Customer Insight Autumn 2017

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN REWARDS FAN LOYALTY ALSO INSIDE… Customer Journey Mapping How To Sir Ranulph Fiennes

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ENGAGING EMPLOYEES WITH CI DATA

DESIGN CUSTOMER SUCCESS

HALF DAY BRIEFING

HALF DAY BRIEFING

When great customer insight is shared it can create a surge of enthusiasm from colleagues, but day to day priorities often make things revert to the status quo. Colleagues are busy with their own priorities, so engaging with them is critical to change the customer experience. If we make communication a two-way conversation, with genuine input from staff, it is much more likely to have a lasting impact.

Customer Success is an approach to business that sees creating ongoing value for the customer as the only way to achieve long term objectives. To achieve Customer Success you need to design your entire experience to enable customers to get what they want. This briefing helps you take your customer research and understand how you can re-design touchpoints for customer success, with the emphasis on Design Thinking.

DATES: 16 November 2017 26 April 2018

09:15 - 12:30

London London

DATES:

BOOK 2 COURSES ON THE SAME DAY & LUNCH IS ON US

16 November 2017 26 April 2018

13:15 - 16:30

£155 (ex VAT)

London London

BOOK 2 COURSES ON THE SAME DAY & LUNCH IS ON US

£155 (ex VAT)

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CALCULATING THE ROI

CUSTOMER EMOTIONS

OF CUSTOMER RESEARCH

HALF DAY BRIEFING

HALF DAY BRIEFING

Everyone knows that emotions are an important part of the customer experience, right? Wrong. Emotions are the customer experience. You need to stop thinking in terms of products, processes, or touchpoints; and start thinking in terms of joy, reassurance, and memories.

Keeping customers satisfied is widely accepted as a worthwhile business goal. However, that doesn’t stop us wanting to or being asked to quantify the benefits of improving our customers’ satisfaction. This half day briefing will provide ideas for how you can calculate the ROI of satisfying customers. There is no easy solution to this age old problem, but it is possible to prove the benefits of making improvements to the customer experience.

Designing great experiences means being clear on your Emotional Value Proposition, and building experiences that will respond to customers’ specific emotional needs to create the emotions you want.

DATES:

DATES:

9 March 2018

09:15 - 12:30

Manchester

£155 (ex VAT)

8 February 2018

09:15 - 12:30

Manchester

£155 (ex VAT)

Book online at tlfresearch.com or call 01484 467000

BOOK 2 COURSES ON THE SAME DAY & LUNCH IS ON US

EDITORIAL

Foresight We’re a proudly Yorkshire company, but over the years

Editor

organisations are guilty of creating customer journeys

to find Huddersfield on a map. Thanks to Town’s ascent

that are nearly as challenging. If you want to improve

into the Premier League, that’s happening less and less.

your end-to-end customer experience, Customer Journey

Huddersfield Town have made headlines by rewarding

Mapping is by far the most effective tool to understand

the loyalty of their long-standing fans with the cheapest

it from the customer’s viewpoint, and to highlight the

season tickets in the Premiership. Nigel spoke to the

key moments of truth which leave the customer with

owner, Dean Hoyle, to understand how their strategy of

a good or bad memory of the experience at the end of

rewarding loyalty is paying off (page 16).

the journey. In my article on journey mapping (page 6), I outline the strengths of the technique and provide

If Town’s exploits are putting Huddersfield on the

an overview of the key steps you need to go through to

map, our client conference (page 20) had a distinctly

design effective maps. Andy (page 14) takes us through

off-grid flavour. Sir Ranulph Fiennes held delegates

the ways customer journey mapping applies to the social

spellbound with his tales of suffering and adventure. The

housing sector.

lesson? Motivation is more important than anything else to a successful team. Rob from TLF Design took the spirit

Customer experience is an adventure for all of us. If we

of adventure to heart, and set up camp (complete with

can combine Sir Ranulph’s motivation, Huddersfield Town’s

fire) to tell us the story of storytelling. The conference

commitment to loyal fans, and a deep understanding of

was opened by Greg from TLF, who revealed the 10 things

what the journey feels like to customers, it’s an adventure

you need to create a world class customer experience. He

with rich rewards.

handed over to me talking about the value of adopting a design thinking approach to the customer experience.

Excellent client speakers from Biffa, Visa, and Clarion Housing Group brought us back to the real world and rounded out an inspiring day.

EDITORIAL Editor Stephen Hampshire ADVERTISING Marketing Manager Charlotte Ratcliffe DESIGN & PRODUCTION Production Editor Chris Newbold

CONTACTS

Stephen Hampshire

Sir Ranulph’s journeys are not for everyone, but some

we’ve become used to having to explain exactly where

Creative Director Rob Egan Graphic Designers Becka Crozier Jordan Gillespie PRINTER AB Print Group Ltd

Customer Insight is the magazine for people who want to deliver results to employees, customers and any other stakeholders as part of a coherent strategy to create value for shareholders. We publish serious articles designed to inform, stimulate debate and sometimes to provoke.

We aim to be thought leaders in the field of managing relationships with all stakeholder groups. www.tlfresearch.com uk@leadershipfactor.com Customer Insight C/O TLF Research Taylor Hill Mill Huddersfield HD4 6JA

NB: Customer Insight does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in the articles by contributing writors and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form

or by any means without prior written consent of the publisher. © CUSTOMER INSIGHT 2017

ISSN 1749-088X

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 3

C O N T E N T S

06

CONTRIBUTORS

16

-

A U T U M N

2 0 1 7

Mapping the Customer Journey Latest Thinking on this complex subject

20

Rewarding Loyalty Huddersfield Town’s strategy based on its relationship with fans

TLF Conference Learnings from some of the UK’s leading customer service professionals

Stephen Hampshire

Andy Butler

Rachel Allen

Conference speaker, Renaissance polymath and occasional climber

Customer relations expert, socialite and frequent runner

Customer satisfaction evangelist, author and lover of the outdoors

4 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

CONTENTS

LATEST THINKING Mapping the Customer Journey

06

14

Customer Journey Mapping in Social Housing How CJM can help you optimise tenant experience

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Find out more about setting targets that work for your circumstances but also meet your objectives

RESEARCH Target Setting

12

RESEARCH Customer Journey Mapping in Social Housing

14

CASE STUDY Huddersfield Town AFC Rewarding Loyalty

16

CONFERENCE TLF Annual Customer Experience Conference

20

26

A quick guide to understanding Net Promoter Score, and how to employ it for the best results

RESEARCH What is Net Promoter Score?

26

BOOK REVIEW Predatory Thinking

28

CASE STUDY Making Memories Thomson Holidays

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30

Making Memories New research on what makes for a memorable experience

DESIGNERS

Published by

Becka Crozier

Rob Egan

Jordan Gillespie

Right brain mastermind, gastronomic ascetic and deadpan comedienne

Beer drinker, pixel pusher and dour Yorkshireman

Creative magus, genuine tyke and 20ft wave rider

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 5

L AT E S T T H I N K I N G

MAPPING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY All of a sudden, everyone is Mapping The Customer Journey. It’s a concept that has been around in customer research for decades, but its recent rise to prominence may be linked to the success of service design thinking.

Why is it so hot right now?

6 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

L AT E S T T H I N K I N G

Done well it has the ability to drive quick

· The sense of flow also allows us to see

to use a common starting point for action

changes to organisations’ processes, culture,

the “downstream” impact of events that

and frontline behaviour based on a customer-

happen earlier in the journey, which is

·C JM should bring the emotional side of

led view of their experiences. It can be

extremely important when it comes to

the experience to the forefront, so the

incredibly powerful.

planning improvements.

focus is on how customers feel as much as

When it comes down to it, customer

· CJM focuses on the customer, and on

planning.

what happens. This can lead to important

journey mapping is just a metaphor. Maybe

optimising the experience for their benefit

insights about the way small details can

so, but it’s a way of looking at customers

rather than ours. This outside-in view often

have a big impact on the customer’s

which has a number of significant benefits:

shocks us when we have been lost in our

·C JM forces us to take a horizontal slice

own processes, but it is a much better basis

through the journey, cutting through

for planning how experiences should work

journey, CJM research gives you the

vertical silos of departments or touchpoints.

in the future.

in-depth stories of individual customers’

This makes us aware of places where the

· By creating a common, visual,

experience through the journey. ·A s well as learning about the “average”

experiences. These are gold when it comes

experience sags (often in the gaps between

understanding of the customer experience,

to internal communications, particularly if

touchpoints).

a journey map helps the entire organisation

your aim is culture change.

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 7

L AT E S T T H I N K I N G

Step 1: making key decisions

opportunity to make a difference for customers and your board.

If you’re sold on the idea of CJM then hopefully you’re keen to rush off and start

What’s your goal?

doing it. That’s great, but first sit down and pick which journey to map. Journey mapping

It’s a good idea to be clear about why

is in-depth and time-consuming, so you’re

your organisation is interested in optimising

better off working on one important journey

this journey. There’s no shame in being

at a time rather than trying to map every

mercenary about this, and the clearer you

journey all at once. Let’s have a look at some

are at the outset, the easier it is to factor it

key decisions you need to think about.

into the research. If you’re mapping the new customer journey, is it more about improving

Is everything a journey?

conversion, or is it about setting customers up to be cheaper to serve in the future?

To the man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. CJM is a brilliant approach,

A clear business goal lets you build business outcomes into the research.

but it’s not always the right tool for the job.

For ongoing experiences it simply doesn’t make sense to take a journey mapping approach. Take banking as an example. There are lots of journeys you might want to look at (e.g. becoming a customer, applying for a mortgage), but the experience of being a current account customer doesn’t lend itself to the journey metaphor.

For journey mapping the experience must have a start and end point; and that means you need a clearly articulated goal that the customer is trying to achieve.

Who owns it?

What level?

CJM requires you to break down silos, and We could conceptualise the entire

that means you must start by getting buy-in

customer lifecycle as one long journey,

from all relevant colleagues. Getting them on

but in practice that’s rarely useful. At the

board early, and inviting them to help shape

other end of the spectrum, it’s possible to

the process, is by far the most effective way

map out every individual interaction, each

to guarantee they will be actively involved in

phonecall and visit to the website, as a mini

taking action as a result.

journey. That can be very useful from a User

If you want your colleagues to pay

Experience research point of view, but for

attention to the map, then they have to be

the most part Customer Experience journey

involved in drawing it up.

mapping is focused in the sweet spot between these extremes.

Which customers?

Pick a journey that lasts days or weeks rather than seconds or years.

Once you know your journey, and the business question you want to address,

Which journey?

choosing which customers to invite should be obvious. It makes a big difference to

Choosing the first journey to map is

what you’re able to say with the research, so

a question of balancing three priorities:

think about it carefully. If you map the new

how important is it to the business, how

customer journey by only talking to people

important is it to customers on that journey

who sign up, and never ask the ones who

(i.e. is it a real “moment of truth” for them?),

drop out along the way, then you’re missing a

and how many customers go through that

big opportunity to learn.

journey?

Choose a journey that maximises your 8 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

The choice of which customers to speak to sets boundaries on what you can learn.

L AT E S T T H I N K I N G

Step 2: mapping the landscape with qualitative research When you map the customer journey you need to do it from the customer’s point of

sure that the changes you make have been

They should be used as a way to increase

effective. You need to know exactly what to

flexibility, not decrease it. That means that

work on, and understand how much impact it

they should be used to stress-test ideas

will have on the customer.

we have about improvements (“how would

The survey should happen as soon after

this work for Mary?”) rather than as closed

view. We all become so focused on our own

the event as possible or, in the case of very

internal processes that it becomes impossible

long journeys, at key milestones along

to remember how it feels to be a customer.

the way. It should be short, focused, and

essential to understand the role of the entire

You need to forget what you know and go to

wherever possible grounded in concrete

“decision making unit” in their experiences

talk to customers on their own terms.

perceptions rather than long lists of scores

through the journey. That typically means

(e.g. “did the delivery driver turn up at the

representing the views of senior decision

to understand individual customers in great

agreed time?” rather than a score out of

makers and key influencers as well as the

detail. Depending on the journey you may

10 for timeliness). You should also include

people you deal with day to day.

choose to blend observation and interviewing

open responses so that you can understand

techniques, but the key thing to remember is

customers’ feelings, and diagnose what

Personas help you plan journeys that will

that you want to understand:

went wrong if they are unhappy. Including

work well for everyone.

· The journey. What are the steps, from the

both importance and satisfaction scores

Qualitative research gives you the ability

customer’s point of view? Where does the

enables you to understand how customer

journey begin and end?

perceptions of your performance match up to

· How it feels. How do they feel as they go through the journey? What did they want and expect at the beginning? Work hard

service options.

In business to business markets, it’s

Every customer journey is individual.

Step 4: linking back to the internal view

their requirements, and that means you can prioritise accordingly.

A quantitative journey map shows you

As you make changes you should repeat

exactly how your customers feel in their

to understand customer emotions, and the

the quantitative survey. You will see rapid

experience, and highlights the points of

fundamental needs that those point to. For

improvements to customer satisfaction, and

pain that are causing most problems at the

example, if customers talk about how long

knock on benefits in terms of reduced costs

moment. When you first map a journey,

something takes, it often means that they

and improved retention etc. Eventually you

it’s often the case that there are some real

are worried because they don’t know how

may need to repeat the qualitative stage,

“no-brainer” opportunities—places where

long it will take or whether it would happen

particularly if you introduce any radical

you’re creating problems for customers that

at all. This has important implications when

changes, but by then there will be significant

can be quickly solved with little or no cost to

it comes to planning improvements (i.e. we

belief within your organisation about the

the business.

don’t necessarily need to make it quicker,

power of CJM to deliver change.

but it will feel quicker if customers know what’s happening).

Beyond the very easiest of pain points,

Quantitative research is essential to prioritise and track improvements.

· Context. In qualitative research we want

though, you will need to involve your colleagues in drawing up a detailed action plan. Powerful though they are, journey maps

to understand in detail how our product or

can be frustrating for people who are not

service fits into the customer’s life. What

used to dealing with customer data. They

else are they dealing with at the moment?

reflect the customer view, and that means

Have they got time to read the complicated

that they are thin on detail in terms of the

instructions we’ve sent them? How is the

internal processes that create the pain points.

ticking clock on the wall likely to affect

We end up with a gap between the idealised

their perception of waiting time? The

internal process view, describing what’s

empathy map is a useful tool to help you

supposed to happen, and the customer view

capture some of these things.

which describes the experience we create.

When you finish the qualitative stage you

What we don’t always know is why and how

should have a clear understanding of what the

things go wrong.

key moments of truth are for customers, and how those affect their emotional experience.

In order to bridge this gap we need to

Personas and segments

take the customer view to colleagues so that

You will also have a number of detailed individual customer stories.

they can help us map out what causes the Most organisations will have groups of

customer experience to be the way it is. The

customers with very different needs going

service blueprint is a useful tool for this, but

through each journey. Personas are a useful

it’s not the only way. The important thing

tool to capture the different needs and

is that you treat the customer journey map

expectations that different customer groups

as the starting point for planning actions to

a useful piece of insight, but without

have, but be careful not to lapse into lazy

address the things we know are important to

measurement it is very hard to be systematic

stereotypes. Good personas are driven from

customers, and those events and behaviours

about improvement and impossible to be

the research, not decided by the organisation.

that have the biggest impact.

Step 3: quantifying to prioritise If you stopped there you would have

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 9

L AT E S T T H I N K I N G

would be worth doing purely for the impact

provides a common, visual, understanding

journey back to internal metrics. This is

It can be helpful to link the customer

it can have on your internal communications

of the customer experience so that everyone

an effective way to give the organisation

around customer experience. Effective

in the business can see their role in creating

a feeling of control over the customer

internal communication is about getting the

a happy customer, and it demonstrates

experience, but be wary of the trap of

right balance of clarity and emotional impact.

the value to the business of getting that

prioritising the internal metric over the

When using maps to communicate with

customer view. When it comes down to it,

frontline staff you need to address two key

the customer is the one who gets to judge

questions:

whether your performance is improving or

· What do I need to do differently?

not.

· How does it feel to customers?

Involve your colleagues to understand why

which you can think of as the “what”

the customer experience is as it is, and plan

and the “why” of making change. The more

actions to address the root causes.

concrete you can make the recommendations, the easier it is for staff to keep what you’re

Step 5: drawing the map

asking them to do in mind (and the easier it is for you to assess if they’re doing it).

Whether or not you can draw, it’s usually

Make those recommendations specific to

best to start on paper until you have a good

each person’s role and they will be much

sense of the best way to visualise your

more likely to see the relevance of the map

customer journey. Resist the urge to rush to

to them.

box and arrow models, which tend to turn into spaghetti very quickly.

Two good starting points are the wheel,

Building empathy for customers is essential to creating an environment in which great customer experiences happen.

which reflects the essentially cyclical nature

Journey mapping, particularly the qualitative

of some journeys, and the timeline. Of course

outputs, gives you a brilliant tool for bringing

you may end up using a combination of both

customers into the business.

if your journey involves stages that loop.

Keep the journey as visual as you can.

Those individual journey maps are also a great way to shape your culture. Using real

Icons capture attention more quickly, are

stories to showcase the types of frontline

quicker to process, and aid recall more than

decisions and behaviour you want to see is by

words.

far the most effective way of helping staff to

Colour is an effective way to communicate, and red is particularly powerful. Use it to direct attention to key points of pain.

Less is more. The point of your map is to

understand the values you want to express.

Journey mapping research and internal comms go hand in hand to shape culture change.

focus your organisation on a common view of where to improve the customer experience.

A powerful metaphor

You may have a lot of detail, but this is best handled as layers you can overlay for

Customer Journey Mapping is just a

particular audiences, rather than trying to

metaphor, but it’s a metaphor that has the

cram everything into one visual.

power to transform the way you understand

A good journey map should be clear,

and communicate the customer experience

focused, and visual.

within your business.

Internal communications

research to give you insight that builds

CJM blends qualitative and quantitative empathy and links customer feelings to If there was no other benefit to CJM, it

concrete frontline events and behaviours. It

Stephen Hampshire Client Manager TLF Research stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com

10 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

experience right.

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING FULL DAY PRACTICAL TRAINING COURSE

Customer Journey Mapping is an essential step in gaining control of the customer experience. It is a great way to help staff understand customers, how they may be feeling at each stage of the journey, and what makes the difference between a good and bad experience.

This practical full day workshop outlines the steps you will need to follow to effectively map your customers’ journeys.

AGENDA:

OUTCOME:

· I dentify which journeys needs to be mapped

Step by step guide of how to map your customer journey template with examples of customer journeys.

·Q ualitative research to understand the journey ·Q uantify the journey with customer research and internal data · Deciding what to include and exclude ·C reating a shared visual understanding of the journey

DATES: 5 December 2017 7 December 2017 19 April 2018

London Manchester London

·U sing journey information to design processes for customers · Examples of customer journey maps

09:15 - 16:30

£295 (ex VAT)

Book online at tlfresearch.com or call 01484 467000

RESEARCH

TARGET SETTING.

There are a number of options for setting targets. Every organisation is structured differently, and the reason for setting targets differs.

There is no single right or wrong approach. It is about setting a target that works for your circumstances, that meets your objectives.

Considerations: • Who is the target aimed at?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) At face value, an NPS target could be set in precisely the same

• At what level do you want to set targets? (e.g. overall, team,

way as the CSI target. You can do that, but in practice NPS targets

individual)

are complicated by the fact that the NPS is a net figure and ignores

• How long is the target in place for? (e.g. is it an annual target that

“passive” scores of 7 or 8 out of 10 (e.g. if your CSI improves as a

remains unchanged for the duration of the year?)

result of 7s becoming 8s, your NPS will not change at all).

• Is a bonus being paid on results?

• To what extent can staff actually influence their results?

If NPS is the main focus for your business, it can be helpful to

• What calculation will determine if the target has been achieved?

set targets based on the proportion of Promoters, Passives, and

For example, if the target is an annual target, will hit/miss be based

Detractors. That helps to focus the organisation on the idea of either

on rolling up results for the year, results for the last month/quarter

eliminating Detractors or moving Passives to Promoters. This does

only... or something else?

give you a headline NPS target, but focusing on the way it is made

• Do you want one target which is either hit or missed or will there

up gives you a more robust understanding of what is going on with

will degrees of hitting target?

customers’ scores.

• What is the starting point? It is easier to make improvements where the starting point is lower.

Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Targets can be based on: 1. Projected improvement on your base CSI 2. CSI required to enter top quartile 3. CSI required to enter top decile 4. All TLF survey results or sector results only At TLF we generate projected targets showing improvements over 5 years. It is usual for us to provide three target options for each year: conservative, realistic and ambitious.

12 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

Rachel Allen Client Manager TLF Research rachelallen@leadershipfactor.com

RESEARCH

Targeting specific areas of performance

There is little evidence that it is difficult

similar time scale. This minimises problems

to perform well in some industries compared

with statistical confidence levels and, in

to others. However, there is evidence that,

the case of organisations embarking on a

Something else to bear in mind is that

regardless of industry sector, certain types

satisfaction improvement programme for

your survey will generate recommendations

of people are more difficult to satisfy than

the first time, allows for the fact that some

for action we call Priorities for Improvement

others. For example, a 40 year old, well

measures will take time to implement and

(PFIs).

educated male living in London would

that customers’ and employees’ attitudes will

typically be less satisfied than a 60 year old

be slow to move.

PFIs tend to be based on the ‘requirements’ that appear in the

social class DE female living in the provinces,

questionnaire but may also include specific

and that trend applies across industry sectors.

behaviours which generate yes/no responses.

Similarly, internal customers and employees

For instance, ‘Did the technician show his ID

are more difficult to satisfy than external

card?’ will generate a percentage of yes/no

customers.

responses.

3. Improving satisfaction

Generally, TLF recommends 3 PFIs. It may

Improving satisfaction is a long haul.

also be worth considering setting targets for

People are quick to notice problems, slow

PFIs. Targets could be:

to notice improvements and very slow to

• An average satisfaction score

change their attitudes, especially in situations

• Proportion of top box scores (i.e. score of 9

where they have experienced problems in the

and 10) given for a recommended PFI

past. Year on year increases in the Customer

• Percentage of ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers to a

Satisfaction Index therefore tend to be small

specific question

(around 1% on average) Some organisations experience a fall in their index.

Target setting for customer satisfaction

Moreover, due to the relative nature of satisfaction, it is possible for customer satisfaction to fall due to rising expectations

1. The Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI)

rather than deteriorating performance.

Customers base their satisfaction

Consequently, when setting targets for

judgement on the extent to which their

satisfaction improvement based on gut

requirements have been met. The CSI

feel, organisations almost invariably set

therefore measures a supplier’s success in

targets that are unrealistically high. TLF

meeting these requirements.

has therefore developed a formula that sets

The CSI uses the relative importance of each requirement to weight the satisfaction scores and expresses customer satisfaction

realistic satisfaction improvement targets.

4. Target setting principles Based on our database of satisfaction

as a percentage, an index of 100% signifying

measurement results, we use the following

total satisfaction.

target setting principles:

Since the CSI measures an organisation’s success in meeting its customers’

(a) The starting point.

The higher satisfaction becomes the

requirements, it provides a comparable

more difficult it is to improve it further. By

measure across different services, industries,

contrast, larger satisfaction gains can be

markets etc.

expected from a low satisfaction base.

2. Satisfaction benchmarking

(b) The maximum achievable

Based on approximately 400 plus

Based on the comments made in point 2, a

satisfaction measurement results per annum,

realistic ceiling for customer satisfaction may

TLF has developed a database that enables

be set at a level lower than the maximum

comparisons to be made across surveys.

ever achieved on the wider database. (This

The range of satisfaction indices on the

applies particularly to internal customers and

database is approximately 48% to 93% for

employee surveys.)

customers. This 45% range of scores mainly

5. Time period

reflects the fact that some organisations

It is normal practice to set targets for

perform better than others in meeting

improving satisfaction over a five year period

requirements.

and it is sensible to judge success over a

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 13

RESEARCH

As housing associations continue to refine services to improve the customer experience, customer journey mapping is increasingly used as a valuable insight tool which can aid the redesign of such services.

Here we explore journey mapping and the value it can provide housing associations.

What is a Customer Journey Map? Put simply, it is a diagram, in order, of the

So which journeys to map?

In social housing there are specific events

important touchpoints for a customer during

or experiences which have a large impact

a particular experience. It is not a process

on overall customer satisfaction, and indeed

map, nor an internally created blueprint

internal cost. Examples of such experiences

for how a customer should interact with an

include repairs, complaints, planned

organisation to reach their objective. The

improvements and moving into a new home.

key bit of the above definition is ‘important

All of these would be valid journeys to map

touchpoints for a customer’. Not the

and have been carried out by our social

important touchpoints for the organisation.

housing clients.

To do journey mapping effectively you need to speak to customers, understand where

How to map a customer journey?

they see the touchpoints (which can be more than just speaking to your people, they also

Speaking to customers! It is imperative

include websites, posters, letters, social

a journey map starts with speaking to

media, news material etc.), and understand

customers who have just been through this

what works well and what doesn’t from their

experience. We would recommend starting

perspective.

with some qualitative research to understand

Journey Mapping done well provides

the journey from the customers’ perspective.

an ideal framework for insight, feedback

In social housing this is typically focus

and control and aids service design and

groups or depth face to face interviews. This

innovation. They are also ideal for internal

stage is all about understanding the stages of

and external communications programmes.

the journey, what the different touchpoints

This is why housing associations are

are, what happened to the customer, what

increasingly turning to journey mapping and

was good and what was bad. This qualitative

considering them as part of their insight

stage can provide individual stories to bring

strategy.

the journey map to life which is useful when

14 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

RESEARCH

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING IN SOCIAL HOUSING sharing the outputs with colleagues to win hearts and minds and drive change.

An effective journey map can tell you:

comments and stories with positive ones, and also be clear what the learnings are and what

After the qualitative stage and identifying

changes need to occur whether to systems,

the different stages and touchpoints of the

1) Where the problem is (touchpoint)

journey, it is important to quantify the map

2) What to fix (satisfaction scores)

to enable prioritisation and performance

3) How (comments, experiences, internal

tracking over time. This would typically

data)

involve some satisfaction surveys from which

4) How much difference will it make

Mapping in social housing, attend one of

you can add some scores and comments to

(internal data)

our briefings. For full details and dates visit

processes or behaviours.

To learn more about Customer Journey

tlfresearch.com/briefings-events/

the map.

It is also useful to add some internal metrics or operational figures to the map to

Communicating the map with colleagues

provide some context. For example, number of repairs relating to heating, volume of calls

It is important to share the map with

chasing up a repair visit or average time to

colleagues so they understand the principles,

fix a repair. These internal metrics or RAG

what it shows them and more importantly

ratings will provide performance insight, in

what they need to do differently tomorrow.

addition to customer satisfaction scores. This

We recommend Customer Immersion

intelligence can aid decision making when it

Workshops to share the insights and journey

comes to prioritising action.

maps. Ideally conduct different workshops with different employee groups, typically executive, influencer and front line.

Andy Butler Client Manager TLF Research andybutler@leadershipfactor.com

Walking through the map is important as is illustrating the points with customer case studies and experiences. Playing comments audio or visually can add to the theatre and create more impact and be more memorable.

It is important to balance out negative

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 15

CASE STUDY

LOYALTY

BLUEPRINT TO SUCCESS

Customers across many companies feel aggrieved that their loyalty is not rewarded – hardly surprising when they see new customers getting all the best offers. This is not the scenario at Huddersfield Town Association Football Club (HTAFC) where the entire commercial strategy is based on rewarding loyalty. Here are some of the most eye catching examples.

16 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

CASE STUDY

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 17

CASE STUDY

Listening to fans Apart from the fact that the owner is a fan who has spent many hours on the terraces over the years, there are some more formal mechanisms for listening to fans’ views. Altogether Town is a panel of HTAFC fans drawn from all demographics that meets quarterly to provide feedback on current issues with a further 400 members available for email consultation when necessary.

Club Charter Of course, being genuinely customerfocused goes beyond listening. HTAFC’s Club Charter details a 10 point pledge to its supporters, people and community:

The Premiership Pledge Back in 2010 HTAFC owner, Dean Hoyle,

Low cost season cards The average price of season tickets across

promised that for however long he owned

the Premier League for the 2017-18 season

the Club, if it ever reached the Premier

is £683. At HTAFC fans who renewed their

League all fans who had owned a season

season cards at the end of last season paid

ticket (called a season card at HTAFC) since

£199. By comparison, Arsenal fans have

he became owner in 2008 would be offered a

paid £897 for the cheapest season ticket

season card for the first season in the Premier

and an average of over £1,500. In June, after

League for £100. That equates to £5.55 per

promotion to the Premier League a second

match, not bad compared with £30 for the

tranche of season cards was released at

cheapest tickets in the League last season

£299. HTAFC sold 20,192 season tickets and

with the average ticket price way higher. With

could have sold many more but with one of

over 4,400 fans qualifying for the offer it

the smallest grounds in the Premier League

cost the Club almost half a million pounds to

(24,500 capacity), and 2,000 having to be

honour the pledge.

reserved for away fans plus 5% for matchday tickets, this was the absolute limit. So how

The Club’s objectives include:

were they allocated? On loyalty of course.

The most loyal fans bought for £199 before

Improve the match day experience,

HTAFC became a Premier League club. For

on and off the pitch

the second release of season cards applicants had to have been ticket holders previously (verifiable on the database) as will applicants for matchday tickets. Allocation of scarce away tickets will also be based around a loyalty programme.

18 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

Improve quality and breadth of communication with supporters groups

CASE STUDY

Communications and feedback

will be focusing strongly on local provenance.

For example, the pies will be sourced from

HTAFC is very committed to two-way

a local manufacturer and there will be a

communications as part of its objective

‘Huddersfield Hot Pot’. Fresh ingredients will

to make all customers from season card

be sourced from local farms.

Nigel Hill

Matchday experience

TLF Research

Chairman

holders to casual visitors to the stadium feel as though they are important to the Club.

nigelhill@leadershipfactor.com

The Marketing communications team focus on every contact point, monitoring and

Making football matches more of an

responding to social media posts and actively

entertainment package similar to American

engaging with the wider fan base through the

Football or Baseball has been a long running

Club’s database of 200,000 email addresses.

debate in the UK game, where arriving at

Until now, the matchday experience has

the stadium ten minutes before kick-off is

been monitored via the Football League’s

the norm rather than the exception. Do fans

mystery shopping programme which provides

arrive at the last minute because nothing is

feedback on every touchpoint.

happening before the kick-off or is no prematch entertainment provided because fans

Commercial development

always arrive late? HTAFC has gone some way to resolving this quandary by setting up the

The commitment to rewarding loyal

Fanzone at the Club’s training ground, which

fans has also been extended to commercial

is a short walk from the stadium. Getting

partners. Recent years have seen a vast

underway two hours before kick-off there

growth in sponsors at Premier League clubs

is a bar (with beer brewed by Huddersfield

as this revenue stream has been aggressively

craft brewery Magic Rock), entertainment

developed. Known as the Huddersfield

and competitions for children and there may

Hundred, the Club’s roster of official partners

be an Under 18s match to watch. In addition

is being capped at 100. There are additional

Club ambassador Andy Booth hosts Boothy’s

matchday hospitality opportunities for local

Beer and Banter with guests who have

companies and individuals but packages are

included Dermot Gallagher as well as former

already selling out due to high demand.

players and managers.

The local economy Commitment to local business is also provided through the Club’s purchasing policies. There is a view at the Club that HTAFC getting promoted to the Premier League provides “an opportunity as a town to showcase who we are”. Wherever possible purchasing will be from local businesses and local products will be featured on matchdays.

Stadium catering A good example is matchday catering. The John Smiths Stadium is technically a separate company owned 40% by the local authority, 40% by HTAFC and 20% by Huddersfield Giants Rugby League Club. The ownership model and the new stadium itself were both highly innovative when the Alfred McAlpine Stadium opened in 1994. Kudos, one of whose Directors is renowned chef Daniel Clifford, have recently been appointed to provide matchday catering at the stadium and they

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 19

CONFERENCE

In March we hosted our Annual Client Conference in London, returning to One Great George Street’s impressive Brunel lecture theatre and Great Hall.

Whether they’ll let us back after Rob built a campfire on stage is another question…but more on that later.

The conference is our chance to get clients together to share ideas, to learn from each other, and to be inspired. This year was a sell out, with 240 clients and friends coming to London to hear three clients share their stories alongside Sir Ranulph Fiennes and some TLF speakers. There was lots of opportunity for networking (and drinking wine) to round the day off.

Greg Roche, TLF Research – “What is World Class?”

Greg opened the day by breaking down

entry—you need to be in it for the long haul,

10 simple (though not easy) things which

which he illustrated with a metaphor. If you

the best organisations do to create world

water giant timber bamboo every day for 3

class customer experiences. First, though, he

years it will grow wildly (90 feet in 60 days),

reminded us why customer satisfaction is so

but only after 3 years of patient perseverance

important: it’s only when satisfaction is very

with little visible result.

high that customers behave in ways which are

Changing an organisation’s culture is

good for the business. He completed a quick

much the same, it often takes persistent

run-through of the Service Profit Chain by

effort over years for the rewards to become

pointing out that it’s your people who create

apparent. This is an effect we can observe

good (or bad) customer experiences.

with our own clients, whose customer

“For your customers to be more satisfied

satisfaction scores often accelerate after the

tomorrow than they are today, someone

third or fourth year of

has to do something different in your

working with us.

organisation.”

When they do,

The 10 principles can be used as a checklist

the financial

for you to examine (and improve) your own

benefits are

customer experience programme. Have a look

well worth it,

through the list and think about how you

but it all starts

would score.

with sustained

Greg revealed that there’s a secret eleventh

effort by employees.

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

Senior management commitment Understanding ‘perception is reality’ (& sometimes it is perception that needs to change, not reality)

Don’t let ‘paralysis by analysis’ cause inaction

Focus on the priorities for improvement Implement actions...& do it quickly (the smallest action achieves more than the greatest of intentions)

20 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

Strong communication to all levels of staff of customer needs Align targets and bonuses to customer satisfaction to keep employees motivated & focused Make external & internal suppliers responsible for delivering customer satisfaction

Have a robust process for handling problems Impactful communication to customers using the ‘you said, we did’ mantra at all levels

CONFERENCE

Stephen Hampshire, TLF Research - The Top of the Pyramid

customer experience requires a combination

P

us that their 75,000 customers contact Biffa a total of 1.4 million times a year. Managing

RE

argued that a design thinking approach to the

STE

customer insight and service design, and

N HAMPS E H

HI

Stephen spoke about the links between

amount of queries from customers. Ian told

of insight (from talking to customers) and

that effectively, and eliminating a lot of unnecessary contact or replacing it with online self-service, is a clear win-win for Biffa and its customers.

When they looked at their call centre stats,

intuition. Somehow this involved the Great

they knew that more important than speed to

Pyramid of Khufu, artisan furniture makers,

answer or abandonment rate was the reason

Philippe Starck, M&S queues, and Mailchimp.

“Design is not about making things look good, it’s about helping people to get things done.”

TL

for the call. Digging into that would enable

F RE ARCH SE

He argued that talking to customers

then. collection, for many customers the only

Ian Wakelin, Chief Executive, Biffa

how they feel and why. Effective experience design means being clear about how you

resolve the customer’s question there and In terms of the core business of waste

(qualitative research) is the best way to understand them, to build up empathy for

them to understand how to be better able to

priority is reliability. Biffa logged every instance of a failure to pick up a bin

Ian, who you may recognise from his

(a “103”), and these were published to

want customers to feel, and then fusing your

appearance on Undercover Boss, spoke about

encourage competition and peer pressure.

understanding of customers with insights

the importance of the customer for Biffa.

Two missed collections in a row led to a

from facts and figures, your own experience,

He started by explaining the surprisingly

“105”, and a trip to the Chief Exec’s office to

and psychology to create those feelings.

complex detail underlying waste recycling

explain.

Customer surveys are an effective

and processing, little of which is seen by

Ian is a big fan of going back to the floor

jumping-off point for experience design.

customers, and why customer experience is

(though not necessarily of using Channel 4

A design thinking mindset in customer

so important for Biffa.

to do it).

experience can use research to take a more

Waste is a highly regulated sector, so

“You learn so much, as senior managers,

deliberate, systematic, and holistic approach

some of it is down to a vigilant regulator

from sitting next to the people who actually

to improvement.

making sure that they are doing what they

do the work. I’d encourage everyone to do it.”

“…it’s the meaning we create for

say they do, but more importantly it’s a

He also stresses the importance of using

customers that determines if our products

very competitive sector. Particularly with

a customer survey to understand what really

and services are effective. The emotional

commercial customers, rolling easily-

matters to customers. Your sales people may

dimension of an experience is not an add-on,

terminated contracts, and a queue of people

be telling you that it’s all about price, but in

it’s the core of the experience from the

assuring customers that they could do a

Biffa’s case the most important factors were

customer’s point of view.”

better job for less money, mean that meeting

keeping promises, solving problems, and

customer needs is paramount. With 3 million collections a week, as Ian said, “There are 3 million opportunities for us to get it wrong every week.”

As well as the core bin collections, 8 years ago Biffa was dealing with an enormous

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 21

CONFERENCE

understanding customers’ needs. It might

bookings and self service. Unsurprisingly, the

some myths to bed (for example data from

seem like a commodity market, but in fact

financial performance of the company has

their survey showed that updating customers

service and reliability are more important

also been strong.

is more important for customer satisfaction

than price.

than the speed of handling queries).

To be effective, your business strategy

Hazel Fagon, Director, Visa

must be simple (which doesn’t mean that the systems and processes which enact it

“There’s nothing stronger than a comment, good or bad, being shared with an

Hazel told us about Visa’s amazing

employee that has come from a customer.”

are simple). In Biffa’s case that meant being

transformation of the customer experience

easy to do business with and solving the

within their customer support service. Visa’s

maintain satisfaction at a very high level -

Now the key challenge for Visa is to

customer’s problem first time. It has paid

first line and second line support are a

the journey goes on.

off. Over 8 years Biffa has seen an enormous

business to business function dealing with

drop in avoidable contact, improved customer

enquiries from their customers, the banks

satisfaction, and a huge increase in online

who issue the credit card you have in your

Sir Ranulph Fiennes A Life at the Limits

wallet, or deal with the merchant you want to buy something from.

They started their journey back in 2004 with a score which, while not bad, was not

be gobsmacked. We were expecting tales

something the business was happy with.

of suffering and endurance in the harshest

As Hazel said, “When we did our first

conditions on Earth. We were expecting world

benchmark survey, we knew we had to do

records. We were not necessarily expecting

something.” That sense of dissatisfaction

him to be so funny…albeit not particularly

with the status quo is often important to

politically correct.

getting the ball rolling on behavioural and

“If you get to the goal, you stick your flag

culture change that can be very hard work.

there before anybody else sticks their flag in

Hazel talked about the importance of communication with customers, stakeholders, and staff; and, alongside that, listening to people and being seen to take action. She

Z E L FA G ON A H

showed us photographs of a huge vinyl wall covering which Visa used to share the journey they had been on, their three year plan, and how it related to their vision in the centre.

“I thought it was important for all of the team to see it very clearly, and know what we were looking to achieve over the next three years.”

Regular communication of customer feedback, a clear focus on the Priorities for Improvement, and appropriate goals

VISA

Sir Ranulph is the world’s greatest living explorer, so we were expecting to

and targets have enabled them to sustain improvement. It’s also allowed them to put

22 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

the same place…especially the French.”

CONFERENCE

WA ROB RD

ideas for bringing customer stories to life within your business, from videos and

Catrin Jones, Director of Customer Services, Clarion Housing Group

animation to infographics and Augmented Reality posters.

Clarion Housing Group, recently formed

“The more you tell a story, the more you

by the merger of Affinity Sutton and Circle

engage with your employees and customers,

Housing Group has 125,000 homes, making

the more they’ll hear and respond to your

it the biggest landlord in the UK. Catrin

messages.”

explained that it sees its purpose as being to build more affordable housing and that

TL

it believes its size gives it the strength and

F RE AR SE

CH

capacity needed to achieve the ambition of building 50,000 new homes over the next 10 years.

Clarion is a very modern housing association, but its heritage goes back to the

For over an hour Sir Ranulph kept the

1900s. Its values and social purpose, as well

room captivated with his straightforward

as entrepreneurial spirit and need to change

storytelling, dry wit, and photographs

and adapt, can be traced back to William

from his decades of world-record-setting

Sutton, who donated his fortune to build

adventures. What did we learn? The main

homes in London.

takeaways were the importance of grit and

Bringing two companies together is always

endurance and, above all, the fact that what

challenging, but Clarion has big ideas. Catrin

Sir Ranulph calls the “motivation factor” is

said “We want to be not only the biggest, we

his most important criterion when recruiting

want to be the best.”

people to join his expedition teams.

Improving customer satisfaction required

“How a person is motivated is how they behave for themselves, and therefore for their company or expedition.”

Rob Ward, TLF Design - Bringing the Voice of the Customer to Life Rob began his talk, in the style of an underwhelmed A-lister winning a BAFTA, by video link. Fortunately he had, just about, managed to get himself to London (with a van load of props); and he soon emerged from a tent on stage to tell us about the story of storytelling. Stories have been with us since the dawn of time and, as Rob said, “As humans we crave stories.”

He went on to share an array of different

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 23

CONFERENCE

a focus on the transactional parts of the

For other staff, the customer could feel

customer experience such as repairs,

quite distant. It was essential to make all

reporting antisocial behaviour and so on.

staff understand that, even if they never talk

They knew that empathy within the contact

to a customer, they still made a difference.

centre was very high, but that calls could be

Bonuses played a part, but more importantly

long and a bit uncontrolled. A programme of

the ability to show that the changes being

“Brilliant Basics” training was a great way to

made were making a difference for customers

focus staff on looking for a solution, taking

was key.

ownership, and getting the simple things right.

Repairs can be a challenging service for many housing associations. Many years of

Surveys conducted by TLF revealed clear

repairs tracker surveys with highly specific

Priorities for Improvement from customers.

questioning focused on the critical moments

In particular, customers understanding

of truth in the customer journey have enabled

what was going to happen next and keeping

Clarion to significantly improve resident

customers informed were crucial. It also

satisfaction. Often very specific actions that

became clear that it was frustrating for

are easy to implement will improve financial

staff if they felt like they were simply call

performance as well as satisfaction. For

handlers. By focusing on the most common

example, setting realistic expectations (e.g. if

queries being passed on, they were able

the repair may not be completed on the first

to build knowledge at the front line, and

visit) and keeping tenants informed about

increase the number of queries that could

what’s happening if there are delays reduces

be dealt with at the first point of contact.

incoming calls, saving money and creating

This is better for customers and much more

time for call handlers to improve service by

rewarding for staff.

making more outbound calls to keep people

R IN JONE T A

In the repairs side of the business, there was work to do to restore the sense of

S

C

informed.

empowerment that a move to digital control had taken away. For some tenants these are the staff that customers deal with most often, so their role in representing the organisation

RI

ON

RO

CLA

UP

is crucial.

HOUSING

G

“Repairs operatives are the face of the company, they’re the people our customers see every day. There are lots of opportunities to get things wrong, but also lots of opportunities to impress.”

24 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

We had a great time - thank you all for coming, and making it our most successful conference ever. As Greg said in his close, the most important thing is that everyone found it actionable, practical, and useful.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again next March (not too many details yet, but save 21st March in your diary!).

CUSTOMER

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment www.tlfresearch.com 01484 467000 uk@leadershipfactor.com

INSIGHT CONFERENCE 1ST NOVEMBER IN LONDON ONLY £195 (ex VAT) KEYNOTE SPEAKER

etc. venues - Prospero House 241 Borough High Street London SE1 1GA

LINDA

MOIR

Agenda 9:30-10:00

Registration

10:00-10:45

Welcome with Greg What is world class customer experience, and how is it achieved?

The 10 things WORLD CLASS organisations do to deliver great customer service.

10:45-11:45

Best Practice Customer Experience Measurement with Chris Chris Elliott will take delegates through a very practical one hour session on how to (and how not to) measure customer experience. Chris will share tips on how to get insight from survey results that makes taking action easier.

11:45-12:00

Coffee Break

12:00-12:45

TLF Latest Thinking – Customer Emotions with Stephen Everyone knows that emotions are an important part of the customer experience, right? Wrong. Emotions are the customer experience. You need to stop thinking in terms of products, processes, or touchpoints; and start thinking in terms of joy, reassurance, and memories. Stephen will talk about designing experiences that respond to customer emotions to create lasting memories.

12:45-13:30

Lunch

13:30-14:30

KEYNOTE SPEAKER - An expert in Customer Service and HR, Linda Moir headed the London 2012 dream team that delivered outstanding front of house service by 15,000 volunteer Games Makers to 9 million spectators, resulting in one of the most successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in history. Previously, she was Virgin Atlantic’s Director of In Flight Services, responsible for the airline’s award winning service and ‘making flying fun’.

14:30-14:45

Coffee Break

14:45-15:30

B2B & B2C Case Studies with Mark A walk through best practice case studies where customer feedback has driven a service culture with real business benefits.

Outcome:

Example case studies, reporting and storytelling ideas to take away and plenty of practical ideas.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

GREG ROCHE DIRECTOR

CHRIS ELLIOTT

CLIENT MANAGER

STEPHEN HAMPSHIRE CLIENT MANAGER

LINDA MOIR

AN EXPERT IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

MARK MCCALL

CLIENT MANAGER

ROB WARD

HEAD OF CREATIVE

“BRILLIANT AND VERY INSIGHTFUL” “GREAT SPEAKERS, CLEARLY EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER”

Book online at www.tlfresearch.com | 01484 467000

RESEARCH

What is NPS?

A bigger Net Promoter Score means there are more promoters compared to detractors. The aim is to get as high a score as possible

26 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

RESEARCH

What is NPS?

See how scores can vary, even when top box remains at 50% (Rows 1-4) and how NPS stays the same when bottom box varies (Rows 6-7)

Ideally every business wants more customers saying good things about them

Top Box (9&10)

7&8

Bottom Box (1-6)

PROMOTERS

PASSIVELY SATISFIED

DETRACTORS

1

50%

10%

40%

10%

2

50%

40%

10%

40%

3

50%

50%

0%

50%

4

50%

0%

50%

0%

5

40%

10%

50%

-10%

6

60%

20%

20%

40%

7

40%

60%

0%

40%

(recommending them) than saying bad things

NPS

about them and actively putting potential customers off.

Any positive Net Promoter Score (NPS) means there are more customers acting positively (promoters) than negatively (detractors). NPS tells you about the balance between these types of behaviour.

NPS is simply calculated by taking the percentage of top box scorers (those scoring 9 & 10) and subtracting the percentage of bottom box scorers (those who scored below 7) for the question ‘how likely or unlikely are you to recommend X?’.

It might help to think of top box scores as being the gross promoter score. Your ‘missing’ percentage is due to customers

a pre-determined score, or you may simply

find that in some cases the NPS will go in one

being either passively satisfied (see line 3

aim to continually improve your NPS. If you

direction and the CSI in another. You may

opposite) or being a detractor (see line 4).

are able to determine a top box score that you

need to be able to explain this at some stage,

However, NPS can be made up in a number

are aiming for, this may help you set an NPS

so keep it in mind.

of ways, a handful of which are shown in the

target. However, even if you were looking

• To achieve the same degree of reliability

table opposite.

for 75% top box, your NPS score could vary

as CSI, NPS needs a sample size up to 28

considerably depending on whether you have

times bigger. This is worth remembering

detractors and what their scores are.

if your sample size is fairly small, or if you

Approaching NPS scores for segments within a business Firstly, I look at the relative score between surveys and any big changes over time.

I don’t concentrate on small variations;

We say an NPS score of 30% is fairly good,

are comparing parts of the business with

but this depends on what makes up the score.

differing sample sizes.

It is always useful to look at your top and

• The nature of the question used to calculate

bottom box scores, and not solely the NPS.

NPS means that the approach is more

You may decide that because of the

successful when used for consumer surveys

I am looking on a general level to see if

make-up of your customer base, there are

rather than business customer surveys.

there is anything I need to investigate more

some customers who are worth more to you

• NPS does not tell you how to increase

thoroughly. I follow this up by looking at top

who you want to score nine and ten. You may

customer satisfaction. It will alert to you to

box/bottom box differences and customers’

also feel that some customers aren’t worth

changes in satisfaction, but will not help you

comments. I also look at negative scores as

the effort - customers that are hard work and

understand what is causing them.

they may pinpoint real areas of concern.

don’t bring in much revenue, for example. If

• There is no denying the NPS is simple to

you employ strategies like this, it will affect

use, and in conjunction with CSI, it may be

your NPS.

useful. However, as a tool for improving

I consider the type of customers who are taking part in the survey. In B2B surveys,

satisfaction, a pre-cursor to loyalty, it falls

the recommend question is often not the most effective one. Where it is used, it can

Some things to bear in mind

short.

lead to the appearance of a lot of “satisfied detractors”, customers who are very happy

• NPS is based on the response to one

but would not recommend for other reasons

question, whereas CSI is compiled from the

(e.g. “I don’t know anyone suitable to

response to a range of requirements. This

recommend to”).

means that NPS is much more likely to

Your aim is to increase NPS scores. You may wish to aim for all departments hitting

fluctuate whilst CSI will remain more stable,

Rachel Allen Client Manager TLF Research rachelallen@leadershipfactor.com

making it easier to track changes. You may

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 27

BOOK REVIEW

TLF kicked off its new book club with “Predatory Thinking”, at my suggestion.

Distilled from Dave Trott’s distinctively punchy blog posts, this is a book about getting the edge on the competition whatever your walk of life.

28 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

BOOK REVIEW

Predatory Thinking by Dave Trott I’ve long been a fan of Trott’s ability to use stories

There is much that customer experience professionals

to illustrate points he wants to make, as well as his

could learn from Trott on the importance of being

style of writing. The rest of book club mostly agreed

distinctive. In a world of people trying to differentiate

that it was an easy, enjoyable, read. Trott’s distinctive

their service by benchmarking best practice, all

one-sentence paragraphs (a writing style that’s easy

going to the same conferences to listen to the same

to parody but difficult to emulate) lead you quickly

speakers from the same companies, there is little that

through each short entry, and there’s an addictively

is authentically unique. Amazon, Apple, John Lewis,

moreish quality to the collection. We all chose a couple

First Direct and the rest didn’t build their reputations

of favourite stories, and interestingly there was very

by copying others; they did it by being clear on what

little overlap in which ones struck a chord.

they stand for and what feelings they want to create for

Some felt that “Predatory Thinking” doesn’t really hang together as a book, that it remains a collection

customers.

Another important principle from Trott is the idea of

of interesting anecdotes without a clear overarching

“getting upstream of the problem”, turning something

theme. I got quite cross at this point, arguing that the

you can’t solve into something you can. Again and

overarching theme is blindingly obvious given it’s the

again we’re faced with examples of organisations who

title of the book. Nonetheless, it’s certainly true that

simply can’t address a source of customer exasperation

it does read more like a collection of blog posts than

(late deliveries because of traffic, lack of availability at

a conventional book. You have to do the work to piece

busy times, etc.). Upstream thinking gives you a way to

the overall point together, which means this is not the

address some of these issues, and dovetails very nicely

book for you if you want a “how to” guide to marketing.

with service design thinking. We know, for instance,

Then again, it’s hard to see how anyone could write a

that customers will often complain about waiting times,

how to guide to being distinctively different!

something which can be difficult to address. Upstream

We were also divided on the content, and particularly

thinking lets us see that it is the customer’s experience

on how applicable its lessons are for ourselves as

of the wait that matters, not its objective length…

a business. There was a consensus that many of

and that unlocks a whole host of ways to improve

the stories made us think about our own traits and

satisfaction. It turns out that the quality of the wait

behaviour, particularly when it comes to risk-taking,

is far more important for customers’ memory of the

creativity, and the importance of giving and taking

experience than time, so if we take steps to fill the

criticism. Some offer useful perspectives on how people

time, make it more pleasant, or simply make sure the

tick (e.g. too much choice is bad, “what’s in it for

customer knows that they’ve not been forgotten, the

me?”). Not surprising for a room 60% comprised of

experience will be much happier and less stressful.

people with psychology degrees, but a good reminder and some useful examples.

The main point, though, is about competition. Trott’s key contention is that nothing is either good or bad but

Don’t buy Predatory Thinking if you’re hoping for answers to your questions, or a simple guide to marketing. Do buy it if you want stories which are entertaining, challenging, and occasionally inspiring.

comparison makes it so. It is, or ought to be, obvious that advertising is mostly a zero-sum game - Trott quotes a colleague who described marketing as “a knife-fight in a phone box”. But does that principle

Stephen Hampshire

apply to everything? It certainly has relevance to our

Client Manager

world of customer experience - being better than the competition is what translates customer satisfaction

TLF Research stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com

into competitive advantage.

www.tlfresearch.com | Autumn 2017 Customer Insight 29

CASE STUDY

In November 2016, Neuromarketing specialists Mindlab International commissioned TLF to understand what makes experiences special for their client Thomson Holidays. Using the TLF Panel, we surveyed 2000 individuals to try to understand exactly what creates a positive experience and how much each factor influences how memorable the experience is.

Christmas

study that people value time spent with their

of year (45%) for the under 35s compared

family and remember these moments over

with autumn for the older generations.

others. The difference between memories

Holidays were chosen the most as the

with and without people is striking. Specific

significant occasion that was memorable.

occasions, holidays in particular, also play

Family proved important for men and

a strong role in creating memories. This

women, with women valuing family as an

was the second most defining factor after

important part of their memories at 75%

the people we spend moments with. Vivid

– 11% more than men. The significance of

memories are also strongly linked with the

family in our memories steadily increases

act of doing something for the first time;

as we get older, the study showed 72%

events such as passing a driving test and

of memories for the over 55s were with

marriage are strongly linked to powerful

family, while younger generations have

memories.”

fonder memories of time spent with friends.

Jeremy Ellis, Marketing and Customer

Millennials have the most memories abroad

Experience Director for Thomson, said: “We

compared to the older generations who tend

believe spending time with loved ones is

to have more memories at home.

incredibly important and as the leading UK

Brummies prove the most family

holiday company we want to give people

orientated as they have 13% more memories

amazing experiences when they’re on holiday,

with family than the UK average with 11%

as it’s the moment when time stands still and

having fond memories in their own homes.

memories that last a lifetime are made.”

Whilst people from London and Manchester

Thomson’s ultimate advertising campaign,

have identified more memories away from

ahead of rebranding later next year to TUI,

home, people from Sheffield and Cardiff were

signifies the importance of enjoying those

memories are made, but a recent experiment

more likely to recall memories relating to

important holiday moments with your loved

by Mindlab International and Thomson has

senses and nature.

ones. The new ad aired on 16th December and

is a time when

childhood and family

overwhelmingly as the most significant time

discovered that there are other key elements

Surprisingly senses such as sight, sound

shows a little girl’s heartfelt journey from

that turn a moment into a memory. The

and smell are seen as having less of an

beach to pool with classic holiday ‘moments’

results formed the basis of a mathematical

impact on the memorability of a moment,

frozen around her, before finally jumping into

formula describing the perfect circumstances

instead focus is on more sentimental factors

her father’s arms at the end.

to create a memory as Thomson launches

like the occasion and the company. The most

their ultimate ‘moments’ campaign.

common words used by people in the study

The study shows that Brits are a

were often associated with ‘doing something’

sentimental bunch, identifying family (70%)

for the first time but there was common

Andy Butler

as the predominant influence for their

reference to holidays and family over other

Client Manager

memories, proving that good company is the

topics.

difference between a memorable moment and

Psychologist and founder of Mindlab, Dr

a forgettable one. Summer time also came out

David Lewis commented: “It is clear from our

30 Customer Insight Autumn 2017 | www.tlfresearch.com

TLF Research andybutler@leadershipfactor.com

FREE QUESTION

IN OUR MONTHLY CONSUMER SURVEY TLF Panel are offering you a FREE no strings attached question in our monthly consumer survey (worth £245) - giving you access to the views and opinions of our panel of over 55,000 UK individuals.

SOUNDS GREAT - HOW DO I GET MY QUESTION? Just email UK@leadershipfactor.com to reserve your question WHAT QUESTION SHOULD I ASK? You don’t need to know the question you want to ask - we can offer some suggestions if you’re unsure.

THE OMNIBUS SURVEY IS USED FOR PR - HEADLINE AND ‘NEWS’ CREATION

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When we close the survey we will email you the results and they’re yours to keep.

Email UK@leadershipfactor.com to reserve your question.

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MONTHLY OMNIBUS SURVEY NUMBER OF QUESTIONS 1 3

Questionnaire scripting & design advice Results analysis Data tabs for 5 splits: Overall, gender, age, city & region Any necessary screening All incentives

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£245 £445

WEBINARS All webinars are free Please book online at least 4 hours before the webinar is due to start

TOP TEN THINGS THAT WORLD CLASS ORGANISATIONS DO

MEASURING TRUST

Tuesday 5th December 2017 11am

Friday 8th December 2017 12 noon

All webinars are 30 minutes including questions and answers

Our Top Ten list is a must have checklist for any company.

Can you say hand on heart that you do all ten things.... probably not, but it’s a good goal to chase. Greg Roche talks you through each point in a bit more detail.

Trust is a driver of loyalty but do we always know the best way of quantifying how much customers trust us? Stephen Hampshire provides some ideas for what to ask on your questionnaire to capture a trust score.

HOW TO RUN A CUSTOMER EMPATHY SURVEY

HOUSING RESEARCH EXPERT: VOC ENGAGEMENT WITH COLLEAGUES

CALCULATING CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE

TBC

TBC

TBC

Do your colleagues see things the same way as customers?

A customer empathy survey highlights the gaps in perception between colleagues and customers. This is an easy tool to carry out in house with simple analysis that can have a big impact.

Using insights to drive action and change is more effective when colleagues are engaged, understand customers’ opinions and know what they need to do differently. This webinar describes best practice and how to maximise colleague engagement by using customer comments.

How much is a customer worth? Customer Lifetime Value is a useful figure to share with senior management. Stephen Hampshire will talk you through how to make the calculation and answer the questions that will follow.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT CSAT RELATED PAY

YOUR SURVEY MIX: RELATIONSHIP VERSUS TRANSACTIONAL

B2B CH RESEAR T: EXPER

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE, DECISION MAKERS, INFLUENCERS AND DAY TO DAY CONTACTS Friday 3rd November 2017 2pm

Tuesday 7th November 2017 1.30pm

Tuesday 21st November 2017 10am

To understand the B2B customer experience you need to speak to everyone involved in the relationship with you, and understand their different roles and needs. We’ll talk about some of the practical challenges and how to overcome them.

Having a simple reward scheme based on customers’ satisfaction is the right thing to do. We’ve worked with many clients over the years to help implement such schemes and here is our guide on what to expect and the pitfalls to avoid.

Are you committed to event driven surveys with no long term view of how the wider population of customers perceive you?

Maybe you’re tracking NPS or CSat with no clear actions on how to move the number up? Stephen Hampshire talks through the benefits of having a balanced research programme.

B2B CH RESEAR T: EXPER

B2B CH RESEAR T: EXPER

UNDERSTANDING CHURN, LAPSED AND COMPETITOR ADVANTAGE

HYBRID METHODOLOGY, GETTING THE BEST OF QUANT AND QUAL

Wednesday 29th November 2017 12:30pm

Thursday 30th November 2017 2pm

What makes customers lapse? How likely are they to return and what is the competition doing to tempt them away? Chris Elliott explains why you need to quantify these behaviours and learn how to minimise churn.

Often B2B has a much smaller number of key accounts to focus on. An opportunity to capture feedback needs to maximise the richness from comments with the score to track.

A hybrid methodology ensures you don’t lose the best of both.

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