Futurelab
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We help our clients profitably manage and improve their customer's experience, develop compelling new value propositions, and organize their business and culture in a customer-centric way. Follow the blog to know more about us.
Futurelab
4M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Be honest.”
One of the largest insurance groups in the world asked us to review their Voice of the Customer programme. On paper, they were doing everything right. Their customer KPI was highlighted in the annual report, they had a clear business case on how many millions in extra profits one extra percentage point meant, and they regularly communicated the results internally. Sounds great, right?
In reality, there were several flaws in their programme. Closed loop was not implemented because surveys were anonymous by phone. Using call agents lead to skewing of ..read more
Futurelab
4M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Find the crucial moments.”
Last week we talked about manufacturers who have to disperse their customer experience standards to the vast network of importers, distributors, and other retail partners. I called them “indirect” customers for a reason: you have to be customer centric to your business partners too. Not just because they represent a large group of end buyers, but because lack of partner understanding can result in a disaster.
“Didn’t deliver on time” seems tolerable if we are talking about a late package. Looks like an error that can be undone by a vo ..read more
Futurelab
4M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Think in value chains.”
Remember last week’s tire company? During our customer journey project for them, we realised that their success heavily depended on the vast network of “indirect” customers. Like many manufacturers, they work with importers, distributors, service points, and other retail partners who ultimately deliver customer experience. But customers may not be aware of this, so if they have a bad experience, they may blame the brand, not the shop. It was vitally important to involve all of them, irrespective of size: both large scale distributors and ..read more
Futurelab
4M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Hire for attitude, train for success.”
When you start your CX programme, it is vital to involve your employees early on. To create a customer centric organization, your people need to be willing, skilled, and able to be customer centric. Let’s talk about the willing part first (we’ll get to skilled and able later).
We all had poor experiences, but did they happen because someone decided “I am going to RUIN someone’s day today”? More likely, they came from bad planning, poor processes, or lack of training. Not everyone is naturally customer centric, and not ever ..read more
Futurelab
5M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Cut down mental effort.”
Last week was my birthday. One of the gifts I received was a book–not written by my favourite author but recommended by him. My To Be Read stack is rather large, and it’s only growing, but that does not stop me from getting more books*. I do not stop there. I also want to watch every series, listen to every new album, visit every city, and try every food on the planet.
Unfortunately, there is not enough time and too much choice. And choices are difficult. We know by now that decision making is actual work that brains do not necessarily ..read more
Futurelab
5M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Make your work rewarding.”
Last week my company held a conference to exchange knowledge and experience with partners and clients. We all had a great day of workshops, presentations, and networking. The topics covered anything from customer metrics to AI. For the evening, we all went to a nice restaurant nearby the conference venue. I expected good food, interesting drinks, and a cozy atmosphere. I did not expect a Michelin-level customer service.
Restaurant service is a common topic for horror stories both on the customer and server side, while good experiences ..read more
Futurelab
5M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Every comment has a context.”
Not reading customer comments can cost you more than money. That’s what my last week’s column was about. But today I want to tell a story of how we analysed the comments and…decided to ignore them. Well, almost.
We ran a Voice of the Customer pilot for a much-loved global lifestyle product. Their NPS numbers were through the roof. The comments were rhapsodic. Many respondents said thatthey had already recommended the product. But the “What should we improve” comments were scattered with demands to lower the price. Was the pro ..read more
Futurelab
5M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Do not aggregate scores.”
I recently told a story about a large B2B company that hired a team of “translators”to help interpret feedback results into tangible actions. The same colleague taught me how important it is to look beyond the metrics.
When setting up or calibrating Voice of the Customer programmes, we always advise against aggregating various metrics into one, or creating a combo score based on several touch points. At my colleague’s company, this recommendation was not followed. As a result, feedback was lumped together into a singular score per cust ..read more
Futurelab
6M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“The customer voice is a signal, not noise.”
What capabilities should a Voice of the Customer manager have? I often struggle to answer this question. The reason is that getting customer data and creating business insight based on require two different types of people. A researcher should deliver unbiased data, but a business operative should be biased towards the business. VoC manager should therefore be able tocreate a bridge between these two.
I thought I was crazy for even thinking this, until I heard from a colleague working for one of the largest B2B compan ..read more
Futurelab
6M ago
#NoBullshitCX #20yearsFuturelab
“Think Change, not CX.”
In my previous column I touched upon the topic of burnout. It was a self-joke, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that the threat is real. I have seen so many bright-eyed and bushy-tailed people enter the CX industry only to meet them a few years later bitter and disappointed. Many leave the field entirely. I don’t see the same movement in adjacent industries of market research or technology. What could be the reasons?
In my very humble opinion, one of the key reasons lies in the misconception that companies want to change ..read more