I’ve spent over ten years helping leading retail brands transform their customer experience. Here’s what works.
We've just changed the name of our business from Critizr to Goodays. Why? Because what started out ten years ago as technology to manage feedback and criticism is now all about the bigger picture and delivering a better performance every day in business. So ‘Goodays’ sums it up pretty well.
It’s also a name that links back to our ‘lightbulb moment’. That in our rapidly changing digital age, when so much of our experience as customers has been transformed, people still want a personal, friendly and empathetic service. Businesses that get it right succeed. Businesses that don't pay the price, with over half of consumers walking away from a brand after just one negative experience.
The reality of delivering these personal interactions at scale can, however, be overwhelming. In our omni-channel, ‘always-on’ world, customers can pop up anywhere, anytime, on any digital channel. Authentically connecting with them and managing their needs in both the online and offline worlds, while keeping pace with the sheer volume of digital interactions they generate, is a mind-blowing task.
This is the urgent challenge that, along with our 100-strong team of CX experts, I’ve spent the last decade helping companies manage. And I am more certain than ever that the only way to build and sustain a better customer experience in modern business is with a full-company cultural transformation to what we call customer obsession. Here are the six insights every successful company lives by to achieve it.
1. Customers are everyone’s business. When every person understands the link between their role, happy customers and good business results – from the finance team to the frontline – positive things happen. If customer satisfaction scores are stalling, or worse starting to dip, quick fixes and siloed thinking won’t work. It needs a bigger approach, that's not the reserve of departments with customer in the title. A company-wide mission that makes everyone accountable for customers is a powerful, positive change that has a transformative impact on business performance.
2. Feedback is a gift. Who wants to hear negative things about their brand? Believe me, you do! Whether it’s negative, positive or indifferent, the customer’s point of view is the one that counts most for successful businesses. They don’t fear feedback. They know that every single customer interaction is a golden opportunity to improve customer loyalty, increase spend and build a more positive online reputation. It’s also worth noting that of the millions of interactions Goodays’ clients deal with on our platform each year, over 60% of them are actually positive. A lot of these are then used to motivate and empower frontline teams.
3. People prefer people: robots, chatbots, and augmented reality make headlines. Automation is working hard behind the scenes to make businesses more efficient. But when it comes to customers, human connections and real relationships still matter most. People care deeply about how the businesses they spend money with treat them. They want a sense of community, empathy and trust and to know they’re valued. Only human beings can bring that. When technology is used to empower people in business, not replace them, brands can rest assured that customers are getting what they want, and satisfaction rates will climb.
4. Customer data is a superpower (but only if you use it): Where is your customer data at this moment? If it’s stuck in a spreadsheet or a monthly report, it’s time for a rethink. Businesses have more of this precious resource than ever, but the most successful brands know how to use it. They unleash customer interactions and insights as a dynamic, daily read on what customers think, need and want. They’re responsive and use it to fuel quick decision-making and growth. They build customer loyalty by listening, understanding and interacting with customers and what’s happening in their world (not in their boardroom).
5. Customers want to connect: We live in the messaging era. People want to connect with brands just as they do with friends, using fast, personal, touch-of-a-button apps and channels to make life easier. Even when they’re in a physical branch or outlet, consumers are on their phones searching and messaging in the digital world. When businesses blend and streamline the customer experience across online and offline, bringing the best of their physical and digital worlds together, they succeed.
6. Happy employees = happy customers. In every industry, employees like to get it right for their customers. They're motivated by positive feedback and they thrive in a culture that values and celebrates customer experience excellence. The pride and dynamism of a business team that is accountable and enabled to deliver their very best for customers is one of the most powerful levers in modern business.
“Goodays (formerly Critizr) is Europe's leading Customer Interaction Management Platform. Founded in 2012, the company’s vision is to make commerce better for everyone - for businesses and for customers –by gathering the whole business around a shared purpose: customer satisfaction.”
To find out more about Goodays (ex Critizr) and the services they provide to the retail industry, click here.
This article was also published in The Retailer, our quarterly online magazine providing thought-leading insights from BRC experts and Associate Members.