1- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): the "catch-all" concept
Customer Relationship Management itself is a concept that leads to confusion. It can refer to the department that answers customer questions about products, services, etc. It can refer to the software (CRM) used to track relationships between customers and the organization. At KESTIO, we believe that Customer Relationship Management encompasses all interactions between the customer and the organization, whether upstream of the sales process (we will then speak of a prospect rather than a customer) or downstream. These interactions can take place via various channels: customer service, of course, but also the salesperson, the internet, traditional advertising channels, etc. Furthermore, CRM software is evolving to integrate increasingly complete traceability of this Customer Relationship in the broad sense, i.e. multi-channel. You can thus track the Relationship established by a salesperson via their outbound calls, the number of times the customer has ordered on your website, and the mail they sent to customer service, as well as the response they received. All in the same tool. These different points of contact and channels can also be visualized in the form of a Customer Journey, a diagram showing all the interactions between the organization and its customers.
2- Customer Satisfaction: The Quest for the Holy Grail
Customer Satisfaction is a concept that seems simple, even binary: is the customer satisfied (or not) with the offer (product and/or service) that the organization has proposed? However, customers tend to declare themselves satisfied from the moment the offer meets their minimum expectations. The Kano model explains this phenomenon. During an observation mission of customer journeys in a store, I was able to observe that a customer had difficulty quickly finding the product she had come to look for, and then identifying the right product on the shelf. As an external observer, I found that her journey was not satisfactory since she had wandered around the store. After her purchase, this person declared herself satisfied with her experience and had no negative comments to make about her journey: she had finally found her product, mission accomplished. The fact that her journey could have been faster was not obvious to her, and therefore her satisfaction was not impacted.
The good news is that a customer declares themselves a priori satisfied when the company has correctly met their basic expectations (finding the product that matches their search). Consequently, this notion of 'satisfaction' constitutes the minimum to be achieved for the company, and it is unfortunate (even dangerous) to settle for that. To leave a lasting impression on the customer, you have to offer them better than that!
To increase Customer Satisfaction, we must therefore broaden the scope of possibilities and not limit ourselves to customer statements:
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- Focus on 'Very satisfied' customers and understand why they declare this level of satisfaction.
- Identify and understand unspoken needs to effectively address them.
- use other metrics such as Net Promoter Score to find out if Customer Satisfaction is at a level where customers become ambassadors for the organization.
- Vary the moments of collecting Satisfaction: immediately after a moment of truth (see below) or later by conducting an annual satisfaction survey and analyzing the verbatim comments expressed by customers (this is referred to as Voice of Customer or Customer Listening).
Only by aiming for high Customer Satisfaction can the company build lasting customer loyalty.
3- Customer Experience: the little extra that makes the difference
Customer Experience is one of the elements that helps optimize Customer Satisfaction.
Customer Experience is the customer's perception of their relationship with the organization.
This perception is conditioned by the client's culture and their expertise in the market of the organization serving them. These two factors will generate a certain level of expectation. The organization must take this level of expectation into account to generate a positive experience, leading to customer satisfaction. To meet these expectations, the organization must master two areas: the ease with which the client can obtain the desired offer and the emotion generated by the interactions between the organization and the client.
SNCF (French National Railway Company) has worked extensively on Customer Experience in recent years. They have simplified the customer journey by increasing the points of contact allowing customers to purchase tickets through their preferred channel: the website, the mobile app for smartphone users, the call center, the ticket counters for customers who need advice, the kiosks in stations, etc. Simultaneously, they are also working on emotion and comfort to create preference among their customers: onboard train service, TGV magazines or others in first class, Grand Voyageur reception areas... All these services aim to improve the Customer Experience from a global point of view across the entire journey.
While improving Customer Experience yields immediate and positive results, it's crucial not to overlook the equally significant impact of a negative experience. Certain stages of the Customer Journey are critical, and if the Customer Experience delivered at these specific moments is poor, the customer might decide to abandon the brand, regardless of their level of loyalty. This is known as a Moment of Truth. For example, imagine being a bank customer for over 10 years. When you apply for a loan, your advisor explains that, despite their best efforts, they cannot grant it. This experience is likely to frustrate you to the point where you seek a loan from another bank and transfer all your accounts there!
Customer Experience is therefore a more conceptual notion than the other two. Based on effort and emotion, thus perception and feeling, it is more difficult to measure for each customer. To improve it, you need to put yourself in the customer's shoes and understand what they are experiencing, or better yet, directly observe them in a real-world interaction with the organization.
The 3 concepts are therefore interdependent. Customer Experience is at the center of the other two concepts: it links the two. Trying to improve Customer Satisfaction by working only on the Relationship (i.e. processes and actors) is difficult. It is necessary to understand, measure and improve the Customer Experience in order to succeed in improving Customer Satisfaction in a sustainable way.
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