InsightIQ Blog

A bad customer experience has far more impact than a good one ever could.

View more Blog Posts

Nov 4 2009

I was at the gym this morning - a local establishment I recently joined - and was surprised by how cold it was inside.  I looked at the thermostat to find that it was only 56-degrees.  The individual at the front desk didn't have a key to the thermostat so I proceeded to workout, albeit uncomfortably.  As I was leaving, I saw one of the managers and informed her of my concerns about the environment.  Her response: you need to work a little harder then.  What?  I left, shocked and disappointed by her comment and thinking about my options (read: find a new gym).

In my line of work, we often discuss customer experience management (CEM) from a channel perspective.  How well does an organization present information on the Web?  What kind of customer information is the call center using to handle inbound requests?  How quickly does an email get answered? 

And yet, we know that solving channel complexities is only part of the equation.  Having a solid web strategy doesn't make you more customer-centric.  Treating your customers well all of the time does.  Forrester analyst Bruce Temkin calls it "obsessing about customer needs" and I agree.  No amount of technology can compensate for not putting the customer at the center of everything you do.  

I have the privilege of hosting an upcoming Webinar with Bruce on the topic of Customer Experience Management and ROI for the Cable and Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) industries.  For anyone familiar with Bruce's work, you know that he has identified a clear link between customer experience and loyalty and how well a positive experience correlates to a consumer's willingness to make another purchase. 

Had my gym recognized the importance of a positive customer experience and developed a thoughtful approach to CEM, they'd quickly know that my value as a customer extends far beyond the membership fee I pay.  I am an avid recommender of services and very willing to share my experiences - both positive and negative - with others.   The repercussions of my bad experience could be far more damaging than just a single lost membership.

Suffice it to say, customer experience is critically important to an organization's success.  If you're interested in learning more, attend our Webinar next week.  You can register here. And, if you aren't an avid reader of Bruce Temkin already, I suggest you check out his blog, Customer Experience Matters.

Perhaps I should send that link to my gym's management.  Or perhaps it's too late.

 

This article is filed under:

View more Blog Posts

Leave Your Comment Comments

Nov 4 2009

Adam Cohen said:

Great point - even small biz can be fundamentally impacted (positively or negatively) by the customer experience. I would think that a gym like that is heavily reliant on word of mouth for customers. They are ultra-local and likely don't have a big advertising budget. In a way it's even more crucial for them to embrace the customer experience than the big budget cable co's, especially with the level of competition out there. Sounds like a great webinar that shouldn't be missed!
Best,
Adam

Nov 15 2009

Jeanne Bliss said:

Michelle,
You are right, a bad experience stays and lingers. But if a company has the rigor to build a process to know when those bad experiences happen...and deliver great apologies and fixes for those failures...those new memories will grow the business.

Glad you're quoting and referencing Bruce. He's one of the smartest voices out there on Customer Experience.

Jeanne

Leave a Comment

  • Your email won't be published on our site.

All Fields Required