Using Surveys to Implement Future Strategy
In my experience, the biggest concern with revolutionizing Customer service in any industry has been how to successfully implement the new standards so that they stick and do not become just “flavor of the month”. The book What’s The Secret?: To Providing a World-Class Customer Experience outlines the X Commandment Methodology. Commandment VI, Implementation & Execution is arguably the most difficult. Regardless of the industry you are in, effectively implementing the Customer service initiatives is critical to your return on investment.
Implementing Customer service standards may seem like a daunting task for most companies. Where do you start? How do you implement? How do you maintain? Working with the Customer Xperience Executives (CXEs) of our consulting clients, I have been able to narrow down a few best practices that yield measurable results and cost almost nothing to implement.
Where do you start? How do you implement?
What gets measured gets managed! One best practice used by Mid-States Concrete Industries, a consulting client of The DiJulius Group, is the implementation of Customer satisfaction surveys. By adding a Customer service survey to their email signatures, Mid-States has built their own tracking method that pinpoints areas for improvement and opportunities.
Every email that is sent from a Mid-States employee includes a link to the survey. Both employees and Customers are encouraged to rate their experience by filling out the survey. The results of these surveys are monitored by Stephanie McCord, Marketing Associate at Mid-States and a graduate of the Customer Experience Executive Academy (CXEA). She is responsible for reviewing the survey results and directing the information to the appropriate department so that any issues can be resolved. This approach has cost them nothing to implement and has not only brought awareness to issues, but has also allowed Above & Beyond success stories to surface.
Mid-States employees are now aware of their Customer service strengths and weaknesses. This new awareness has created a proactive approach to solve issues for their Customers that previously did not exist. With the implementation of these surveys, each employee is now responsible to make things right with Customers that they might not have previously even known was wrong.
*Related – Become your organizations next Customer Xperience Executive
How do you maintain?
This implementation has allowed for specific employees to be recognized for their efforts of going Above & Beyond within the company and for their clients. Sharing these Above & Beyond stories in meetings and via email across the entire company has motivated others to get involved and encouraged them to recognize opportunities to be the hero. As a result of these implementation practices, Mid-States has seen a noticeable change in the sense of teamwork within each department.
Can you identify a similar process within your organization? How can you collect valuable information from your Customers that will ultimately encourage your employees to go Above & Beyond?
Jessica Bound is a Customer Experience Consultant with The DiJulius Group, Jess leads clients in generating ideas, turning those ideas into systems, and then implementing and executing them enterprise wide. She can be reached at jessica@thedijuliusgroup.com.
Exciting Future
It is with genuine excitement to share that our Chief Marketing Officer David “Daveeed” Wagner is going on his own and building a marketing consulting practice called 1marketingidea.com.
For the last ten years David has been instrumental at branding The DiJulius Group and helping us change the world by creating a Customer Service Revolution. With his help, The Secret Service Summit is known as America’s #1 Customer Service Conference. We are so proud of David and appreciate the impact he has made with The DiJulius Group.
