OPINION16 July 2013
All MRS websites use cookies to help us improve our services. Any data collected is anonymised. If you continue using this site without accepting cookies you may experience some performance issues. Read about our cookies here.
OPINION16 July 2013
Why do brands continue to deliver a customer experience that is akin to a game of snakes and ladders? Multiple ladders to find what you want, multiple snakes to send you back to where you started. It’s time to simplify, says Peter Shreeve.
Most ‘snakes’ are well known and the focus of corrective attention, but they still exist:
When prospective and existing customers come across these situations in one channel they may switch to other channels to help them reach their goals. However, moving from one channel to another exacerbates the effort put in by the customer, increases the chances of the enquiry or purchase being postponed or – worse still – moves the customer on to a competitor.
Hence, there is some debate in the research industry around measuring customer effort as a key metric. Smart brands not only work on their snakes but also focus on adopting solutions to reduce the number of rungs on the metaphorical ‘ladders’ that customers have to climb to achieve their objective.
Where does research fit in?
Primary research combines with secondary data to identify the ‘snakes’ and measure their impact, while also assessing the efficiencies of the ‘ladders’ to resolution.
The challenge remains for brands to know which snakes need improving and which ladders need removing, and then culturally and operationally to make the changes required. Research will continue to represent the voice of the customer and be used to help brands become smarter, in combination with data – whether big or small.
Peter Shreeve is an independent research consultant
0 Comments