- April 10, 2023
- Posted by: Gopal Krishna
- Categories:
As Marketing and Customer Experience (Cx) professionals, we all wonder how organizations have embarked on their Cx journey. It is interesting to know and learn from Cx initiatives/programs of some of the global organizations. For some, it was a strategy to turnaround the business and for others it was a strategic differentiator to enhance business. In my humble attempt, I would like to give a bird’s eye view of some of these most successful Cx programs.
Before we do that, it is important to note common attributes/characteristics of Cx focused organizations.
- Commit to Customer Success
- Engage with Customers from the Get Go
- Customer commitment from the top down
- Engender a Customer-Centric Culture
- Recognize the Customer across all Lines of Business
- Design Processes and Policies from the Customer’s Point of View
- Measure What Matters to Customers
- Encourage Customer Innovation
I looked at few US organizations and their Cx programs in the US and globally. I chose these organizations because of the vision, commitment, leadership, empowerment, investment and long term view of Cx. There are many more organizations which are doing outstanding work in Cx area. Here is the list of organizations I selected across different industries.
The Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is synonymous with Customer Service, no wonder it’s the ONLY hospitality company to win the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, twice. Anyone familiar with The Ritz-Carlton would often here customer service terms like ‘ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen’, ‘Radar On – Antenna Up’, and ‘Fulfillment of Unexpressed Wishes and Needs’.The Ritz-Carlton created Gold Standards as the foundation, culture and philosophy of customer service. These 6 Pillars of Gold Standards are:
- Credo
- Motto
- Three Steps of Service
- Service Values
- The 6th Diamond
- The Employee Promise.
The Ritz-Carlton customer service is so popular that it created The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center offering advisory services, courses and presentations to organizations that wish to benchmark the award-winning business practices of The Ritz-Carlton. It is said that Apple Stores inspired by Ritz-Carton customer service principles.
As Steve Jobs said “Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal.”
Apple Stores
Now, let’s see how Steve Jobs and Apple took its inspiration from The Ritz Carlton to a whole new level. Apple has about 453 retail stores with 265 in the US. As you may already know, Apple has most profitable Retail Stores in the world!Many of you who visited Apple Stores must have gone through a distinct experience where the staff (Geniuses) is not interested in selling their products but to build lasting relationships and improving quality of lives through their products.Apple Stores also has something known as Genius Bar; customer support service. For software and services, customers can get support by phone or chat. For product repairs, customers go to support centers (stores) to talk to Geniuses at work. Geniuses are support staff who have extensive knowledge of Apple’s products, and they work with customers face to face to provide technical support and troubleshoot hardware problems.The core of Apple Stores’ success lies in its obsessive culture to serve customers. And the culture is embodied by its staff who are hired for their passion, attitude and spirit than experience, knowledge or degrees. Apple invests tons of money in hiring, training and imbibing the value of creating magical and memorable experiences for its customers.Apple adopted ‘5 Steps of Service’ approach while The Ritz Carlton has 3 steps of service. And these 5 steps use APPLE brand name as acronym/expansion. Let’s see what each of them stands for;
- A: Approach customers with a personalized, warm welcome
- P: Probe politely to understand customer’s needs
- P: Present a solution for customer to take home today
- L: Listen for and resolve issues or concerns
- E: End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return
Ironically, companies like Apple which does not focus on selling its products ends up becoming one of the most sold, used and valued products/brands in the world. With 5 steps of service approach, we can’t help but end up being Apple customers!
Umpqua Bank, with a slogan ‘World’s Greatest Bank’
Umpqua operates in Pacific Northwest and California, US. It’s known for their Neighborhood Stores more than a Bank Branch. The design of these stores (branches) is much talked about where you have interactive touchscreen that displays products and services (catalyst walls) and ‘refresh bars’ to grab a cup of proprietary coffee among others. More importantly it’s culture which brings these stores to life with differentiated customer experience.Umpqua empowers its employees to create extraordinary experiences for their customers without having to be constricted by policies and permissions. Employees are free to decide and program the events as relevant to their local communities. Yes, events in stores (branches) to display local business products for sale – bonsai trees, bikes, pottery, skateboards – and have civic activities like speed-dating mixers for singles, wine tasting, yoga classes, workshops and more….
I sure want to open an account with Umpqua Bank!
Starbucks – Employee Handbook
Creating consistent Cx over ‘000 of stores or outlets is not easy unless a brand is as committed as Starbucks for providing standardized Cx over 11000 stores. Well, Starbucks has institutionalized its policies towards Cx with bottom up approach. Starbucks calls it ‘Employee Handbook’. What does this handbook consist anyway, let’s learn.
Practice 1 – Make It Your Own
Where workers/employees sorry ‘Partners’ conduct themselves as if they are the owners of the store they are managing with 5 BEings; BE Welcoming, BE Genuine, BE Considerate, BE Knowledgeable, BE involved.Practice 2 – Everything Matters
It’s a very simple quote – Retail is Detail. All Business is Detail.Practice 3 – Surprise and Delight
Starbucks partners are very committed to their business; whether it is referring old customers to new Starbucks store nearby or opening the store earlier than standard hours to cater to few customers.Practice 4 – Embrace Resistance
Welcome criticism for it’s an opportunity to learn and everyone at Starbucks is committed to this approach. A case in point is a high level Starbucks executive calling up a person who did a radio show bashing against what he viewed as a lack of consistency in the coffee and service at his local Starbucks.Practice 5 – Leave Your Mark
Starbucks continuously strives to develop a reputation for integrity and humane treatment of its employees and far off partners’ employees. For example, Starbucks provides health-care benefits to all employees who work 20 hours or more per week, pay premium for coffee produce from overseas partners so that money can be shared with their employees, check the overseas partners’ accounts to ensure the wealth is distributed all the way down to lower level employees.And a further step towards connecting with Customers, Starbucks established a portal, myStarbucksidea.com, to build a more intimate relationship with its customers. Through this portal, customers can post, rank and discuss ideas regarding what the coffee purveyor should do to offer a more compelling value proposition and customer experience like free wi-fi, loyalty card and more….
Many of you are regular customers. What do you think?
Walt Disney – the Father of Guestology
Walt Disney was the originator of the practices that came to be called Guestology. There is a significant difference between how we treat a customer and a guest. Imagine a scenario where guest is coming home; we do everything possible to host them and treat them special catering to all their needs.The Disney organization remains the world’s foremost practitioner of the Art & Science of serving their Guests; “Be Our Guest” has been the invitation to Disney visitors.
Disney expects Guests
Everything at Disney is done with the Guest in mind. Exceeding Guest expectations is the motto; for both performers and enablers. ‘Quality Service’ is Disney’s internal name for its customer (guest) service processes, and is focused on exceeding Guests’ expectations by paying attention to every detail of the delivery of products and services. It means;
- Superlative face-to-face service
- Paying close attention to every aspect of the Guest Experience
- Analyzing that experience from the Guest’s perspective
- Understanding the needs and wants of the Guest
My Disney Experience – MagicBands
Disney has been investing in larger initiative; My Disney Experience and MagicBands is a part of this initiative. MagicBands provide convenience for everything from unlocking hotel room to paying for purchases and entering FastPass Plus ride queues. Here are 5 possible future advances that could build on the existing framework.
- Personalized encounters
- Lost child tracking
- Discounts and special offers
- Custom vacation footage
- Experience customization
I have not used them personally. I welcome anyone who used MagicBands to share their experience here.
Sprint
Sprint under the leadership of Dan Hesse started inculcating 5 Simple (yet powerful) Customer-Centric Habits. It’s a classic story of turn-around strategy after one of the most expensive mistakes; Sprint-Nextel merger.Sprint worked on these 5 simple habits diligently. Let’s briefly look at what each of these habits mean.Listen > Think > Empower > Create > Delight.
- LISTEN – Understand What Customers Value, Act on Their Feedback
- THINK – Make Smart, Fact-Based Decisions
- EMPOWER – Give Employees Resources and Authority to Serve Customers
- CREATE – Produce New Value for Customers and Company
- DELIGHT – Exceed Expectations, Be Remarkable.
Cx Programs:
In its efforts to focus on improving Customer Experience, Sprint came out with initiatives for both premium and non-premium customers. Some of them include;
- The Right Plan Promise, which allows customers to change their plans at anytime without signing a new contract.
- Sprint’s Simply Everything, an unlimited pricing plan that gives customers value with unlimited nationwide voice, text, data, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS navigation, Direct Connect and Group Connect for $99.99 per month.
- Ready Now, in which trained and committed retail associates work one-on-one with customers to personalize phones, set up features and demonstrate how phones work – before the customer leaves the store.
Apart from the above, Sprint launched ‘Sprint Premier’ program to reward its loyal and high value customers. As part of this program, customers get perks, privileges and discounts like Early Upgrades, Just Because Perks, Anniversary Rewards, First to Know/First to Buy, Accessory Discounts and Courtesy Plan Check.Have you been Sprint customer? What’s been your experience?
Zappos – Delighting Customers
Most of us have heard of Zappos as a distinct etailer – read shoes – based in LV, USA. Some of us may have known or experienced their customer driven culture. Zappos believes in investing heavily in their employees’ training and development on a continuous basis. Zappos believes constantly improving and empowering employees will result in heightened customer service. Of course, aptly aided by their culture and policies. Here is what you need to know to get a view of their customer policies, including a list of things that differentiates Zappos.Empowered Employees
- No call times, no sales-based performance goals for representatives
- The telephone is considered for them one of the best branding devices available
- 5 weeks of culture, core values, customer service, and warehouse training for everyone in Las Vegas office
- A Culture Book
- Interviews & performance reviews are 50% based on core values and culture fit.
Delighting Customers
- Free return shipping
- 365-day return policy
- Most customers are “surprise” upgraded to overnight shipping
- Friendly, helpful “above and beyond” customer service
- Occasionally direct customers to competitors’ web sites
- Encourage customers to order multiple sizes if they’re unsure of what to order.
Did any of you try but didn’t find the right size at Zappos?
Macy’s
Macy’s M.O.M. strategy is created back in 2008 to redefine customers’ shopping experience for growth and success. Macy’s continues to invest in technology, omnichannel infrastructure and fulfillment capability for M.O.M’s initiative.By the way M.O.M. stands for My Macy’s localization, Omnichannel integration and MAGIC Selling customer engagement.
And let me expand one more acronym for you; MAGIC -Meet and make a connection, Ask questions and listen, Give options, give advice, Inspire to buy and Celebrate the purchase.Now that we know acronyms and expansions, let’s briefly understand the process behind M.O.M.
My Macy’s Location attempts to localize the merchandising and shopping experience for each of the retailer’s across the US. Each district is assigned a team of merchants/planners whose job is to learn what customers in their regions are looking for, what items they might need in the future and the sizes they’ll be asking for and stock them sufficiently to meet the demand.Omnichannel Integration essentially gives customers access to Macy’s inventory through several channels like online, mobile and store. For example, a customer who can’t find a shoe type/size in the store visiting, can get an employee to search Macy’s online inventory and ship the item to her house (for free or paid depending on the value). If it’s not online, the system could search 500 of its larger stores that act as mini-shipping fulfillment centers to get the product to the customer.MAGIC Selling is about training employees to engage customers and give customers what they’re looking for. Welcome feedback from customers visiting store and implementing some of the suggestions to improve selling at the store.
No, we are not done with Macy’s moves yet. In order to enhance customers shopping experience, Macy’s rolled out BOPS program (Buy Online Pick In Store) in 2014 to all Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s locations nationwide, and successfully piloted same-day delivery to customers.
