SurveyGuru

Making Life Easy For Customers

Brendan — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:36:57 +0000

This past week or so, as I log into Skype, it’s asking me if I want to upgrade. That’s it – not one iota of context is given! There’s no detail on security concerns that the new version might address. Neither is there any mention of additional benefits that might accrue from the upgrade. But I thought this morning that I might as well upgrade because I love Skype and expect to be using it for years to come. So I clicked through an initial screen and was then presented with a message saying : “Fur future updates, Skype may automatically install the latest version to your computer without you having to do anything”. I looked around for an option to decline such automatic updates but there was none. Now I’d expect the new version, once installed, to perhaps have an option within it to de-select automatic updates. But that’s beside the point. Skype’s customer service here is lacking on a number of fronts – they’re taking too much control from their customers and failing to look at things from the perspective of their customer. Are you ever guilty of this with your customers? Would you even know if you were? Your company will benefit from listening to the voice of your customer and, where feasible, from trying to make their life easier. And perhaps the first step along that road is genuine curiosity on your part!

Good report writing

Brendan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:57:29 +0000

Earlier this month Adobe published a study that claimed to be a “global benchmark study on attitudes and beliefs about creativity at work, school and home”. It makes interesting and accessible reading – including nice pie charts and bar charts and attractively presented text. You can see it here. The problem is that it’s not global. Only five countries were included – US, UK, Germany, France and Japan. The study’s five countries have a total population of well under one billion, indeed closer to half a billion. So that represents less than 10% of the world’s population. They also exclude the BRIC emergent economies (Brazil, Russia, India & China) which together account for over three billion people. Actually South America is entirely missing. As is Australia. The lesson? Beware of over-selling the results of your research. Your research may have produced helpful insights and interpretations of skilfully analysed data. Don’t lessen the report’s impact by over-selling it! What do you think? Get in touch if you want to discuss how I can help you with report writing.

No shirking!

Brendan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:35:15 +0000

I support Leeds United Football Club. They’re having a mediocre season – currently languishing in 12th position in England’s second tier Championship – 8 points adrift of the playoff positions. In February they fired their manager Simon Grayson when they were in 10th position – 3 points adrift of the playoffs. You can do the maths – their position has deteriorated under their new manager Neil Warnock. So – what’s Warnock’s reaction? Humility? Accepting a degree of responsibility? Resolve? Not quite – after a recent defeat he said : “It showed why I got the job. A major overhaul is needed…”.

He comes in, fails to improve the situation, actually oversees a deterioration, and then lapses into self-justification. He may think he can’t lose. If he improves things he can pat himself on the back. If things go downhill he can fault the previous incumbent or the environment or his inability to recruit or lack of belief among his players or …

Could it be the same for some business-owners? Circumstances are definitely challenging – and many good business people are doing their best but are still struggling. But there is always one thing you can control – and that’s your attitude. It’s up to us to take responsibility. Are you taking a good hard look at the mirror? What can you do better? Can you deliver better customer service? Can you get more out of your employees? Can you improve your own effectiveness? Get in touch and let’s see what we can do!

Lukewarm chips and dried-out sausages

Brendan — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:10:11 +0000

We were in a hotel yesterday for lunch – breaking the journey for the kids on a long road-trip to visit my wife’s Aunt. It was shortly after noon – and the carvery lunch had just opened. In typical fashion our two boys chose sausages and chips which were quickly served up. While I waited for my wife’s and my own meals to arrive, I stole a couple of chips off the boys’ plates. I expected to have to hold them between my teeth to gauge temperature – but they were lukewarm. Back at our table a few minutes later, when my son generously offered me a piece of one of his sausages, I discovered that the sausage was too dry and not hot enough. On one hand I was an irritated customer. But on another hand though I found myself thinking of the hotel – very quiet on what should have been a busy bank holiday Monday and geographically positioned in an area of Ireland that is struggling economically. Hotels like that can ill-afford dissatisfied customers.

So – how are your “sausages and chips”? Are they hot enough? Juicy enough? Fresh enough? Cared for enough? Your customers know the answers to these questions. And they are telling others. Do you know the answers? Because if you cannot answer these questions you are missing a lot of feedback – a tremendous amount of information that is losing you money, referrals and potential clients.

I can show you how you can not only gather this information easily but also apply it to your business to save you time, make you money and bring in clients. So get in touch and let’s find out what you’re missing!

An example of outstanding customer service from Everton FC

Brendan — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:52:47 +0000

I was chatting yesterday with a friend about his plans for the weekend. He was planning to fly early this morning to Liverpool with his wife and two sons to see a soccer game. The game was to be between his and his sons’ favourite football team – Everton FC and West Brom – two teams in England’s soccer Premiership. And it was a birthday treat for one of his sons – one of those birthday treats that Dads love as well!

Some weeks ago he had booked four tickets online in Everton’s family enclosure. To his surprise Everton contacted him afterwards wondering why he had booked four adult tickets. Someone at Everton was wondering why four adults would go to the family enclosure. Having clarified that two of the four “adults” were actually minors, Everton provide a refund of twice the difference between adult and minor tickets. Great initiative by Everton – and also high integrity.

Impressive eh? But it doesn’t stop there. They also asked the name of the boy having the birthday – and said that they’d send him birthday greetings over the public address system 15 minutes before kickoff. And to cap it all they asked my friend to send them a digital photo of his son so that they could try and incorporate something into the programme.

Fantastic eh? Perhaps this was just someone being nice. But this sort of customer service is also in the provider’s rational self-interest. My friend will tell lots of people this story. He agreed to letting me blog about it so you the reader has now heard it. And there’s one happy boy who I suspect will still be telling people about this when he’s middle-aged like his Dad and me. Hats off to Everton! And the result? Everton 2 – 0 West Brom.

Get in touch if you want help improving your own levels of customer service.

For new ideas you need to do more than just listen to your customers

Brendan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:57:41 +0000

Imagine if you asked your customers what else they would like you to provide that you’re not currently offering. They might suggest things that are crazy, or that would blow your budget, or which are a bad fit, etc. But there’s a finite chance that they will come up with something that you think has merit. Companies can definitely get worthwhile ideas from listening to customers – see yesterday’s post for more on this. And these can include ideas for new products and services that you can offer. So the voice of the customer is important – but your own company should also be striving to innovate. As Sir Stuart Rose, former CEO of Marks and Spencer put it, “Good business leaders should be half a step ahead of what customers want, ie they don’t actually quite know they want it. That’s what innovation’s about”. So yes – listen regularly, openly and humbly to the voice of your customers – but combine that with an internal focus on innovation.

Crystal ball gazing

Brendan — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 22:48:38 +0000

Recently I met with the general manager of a community-based leisure facility who wanted me to find out the satisfaction levels of her customers. We had a good conversation – discussing her needs – and whether I’d be able to help her. In due course she asked for a proposal and then said “Yes” to it – details, pricing, timeframe, deliverables, etc.

The final step before giving the project the green light was for her to get approval from the voluntary Board to which she reported. To her disappointment they said “No”. I was curious as to the reason for their decision. Thankfully she was willing to tell me – and it was simply that the Board thought there “would be very little new information to be gained from the Survey, that we don’t already know ourselves”! And this was a view from a group of people who have no active role in the business – so they would not be regularly engaging with customers or getting customer opinions through any other medium.

Can you accurately predict the future? Do you know what your customers would say if you asked them about how they’re being treated? Or what they’re looking for from you that you’re not currently providing? Or what they want you to do differently? Or what (if anything) in their eyes distinguishes you from your competition?

Take it on the chin sometimes….

Brendan — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:46:46 +0000

Yesterday I came across a report of how a train company in England, First Great Western, had questioned a customer satisfaction survey that reflected negatively on it. The survey, carried out by consumer magazine Which?, said that satisfaction with First Great Western was 48%. First Great Western and others have criticised the survey for not questioning enough passengers.

Was this a wise move by First Great Western? When your business or organisation is criticised how do you react? Do you immediately go on the defensive? Do you see it as an opportunity to make improvements? I’d urge caution before shooting the messenger – even if you feel you have valid grounds to do so! Listen first. Assess the validity of the study/criticism. Avoid reacting in defensive mode. Acknowledge any valid criticisms – and consider carefully what you can do in response.

Where do they get these “margin of error” numbers from?

Brendan — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:55:08 +0000

Do you ever wonder how margins of error in political opinion polls are so precise? For example this article on the race for the Republican nomination for this year’s presidential election in the US describes how a national telephone poll had a margin of error of +/-4%.

The answer lies in the number of people who expressed their opinion. In this case that number was 600. The people who designed the poll chose that “600″ deliberately. They chose it because they wanted a margin of error of +/-4%. If they had been after more accuracy and wanted a tighter margin of error, for example, +/-3%, they would have chosen a higher number of respondents. Researchers make these choices based on a number of factors. One such factor could be cost. The more people who take part in a poll – the more accurate the poll’s results. But it costs money to get people to answer questions!

If you have any questions on the above, feel free to contact me.

Reduction in customer complaints – a good thing?

Brendan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:31:49 +0000

You carry out a customer satisfaction survey and you have a decline in the number of customer complaints you are receiving. A good thing surely? Well, maybe not…. What if the reason for the “good” news is that your customers have become indifferent towards you? Or that your systems for receiving customer complaints are so unwieldy that customers hate the time and effort needed to register a complaint? There are just two examples – of course there could be other explanations too that reflect badly on your company.

Now of course it is good to monitor the number of complaints. And tracking the trends over time are also a useful indicator. But you need to interpret the results correctly!