CX Tool
Voice-of-the-Customer Action Plans
Focusing on Leading Indicators
Lynn Hunsaker
ClearAction
Customer
Insight &
Understanding
B2B and B2C
Overview
• What is customers’ ROI on time they’ve invested in your customer surveys?
– The company’s ROI is also not maximized unless customers’ well-being
becomes improved as a result of providing their input
• Getting to the root cause of customers’ perceptions is essential
– The goal is to systemically resolve the company’s weaknesses
– Ultimately, prevention of recurrence is needed: reduce costs, grow fans
– Root cause analysis may also reveal differentiation opportunities
• Action plans that eradicate root causes will improve customer perceptions
– Track the progress of your action plan to predict customer rating progress
• Your action plan progress metric is a leading indicator of customers’ views
– A leading indicator tracks what your stakeholders have not yet been
exposed to, so you can manage its progress (e.g. in-process metrics)
– A lagging indicator tracks what your stakeholders have already been
exposed to (e.g. their perceptions, revenue, market share, etc.)
The Customer Experience Improvement Model
• Customer perceptions exist
(perceptions have already happened, so they’re “lagging” indicators)
– We capture customer inputs to understand customer perceptions
• Customer feedback may be quantitative and/or qualitative
(feedback reflects what already happened, so it’s a “lagging” indicator)
– We create action plans to address customer feedback
• Action plan metrics track our progress in addressing root issues of feedback
(we see action plan results before stakeholders, so they’re “leading” indicators )
– We communicate progress to customers to reset their perceptions
Template for Focusing on Leading Indicators
Customize this chart for your organization, using instructions on next pages
What Are the Key Drivers of Customer Experience?
Assign a Team for Each Key Driver
1. After analyzing customer feedback and prioritizing low-performing key drivers of superior
customer experience, organize cross-functional teams within and/or across business
units:
• Invite team members who are familiar with the key driver in question.
• Allow each team to focus on a single customer pain point.
Why Should You Improve This Key Driver?
Identify the Business Context of This Key Driver
2. Specify the business impact/trend of this customer pain point – how is it affecting:
• Consistent delivery of your brand promise.
• Your ability to reach your customer experience goals.
• Customer loyalty, satisfaction, word-of-mouth and/or referrals.
• Revenue, market share, share of wallet and/or profit.
(Customize to your situation; fill this in prior to workshop, if possible.)
What Are the Trends for This Key Driver?
Provide the Customer Perception Context of This Key Driver
3. Note customer data trends for this pain point (customize to your situation):
• Year-to-year ratings, or volume of complaints, inquiries, cases.
• Comparisons to competitor performance and/or customer expectations.
(Fill this in prior to workshop, if possible.)
Identify What’s Causing the Symptoms
Identify Root Causes
3) Allow time in the workshop for the team to study customer comments, and to
summarize the key areas of customer pain.
4) Drill down to the root cause(s) of the customer pain.
• Ask “why is that happening?” 5 times until you have reached the root cause(s).
5) Create a problem statement from the customer’s viewpoint, including the root cause
which may not be visible to the customer.
How Can You Resolve the Root Causes?
Map an Action Plan to the Root Causes
6) Develop an action plan, specifying for each action step:
• Estimated impact of that step in resolving the customer’s problem.
• An individual who is responsible for completion of the step.
• A specific date for completion of the step.
Identify Your Leading Indicator
Monitor Your Action Plan’s Progress
7) Define a metric that is a good indicator of action plan progress:
• Measurable on a frequent basis.
• Actionable by the cross-functional team.
• Visible to the team prior to customers’ visibility of its consequences.
Reap the Benefits of Your Action Plan
Implement Your Action Plan
8) Review the team’s work with an executive who can provide ongoing guidance and
resources to the team.
• Make adjustments per the executive’s guidance.
• Obtain the executive’s signature indicating support.
9) Add the action plan progress review as a standing agenda item of an existing forum.
10) Plan an effective way of informing customers of action plan progress.
11) Share lessons learned, as appropriate, company-wide.
Tips & Lessons Learned
• You can use this tool to engage every business unit, sales office and
functional area across your company
– Provide them with their own “cut” of the customer feedback data
– Schedule workshops to occur right after customer feedback is received
– Choose 2-3 key drivers for each BU, office, or function to work on
– Present customer feedback formally at the beginning of workshop to
align everyone in common interpretation
– Allow sufficient time for each step, especially reading customer
comments, distilling them to key themes, drilling down to root causes
• Make sure the action plan maps directly to the root causes
– Your “leading indicator” will not be accurately predictive otherwise
– Dissatisfaction will recur if root issues are not resolved
• The workshop template is organized around the Customer Experience
Improvement Model
– Transfer the workshop template content to a single-page strategy
format that’s makes it easy for executive sponsors and team members
to remove roadblocks and celebrate successes
Customer Experience Action Plan Workshop
CRITICAL PERFORMANCE FACTOR (KEY DRIVER):
EXAMPLE #1
Renewal Process
CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
CUSTOMER-ORIENTED KPI = LEADING INDICATOR
(INTERNAL METRIC OF ACTION PLAN PROGRESS)
•
•
•
Internal measure label
Messaging Click-Throughs: 100% Goal
Renewals occur during busy season
Renewal notice sent to former empl.
Unsure what renewal consists of
CUSTOMER-ORIENTED PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Actual
ROOT CAUSES:
Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
Renewal process can be easier for
customers to understand and do.
•
•
•
Goal
Timing trigger isn’t tied to seasons
Database isn’t updated real-time
Assume they know renewal details
ACTION PLAN TO CORRECT/ELIMINATE ROOT CAUSES
1) Schedule renewals for pre-season
Eva S. 10/10/12
2) Link renewal db to sales contact db
Alan T. 10/31/12
3) Create renewal kit: what’s new + why
Zhang G. 11/15/12
4) Pulsed messaging 3 months prior
Ken A. 11/30/12
5) Call
13 customers who didn’t click through
Morgan H. 1/31/13
BUSINESS TRENDS_____
% TOP
% BOTTOM
FY11 FY12
FY11 FY12
#2
#2
28% 26%
72% 67%
--- Priority Ranking
34% 38% Satisfaction
--- Renewal Rates
Approved: _______________________
Customer Experience Action Plan Progress Report
EXAMPLE #1
Root Cause Metric: % Click-Throughs
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Renewal process can be easier for customers to
understand and do.
ROOT CAUSE STATEMENT:
•
•
•
Trigger isn’t tied to seasons
Database isn’t updated real-time
Assume they know renewal details
ROOT CAUSE GOAL:
100% click-through of pre-renewal message
GOAL OWNER:
George P.
ACTION PLAN
ACTION OWNER
ACTION DEADLINE
GOAL IMPACT
1) Schedule renewals for pre-season
Eva S.
10/10/12
30%
2) Link renewal db to sales contact db
Alan T.
10/31/12
30%
3) Create renewal kit: what’s new + why
Zhang G.
11/15/12
10%
4) Pulsed messaging 3 months prior
Ken A.
11/30/12
10%
5) Call customers who didn’t click through
Morgan H.
1/31/13
20%
Customer Experience Action Plan Workshop
CRITICAL PERFORMANCE FACTOR (KEY DRIVER):
EXAMPLE #2
Product Usage by Casual (Infrequent) Users
CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
CUSTOMER-ORIENTED KPI = LEADING INDICATOR
(INTERNAL METRIC OF ACTION PLAN PROGRESS)
•
•
•
•
Internal measure label
Roll-out to Casual Users: 100% Goal
Can’t recall how to conduct a search
Not sure my research is good
I might have missed key info
I might not have right answer
Actual
Casual Users need a simplified product
that fosters confidence in outputs.
Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
CUSTOMER-ORIENTED PROBLEM STATEMENT:
ROOT CAUSES:
•
•
•
Goal
ACTION PLAN TO CORRECT/ELIMINATE ROOT CAUSES
1) Streamline interface customization steps
Eli K. 11/31/12
2) Create Casual User learning aids
Sam V. 12/10/12
3) Roll-out customization/learning aids
Jackie O. 1/25/13
4) Design dual menu into next release
Otto L. 5/31/13
5) Evaluate
profitability of a LITE version
15
Jamie B. 5/31/13
Interface customization non-intuitive
Learning aids geared to high usage
Menus designed for high usage
BUSINESS TRENDS_____
% TOP
% BOTTOM
FY11 FY12
FY11 FY12
-0.5 -0.5
12% 15%
$32M $27M
--- Competitive Rating
41% 42% Satisfaction
--- Casual User Revenue
Approved: _______________________
Customer Experience Action Plan Progress Report
EXAMPLE #2
Root Cause Metric: % Casual User Roll-out
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Casual Users need a simplified product that fosters
confidence in outputs.
ROOT CAUSE STATEMENT:
•
•
•
Interface customization non-intuitive
Learning aids geared to high usage
Menus designed for high usage
ROOT CAUSE GOAL:
100% roll-out to Casual Users
GOAL OWNER:
Julie Z.
ACTION PLAN
ACTION OWNER
ACTION DEADLINE
GOAL IMPACT
1) Streamline interface customization steps
Eli K.
11/31/12
40%
2) Create Casual User learning aids
Sam V.
12/10/12
30%
3) Roll-out customization/learning aids
Jackie O.
1/25/13
30%
4) Design dual menu into next release
Otto L.
5/31/13
5) Evaluate profitability of a LITE version
Jamie B.
5/31/13