Standing Out From The Crowd

I am proud to announce that Vox’s 2007 Automobile Insurance Mind Model Study is now available (this represents a considerable part of my work, so I better be proud ). 

Anyway, the study examines the online channel to determine industry-wide norms and discover why companies succeed or fail in attracting and retaining customers.

If you want to know more, take a look on Bill Cusick’s post on Vox Customer Experience Blog.

In my last post (”Welcome Back! Long Time, No See“), I commented on how face-to face interactions are being affected by the reliance on technology, subsequently missing real customer relationship development opportunities. After posting it, I realized that it wasn’t very fair. Technology and CRM tools can be useful for improving the Customer Experience in real world situations with creative implementation. So I decided to devote a few brain cells towards imagining some scenarios that could be implemented with today’s tools and technology.  Here is what I came up.

Grocery Stores:

After a busy day at the office, Beth (our imaginary customer) is driving home when she decides to stop by the store for some groceries.

On entering the store, she goes directly to the first available Customer Service Kiosk and, having forgotten her “Preferred Client” card, uses her index finger to log in. The system shows Beth her current shopping list with her son’s wish list, added earlier at home over the Internet. The system offers Beth some interesting new products fitted to her needs and a list of personalized coupons. She then prints out her shopping list and coupons, sorted by the store’s aisle layout so she won’t have to backtrack.

As she shops, a chip embedded in Beth’s cart stores her information and a wireless device indicates her location in the store.

Beth is speeding through her list until she notices that one item is out of stock. Of course, the list shows several recommended substitutions for the missing item, but Beth is not sure which to choose.  She decides to ask for help and presses a Customer Help button on her shopping cart. A nearby attendant, alerted by an automated text message on his two-way radio, approaches her.

“Good evening, Ms. Johnson, It is good to have you back!” says the attendant.
“Are you by any chance wondering about a substitution?”

“Oh yes, thank you!  I was looking for a dandruff shampoo for my husband, but his favorite brand is out of stock,” she tells him.

“Not a problem!” He swiftly picks up his hand computer and downloads her list and shopping history. “We have several other good brands, but I see here that your husband bought ACME shampoo the last time he was here. Was he happy with that purchase?”

“Yes, I think he said he still preferred the other one, but this brand was ok,” she says.

“If you like, I can get one for you. If not, I personally think this other brand here is very good. It’s a little more expensive, but it is more effective,” he adds.

“Oh, thanks! I will try that one,” Beth decides.

Satisfied with her choice, Beth walks towards the checkout and a small display on her cart indicates which cashier has the shortest line. At the checkout, the smiling cashier greets her with a “Hi Ms. Johnson, did you find everything you needed?” while quickly scanning her purchases. As the cashier thanks her, she adds, “Did you know that you can call us ahead of time and have your whole list ready for you by the time you arrive?”

She didn’t know that, but she is already considering doing that the next time she shops.

. . .

Forget all the Sci-Fi movies’ wildest predictions (although Minority Report has an interesting take on possible future customer experiences), the example here is imagined, but quite feasible with today’s technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is already doing something like it already. 

Are you? 

For the past 4 months I’ve been helping to conduct a study about the Online Customer Experience on the U.S. Banking Industry.  The study is called “Mind Model” and is finally available for free download from Vox Inc at http://www.voxinc.com/banking-mind-model.htm.

The Banking Mind Model Representation is a general analysis of how Banking industry websites are represented and how typical consumer banking customers would recognize and react to some of its distinct characteristics. Customers become used to this convention, deeming bank websites that don’t follow such protocols as “confusing”. While a company’s strategy may purposefully break from this convention, such a break should not be arbitrary. Rather it should be driven by a thorough analysis of the risks and benefits associated with such a divergence.

Below is an example of graph, extracted from the study, showing the Industry Mind Model representation and Allocation Map:

The Banking Mind Model highlights the similarities and differences between various consumer banking website homepages and how consumers, exposed to the online banking competitive landscape, might recognize and react to a site’s distinct characteristics. Vox compared the top 10 U.S. providers and several bank sites from related segments including insurance, financial services and regional banks. Bank sites assessed include:

^{1 Top ten U.S. Bank by assets 2 Regional Bank; 3 Insurance; 4 Financial Services}  

Customer engagement is critical to ensuring strong, long-term relationships. Online banking is one of the most effective offerings for cementing customer loyalty. Given this fact, it’s surprising how many of the major sites don’t prominently feature tutorials for online banking and contextual help. Another area where banks are behind the curve is screen resolution. Most bank sites are optimized for 800×600 displays, ignoring the fact that approximately 75% of today’s customers use larger monitors. Thus, valuable real estate opportunities are being lost.

To know more download the full report. It’s free. 

With so much talk around Web Usability, it is easy to forget that Usability is a much broader concept and can be applied to almost everything.
 
By definition, Usability is the easy with which people can employ a tool or human made object to achieve a particular goal. 

Lately, this definition has expanded to include the effectiveness and efficiency with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment.

In other words, you are surrounded by usability examples.  Some as complex as the computer in front of you, some as simple as your coffee mug.  Everything around you can probably be measured for its usability. Most can still be improved.

Signal vs. Noise posted today a very interesting entry about Casino Usability.  Even considering all observed flaws to the posted information (check Hunter’s comment), the discussion itself already makes the point of how usability could and should be applied beyond the internet.

Here are two examples in the opposite side of the Customer Experience spectrum:

The first one was pointed out today by Seth Godin in his blog and is a perfect case of holding a grudge against your customers without learning how to deal with them. At the “Four Paws Design” website, an oblivious customer may find the following FAQ:

“Unfortunately, we can no longer take phone orders. Customers forget to tell us something and after the order is placed and processed, they claim we wrote down incorrect information. By placing an order online, we have a record of exactly what you want, especially for custom-designed items, leaving no room for error.”

I think I don’t even need to go as far as reminding the “customer is always right” cliché. It’s enough to observe that no company should be arrogant to the point of believing that they are NEVER wrong.

The second example I saw commented in the Signal vs. Noise Blog and shows how far a company can go to be remarkable to their customers. HP is launching a new feature for its digital cameras: An Instant Digital Diet! (At least on your pictures.)

I will not discuss the moral or ethic implications of their ad, but one has to appreciate the lengths they seem to go to be innovative and customer-centric.

Well, if nothing else, at least is food for thought…