Listening to your biggest customers is so important

Getting asked about how effective Mystery Customers are can sometimes be frustrating..

We help many companies understand the Customer Experience which helps in overall profitability and growth. Simple on this level,good solid customer research and Shopper Marketing.

Problem

The difficulty is that we don’t provide a standard Mystery Customer response because all clients are different and hence our response and approach are always going to be unique.

There are huge differences in customer profiles amongst a companies customers and these have to be taken into account.

Too many Mystery Customer companies have surveys the length of your arm with a zillion Yes No questions on them. A host of boxes that ask for rankings and ratings and reasoning…

All this has its place but often the wrong customer gets sent to the wrong place or is clearly not nor will be a customer of that business..its mystery shopping because the use of the feedback is a mystery…why listen to someone telling you how to improve your business who never uses your shop, restaurant,pub,cafe or firm? A person who has no idea of what you do or why you should improve.

Solution

The solution is not to bus Mystery Shoppers in but to talk to customers directly…we think we have the best possible solution that avoids the mismatch of “shoppers” not being profiled and forgetting what happened on their way home to fill in the huge survey..

Customeyes advocate being on site and talking to as many customers as possible making sure that all customer profiles are covered…it avoids getting selective feedback and ensures accuracy. The answers are genuine,it allows proper profiling of customers and it gives certainty.

By asking about Expectations, actual versus preconceived it’s possible to get a clear ROE measure – Return on Expectation which when linked to Advocacy and propensity to recommend produces powerful insights. A better picture emerges.

This picture tells you what really happened and what needs to be done to improve the customer experience to enhance Advocacy and brand awareness.

Customeyes report on solid Red Amber Green platforms and have corresponding Resistors, Acceptors and Generator customer tags to identify who is promoting and who isn’t.Where is your Social Media platform being promoted and where isn’t it? What can be dome to improve that Footprint?

What about Exit Polls? Why did they go into that shop,cafe,Estate Agent, restaurant? Was it destination or impulse? Where does this leave them in terms of Advocacy? Would they recommend based on this visit alone?

The Gift..

This approach takes the nonsense out of dull surveys that are lists of boxes that ticked without feeling or knowledge. It removes the absurdity of surveys being used to tick marketing boxes giving useless percentages that seek to flatter…

The gift is customer gold dust – real views real feedback the building blocks of solid business improvement.

There are so many tools on LinkedIn that its easy to forget just how useful they are.

Signals is possibly overlooked as a means of staying up to speed with news stories.

This gem is located under the News menu  but can also be accessed from the Home page of LinkedIn.

So what does it do for you?

You can see what is happening on a local basis,national basis or by topic and even by company.

By conducting a general search you can then narrow this down by location.

It’s a wealth of information about your area,competition and market as a whole. Track what is being said on a subject in the last week, day or even last hour.

It is also a great Customer Research tool, see what they are saying about their products and services.

How much more up to date can you get?

This video explains it all

LinkedIn Signal, competitor Intelligence made easy… bit.ly/sMItmr

— Customeyes Research(@AngusGrady) December 15, 2011

If you have any questions please do contact us

socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk

This little beauty has been around since 2003 and has changed beyond recognition.

At first the platform was mainly a recruiters play ground..people up loaded their details and recuiters could find the people they wanted. Not much use as a Social Media platform and no use as marketing tool for customer and competitive research.

Ping forward to 2011 and LinkedIn a social media environment that is a must have.

Static Database

For many business people having a LinkedIn profile was what you did..wrote it and forgot about it, many people still don’t get just how powerful it is.

Profiles don’t just sit there any more,badly written, waiting for someone to stumble upon them,it is now a highly interactive energetic environment.

Vital Tool

There is so much you can do on LinkedIn that makes it a must have and must be used tool.

1.Competitor Research – to understand and improve your own marketing  look at what the competition is up to…

View their company profiles,check out their current services get the background on their employees..see where you can imporove on what you offer by doing a Same Better Wow matrix..it’s not rocket science but it will add that thrust to your marketing..

By looking at company profiles you can see who the people are that you need to target..if you need the person at company X who does Digital Media don’t go to their web site look at the company profile…serach fro them on Linkedin, Google them, Twitter search them..get digging

Check out their Twitter profile, how long have they been on there?If they are billed as a Social Media manager and have only been on twitter for a few months then they probably aren’t that good…an opportunity to offer your services perhaps?

2. Influence – get involved with Groups and be seen as that expert, that influencer and “go to “person..Make sure that you are found for what you do by optimising your profile…no good being in a crowded room if you can’t be seen..

Start your own Group..be the key influencer and get the credit and followers – widen your influence and enhance your reputation.

Get that company profile up to speed and make sure that you have enabled the company update facility…this new facilty is great for por posting stories about how good you are…flaunt it..

3.Crowd Sourcing - use the whole platform to mine for treasure..use the Polls facility to ask questions, use Answers to get feedback and see what others are doing.Make sure that you get involved with the Groups that you belong to.

Groups are a fantastic way of testing new ideas and getting fast responses..canvas opinion like never before.

4.Listening and Contributing – by involvement in groups you get to understand the market and the competition..you also get a following…all those that you are LinkedIn with get to see what you post and can jump in and add comments.

You will be found on LinkedIn and people can follow you on other Social Media platforms  if you have a full profile that has all your details.

You can identify exactly who you want to be talking to, connect with them and contribute to the pot of industry comment.

Customer research has never been easier, Answers and Groups give you permission to ask for feedback..get testimonials which tell the world what you are good at..

It’s a New World…

We live in a world where attraction counts for so much more than it did…”Selling by Yelling” doesn’t work anymore.

Sending out wedges of information is not doing what it used to..it is now a level playing field where the little companies can and do compete with the giants..people come to you and you can go direct to the need..

Customers buy when they are ready to and will buy from people that they have a relationship with…LinkedIn allows that relationship to flourish helping them to go to your web site,engage on Twitter and Facebook

How are you using LinkedIn?

This is a brilliant InfoGraphic on how others use the platform

Just when you think you know something…

The new Twitter homepage is here…some will have it others will get it soon..

The basics are the same but with a few nice tweaks.

If you Hover over a Tweet the normal array of Reply Retweet and Favorite comes up along with a new option, Open.

Once opened you can see how many times it has been Retweeted or added as a Favorite – handy information

Under @Connect (your Twitter name) there are now Interactions and Mentions

Interactions – Basically everything to do with your profile

Mentions – All tweets that mention you..#

#Discover - under this tab heading is housed Stories and Activity

Stories - This is a new way to Discover new stories and interesting content

Activity - Who are your friends following,what Tweets they are electing to favorite

The Browse Categories feature gives a repackaged suggestions for accounts to follow.

Find Friends is an expanded service so that you get to follow more of the people you know.

The Direct Message function is under the head icon at the top..

There are added features as well that allow you to embed a Tweet into a Blog post or onto your web site along with new buttons that you can add to your web site..

The Tweet below contains information about the changes..and is embedded

Hands on With the New Twitter.com [PICS] – on.mash.to/uWNhxL #newtwitter

— Pete Cashmore (@mashable) December8, 2011

 

The New Activity feature on Twitter is proving to be a hit with everyone I speak with at the moment.

Previously using the Favorite button was something that you may have done to bookmark a tweet that looked like it had an intersting link in it or if you were rushed and thought I’ll check that out later..

Looking at a range of my Twitter tribes profiles I can see that it has not been a massively popular option.

I have used the tool in the past as a bookmarking feature. More often than not I would have simply emailed the Tweet to myself for safe keeping.

Clicking Favorite also was a good option when I wanted to switch to another device, mostly from my mobile to my office set up.

Up until now the use of the Favorite has been a very personal thing,no one else was aware that anyone was using the tool.

Until now that is…

This very private bookmarking is now very public and it says a lot about where Twitter is headed I think.

The Activity stream not only lets you know when someone you are following retweets,when they follow but also when they Favorite something..

Now its very public and you know when someone deems one of your Tweets worthy of a Favorite..

The upside of this is that everyone can see that it has been marked as a Favorite and that in itself is good for reputation and for potential new followers.

You could see which sorts of Tweets gets a Favorite and work out which ones get more traffic to your site etc…OK its a crude methodology but one that may prove fruitful.

It is a long way off having the same currency as a Facebook Like but it is allowing a more public viewing of what others think of your Tweets..

Choosing to Favorite previously was about management,maybe now it will be about influence and who knows how the metrics behind it will or could be used..

There is of course the counter argument that the Activity stream is really nothing more than counter productive noise,a distraction which doesn’t really provide any useful information.

What do you think? Has the Activity button added anything of value to Twitter?

They probably don’t it just feels like that sometimes doesn’t it?

The reason for the question is that this morning I sat open mouthed as a senior figure from a sizeable firm talked about customer research.

The emphasis was on his firm …there was no fleeting reference to any of his competitors,he seemed oblivious that they existed..madness.

An interesting Powerpoint presentation gave nuts and bolts what customers were doing thinking and spending…very good,justified his salary no doubt.

No mention of the competition…This is dangerous for the survival of his operation…

Competitor Research is vital, listening to customers is important watching the competition is crucial…

Why?

• They may be taking business from you ,they may be trashing your reputation
• You may be missing out on contracts by not knowing their strengths and weaknesses
• What do you do the Same,Better? Where do you are they have that WOW moment?
• Who is that company that everyone is mentioning and what do they do?
• If you went out of business tonight where would your customers go in the morning?

What can you do on a regular basis to keep in touch with competitors?

• Little and often mystery shopping – check their service and product offering
• Look at their web sites, are they being constantly refreshed?
• Where do these web sites rank? Higher than yours? if YES then why?
• What’s their Social Media output? Better more focused than yours?
• Check their reputation by chatting with some of their clients…YES talk to their clients…
• Monitor key competitors by running searches..Google Alerts,Twitter and LinkedIn ..

In short if you don’t monitor what is going on you will be left behind…every business needs to grow and that doesn’t just apply to the revenue base its about growing your offering..

Shopper marketing

Recently Shopper Marketing has emerged as the new way to understand customers motivators of purchase.

It is far more focused on a strategic approach to marketing and less concerned with the short term gains of promotions and trade marketing.The long term is the objective, to increase sales but on a sustained basis.

A key plank in the thinking is that it is about selling to the shopper and not the consumer…

Radical approach given that the broadcast method of advertising and promotion has been used up until now. Generally everyone gets to hear about every offer…OK you could argue that loyalty points target your past purcahses but do they predict future decisions?

Current economic conditions make it even more imperative to make sure that customers are treated as individuals and that we are not all the same…we all have different routes to that till and getting underneath the skin of shoppers is where gains will be made.

Customer research is changing,mystery shopping and the mass of statistical information that retailers have plays a part but the approach is decidedly more shopper focused on the customer experience.

How many of us go out with the intention of buying X and come away with Y? We are brand fickle and cost concious…

This thinking is beginning to become more mainstream..O2 Rewards are catching on to the Shopper Marketing approach.

New services will undoubtedly emerge quickly but one innovation caught our eye..it’s called Beep Treat ..

It essentially allows customers to scan a Beep Treat poster and get a treat, discount etc, that can be used straight away..it also lets you post a Like to the Facebook page of the shop that you are in..

Smart technology that uses Social Media to drive sales and create brand advocacy as well as deploying new thinking…shoppers are not all the same and have differing purchase motivators..choice is important

View Angus Grady ✩Customeyes Research✩0845 6885272′s profile

Marketing and Social Media go hand in hand,I would be surprised if anyone would say that it didn’t.It may be said that the combination works better for some than it does for others which has elements of truth.

Essentially all companies from whatever sector of what ever size can derive huge benefits form using platforms such as Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn… Social Media has taken off and every business needs to be part of the conversation.

Most often the key positive factors in having a Social Media campaign are centred around brand building,raising awareness,reputation enhancement,establishing expertise. These are of course important but they don’t cover an area that is often neglected,that of Customer and Competitor  Research.

Customer and Competitor Research

It is easy to overlook the fact that there is free information out there that gets you closer to your market sector.This same information allows you to mine for New Business and gain insights into your competitors that you would never have had before.

New Business

What if you knew how to find the people who currently, as of now,need your service and want to buy that service?

Well you can…Twitter allows you to search for key words and phrases..think of it as Google in reverse..

If you needed a plumber then you might Google “Plumber Town X” and look at the results and phone a couple…imagine if a plumber called you and said they could help with your burst pipe…wow, you’d be amazed..

Searches can be run using Twitter itself and platforms such as Hootsuite..there are simple searches and you can even refine searches with an Advanced search function on Twitter.

Customer Research

By using Twitter,FaceBook and LinkedIn you can ask questions of your customers and conduct effective research.

Simply ask you followers for feed back using a variety of available tools...FaceBook has plenty of platforms that can be used, LinkedIn has Answers for example, in Twitter just ask and you will get responses from your followers..if the post is Re Tweeted then you automatically get a wider potential base of answers.

Competitor Intelligence

Track your competitors by checking their FaceBook pages, interrogate LinkedIn company profiles to see what they have been up to – very useful to see who the key people are in rival organisations.Quick research often gets good results, key people,new hires,new services…

Use Twitter to stay in touch with what competitors are up to. Follow key companies and people,check their lists and see who they are following,using tracking tools of which there are many..

The key to making this work is organisation…use the tools available and make sure that you have the basics in place, Google Alerts,a good Twitter platform such as Hootsuite,with lists and searches organised properly.Follow companies in LinkedIn,Like companies on Facebook,build relationships.

Use your LinkedIn company profile to post updates about what you are up to as a company,a powerful way to supplement your Online activity.

Remember…your Social Media marketing activity will take time to bear fruit,but your Customer Research and Competitor Intelligence will deliver immediate feedback…business intelligence that can be acted upon NOW..

We know what works because we have worked hard at finding out ….practical solutions that gets our clients results.

Not sure how to get the best from your campaigns?

Get in touch and arrange a chat,happy to help…..please contact socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk
View Angus Grady ✩Customeyes Research✩0845 6885272′s profile

Customer experience could be so much better if one simple question were to be asked..customer complaints would be hugely reduced, it would be hard to get it wrong when you know why they are there..

Every time you use a service this should be a fundamental first port of call. If you are switching from one service provider to another then this small but powerful word should be top of mind and asked..

When you book a table at your favourite restaurant normally you are asked,what time,how many,sometimes even if any in the party have particular food needs.

Never but Never are you asked WHY you are booking…what a waste of an opportunity to be of service before they start to be of service.

If asked Why and you replied ..”because its my birthday.” then that’s a golden opportunity for the restaurant to make it a special occasion for you… free drink perhaps,maybe a small cake..

What ever the occasion a WHY supplies the means to offer even better customer service and build loyalty and hence advocacy.

If you think about it it’s such a small word that can add so much value. It can make or break a customer experience and will always ensure that you get good service as they now know why you are there.

Professional Services

Having recently conducted customer research in the professional services sector we were never asked that simple question.

The brief was to get feedback on the services that these companies were offering,basic enquiries,including, how long it took then to get back to us via email and telephone and what was a sked when they did.

Rarely did that little 3 letter word get used…Why do you want to use us? Why are you considering a move? Why was your previous service supplier not being re engaged?

Most times a list of benefits was trotted out that was meant to convince that they were the right recipients of our money..

In cases like these professional service companies should see a potential client as a great source of customer research..they may be researching you but get feedback…who else have they called? How many others are they looking at? Why do you think we can help? Why are you considering us..

It’s basic Business Intelligence gathering.

It’s good to go back to childhood, keep asking Why..it used to be irritating but now it gets results…

There has been a lot of comment recently on Twitter in particular about customers being left for a long time without their BT service…these comments have not been good on the hole.. customer rage has been at full tilt..search #BTcare on Twitter for a sample…customer complaints have been high

As examples of good experiences they don’t rate highly.If the last few days of comments were used in customer research then BT would not be looking good..

Not being a fan of large corporates I have to hand it to BT for the diligence they displayed in getting my broadband sorted out.

There have been problems and BT have admitted this..a first perhaps.

I called a number on my phone bill and got that off shore call centre and thought here we go…to my amazement I was asked intelligent questions by the most polite of people..options were explored and  my number taken so that they could call back in ten minutes.

Call back…

They actually called back and told me that the issue was fixed and that my broadband was back up and running…they even apologised for it being down..

Since the first call some 3 hours ago BT have called back to see if everything is still working…how good is that?

How to handle a disgruntled customer..

My issue was handled brilliantly and highlights the key issues in customer service recovery..

• Be honest with the customer
• Take the blame
• Deal with the issue at once..
• Get back to the customer with the solution..
• Re contact to see if all still OK..

I am now a firm fan of BT..until my broadband goes down again….