www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20
INSIDE: Driver analysis best practice Visual thinking Swearing for robots Driving retail footfall Qualitative research
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EDITORIAL
Foresight Welcome to the Winter issue of Customer
thinking, and gives some useful tips for those (like
Insight. As we move into a new decade (no
me) who want to use visualisation but lack any
doubt the New Year already feels like a distant
discernible talent.
memory!), what are the key trends to watch out
It’s not new, but driver analysis is, it’s fair to
for? I’ve learned to be wary of making too many
say, a term used by an awful lot of people who
predictions, but I have a feeling that one of the
don’t really know what it is they’re asking for, and
trends that we’ll start to see over the next few
is often misapplied. On page 6 we introduce what
Stephen Hampshire
years is a sorting of the wheat from the chaff. The
it is, how it works, and talk through the pros and
Editor
2010s was a decade characterised by hype over
cons of several of the statistical techniques that all
delivery, by over-inflated IPOs and implausible
go by the name “driver analysis”.
technology claims.
Is this the decade when the high street starts to
When it comes to technology we may be
turn around? On page 23 Michael Rolph from Yoyo
entering, if not another “AI winter”, then a period
shares some ideas for driving footfall, despite the
of understanding exactly what the limitations of
impact of digital disruption.
machine learning are, and a period of figuring out
In a packed issue we also have articles on
where that will and won’t add value for businesses
how to use qualitative insight to get under the
and their customers. ContactEngine are one of
surface of what customers tell you (page 25), a
the most interesting companies working in the
review of The Customer Catalyst (page 32), TLF
field of applying artificial intelligence as a means
founder Nigel Hill on our enduring gullibility
to improve customer communication. Doing that
(page 34), and Rachel Allen continues her series
well means training robots to deal with language
on what organisations can do to get the most out
as it’s really used…and that includes a nuanced
of working with a research agency—in this issue
understanding of profanity (page 20). We’ve left it
(page 16) she talks through designing the perfect
unexpurgated, so please skip that one if you’re of a
brief.
sensitive disposition.
Enjoy the articles, and please drop us a line
This may be the decade when visual thinking breaks through. Our guest feature (page 11) from
if you’ve got an interesting story to share for a future issue.
Stuart Young explains the importance of visual
ADVERTISING Marketing Manager Richard Crowther
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.
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Creative Director Rob Ward
We aim to be thought leaders in the field of managing relationships with all stakeholder groups.
Designers Becka Crozier Jordan Gillespie Rob Egan
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CONTACTS
EDITORIAL Editor Stephen Hampshire
PRINTER AB Print Group Ltd
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 writers 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 2020
ISSN 1749-088X
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 3
C O N T E N T S
06
W I N T E R
Driver Analysis: Are You Answering the Right Question? To use driver analysis well you need to understand that the pros and cons of different techniques make them good at different things.
2 0 1 9 / 2 0
16
Give Yourself a Fighting Chance Rachel from TLF lays out some tips for writing a great research brie
Visual Thinking Stuart Young on the importance of visual thinking, and how to incorporate it into your day to day life at work.
TR
IC
ITY
12
-
CONTRIBUTORS
FO
R CUSTO MER
CE
N
Nigel Hill
Rachel Allen
Stephen Hampshire
Wine-lover, Munroist and customer satisfaction guru
Customer satisfaction evangelist, author and lover of the outdoors
Conference speaker, book-lover and occasional climber
4 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
RESEARCH Driver Analysis: Are You Answering the Right Question?
06
20
Training computers to understand the creative ways in which we use language is hard, and bad language is an interesting example.
23
Digital disruption may seem to be decimating the high street, but are there ways for retailers to fight back?
25
How can you use qualitative insight to understand customers, beyond simply quoting what they say?
32
Book Review The Customer Catalyst
34
How Hard Can It Be? Nigel Hill on our gullibility and Black Friday deals
GUEST FEATURE Visual Thinking 12
RESEARCH Give Yourself a Fighting Chance
16
DIGITAL Swearing for Robots 101
20
GUEST FEATURE 5 Ways for High Street Retailers to Drive Footfall
23
RESEARCH Lighting the Way With Qualitative Insight 25
BOOK REVIEW The Customer Catalyst
32
HOW HARD CAN IT BE? Are We as Gullible as Ever?
34
Published by
DESIGNERS
ef.
CONTENTS
Becka Crozier
Jordan Gillespie
Rob Egan
Right brain mastermind, music enthusiast and have I told you I’m vegan?
Creative magus, genuine tyke and 20ft wave rider
Beer drinker, pixel pusher and dour Yorkshireman
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 5
DRIVER ANALYSIS ARE YOU ANSWERING THE RIGHT QUESTION? “Driver analysis” is
to the very complex, but over time we’ve
But what exactly do we mean by impact?
a term which describes a
settled on a few favourite tools that work
If we break it down to the simplest possible
reliably well.
example, what we’re looking at is the
set of related techniques that
relationship between two variables, which we’ll
can be used to help organisations know which elements of the customer
What is it?
call “X” and “Y”. You can see in figure 1 that we have 8 pairs of scores for X and Y. Is there a
experience have most impact on crucial
link between them? Well they’re not identical,
outcomes such as overall satisfaction,
What exactly is driver analysis? People
recommendation or NPS, and loyalty
talk about it as a singular thing, but the truth
but you can probably see that people have
behaviours such as retention.
is that a whole range of different statistical
tended to give similar scores – either both low,
techniques are commonly used under the
both middling, or both high.
The different techniques available have
It’s a lot easier to see what’s going on if we
different strengths and weaknesses, and
umbrella term “driver analysis”. The idea is
unfortunately customer experience data
to understand how much impact different
plot those pairs of points on a scatter graph,
has some unique properties that make it
aspects of the customer experience have on
with the values of X on the X axis and the
difficult to analyse effectively. That means
some outcome variable. Often that outcome is
values of Y on the Y axis, so that we can see
that many organisations end up using
overall satisfaction or intention to recommend,
how the two variables work together. How
an approach that is not really best suited
but there’s no reason that it couldn’t be any
strong is the link? If we put a line of best fit
to the business question they want to
variable you’re interested in, such as retention
through the dots we can see that there’s a
address.
or share of spend.
strong relationship (the line is nearly at 45
In this article we’ll look at how driver analysis works, and how the different strengths and weaknesses of different approaches mean that choosing the right one depends on being clear on what question you’re asking. We’ll start by explaining what driver analysis is, and what some of the business questions it can help you address are. We’ll also take a quick not-too-technical look at
10 X
9 1
2
2
4
5
6
6
6
7
8
8
6
9
8
10
9
8 7 6 Y 5
how it works. Finally, we’ll finish with some recommendations as to what a gold standard approach would consist of. As specialists in customer experience research, we spend a lot of time analysing
r=0.93
Y
4 3 2 1
customer data in order to help our clients
1
understand what the key drivers are.
2
that analysis ranges from the very simple
3
4
5
6 X
Depending on the needs of each client Fig.1: Correlation between 2 variables
6 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
7
8
9
10
RESEARCH
degrees), and the points are clustered close to the line. We can summarise that relationship in a
help you pick apart that mess, so that you can
single number – the correlation coefficient, which is referred to as “r”, and varies from 0 to 1. In
understand the strength of the relationship
this case the correlation, albeit on a very small sample size, is extremely strong at over 0.9.
between your outcome variable and the set of
Correlation underpins all of the more complex techniques we’ll look at, so it’s important to wrap your head round the basics of how this works. A strong relationship doesn’t necessarily mean
predictors. It will give you a clear sense of which of the
people giving precisely the same score for both variables, it means there is a consistent pattern in
predictors is most important, and the ability
the way people score them…in statistical terms they tend to “covary”, or move together.
to predict what effect changes to any of those
That was a highly simplified example. What does it look like in practice? Something more like
predictors would have on the outcome.
figure 2, with a lot more data, and a lot more noise in the relationship. You can see a few people who have scored 1 for one of the variables and 10 for the other. Overall, though, there is again a tendency for people to score X and Y in a similar way. That tendency gives us a correlation
What questions can driver analysis address?
coefficient of 0.4, a low to moderate correlation in customer research. Those statistical questions translate to
10 r=0.4 9
important business questions. Unfortunately it’s not always easy for organisations to articulate which questions they are most interested in.
8
There are basically three questions that
7
driver analysis can help you with: • What’s important to customers?
6 Y
• What’s making a difference?
5
• What would happen if we changed the predictor (perhaps by improving satisfaction or
4
reducing hold times)? Those are all good questions, but
3
unfortunately they are not necessarily best
2
addressed by any one single technique. Let’s have a look at some concrete examples, and
1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
X
how they relate to the questions we might be interested in.
Fig.2: A real-world correlation
Importance We can interpret that in three ways: • First, we can say that X has a significant,
Simple correlations like this are extremely useful…but they do have a fatal flaw. What
If you want to know what matters most to
but not strong, impact on Y. Improving X
we’re doing with correlation is looking at the
customers, then the best way is to ask them
should lead to an increase in Y, but there’s a
information in our outcome variable, in this
– stated importance tells you what matters.
good chance another predictor would have a
case overall satisfaction, and the information in
So sometimes the best approach to driver
stronger impact.
our predictor variable, let’s say product quality.
analysis may be not to use driver analysis!
• We could use it to make predictions, so if I
You can think of the correlation
know that your score for X is 8, I know that
coefficient as the proportion of that
your score for overall satisfaction is likely to be
information that is shared between variables.
between 6 and 7.
If we repeat the exercise for another
• We could also use this chart to answer “what if?”
find that as well as correlating with overall
X by 1pt, how much would Y go up by?”
satisfaction, there is also a strong correlation between the two predictors, as shown in
Product reliability
figure 3. Which makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re unlikely to think my products are great quality if they keep breaking down. That means that some of the overlap with overall satisfaction ends up being double counted. This is a phenomenon known as “multicollinearity”, and it’s the curse of customer research. In practice, every single item on the questionnaire is correlated with every other item. The real art of driver analysis is to unpick all this overlapping information and give the
Overall satisfaction Fig.3: Correlation as shared information
9.5
Staff understanding your complaint 9.4
predictor, let’s say product reliability, we’ll
questions, specifically “If I increase the score for
Product quality
Being treated fairly
Helpfulness of staff 9.4
Staff listening to your complaint 9.3
Staff keeping you informed 9.2
Ease of registering a complaint 9.2
Time taken to resolve your complaint 9.1
Explanation of steps in the process 9.0
Time taken to respond 8.9
The level of empathy shown by staff 8.6
credit to the correct predictors. So, what is driver analysis? It’s a set of tools designed to
Fig.4: Stated importance
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 7
RESEARCH
Impact
GIVENS
DRIVERS Being treated fairly
If you want to understand the strength of the links between each variable and overall
Staff understanding Helpfulness
satisfaction, then a simple correlation (like we’ve already looked at) is a good bet. It’s
Staff listening
easy, doesn’t need huge sample sizes, and assumptions about the nature of the data (which becomes more of a concern with some more advanced techniques).
Keeping you informed
Ease of registering
Stated importance
requires you to make very few theoretical
Time to resolve Explanation of steps Time to respond
Being treated fairly 0.8
Staff understanding your complaint 0.7
Helpfulness of staff 0.8
Empathy
Staff listening to your complaint
Impact
0.7
Staff keeping you informed 0.8
Ease of registering a complaint
Fig.6: Importance & Impact combined This combines the predictors together to
competitors. This matrix view helps you to
0.4
Time taken to resolve your complaint 0.8
Explanation of steps in the process 0.8
HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES
understand how customers see all aspects of
give us an overall measure of impact for all
their experience right now.
predictors on the outcome variable, usually reported as R squared. In this instance the R
Breaking down the drivers
squared is a very respectable 0.85, which can be thought of as meaning we can explain 85%
Time taken to respond
The issue with correlation, as we’ve seen, is
0.7
The level of empathy shown by staff
multicollinearity. There is a danger of double-
of overall satisfaction. Unfortunately, our problems with
counting some of the impact on overall
multicollinearity are not over. That overall
satisfaction, particularly if the questionnaire
0.85 is useful, but multiple regression does
includes too many questions which are very
not do a good job of understanding the
similar. This often happens, for instance,
contribution of each predictor when they’re
when the questionnaire has a large number of
strongly correlated. As you can see in figure
strong the link between each predictor and
items about staff (friendliness, helpfulness,
7, instead of allocating the overlapping
the outcome is and, if you have a good
professionalism, etc.).
information fairly, it tends to award it all to
0.8 Fig.5: Impact/correlation Correlation puts an upper bound on how
questionnaire, in most cases the conclusions
one or two key drivers, which then seem to
There is a statistical tool which aims
you draw from it will not be radically
to tackle this, and give us a measure of
totally dominate, as “Being treated fairly”
different from more complex techniques.
impact when looking at all the predictor
does here. If the question you want the
variables together. This is known as multiple
answer to is “Which one thing should I invest
regression, and it’s what people usually
in?”, then this is a reasonable answer. But if
mean when they use the phrase “key driver
it’s “How important are all of these?”, then
analysis”.
it’s extremely misleading.
A rounded view Combining importance and impact (which we use as a synonym for correlation) into one
Being treated fairly
chart, as in figure 6, gives a useful picture of both what matters most to customers
Staff understanding your complaint
and what’s making a difference right now.
but low impact. We call those “Givens” or “Hygiene factors”, meaning that as long as there is not much dissatisfaction there is probably little to be gained from investing in further improvement. Where stated importance tends to be
Staff listening to your complaint
often very dynamic – reacting to changes in your performance and that of your
0.0 -0.1
Staff keeping you informed Ease of registering a complaint
0.1 -0.1
Time taken to resolve your complaint
0.3
Explanation of steps in the process
relatively slow to change, impact coefficients (and other driver analysis techniques) are
0.0
Helpfulness of staff
Dividing the chart into a quadrant can identify areas which are high in importance
0.5
Time taken to respond The level of empathy shown by staff Fig.7: Exaggerated key drivers with regression
8 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
0.2 0.0 0.1
R2=.85
RESEARCH
Relative importance analysis
a straightforward way. They’re the gold
driven by an innate psychological bias we all
standard for explaining the contribution of
share called the “halo effect”.
predictors, but they can’t make predictions.
Is there a way of getting to a fairer The failings of multiple regression are well
Dealing with multicollinearity
questionnaire correlate with each other, and to group together those that seem
known, and a number of techniques have been developed to address it, collectively known as relative importance analysis. Figure 8 shows the output of the gold standard technique, known as lmg, Shapley Value Regression, or True Driver Analysis amongst other terms.
very similar. A family of statistical
Let’s go back and start again. We’ve mentioned it a few times, and it’s true that
methods known as “dimension reduction
our big problem is multicollinearity. Is there
techniques”, including factor analysis and
a way to tackle that issue head on?
principal components analysis amongst
The first place to look is not analysis, but your questionnaire. The chances are that it’s too long, and if it looks like you’re
Being treated fairly 0.16
Staff understanding your complaint 0.07
Helpfulness of staff 0.08
Staff listening to your complaint 0.07
Staff keeping you informed 0.10
Ease of registering a complaint 0.02
One approach to this is to study the patterns in the way items on the
breakdown of the contribution? Yes there is.
others, help you to do this in a data-driven way. In this instance, although everything
measuring the same thing in two, or three,
is correlated with everything else, the
or more different ways, then it suggests that
data suggest that there may be three main
something is fundamentally wrong with your
groupings: “Ease of registering” on its own,
research. A questionnaire that discriminates
and then a bundle of process related items
badly between drivers is one that is painful
and a bundle of staff related items.
for customers, and is difficult for you to
If we combine the information in those
action. It’s a really unhealthy sign. So a
bundles, as in figure 9, we can soak up a lot
questionnaire with a smaller list of more
of the collinearity that we’ve been struggling
distinct items will work much better.
with, and create a more reliable model which
Within reason, though, multicollinearity is an inevitable part of customer research,
Time taken to resolve your complaint
reflects how customers think about their relationship with you.
Ease of registering
0.12
Explanation of steps in the process 0.08
7%
Time taken to respond
(PLS-PM etc.)
0.06
The level of empathy shown by staff 0.08
Time to respond Explanation
Fig.8: Balanced drivers with relative importance analysis
PROCESS
Keeping you informed Time to resolve
39%
Overall satisfaction
As you can see, it gives us a picture of the relative contribution of each predictor which looks far more intuitively sound. Some drivers are more important than others, but the differences are not as extreme as multiple regression suggested. Relative importance works by parcelling out the overall R squared, so it can also be interpreted in a very straightforward way as the percentage of the outcome variable that
34% Staff listening Staff understanding Helpfulness
STAFF
Empathy R2=80%
Being treated fairly Fig.9: A two-stage driver model
each predictor accounts for, meaning that in this instance “Being treated fairly” accounts Those bundles can then be used in a two-
large sample sizes (of the order of 10-20
to resolve” accounts for 12%, and so on. If we
stage model, combining dimension reduction
cases per variable). If you have the data,
add up all those percentages it totals 85%...
techniques with multiple regression, to give us
though, it’s definitely worth considering.
which is the overall ability of our list of items
the benefits of multiple regression without the
to account for overall satisfaction.
weaknesses. A number of different methods
for 16% of overall satisfaction, “Time taken
This is great, because it means that this
In the real world
exist to construct and test models which
is not only the gold standard in terms of
look like this, of which the gold standard for
methodological rigour, it’s actually very easy
customer experience research is Partial Least
data, things are never quite as clear-cut as
to explain to people as well.
Squares Path Modelling, or PLS-PM.
they seem in the textbooks. There are lots
Inevitably, there’s a catch. What relative
By now you’re probably wondering what
In the real world, dealing with real messy
of potential traps, but I want to discuss
importance techniques do not allow you
the catch is. Apart from the fact that it’s
three specific things which can make driver
to do is answer “what if” questions in
difficult, the main problem is that it requires
analysis difficult in practice.
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 9
RESEARCH
Missing Data Promoters
76%
First, and perhaps most serious, is missing data. All the people who answer “not applicable” instead of giving you a score, and even the people who have been
Passives
41%
asked one set of questions but not another because of routing on your questionnaire. Some techniques, such as correlation, are reasonably robust in the face of missing
Detractors
34%
data. Correlation uses pairwise deletion, so it includes all the data it can based on matching pairs of scores.
Fig.10: A non-linear link
All the more complex techniques find it much harder to deal with missing data,
your 95% confidence interval range is from
approach to driver analysis look like?
because they default to something called
0.32 to 0.72. The correlation is statistically
• Start with correlation. It’s simple, it isn’t as
listwise deletion, which means that anyone
significant, in other words we’re sure it
affected by missing data, and it makes fewer
with any missing data is completely
exists, but we’re pretty hazy about exactly
assumptions than more complex techniques. It
excluded from the analysis. That’s a real
how strong it really is.
will give you a good steer on what the drivers
problem, because it means even a scattering
With techniques such as multiple
of missing values can easily leave us with
regression most researchers recommend
hardly any valid cases to analyse.
a sample size of at least 10 valid cases per
are, and frankly is probably the best measure for most organisations most of the time. • Combine it with stated importance for a full
variable included in the model. That’s not
understanding of how your customers see each
replacing missing values with an average
usually a problem at an overall level, but it
aspect of the experience right now, and you’ll
(which biases any links towards zero), to
can be an issue when you want to break the
have a tool that allows you to monitor the
replacing them with predicted values (which
results down by subgroups such as customer
overestimates our certainty about how strong
type or demographics.
There are ways to deal with this, from
links are). The gold standard is something called multiple imputation, which is not used
makes sense to use dimension reduction
The assumption of linearity
anywhere near as often as it should be. In practice, the important thing is to
ongoing evolution of customer needs. • Especially if your questionnaire is long, it techniques to look for patterns and groups. This can help you to understand how
One final thing to watch out for is that, if
customers think.
examine your missing data so that you can
you think back to the scatter plot we started
make informed decisions about it, and often
out with and the fit line we added, all of the
difference to your outcome variable right
the best solution is to build separate models
techniques we’ve discussed assume that the
now, then relative importance techniques are
for separate groups of customers (such as
relationships we’re looking at are linear, and
the best way to break that down. They’re far
those who have answered the questions about
that may well not be the case.
superior to multiple regression for this, and
online versus those who have answered the ones about phone).
It usually holds relatively well for items on a survey, but if you want to look at the link between survey data and actual
Sample size
• If you want to know what’s making a
you really should make the switch if you need to know what matters. • If your questionnaire lends itself to breaking
customer behaviour, such as the repurchase
into bundles of related questions, or if you
rates shown in figure 10, then you need
want to investigate more sophisticated causal
to make sure you look out for non-linear
modelling techniques, then partial least
problem, which is that advanced techniques
relationships such as this one. The links
squares path modelling is the best technique
require large sample sizes.
between your behaviour, customer attitudes,
for customer data. Be prepared for a lot of
and then on to customer behaviours are
hard work, and make sure you have good
often non-linear.
sample sizes available, but if you can make it
Missing data compounds a second
Correlation coefficients, and all the measures of impact from more sophisticated techniques, have margins of error, just
If you don’t consider that possibility,
work you’ll be doing some of the most robust analysis it’s possible to do with customer data.
like any other figure you deal with in
there’s a severe danger that you will
survey analysis. These margins of error are
underestimate how strong the links really
often larger than we’d like them to be, so
are. I suspect this is one of the reasons
remember that some of the most interesting
sample sizes are something you should take
that some organisations have a hard time
links you investigate may be non-linear.
seriously.
proving the financial benefit of customer
So what do I mean by a “large” sample?
• Finally, whichever route you go down,
satisfaction.
You shouldn’t even think of looking at a correlation unless you have a minimum of
Best practice
that the confidence interval will be quite
Stephen Hampshire Client Manager
at least 50 cases, and you should be aware So we’ve looked at a whole range of
wide. To give a specific example, with a
techniques with some of their strengths
sample size of 50 and a correlation of 0.55,
and weaknesses. What does a best practice
10 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
TLF Research stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com
W NE
W NE
UNDERSTAND & EXPLORE
PLAN & ACT
HALF DAY BRIEFING
HALF DAY BRIEFING
New for 2020, this half day briefing focuses on using qualitative research tools to understand customers better, so that you can use the “lens of the customer” for future research and to improve the customer experience.
New for 2020, this half day briefing looks at what happens after the survey. Many great pieces of research are wasted because their findings are not acted upon. In this briefing we’ll look at some tried and tested methods to turn insight into action, and combine research with internal workshops to deliver change.
We’d recommend delegates also attend the second in this series; ‘Plan & Act’. These briefings have been designed to complement each other and will give you an overview of an effective customer research approach.
DATES:
We’d recommend delegates also attend the first in this series; ‘Understand & Explore’. These briefings have been designed to complement each other and will give you a complete overview of an effective customer research approach.
DATES:
11th March 2020
London
11th March 2020
09:15-12:30
13:15-16:30
£160 (ex VAT)
£160 (ex VAT)
London
TED DA
UP
CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING
STORYTELLING
FULL DAY BRIEFING
FULL DAY INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Customer journey mapping is a crucial meeting ground for customer experience research, service design, management and communications.
Stories are the most effective way to engage, move, and persuade. Whether it’s a board presentation, internal comms, or customer feedback; building storytelling techniques into reporting and communication is the best way to make insights memorable.
Mapping the customer journey is an essential part of gaining control over the customer experience, and it is also a great way to help staff understand customers and how they may be feeling.
People are natural storytellers, but when it comes to business communication it’s often difficult to see how to apply those talents to the messages we need to convey.
This full day workshop outlines the steps you must follow, and the sources of information and insight you need in place, to effectively map the customer journey.
In this workshop we’ll work through a series of exercises to help you craft your own story (complete with hero, key messages, conflict, and payoff). Along the way we’ll discuss the theories that support effective storytelling, and showcase a range of techniques and examples you can use.
DATES:
DATES:
17th March 2020
London
29th April 2020
09:15-16:30
09:15-16:30
£300 (ex VAT)
£300 (ex VAT)
London
Book online at tlfresearch.com or call 01484 467004
ITY
IC TR
FO
CE R R CUSTO ME
90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, so isn’t it time you opted for a simpler and quicker way to tell a compelling customer story in a way that will stick? The written word alone can create a level of uncertainty and ambiguity. This is where the power of visualisation can play a fundamental role. Visual thinking is becoming ever so popular yet there is still so much untapped potential when it comes to talking about customers, communicating about the customer experience, and designing improvements. In this article I want to make the case to bring a visual angle to your view of the customer, and how you can enhance communication with your colleagues.
12 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
N
G U E S T F E AT U R E
Why visualisation?
Visual Thinking can play a significant role in accelerating learning, solving problems and generating ideas.
regardless of whether you actually have a house with a chimney or windows. This is because you are conditioned to draw using
As a design graduate, well versed in methods of Design Thinking and Agile ways
a universal language, a language that you
of working, I make use of visualisation
have used since you were a child. This
techniques to support working groups to
universal language enables working groups
cultivate group learning through pictures
to collaborate effectively. You can imagine
whilst encouraging others to take to the flip
how powerful this is when visualising such
chart and draw.
things as a customer journey, moving away from abstractions that can be created with
That’s right — you don’t need to have a design degree to visualise. When we talk
the written word and finding a level of
about visualisation what we are really talking
alignment.
about is visual literacy.
Blending Visual Thinking and Design Thinking
As children we are often introduced to literature in the form of picture books and learn how to associate the pictures with meaning by navigating the pictures on a page way before we learn to read and
It’s no surprise that the best products,
A shared language
services and customer experiences can
write. So when we refer to visual thinking we are describing our ability to interpret,
only be designed around the basic needs, If I asked you to draw a house right now
aspirations, emotions and motivations of
comprehend, and express ideas by using or
the chances are you would draw 2 windows
your end users. Far too often an organisation
creating visuals.
either side of a door and a smoking chimney
focuses on maximising delivery with
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 13
G U E S T F E AT U R E
technical enhancements that are both feasible
binding what a group is thinking about
their birth at the Walt Disney Studio in the
and viable from a business perspective yet
without influencing what is presented by each
1930s, they still remain an essential tool for
fail to tick the desirability box. In certain
individual.
story sequencing and elaborating ideas before
situations Agile teams might also be guilty of
It will be no surprise for you to hear that
investing in producing physical products and services.
maximising delivery and building the ‘thing
visual thinking techniques can be explored at
right’ yet failing to build the ‘right thing’?
every stage of the Design Thinking Cycle and
The beauty of a storyboard is the way
embedded as a common practice within Agile
a reader will naturally follow the flow of
teams. From the creation of rough low fidelity
information from left to right and top to
sketches and prototypes to test and validate
bottom, narrating a process or journey from
design ideas, to the use of graphic metaphors
beginning to end. You must ask yourself
and templates during team retrospectives.
what are the most salient points you wish to
Whatever the method the key motivations
communicate with an audience, and what the
for visual thinking remain to generate ideas
key milestones are that you need to identify
and solve problems, offering fast effective
along the journey. Having a limited number
feedback and learning.
of frames at your disposal is a helpful control
“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backward to technology.”
measure and a powerful way to emphasise vital information.
Storyboarding for communication
“Your story’s moments should be like a dot to dot puzzle. Remove one dot and you change the shape
An increasingly popular Visual thinking
of the story.”
-Steve Jobs
The first stage of Design Thinking focuses on discovering a sense of understanding towards the people that will use your products and services. This discovery phase requires an element of ethnographic research which can take the form of dreary documentation or engaging visuals that paint a clear picture of customer needs. Fortunately, there is a range of visual thinking tools at your fingertips. Dave Gray’s Empathy Mapping and
business tool is creative storyboarding,
-Scott McCloud
which can be used to aid team alignment,
Strategizer’s Value Proposition canvas help
gain stakeholder engagement and keep
teams to collectively delve deeper into the
the customer at the heart of product and
behaviours and motivations of end users.
service creation. Most commonly linked
The beauty of templates such as these is that
to comics, storyboards expand on the use
problem or a potential issue with a current
they embrace both divergent and convergent
of visual narration, where pictures trump
process, introduce storyboarding within your
thinking, offering individuals the opportunity
words as a more favoured method for
teams for a clear and captivating way to
to share unique ideas whilst aligning a group
conveying information. Whilst comic art and
present a business need and solve a customer
on a specific theme. Much like a framework
storyboarding have evolved somewhat since
problem.
14 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
So if you are faced with a user experience
G U E S T F E AT U R E
If you want to get started here are my top 3 tips: • Communication over decoration - it’s not about creating a masterpiece • Simplicity is key - keep things simple, you just need to communicate an idea • Process over art - remember it’s about collaboration and group learning
Storyboarding a Customer Journey You guessed it, what better way to visualise a customer journey than a visual storyboard? In the fields of user experience, service design and design thinking, storyboarding is applied as a way of recognising the needs of an end user. By building a picture of your customers' experiences you can walk through current customer journeys frame by frame, and identify key pain points which can become levers for change leading to desirable products and services. This approach can be explored throughout the fruition of a product lifecycle from gaining customer insight, to testing the experience of a new feature. Inspecting, adapting, pivoting and persevering based on the needs and motivations of your customers.
Useful Tips Hopefully I’ve convinced you of the power of visual thinking to improve your understanding of customers, and communicate persuasively with your colleagues.
Stuart Young Innovation Practice Lead Radtac
Stuart Young describes himself as a Business Visualiser, Agile Enthusiast, Design-Thinker and Empathy driven storyteller. When Stuart is not assisting businesses to simplify complexity through live illustration he is facilitating a suite of Design Thinking and Visual Thinking Skills workshops that catalyse customer centric creativity and innovation. You can find him on: LinkedIn, Twitter @Stuartliveart, and stuart.young@radtac.com
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 15
RESEARCH
16 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
RESEARCH
At TLF, as you might expect, we receive
respond to a brief we are being tested. We
TIP: A research brief does not have to be long and
quite a number of research briefs and tender
are not just being given a chance to tender
it does not have to be detailed. It does not have to
documents. Not every project we conduct
for the work we are also being measured on
contain all the information listed in this article.
is the result of a formal briefing document,
our ‘listening’ skills, for example whether
However, pick out the key information that you
and we don’t always need one. Sometimes a
we are answering the question, adhering to
feel will be important for the agency to respond
couple of calls is all we need to get us on our
the required number of words, or meeting
accurately to your brief. Remember a credible
way to producing a great piece of research
stated budgetary restraints. In some cases,
agency may want to ask questions to fill in any
that gives our clients what they need. That
pitching in with a new idea can be viewed
gaps in their knowledge, so give them contact
said, some organisations employ a more
as an inability to interpret or answer the
details of someone they can talk to to help them
formal procurement process and the brief
questions and be counted as a black mark or
put together their proposal. This may save time
forms part of this.
‘no-no’. This doesn’t work for either side.
in the long run.
The briefs we receive vary considerably
In this article, I am going to take you
1) Background
in quality. We receive some excellent briefs.
through what you need to consider when
It’s fair to say that in most cases no brief
writing your brief. I am not suggesting you
is better than a ‘bad’ brief. But what is the
include everything I’ve listed every time
outcome of a bad brief? At worst, a bad brief
you commission work but hopefully there
understand your organisation, your
can mean you end up with paid-for research
are some useful pointers that will help you
customers and the markets you operate in.
that does not give you what you want or
on your way to getting the research you are
need. It is an expensive wasted opportunity.
looking for.
appropriately and make worthwhile
The structure of your brief
customers and revisit the exercise without irritating them or even breaching a few
may not have thought of. What sort of information should you include? Put simply, your brief needs to flow
process because the agency’s response does
logically to help the research agency
not correspond with the exercise you had in
understand your organisation, what you are
mind. This can be waste of valuable time as
looking for and why.
well as being costly. As an agency we want to deliver first-
suggestions or recommendations that you
Why does the structure matter?
rules and regulations. At best, it may mean that you have to repeat the procurement
An agency that understands you is in a good position to answer your brief
Worse still, it may be a lost opportunity because you can’t simply go back to
This is your chance to help the agency
• What does your organisation do; what products or services do you offer? • What is your company history? Is it a parent company or part of a group?
The more accurately the agency
• What is your turnover?
understands your needs, the more likely it is
• What is your market share?
class research and meet our clients’
that their proposal will meet those needs and
• What markets or sector do you operate in?
objectives. If help and guidance is required
help you to achieve your research objectives.
• Who are your competitors?
we are happy to provide this, we don’t need asking twice. What can sometimes be a little frustrating for us is when a client
• Who are you customers and where are they? Broadly speaking, a research brief should
• Why do your customers use you? • What is your strategy?
follow the structure below:
is very specific about what they want, it is
1. Background
clear to us that their preferred approach will
2. Objectives
not deliver, yet there is no way for us to
3. Previous research
TIP: Don’t worry if you don’t know all this
reference this or suggest alternatives. That’s
4. Approach
information – do your best and consider what is
not to say ‘specific’ isn’t a good thing—it
5. Reporting and deliverables
relevant. There may be information you consider
can be very useful providing it will deliver
6. Timing
to be commercially sensitive and unable to
against the objective, and having a clear
7. Budget and ‘added value’
share. A good agency will work with you by
vision can be useful.
8. Credentials
asking you questions to fill in any background
9. Closing dates and contact details
gaps.
We’re also very conscious that when we
• What are your challenges?
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 17
RESEARCH
2) Objectives In order to deliver the information you need to answer your questions or address
What sort of information should you include?
Consider what you need or are expecting
• What research has your organisation done?
to see. Analysis and reporting takes time
• When was the research done?
and will account for a large proportion of
• What approach was taken? How was data
the budget, so you don’t want to pay for
your problem, the research needs to have a
collected? Who took part? How was it
information you don’t need at the expense of
defined aim or objective. Without this there
reported?
information that is vital for you.
is a danger that you will gather plenty of information but then discover it doesn’t give
• Was it considerer successful? What did you like about it? Where did it fall short?
you what you need. Defining the objective will help the agency
• How would you like the results to be
4) Approach
consider what it should do to generate the information you need and, if relevant, to challenge your thinking.
• If you have one, include your stated objective. • What is the purpose of the research; what is driving your need for the research?
research, collecting data, and reporting the It is useful for the agency to know what approach you have in mind, if anything, and why. This will help them understand your
• What are you going to do with the
be used? • How do you envisage the findings of the research coming back to you? Charts, tables, slides, written report, online portal, raw data? • What type of information do you expect to
thinking and assess whether your desired
see? Are there any segments or splits in the
approach is the best one for the job.
reporting that are particularly of interest to you?
• What do you want to find out… and why? • What do you expect the results to deliver?
reported back to you? What type of analysis or statistical techniques do you expect to
There are numerous ways of conducting findings. All approaches have pros and cons.
What sort of information should you include?
What should you include?
What sort of information should you include? • If you have an idea of how you would like to
• Describe any information that you definitely need… for example if you need
information you gather? Is it for improving
gather data (i.e. telephone interviews, web
a Net Promoter Score (NPS) for internal
customer satisfaction? If you are tracking
surveys etc.), lay this out in your brief.
reporting, or if results contribute to bonus
results over time, gathering information to
• You may have considered who you want to
payments make this clear.
report to a government body, or getting a
take part (e.g. which customers and why),
• Do you need a formal presentation of the
measure on which to set targets or pay staff
how many responses you would like, and
results by your agency? Who will be the
performance bonuses, make this clear.
any segmentation.
audience? How many presentations will
• Who are you going to share the information with? Your stakeholders? Your customers? • How are you going to share the information?
• Explain the rationale behind your thinking. Is it based on budget, previous research, or
be required? Where will the location of the presentations be?
what others do? • If you know, describe who you want to
TIP: You may have no idea of what you want
take part (and why), what you want to find
to see or how you would like the results to
TIP: If you have a plan or have been given a
out, and how you would like to gather this
be presented back to you. In that case, let
clear objective, make this clear in the brief. If you
information.
the agency do the work and describe, in the proposal, what you will receive back.
are not sure exactly what you are aiming for, don’t worry – you can use the brief to share your
TIP: Having a clear idea of what you want is
‘problem’ with the agency and they will work
not a bad thing. However, invite the agency to
with you to agree objectives together.
make additional suggestions or offer alternative
3) Previous research
approaches as they see fit. There may be some
It helps the agency to know how long
better approaches that you had not considered,
you expect the work to take (they can then
or other alternatives that are worth exploring.
decide if their resources will enable them to meet your requirements). The agency
You may be experienced in the research field or think of yourself as a beginner. Let the agency know if you have done prior research
6) Timing
5) Analysis, reporting, and deliverables
can also assess whether your timescales are realistic based on what you are looking for. In some cases, an agency may suggest you
(as an individual or as a company) so the proposal is pitched at an appropriate level.
The way in which the research is
reconsider your timescales in the interest
If you want to retain elements of what
presented back to you will make the
of conducting quality research. If they do
you have done before let the agency know,
difference between clearly understanding the
this this is usually because they want to
similarly if what has gone in the past has no
findings at first glance or wading through
do a great job for you and think you would
bearing on how your go forward.
pages of data.
benefit from allowing more time.
18 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
RESEARCH
What should you include?
TIP: Invite the agency to submit fees for additional
• When do you need the results of the research
work which you may not have asked for but they
back to you? (And if these dates are flexible
feel would be beneficial for your organisation to
or not).
consider.
Give the agency enough time to do your brief
8) Credentials
justice, consider your requirements and how to meet them and then submit a thorough
the results are needed for a board report). • If you need a detailed schedule of what work the agency will do, and when, to meet your timelines, ask for this.
Knowing when you will receive the proposal(s) will help you plan your time.
• Any timelines or key dates that have to be adhered to within your organisation (e.g. if
9) Closing dates and contact details
You need to have confidence in the agency to deliver on your brief and its promises. Once the agency is appointed all your
response. You are making an investment and this will ensure you spend your budget wisely.
stakeholders have to believe in the credibility
7) Budget & ‘added value’
of the research and know it has been carried out in accordance not only with best
You may or may not have a budget in mind for the research. If you do, include
practice but also with all statutory rules and regulations.
tailor their approach and response to fit your resources (and avoid wasting both your time and their time with an unsuitable proposal). The agency will also be able to determine if your budget is appropriate for the required work. In some cases you may need
What could you ask for?
whose attention it should be marked for (i.e.
• Why does the agency think it should be • What is the agency’s standing – how many
• Whether you have a preferred format.
based, how is it structured?
• Next steps – whether you will select a
• Is the agency a company partner of the
• What is the agency’s area of expertise? How does this fit in with your requirements? • What resources does the agency possess…
unique to the agency delivering the proposal
staff, systems etc. What does it handle
(e.g. their expertise, support or training
in-house, what does it outsource? • Who are the employees? How are they
when selecting your agency. It is easy to
trained? Who will be working on your
overlook the value of such benefits.
research?
What should you include?
provider from the proposal or invite a short list to meet with you (if you know the dates
Market Research Society? current clients? What does it do for them?
etc.).You need to be aware of ‘added value’
hard copy or electronically).
employees, what is its turnover, where is it
to arrive at the most satisfactory approach.
you. These benefits may be intangible and
contact email address or postal address). • How you expect to receive the proposal (i.e. a
appointed?
• Who does the agency work with? Who are its
‘Added value’: there may be benefits that
If the close is at noon or midnight make this clear.
to discuss tweaking the scope or the budget
are not paid for yet represent great value for
• The closing date for submitting the proposal.
• Where the proposal should be sent and
this in your brief (it does not have to be precise). This is so that the agency can
What should you include?
of those meetings, give them). Whilst not essential, you may also decide to explain briefly: • How you are going to select your provider (any scoring that may be applied). • Who is going to be involved in the decision process. • The date you will let the agency know the outcome.
Statutory requirements
• Do you have a budget? What is it? What is it
• How does the agency deal with statutory
based on? Does your budget include VAT?
requirements (such as the GDPR, data
Rachel Allen
protection and information security)?
Client Manager
• How do you envisage paying? What are your payment terms (e.g. 30 days after completion)? • Would you like the agency’s proposal to show the fees including or excluding VAT?
• What accreditation does the agency have in terms of quality (e.g. ISO9001) and information security (e.g. ISO27001)? • Ask for details of procedures
• Do you need one total or a breakdown of
(documentation), certificates and
fees? If a breakdown, how do you want it
accreditation as well as insurance
broken down (what are the categories, e.g.
documents (if relevant). You may choose to
field work, reporting).
ask for proof at the appointment stage but
• Do you want expenses included in the fee or listed separately? Added value: • Ask the agency to specify the added value they can deliver and to explain what they can
TLF Research rachelallen@leadershipfactor.com
ask for confirmation that these documents are available and up to date.
You can find Rachel’s previous articles online at https://www.tlfresearch.com/customer-insight/
Warming Up: Improving response rates and quality of response through effective pre-survey communications. Customer Survey FAQs: Winning over internal stakeholder who are sceptical about outsourcing your survey to an agency.
offer that no other agency can provide.
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 19
D I G I TA L
WARNING: PLEASE SKIP THIS ARTICLE IF YOU’RE EASILY OFFENDED BY PROFANITY
SWEARING FOR ROBOTS 101 Dear reader: consider, if you will, the
swearing can confidently be called universal
difference between “this is shit” and “this
– with the caveat that the exact words
is the shit”. What do they mean? Both
and concepts that are considered taboo
contain a Rude Word, yet their intentions
vary hugely. People find different things
are different. One is very negative; the other
offensive, according to various factors
is very positive.
like culture, age, experience, and so on.
Consider also “fuck you” versus “fuck
Interestingly, too, the offensiveness of
words changes through history, as taboo
words become acceptable (consider bloody,
which nowadays is pretty non-scandalous)
and vice versa. I was delighted to learn, for example, that the heron used to be called
the shitecrow, and the dandelion was called the pissabed.1 Sadly, the days when these
were acceptable biological terms are past.
me”. “Fuck you”? Extremely rude! And
very unlikely to be positive. “Fuck me”,
“Whether they are referred
however? Also very rude, arguably, but not
to as swearing, cursing,
negative. Instead, an expression of surprise; an exclamation. “Fuck me, that’s a good customer journey”, might be a customer
cussing, profanity, obscenity,
response in a ContactEngine conversation.
indecency, vulgarity,
(Might be, I said). And it would be a shame
blasphemy, expletives,
if this use of a rude word meant that the
oaths, or epithets; as dirty,
conversation with the customer was called
four-letter, or taboo words;
off for being misunderstood. We’ve been thinking about swearing
or as bad, coarse, crude,
recently in terms of how we train
foul, salty, earthy, raunchy,
ContactEngine’s Natural Language Understanding (NLU). How should the use This piece was written by Eleanor Southern-Wilkins, Linguistic Specialist, in partnership with Euan Matthews, Director of AI and Innovation at ContactEngine. contactengine.com
of profanities in customer responses be dealt
or off-color language, these expressions raise many
with? But first, as more of a starting point – why do people swear anyway?
puzzles for anyone interested
Taboo Words
in language as a window into human nature.”
Most, or more likely, all languages have taboo words that are not used in
- Steven Pinker2
polite company. As Steven Pinker notes,
1
Pinker, Steven (2007). The Stuff of Thought. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/37332366/Steven_Pinker_The_stuff_of_thought_language
2 3
As above
Vingerhoets, A. J. J. M., Bylsma, L. M., & de Vlam, C. (2013). Swearing: A biopsychosocial perspective. Psihologijske Teme, 22(2), 287-304.
4
Holgate et al. (2012). Why Swear? Analyzing and Inferring the Intentions of Vulgar Expressions. Association for Computational Linguistics, 4404-4414. Available at: https://aclweb.org/anthology/D18-1471
20 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
D I G I TA L
Why do we swear?
non-rude interactions as rude ones. Most approaches to profanity-handling by
and sometimes mistakes are made, often to comedic effect. A Dutch colleague pointed
NLP and NLU are fairly blunt-edged. If, for
out that the word kunt is innocently used
words ‘to convey the expression of strong
example, any of these appear in an automated
all the time in Dutch – and oddly, it kept
emotion’. But as discussed above, this strong
conversation, the message is flagged, the
getting flagged when we conducted Dutch
emotion is not always negative, and swearing
conversation is stopped, and a redacted
conversations in our system…
can have a variety of consequences, from
version is passed to a (human) agent to deal
promoting group identity to eliciting humour
with.
In linguistic terms, swearing utilises taboo
or causing emotional pain.3
So, we’ll be back next time with ContactEngine’s AI team to work out how to
This approach is effective but not perfect.
navigate these choppy waters and to find out
For this reason, when it comes to
As discussed, it’s not a one-size-fits-all
what the customer really meant when they
processing and understanding language
in terms of words that should be flagged,
said “fucking yes!”.
automatically, it is not enough simply to have a list of words that are ‘rude’. At last year’s Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP) conference, which members of ContactEngine attended, there was a talk on swearing and NLP by the University of Texas. In their research, the team analysed over 7,800 tweets containing vulgarities. Accordingly, they categorised six distinct functions of swearing found in written communication – that is, six different reasons these profanities were used.4 The example used in the study is the word ass, which is a productive word, full of potential. They found examples of tweets where this was used to verbally abuse another user (“You are an ass”), to emphasise a feeling (“A good ass day”) and express an emotion (“pain in the ass”). It was also used as an auxiliary (“Really need someone to save my ass”), as a marker of identity (“Now this is a group of ass kickers”) and in a non-vulgar way, given the context (“Kick Ass 2 – what a movie”).
Training robots to handle swearing The problem, then, is that language is context-dependent, infinitely variable and because of this, to some extent, unpredictable. As we’ve seen, the same word may vary in its level of offense, depending on the context. For conversational AI platforms such as ContactEngine, if every piece of language containing a rude word is labelled as negative and offensive, we may miss out on meaningful conversations by treating
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 21
RESEARCH
TLF GEMS NEWSLETTER MONTHL CX INSIGHTS FROM MONTHLY RESEARCH TLF RESE
Our mon monthly newsletter shares our favourite Custome Customer Experience, Insight, and Service Design h highlights.
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TLF GEMS PODCAST
A MONTHLY PODCAST FROM TLF RESEARCH ON CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND INSIGHT
If you’re reading this and you like podcasts, you should definitely check out the TLF Gems podcast. Each episode Stephen and Greg talk about a different topic related to Customer Experience research and insight.
Search “TLF Gems” in iTunes or subscribe directly using the feed http://feeds.feedburner.com/tlfgemspodcast
G U E S T F E AT U R E
regard. The Japanese fashion retailer recently
by Google, 40% of customers are likely to
disruption is reported almost daily, but
launched its first ‘neuroscience’ campaign,
spend more than they had planned if the
perhaps nowhere is its impact felt more
suggesting clothes to the customer on the
experience is highly personalised.
than on the high street. Retailers are under
basis of their mood. By placing wearable
particular threat from the relentless growth
technology on the forehead of the customer,
are having to meet sky-high consumer
of pure ecommerce players, who are able
brainwave readings were recorded in
expectations when it comes to personalised
to offer unparalleled convenience and
response to a customer’s psychological
marketing. Having real-time insights on
competitive costs.
reactions to a series of images and videos.
customer data at the point-of-sale enables
Algorithms then suggested suitable attire
retailers to do just this. But only by investing
consumer confidence do little to relieve the
based on this state of mind. This is certainly
in technology and taking data seriously will
plight of high street brands.
a novel experience that may attract critics,
retailers keep pace with eCommerce vendors.
The widespread impact of digital
Ever-changing business rates and low
Yet there is reason for optimism. Techsavvy high street retailers are beginning
but it’s one which will almost certainly
3) Target customers with app-based experiences
attract crowds too.
to invest carefully in a number of different areas in order to encourage brand loyalty.
1) Offer next-level in-store experiences
We live in an age of algorithms. Retailers
2) Keep pace with consumer demand
By capturing the right customer data, retailers can deliver even more personalised
Hyper-personalisation is increasingly
offers. In turn, these programmes enable
integral to retail strategies. Showing a
customers to receive rewards and enjoy
customer products based on their individual
personalised experiences, as well as provide
switch allegiance from a brand to its
interests and past behaviour dramatically
a holistic view of buying behaviours for
competitor following a poor customer
improves their purchase journey, making
retailers.
experience. The lesson is clear: whether
them more likely to buy, and increases their
a retailer is selling online or on the high
satisfaction with the brand.
Research shows that 89% of consumers
street, they must continually seek to innovate their customer experience. Uniqlo is an industry-leader in this
And it works! Asktraders recently published a list of the UK’s five worst
Research suggests it may also increase
performing high streets, finding that
average order values, too. According to a
Poole, Blackpool, Warrington, Manchester
study conducted by BCG and commissioned
and Swindon are the ‘fastest declining’.
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 23
G U E S T F E AT U R E
Intrigued, Yoyo decided to run its own
returned, more than double that of a typical
a goal to source half of its cotton from eco-
investigation on how footfall was impacted
high street store. As such, pure ecommerce
friendly suppliers, whilst H&M wants to be
when customers used experience-led loyalty
retailers are increasingly partnering with
100% sustainable by 2030.
apps to shop. Incredibly, we found that these
brick and mortar stores to offer consumers
customers actually increased their average
the convenience of returning unwanted
brands. To appeal to consumers’ sense of
spend per visit by 25% on these very high
items at high street locations. The benefits
loyalty today, they must demonstrate care
streets.
are abundant - more footfall and sales for
for the ethics of their business if they are to
the shop and a better customer experience
succeed tomorrow.
The findings bring into focus the impact of data-led loyalty programmes, which
for the ecommerce partner. Asda is one store
enable brands to deliver hyper-targeted
capitalising on this with its ‘to you’ service,
marketing and communications at every
which enables customers to return items to
single touchpoint - from online browsing to
ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, and others.
in-store check out.
These partnerships not only give brands the opportunity to reach new audiences
4) Partner to grow your market share
through multiple channels, but it also enables brands to plug the gaps in their services. By partnering with tech
Partnerships between retailers and
platforms, market research firms or
ecommerce brands are an increasingly
even social media influencer brands,
popular method of reaching new audiences
retailers can stay relevant to their
and improving the customer experience.
customers, in order to boost long
Whilst online purchases may be on the
term retention.
rise, more than 20% of all purchases are
5) Communicate your ethical credentials Michael Rolph CEO Yoyo
Michael has extensive experience in payments, loyalty and marketing through his time working with retailers from the high street and online. Before founding Yoyo, he held roles at Paypal, Barclaycard and First
Consumers nowadays are increasingly conscious of their environmental and social impact, thanks in part to a number of high profile demonstrations and documentaries. A quarter of Brits now put environmental
Data Corporation. He was also an advisor at
issues in their
Azimo, a mobile and internet money transfer
top three issues
company and non-exec director at The
facing the country,
MoBank Group, which specialises in creating
putting it behind only Brexit and
and operating transactional systems for
health.
mobile commerce, banking and payments.
As such, a number of brands are beginning to declare their individual
https://yoyowallet.com/
commitments to social and environmental responsibility. Mango, for instance, has set
24 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
Never has this been more important for
RESEARCH
At TLF, we’ve started talking about how organisations should structure a customer experience improvement programme in terms of four stages. The first, and perhaps the least well understood, is what we call “understand & explore”, which is where we use qualitative research to explore and better understand the customer experience. It’s the first stage because it's the first thing you ought to turn to, but it's something which organisations are often guilty of scrimping on or skipping altogether. Why? Because they don't understand the value of it. Qualitative research can seem expensive to people who don't understand it, especially if they evaluate it in terms of cost per response. That’s simply not the right way to think about it. To be frank, much qualitative research does end up being bad value because organisations don't understand how to use it effectively. You need to think, not in terms of cost per response, but in terms of new insights uncovered.
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 25
RESEARCH
Not just soundbites
It's not designed to give you the data to make sound decisions with. What it does give
David Ogilvy, who was nothing if not
you is a window into customers' minds. It
quotable, said of research: "We all have a
won't give you answers, but it will make sure
tendency to use research as a drunkard uses a
you ask the right questions. And when it's
lamppost - for support, not for illumination."
time to improve, it will give you the depth of
And this is exactly what most qualitative research looks like. Companies gather a
understanding to design experiences around customer needs.
group of customers, set them talking, and collect up a handful of pithy verbatims from
The “lens of the customer”
the most articulate to illustrate a slide or two of a presentation. Having spent a lot
Researchers are not normal. You and your
of money organising a focus group, that
colleagues are not normal. And the problem
certainly does look like an expensive way of
is that the ways in which we're different from
securing a couple of soundbites. But good
normal make it impossible for us to look at
qualitative research is much more than that,
the customer experience the way customers
as I hope to show you.
do. We've all forgotten what life was like before we were intimately familiar with our
Why you need qualitative research So if qualitative work should be more than
"We all have a tendency to use research as a drunkard uses a lamppost - for support, not for illumination." - David Ogilvy
Their experiences with us are embedded
internal departments, processes, and jargon.
in the context of those lives, and we can't
Think about how much you've learned since
hope to design them effectively unless we
you joined your organisation, then triple that
understand that.
and you've got some idea of how little the
We've got to shift our perspective to match
just decorative quotes, what is it for? Surely
average customer knows (or cares) about how
that of customers, and then find a way to take
I'm not suggesting that you should make big
you do your business.
that understanding back into the business with
business decisions on the feelings of a few
On the other hand, we tend to
people? No, I'm not. That's not what it’s for either.
forget that customers have lives outside of their role as customers.
us. That shift of perspective, for me, is what qualitative insight is all about. Without it, all your research will show telltale signs of asking the wrong questions about the wrong things.
Defining qualitative If you look for definitions of qualitative research, you'll usually find people talking about small samples, open questions, and being face to face. Like many definitions based on description, these are both true and wildly misleading. The point is not how big your sample is, but what you're trying to do with it (which is to find as many opinions as possible, not represent what's typical in the population). The focus on questions is a trap, as we'll see later, that leads us down the path to expensive soundbites. Listening and, especially, interpreting are much more important than the questions you ask. It usually is face to face, but the point is to talk to customers in the way that will be most comfortable for them - if that's an online community, then go for it. Finally, the main defining feature is that qualitative research is opening, not closing, it's about broadening our knowledge, not making a decision.
26 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
RESEARCH
What you need to know versus what customers can tell you
research is used to find positive soundbites to rubber-stamp a decision that has already
One of the things which makes research tricky is the gap between what you want to know,
been made. Then, when the product launch
and what customers are able to tell you. There's a spectrum - some things they're really
is a flop, the failure is pinned on the
good at, and some things they're almost comically bad at.
research. The problem goes back to our spectrum - you want to know what solution will work for customers, and how they will behave in the future, but customers can't reliably tell
Attitudes & Feelings
Current/Past Behaviour
When it comes to their attitudes,
Solutions
Future Behaviour
Predicting behaviour
to try to understand what they're thinking. They're ok when it comes to their
The ladder I can imagine some of you thinking "this
thoughts, and feelings, customers are pretty good. Asking them is the best (and only) tool
you that.
is all very well, but I thought you were One of my favourite examples from
supposed to be explaining why qualitative
the behavioural economics literature is of
research is important, not telling us why it's
the organisation which got customers to
crap". I'm getting to it, I promise.
behaviour, as long as it’s fresh in their
evaluate a product prototype in a focus
minds, particularly if you take the time
group, asking them "would you pay £50 for
gap between what you want to know and
to get them to relive the experience. In
this". They all said they would. At the end of
what customers are capable of telling you,
customer journey mapping, for example, it's
the group customers were given the choice
has a solution, and that's what elevates true
often effective to anchor their memory with
of a crisp £50 note or one of the prototypes.
qualitative insight above simply piling up
some relatively concrete questions up front
Which do you think they chose?
soundbites. I like to think of it as a ladder.
(Did you order through the website? Which
Correct—they all took the money. So
products did you buy? etc.) and then prompt
which better reflects their future behaviour?
"And what happened next?" again and again
This is a good example of a general
as they describe the journey.
principle: if you want to predict behaviour,
What we'd love them to be able to do,
Words
find a way to run an experiment; if you want
but they're totally incapable of, barring the
to know about feelings then questions are
odd miracle, is providing you with solutions.
your best bet.
This is the source of the old cliché that focus
The problem we've just outlined, that
Qualitative research (particularly focus
groups can't innovate. Of course they can't.
groups) sometimes has a bad reputation
If you expect 8 random customers to do a
because it’s so often used in exactly this
better job in an hour than your R&D team,
way. As Wendy Gordon observes in her
then you need a new R&D team! Customers
excellent book Mindframes, too often
Meaning
Emotions
won't give you solutions, but they can help you find them...but we'll come back to that later. Customers are worst of all at predicting their own future behaviour. This manifests in two important ways. There's the "New Year's resolution effect", where we all genuinely believe that we'll be going to the gym more and eating fewer doughnuts over the next few months, but looking back we find that our fitness diaries are a bit sparser than we'd hoped. Customers answer questions with the future behaviour they'd like to show, not what's actually going to happen. Secondly. customers don't want to hurt your feelings. If you ask them whether they'd buy something, they'll probably say yes.
“…too much of qualitative research acts as ‘soundbites to support management decisions’.” - Wendy Gordon, Mindframes
Needs
The ladder starts with customers' words, but it doesn't end there. It's about listening effectively, and using a combination of probing and interpretation to understand what those words reveal about what customers mean, how they feel, and therefore what their needs are. It's about building an empathy with customers that allows us to draw accurate inferences about, or in other
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 27
RESEARCH
words make good guesses about, what motivates and drives them. An example might help to make this a bit more concrete. Customers are talking
Attitudes & Feelings
Current/Past Behaviour
Solutions
Future Behaviour
about something taking too long. It might be their delivery, or waiting time, or how long it takes you to get back to them about their complaint. A naive view of insight says that customers would be happier if we do whatever it is we're doing quicker...which is not all that insightful, is it?
Needs/ Motivations/ Context
How does the ladder help? The first thing we need to realise is that what customers
down to a deeper level of meaning, needs,
researcher's job is not to make friends.
really mean when they say it took too long is
and motivations. And when we understand
We need to keep an objective distance,
that it felt too long. "Perception is reality",
those, we gain insights that allow us to
whilst building rapport, so that we don't
as listeners to our Podcast will be sick of
anticipate customer behaviour and design
inadvertently lead respondents.
hearing me say. The time it actually took is
solutions that will work more effectively
part of that, but it's only part of it, and often
for them. So the ladder helps us solve that
that their job is to dig deeper, to climb
it turns out that the quality of the wait is
dilemma—it gets us from what customers
down the ladder with customers, their first
more important than the quantity.
can tell you to what you need to know in
thought is often to do it by asking explicit
order to improve. So how do we do it?
questions. Questions like "did you find it
So what else might influence the quality
hard to find the right person to contact?"
of the wait? If we listen harder we might find out that what customers are talking
Better questions
Qualitative research is always a balance between objectivity and subjectivity, but
about is how anxious they felt while they waited (Is it going to get here on time? Will
Even worse, when researchers realise
Let's have a look at how the ladder works
questions like this invalidate the apparent
it be right when it arrives?), or how bored
in a bit more detail. It starts with asking
insights they turn up. Your questions must
they were. As soon as you identify emotions
better questions. Questions that will push
remain neutral...but that doesn't mean
like that in a customer experience you know
us further down the ladder, rather than back
that your mind has to remain a blank slate.
you've hit potential gold. Now it's time to
up it. But before we get to the questions
The process of qualitative enquiry is one of
add a layer of interpretation to what you've
themselves, let's reflect on what it is we're
following hunches and developing theories,
learned, understanding that those negative
asking customers to do. Do we want them to
without letting those leak through to
emotions reveal deep emotional needs that
talk about their general feelings (e.g. tell
respondents.
customers have to feel in control of their
us about your visits to the gym) or on
lives, and to be entertained.
the detail of a particular experience
What's exciting about that is that it turns
(e.g. tell us about your last visit
a common customer complaint (it took too
to the gym). Both can be
long) with a mundane and difficult solution
valid, but for customer
(do it quicker), into a deep insight about
experience work the
customer needs and motivations which
latter is usually much
opens up potential for designing better
more insightful,
experiences. If we can make customers feel
because it anchors
in control of the experience, maybe it won't
the discussion in a
matter if they're waiting for a while. If we
specific remembered
can keep them entertained in the queue (like
experience.
Disney), maybe they won't notice how long it is.
Before customers let you take them down the ladder,
What you can find out
they need to feel comfortable and
If we turn back to the spectrum of what
relaxed, and that
qualitative work can do, we can see that
means you need to
customers find it easy to talk about their
build a rapport with
attitudes. By using the ladder we can climb
them. But a qualitative
28 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
RESEARCH
I see the focus on questioning, as I'll explain in more detail later, as a bit of a trap. Just as important are what we call "probes",
is how we start to take those crucial steps
How do we work our way down the ladder from words to meaning?
down the ladder. We should not discount what people say,
Wendy Gordon outlines 6 ways, which
which are mostly designed to keep customers
the surface content, but we should never
she calls "Mindframes" in her excellent
talking about the things we're interested in.
be satisfied to let it rest at that, because
book of the same name.
Often it's a case of the simpler, the better,
that's rarely where the insight sits. We need
and keeping silent can be the best probe of
to think about who's talking, and in what
all. To point in the right direction, we show
capacity. What identity have they adopted?
customers that we're interested in their take
This, by the way, can be useful to tie in with
on their experience, and what it meant to
the design tool known as user stories—"As a
them. We want context, and we want their
BLANK, I want to do X in order to achieve Y."
The Unconcious
We also need to think about what's
interpretation of it.
conveyed by how they say it (their tone, how passionate they are, any emotional signifiers
“Listening to the world is not an automatic facility but a skill that needs to be trained.” - Les Back, The Art of Listening
that come through in body language, and so
Making sense of difference
on). And examine why they're saying what they're saying. Is it a totally straightforward attempt to explain how they feel, or are they trying, for instance, to show off to the other people in the group? If so, what does that reveal about what motivates them? Understanding that the customer
Liking
is distorting reality in order to achieve something doesn't necessarily derail your research; it might be the crucial insight that emerges from it. We want to understand as much as
Better ears
possible about the context of where and when in which our product or service sits for
Frankly, though, the focus that many
customers (researchers sometimes talk about
textbooks have on the questions we ask is,
"thick description", which I think is a really
in my view, totally misplaced. Listening is
good phrase for this).
much more important. As the sociologist Les
Why we behave like we do
And we're always trying to get down the
Back reminds us, listening is a skill, and it's
ladder to the deeper lever of meaning, needs,
one that the modern world is not necessarily
and motivations.
very good at teaching us. Listening well
Not what they say As should be obvious by now, qualitative
How
research isn't really about what customers
(tone)
Why (intent)
Language beneath the surface
Where & When
say. It's about using what they say to
(context)
about what matters to them.
What
understand something more fundamental When we talk about qualitative research,
(content)
when we report it, and when we think about
Context
it, we tend to focus on the questions we
Deeper Who (identify)
(meaning)
ask and the responses we write down. We concentrate on the words. I think that can be a massive trap. We can enhance research by including observation, photography, video… but ultimately a lot of the raw material we're dealing with does come down to words.
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 29
RESEARCH
Which is best value?
As Gordon says, “Each frame allows me to explore and understand a different representation of reality.” Thinking in this way allows a researcher to understand the world by looking at it from slightly different directions. They're like 6 pairs of glasses tinted in different colours, each of which allows us to interpret what someone says in a new light. Trying and combining different mindframes is often where the most important insights come
$56 for online subscription
$56 for online subscription
$125 for online + print
$125 for online + print $125 for print subscription
from.
Inside-out
Here's a classic example from behavioural
Deep understanding of customers
economics. Magazine subscribers were offered the choice between paying $56
You can use it to explore areas you know
for an online subscription and $125 for a
nothing about, or to climb down the ladder
combined print and online one. Most chose
to understand the psychological motivations
the cheaper option. Then the magazine
and emotional needs which drive the ways in
trialled a different ad, with a third choice of
which customers react to the products and
the print subscription on its own at $125.
experiences you create.
Now most customers went for the combined subscription because it looks like the best
Better surveys
value. That's the kind of insight that can
Outside-in
only come from psychology and experiment. But what if we wanted to understand what
That results in better quantitative surveys, which means that even if you
the colour red means to customers? There
prefer the apparent robustness of numbers
toolkit of interpretation as consisting of
are some insights that we can draw from
and percentages, you still need qualitative
fundamentally two approaches, which you
the inside-out perspective, about the visual
research to help you design effective surveys.
can call "inside-out" and "outside-in".
prominence of red, how it grabs attention and
Quant without qual often ends up giving you
Inside-out approaches come from the
seems to be closer to us than other colours.
an exact answer to the wrong question.
perspective of psychology, and include
But potentially just as important are the
things like behavioural economics and nudge
cultural associations and meanings that are
theory. They help us to understand what
baked into it. It's linked to ideas of danger,
drives customer decision making, and how
health...and what does red mean to someone
to design experiences which will work for
Chinese? Or someone from Manchester? No
fuel to feed a design thinking approach to
the way human brains are programmed.
amount of cognitive science will help us
designing great experiences for the customer,
Outside-in approaches are more informed by
understand that. Tools like semiotics are
starting from that deep understanding of
anthropology, and interpret what customers
much better placed to help us interpret these
their emotional needs so that you can design
say and their drivers in cultural terms. Both
kinds of cultural codes in a useful way.
experiences which deliver for customers in
More generally, we can think of our
are equally important, although they tend to teach you different things.
Design thinking Qualitative insight also provides the
ways that they are incapable of articulating
Summary Why do you need qualitative research?
themselves. Why do you need qualitative insight?
Because if you do it well, it's not just a
Because it's your only chance to understand
Stephen Hampshire
bunch of soundbites to support a decision
how anyone except you sees the world,
Client Manager
you've already made, it's a tool that
to understand customers and explore the
TLF Research
enables you to surface deep insights about
world from their perspective, and to discover
customers. That gives you three vital
opportunities to address their emotional needs.
things…
That seems like pretty good value to me.
stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com
30 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
Consumer Insight Consumer The data for the Clicks and Mortar & NPSInsight articles came from TLF’s panel. The data for offers the Clicks andeasy Mortar NPS articles TLF’s panel. The TLF Panel you an way&to access the came viewsfrom and opinions of UK consumers. It’s a flexible research solution with a range of uses, including: The TLF Panel offers you an easy way to access the views and opinions of UK consumers. It’s a flexible researchbehaviour, solution with a rangeand of uses, Insight into consumer attitudes usageincluding: Facts and figures for compelling content and PR stories Insight into consumer behaviour, attitudes and usage Brand awareness and competitor surveys Facts and figures for compelling content and PR stories Testing advertising and product concepts Brand awareness and competitor surveys Recruitment for focus groups and interviews Testing advertising and product concepts Recruitment for focus groups and interviews
60,000 UK consumers 60,000 UK consumers
Fast turnaround 2,000 responses Fast turnaround within 48hrs 2,000 responses within 48hrs
Range of question types Range open of Including question types comment and media Including open comment and media
Targeted surveys We can find the Targeted surveys people you need We can find the people you need
In depth reporting and analysis In depth reporting Demographic splits and analysis as standard Demographic splits as standard
Want to try us out? We’ll give you 2 free questions (worth £375) – email tom@tlfpanel.com for details Want to try us out? We’ll give you 2 free questions (worth £375) – email tom@tlfpanel.com for details Visit tlfpanel.com Visit tlfpanel.com
BOOK REVIEW
THE CUSTOMER CATALYST BY CHRIS ADLARD AND DANIEL BAUSOR We’re always on the lookout for new books
hearts. 27 pages is nowhere near enough to
Those are all vital if you want to build
relevant to our focus on customer experience
cover such an important subject in detail, but
a customer-led culture. The authors also
and insight, particularly ones that are based
the authors highlight some important issues,
suggest, slightly more controversially, that
on a strategy of long-term profitability
such as:
all organisations need a C-level person with
derived from focusing on the customer.
• The need for continuous feedback
responsibility for the customer, often a CCO.
• The flaws of NPS if it is implemented to tick a
They stress that this is in addition to making
That strategic focus has been frustratingly rare since the glory days of The Service-Profit Chain and Good to Great etc. Many books
box or “chase the score” • The need to link VoC data with other data
creating specialist customer-centric roles won’t achieve change in itself.
about the customer are useful, but take a very tactical view of measuring and improving
the entire organisation customer-focused—
We would like to see a greater emphasis
Experience
the customer experience, push a magic bullet
on research and insight as a tool that enables
solution (the one thing you need to do in order
you to understand customers, rather than
to succeed), or turn out to be playing semantic
simply gathering feedback. Whether it’s
“Companies should never let their own internal
games to dress old ideas up in new clothing.
analysing data in the correct way, or using
ideas, especially around so-called technological
qualitative insight effectively, good research
innovation, divert them from fully understanding
more—a proper strategic view of how to run
requires a layer of thought and interpretation
what is happening with their customers.”
a business with a customer-centric mindset.
to enable organisations to improve. Gathering
Does it deliver? Well, you’ll have to wait until
the data is not enough.
The Customer Catalyst promises something
the end for our verdict. The authors examine how to build a
If the customer experience is your brand now, as Shep Hyken suggests, then it
Culture
business by starting from the Customer
follows that you need to be investing in the experiences you create. Some highlights:
Experience and working back from there,
“A customer mission statement that is authentic
• Human first, technology second
focusing each chapter on one of the 10 key
and translated into meaningful actions for
• You can’t be perfect, so prioritise the crucial
elements of what they call a “C-change
employees is one of the most effective rallying
growth engine”.
calls for any organisation.”
moments • The crucial role of customer journey mapping to capture customer & employee views
Voice
There’s no question that getting the culture right is vital to making a business
In terms of practical advice, this is
“…VoC is an essential part of driving
customer centric in its bones. Adlard and
probably the best chapter in the book with
transformation in the Customer Economy. It
Bausor highlight:
some really tangible ideas on how and where
becomes potent when combined with intelligence
• The need for cross-functional teams
to use journey mapping, in particular, to drive
from other sources such as employees and
• Aligning KPIs to customer health
improvements in the customer experience.
operational data.”
• The importance of symbolic actions
We particularly agree with the power of
• Trusting employees to make good decisions
service blueprints to reveal opportunities for
• The role of the CEO as a communicator, for
improvement, and the need to get customer
The first element is a Voice of the Customer programme (customer research,
example “…strong social media profiles with
and employee input before using journey
in other words)—a subject very dear to our
relevant, customer-led views…”
mapping workshops.
32 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
BOOK REVIEW
Technology
Customer Health is another “new
Advocacy
technique” which is really just a new term “…companies should map out their CX and
for an old idea—it becomes a lot easier to
“Customer advocates are known and trusted and
customer journeys before choosing which
manage the customer experience if you can
help drive a higher quality and value of leads,
technology and platforms to keep, remove and
get realtime data from across the business
as well as higher conversion rates, in shorter
add.”
which will help you to manage it. This is not
timeframes.”
an alternative to survey data, but an essential Technology forms a big (and increasing)
complement to it.
The principal of customer advocacy is
part of the customer experience for most
• Choosing the right measures is crucial
simple—if your customers are happy, let them
organisations, but it’s safe to say that
• Action is more important than metrics
do the selling for you. Every organisation
it’s not always a positive. The authors,
• You need to combine VoC with Customer
wants advocates, but what can you do to
quite rightly, focus on the importance
systematically encourage it? The book suggests:
Health
of integration, and of starting with the customer need rather than the technology
• Don’t look simply at referrals or references,
Engagement
you want to build storytelling around “mutual
solution: • Integration is more important than new features or functions • “Data is the new oil”
business currency” “Customer Engagement is about creating connections, via multiple channels, between the
valuable) Engaging with your customers is essential, both to strengthen your
Digital
strategy • Make sure your advocates feel valued (not just
customer and an organisation.”
• CRM should be about giving a 360o view of the customer, not a sales pipeline
• Profile your advocates, and match them to your
Our verdict
relationship and to make sure that you understand their needs. This is especially
Does The Customer Catalyst deliver on
“…real-time personalisation is becoming the
true in B2B relationships, where finding
its promise? We found it a little heavy on
norm in digital interactions.”
ways to add value to the relationship can
buzzwords, but once you dig beyond these
make all the difference to long-term loyalty
there is much of value. We certainly agree that
and value. The book points out:
many businesses are too focused on internal
• Engagement is about adding value to build
metrics and behaviours, not enough on the
Disruption is coming to many sectors, and much of it consists of new entrants meeting customer needs with new digital offerings. Often the digital experience is the product. The keys to the digital experience: • Being simple and frictionless • Digital makes it easier to gather behavioural
outside-in view, and to focus on shifting
trust • Segmentation links to your strategy of who • You need to see Account Based Marketing as part of a wider strategy of engagement
Co-creation
case studies and lessons from practitioners working in companies such as Microsoft,
data) “…organisations that maintain continuous
Success
Each of the ten elements highlighted includes important ideas, and many of these are brought to life with interesting
data • Realtime personalisation (powered by AI and
businesses into a customer-led strategy is absolutely right.
to engage
Signifiy, and Starling bank.
contact with their customers, face-to-face and online, gain a firm grasp of unsatisfied
“Customer Success has much in common with
needs which is at the very
other customer-centric philosophies such as
heart of marketing in the
Customer Experience, Customer Advocacy and
Customer Economy.”
Customer Engagement.” Bound up with the Customer Success is a relatively new term,
idea of engagement
at least outside of SaaS where it started (see
is the possibility of
CI Summer 19). Whether it’s really all that
co-creating innovation
new a concept is something to debate, but
and experience with
we agree that it brings a useful focus on:
customers. Effective
• Driving business outcomes for the customer
co-creation requires:
• The post-sales customer experience
• A strategic commitment,
• Proactive over reactive service
not just piecemeal
• External measures rather than internal
project-by-project
measures
approach • A clear vision
Health
• Openness with
“Customer Health measurements are objective
• Constant dialogue
information and data-driven…”
with customers
www.tlfresearch.com | Winter 2019/20 Customer Insight 33
HOW HARD CAN IT BE?
TV advertising he doesn’t understand, and I’m with Brian on that one!
Nigel Hill
But are we really any
Chairman
more sophisticated than
TLF Research
when we rushed out to buy the latest cure-all in the 1890s or Oxo cubes in the 1960s? According to
and wealthier. In fact, they’re now starting to
Which? magazine’s latest
out-earn their parents. Millennials now have
research into so-called Black Friday deals, definitely not. Which? says that in 2018 95% of the Black Friday deals were bogus.
The media love to make us laugh by showing us ads from bygone times that
an average household income of £40,000, slightly above the £36,000 for Baby Boomer households. Driven by the growing functionality
The websites concerned, including Amazon,
of smartphones, they spend 60 per cent
John Lewis and Currys PC World promoted
of their shopping time online. They want
offers at higher prices than they sold the
information to be quickly and easily
products in the weeks before or after Black
available — research shows that a one-
supposedly demonstrate how our simplistic
Friday. Examples given by Which? were that
second delay in mobile load times can
ancestors would believe anything the nasty
“at John Lewis, a De’Longhi coffee machine
impact conversion rates by up to 20 per
manipulative advertisers told them. Amazing
was offered at £399 on Black Friday, but
cent. So is it possible that they’re a bit
panaceas in Victorian times that would
it was then discounted to £368 on at least
more sophisticated than us crusty old baby
cure anything from a head cold to arthritis.
35 occasions in the following six months.
boomers like to think? Cash rich but time
Smiling housewives with perfect families
Meanwhile, Amazon put its Echo (2nd Gen)
poor they know that not everything on Black
on early TV ads like the Oxo series starring
on offer as 39% cheaper on Black Friday,
Friday is the best bargain ever but it’s a
'Katie' and 'Philip'. Everything revolved
when it had been cheaper on at least 13
quick, easy and relatively low cost way of
around dinner as Katie informed Philip that
occasions before that date”.
getting the Christmas shopping done and
“Oxo has nine good ingredients and 'gives
Although the Which? findings were widely
dusted rather than battling round the high
a meal man appeal'.” Also we were told by
reported during the week leading up to
street and still not getting everything they
Bernard Miles that Mackeson 'looks good,
Black Friday it didn’t seem to put us off.
wanted. And if Edgar doesn’t transparently
tastes good and, by golly, it does you good'.
Barclaycard, which was monitoring real-
promote John Lewis or some of their prices
time transaction data for Black Friday, and
are not their best bargains, who cares? If
for Gibbs SR toothpaste (“tingling fresh”),
processes almost £1 in every £3 spent in the
their website doesn’t load on your phone
marketing has come a long way. Marketers
UK, reported seeing a 12.5 per cent increase
in less than a second you won’t be buying
understand that we are now so clever that we
in the volume of transactions. Retailers also
anything from them anyway.
will assimilate the selling message even when
had a strong preceding week according to
the creatives do their utmost to hide any
Barclaycard’s transaction data, with many
hints of the product their ad is supposedly
beginning Black Friday sales early.
Since the first UK television ad in 1955
tempting us to buy. Possibly epitomised by
Last year, the British Retail Consortium
the John Lewis Christmas ads such as the
reported that retailers had their worst
boy and the penguin or the bear and the hare
Christmas in a decade and the Office
which made no mention that they might be
for National Statistics attributed this
promoting a department store let alone John
drop in sales to Black Friday. This is
Lewis! They seem to have gone one step
supported by research from McKinsey
further this year, accused of traumatising
which shows that just 19 per cent of UK
children with their £7 million excitable Edgar
consumers participated in Black Friday
the dragon ad, though they will no doubt
in 2015 — but by 2017, this had soared to
argue that the social media uptake makes it
54 per cent.
all worthwhile. Brian Palmer, creator of that revolutionary SR ad in 1955 says there’s now a lot of
So why is this happening? The answer is clearly that millennials, Britain’s first digitally native generation, are getting older
34 Customer Insight Winter 2019/20 | www.tlfresearch.com
Customer Insight Magazine is created and published in house by TLF Research. The magazine is our way of sharing features and latest thinking on creating an outstanding customer experience. We hope you enjoy reading the magazine as much as we enjoy creating it. If you’ve got an interesting customer experience story to tell and would like to feature in the magazine, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact our editor Stephen Hampshire for more information.
Email Stephen at stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com or give him a call on 01484 467014
ABOUT TLF RESEARCH We are a full service customer research agency. Specialists in customer insight, we help our clients understand and improve their customer experience. Get in touch to find out more about what we do.
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Online customer research offers you a flexible approach to connect with your customers and online communities offer an engaging platform to undertake a range of qualitative research. Online communities can sometimes be more cost effective than focus groups and allow for a much deeper understanding, with participants given time to consider their responses and supply rich media to back up their responses. In this webinar we’ll discuss the uses of online communities, such as online focus groups, in-depth interviews or bulletin boards, and how these can help you dig deeper, have longer conversations, and visualise your customers.
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B2B customer research can be more than just an opportunity to understand how satisfied your customers are currently – It can also be an opportunity to understand what your customers need beyond your existing products and services. Exploratory research with a B2B audience can offer a whole range of insight to help you improve the customer experience and inform the direction of business. This webinar will outline the benefits of undertaking, exploratory research specifically for your B2B customers. Rachel will also take you through some practical examples from her recent projects.
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22nd April 2020 11:00-11:30am
Businesses often want answers to questions about cause and effect (Why has the score gone down? What impact will this new process have on retention?), but research has traditionally been reluctant to make causal claims (“correlation is not causation”). Now big data, online A/B testing, and the new science of causality are changing our understanding of what’s possible.
Service Blueprints can take Customer Journey Mapping to the next level. Corresponding to a specific customer journey, which could involve multiple channels, touch points and business functions, Service Blueprints can help ensure a consistent customer focused experience. In this webinar, Stephen will be discussing how Service Blueprints can help you connect the customer experience with the views of your internal teams and business functions.
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