How does one create a great customer
experience for their customers? What are the secrets of obtaining customers and
keep them coming back? These are the questions that anyone that is involved with
a business asks themselves, but may not be able to answer. Recently Al Nevarez
from Allegiance recently visited the Web Analytics class at
the University of Utah to provide insights on how to answer these questions.
What kind of company is Allegiance and what do
they do?
According to Allegiance’s website,
“Allegiance was formed in 2005 when SilentWhistle, an ethics compliance company
founded by Adam Edmunds, merged with Allegiance Technologies, a provider of
web-based feedback tools founded by Dr. Gary Rhoads. Since then,
Allegiance has grown to become one of the leading providers of Enterprise Feedback
Management solutions. In July 2009, Allegiance acquired Inquisite, an
innovative provider of online survey software based in Austin, Texas.”
Allegiance also provides a company overview and describes their
services, “The Allegiance Engage platform is a feedback system that continually
collects and analyzes the voice of customers and employees. Engage has the
unique capacity to collect feedback through multiple channels (email, Web,
print, phone) and accumulate those responses in a central database for analysis
and action.
The Engage technology platform encompasses a family of feedback
solutions including customer loyalty and employee retention; we round out our
service offerings with professional services, training and support. Allegiance
experts help companies to select the best feedback channels, customize surveys,
and execute a strategic action plan to yield measurable results.
Background
on the ebook “Delivering Customer Intelligence”.
“Delivering
Customer Intelligence” is an ebook compiled by Allegiance where industry
experts share their own insight and experience in helping companies create a
voice of the customer program. The book can be downloaded by accessing
Allegiance’s website here. The book discusses topics such as
the economic benefit of listening to customers, how to approach the customer
experience, creating measurable outcomes, and gives several case studies of
companies that have used the tools discussed in the book.
What is the
Total Experience Design?
According to
Al Nevarez, The Total Experience Design integrates functional, activity, and
life needs with the right mix of basic, performance, and delight features. He
writes that the “Total Experience Design model provides a simple yet
comprehensive means of auditing your customer’s entire experience”. In the book
“Delivering Customer Intelligence”, Al Nevarez suggests nine possible areas to
analyze when addressing the experience of customers. He provides the following
visual to better explain the Total Experience design:
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| http://www.allegiance.com/blog/designing-a-great-customer-experience-strategy/4143 |
You will
notice that this model addresses the features that a customer is looking for.
These features are noted as the basic features one expects
from a service or product. Performance features considers any additional
benefit above a basic feature, and delight feature looks at those characteristics
that a customer would not necessarily expect in a product but enjoy having them.
These features are then compared to the different types of needs such as Life,
Activity, and Functional needs.
How would a
company come to know what their customer’s needs are and what features to
provide to their customers to fulfill these needs? Mr. Nevarez suggests a
variety of different methods, but focuses on four key items. These include
Design Thinking, Observing Customers in Another Industry, See Products as
Verbs, and Buy Your Customers a Gift.
-Design
Thinking is an approach to finding great ideas that focuses on five steps.
These steps include Empathize > Define Problems & Opportunities >
Brainstorm > Prototype > Test.
-Observing
Customer in Another Industry suggests that Life Needs and Activity Needs are
common to many people, that they can be identified in any industry. He says to
always be listening to people no matter what the product is.
-See
Products as Verbs helps one see any issues or opportunities that have not already
been identified.
-Buy Your
Customer a Gift encourages a company to listen and get to know their customers
so that they may be comfortable in purchasing a gift that their customers would
like. This requires a company to listen and truly know who their customer is.
As it
becomes ever more competitive to attract and retain customers, it is imperative
that we understand the needs and wants of these customers. Please visit www.allegiance.com for more advice on building a customer intelligence program.
Sources:
Peppers, Don
& Rogers, Martha. “Delivering Customer Intelligence” Allegiance 2012
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