, predict trends, optimise operations and ultimately generate more profit. What’s more, customers know that their feedback is having a big impact.

Acknowledgments:

Why Data Driven Decision Making is Your Path To Business Success

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_data

https://insidebigdata.com/2018/01/20/netflix-uses-big-data-drive-success/

Is the voice of the customer really being heard?

We’ve all had one- the worst public bathroom experience imaginable. The one where the toilet paper has run out, the handwash is dripping in the sink, the bins are overflowing and there is water on the floor. And other unmentionable horrors.

As you exit there is a survey device prompting you to give feedback about your customer experience. And it is here that you vent your frustrations.

While negative customer feedback is known as the Holy Grail of market research for big businesses, the question must be asked- do customers only give feedback if their experience was extremely negative or extremely positive? And if this is true, does this mean that survey results are skewed, or the data collected has any real value?

Why do customers give feedback?

While current theories of survey response behaviour are illuminating, the short answer is- we don’t fully understand response bias. But what we do know, is that customers respond to surveys because:

it’s a social exchange
they are motivated by a perceived reward
they perceive themselves as helpful
it’s an avenue of communication
they have a feeling of obligation
they are predisposed to doing surveys
they are engaged by the medium

Regardless of their motivation, according to McKinsey and Company, gauging the customer experience is the key to business transformation. Customer experience is an excellent starting point, because it places the emphasis on creating a happy customer and also solves numerous operational inefficiencies, which in turn helps transform a business over time.

Are customers really being heard?

Market research is founded on the understanding that the data which is collected, is only meant to be a representation of the overall customer experience.

Unless data collection methods can quantify how many people experience a service vs how many of those people actually give feedback, we can’t accurately determine the overall engagement rate for any customer feedback survey.

Nor can we pinpoint the precise motivation behind responding to a customer experience survey- and whether those respondents were motivated by extremely negative or extremely positive experiences.

Regardless of potential bias, any data collected can be considered a meaningful representation of the broader customer experience, and by listening to this voice of the customer, businesses can gain actionable insights.

Voice of the customer

‘Voice of the customer’ is an industry term which describes your customer’s feedback about their experiences as well as their expectations of your products or services.

Survey collection tools that capture the voice of the customer are increasingly important in business strategy for companies, as customers now demand more direct engagement from businesses.

When your customers share their voice in real time with your business, they expect you to listen, act and to see evidence of those changes.

Dr Voxx case study: the good vs the bad

While actual client names and data specifics can’t be mentioned for privacy reasons, Dr Voxx clients have listened to over 3 million customer responses in the last year alone, from clients in the UK and Australia.

Across all client industries, there is a general trend of 60- 70% positive responses for the customer experience, independent of survey location e.g. bathrooms, food courts, hotel lobbies- which means the majority of respondents are rating their experience as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. This demonstrates that when an experience is good, people want to have their say just as much as when they have a negative experience.

And when figures like these are mapped over time, there is an opportunity to see improvements from any follow up actions that have been made by a company. Likewise, the data identifies areas where changes don’t need to made, in which case businesses can focus on other more important customer touchpoints.

At the other end of the scale, a massive upside to receiving negative feedback is typically a 40- 60% reduction in customer complaints from ‘normal’ channels such as phone, email, and social media, with most of these complaints usually around waiting times, carparks and dirty bathrooms.

The customer then has a positive experience giving feedback, as they feel they have been heard, and a business can hone in on the critical reasons for dissatisfaction and determine whether there are commonalities such as time of day, service provider etc.

Dr Voxx says that in their experience, customers really do want you to know when you’re doing well and when you’re not. It is vital that the voice of the customer is heard, if businesses want to gain actionable insights to ensure the best possible customer experience is achieved.

What drives customers to have their say? Dr Voxx explores why capturing customer experience data is the key to big business transformation.

Acknowledgements:

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/what-matters-in-customer-experience-cx-transformations

Tag: Customer Experience

Big data means big dollars