Is this Relationship Over?

Often companies realize a software application or web site they’ve developed for their customers’ is not what their customers would have designed for themselves.  In many cases this realization occurs after going to production.  As a result, customers are left to deal with cumbersome software or web site and unable to accomplish the tasks they need to complete.  In today’s competitive marketplace customers have many options. And when the alternative solution is easier to use a loyal customer can quickly become a former customer.

Tangible and intangible impacts of poorly designed systems can be profound for companies.  Trust between the customer and the company may be depleted while tarnishing of the company brand is likely to occur.  This type of damage can progress gradually. Until one day the company notices the cumulative results of what’s been happening, and the costly impacts.

An example of this common scenario happened to me the other night as I attempted to book a flight.  Both the online and over the phone ticket processing systems failed and as a result the ranking of my once preferred airline plummeted.  Currently I’m hovering in the category of former customer. 

Here’s what happened…

My first choice for air travel has been with an airline that I’ve flown since 2001.  Depending on my travel frequency, I’ve earned various levels of preferred status with the airline so I have been fairly loyal to them.  The other night was a different story.  Their online ticketing system timed out one step prior to me completing the single ticket purchase.  As a result I had to restart the flight booking process from square one.  This was a nuisance but having traveled with the airline for years my level of trust was fairly high with them.  Plus, I admit, I may have been a bit distracted by the season opener of ‘The Biggest Loser’.

So I entered in all the info for the second time:  flight choices, mailing address, credit card info and a few preferences.  After closing the window where I’d made my seat selections, a message displayed on the  screen telling me my session was about to expire. It asked if I needed more time to finish.  I was still actively working on the ticket purchase, and wondered why the session going to expire.  I clicked on Yes, I needed more time.  One more review of the ticket info and I was ready to buy it.

When I clicked on the PAY NOW button I expected the screen to display a ticket confirmation page.  But instead, nothing happened.  Having nearly been stung by the‘don’t click again or else you’ll be purchasing a second ticket’ routine in the past, I was hesitant to click the PAY NOW button again.  I waited for a few minutes and decided it was safe to click PAY NOW, again.  Still no system response and no ticket confirmation page. 

At this point I was feeling a bit annoyed.  I had been working on this for over an hour.  My new friends on ‘The Biggest Loser’ had cumulatively shed 307 pounds, while I still didn’t have a single airline ticket to show for my efforts.  It was time for a different approach.  I decided to phone the airline to book the ticket instead.   

On the phone, the airline reservationist confirmed my online attempts did not result in a booked flight. Ironically, this was good news.  She was also quick to inform me it would cost me an additional $25 if she booked the flight for me.  If, however, I opted to talk to their Tech Support department about my issue, the $25 booking fee would be waived.  Despite feeling like the airlines Quality Assurance Department, I agreed to talk to Tech Support. By this time, I just wanted the flight to be booked and for this experience to be over. 

The Tech Support hold message was composed of two words – Please Wait – and they repeated every 10 seconds. After about 3 minutes on hold the two-word repetition stopped and I thought someone was coming on the line to help me.  Suddenly a loud noise erupted and the phone call was disconnected. Sigh.

Are you tired of reading about this less than optimal experience?  If so you can imagine how I was feeling at this point:  frustrated, to say the least.  But I’m persistent and decided to give it one more try.   I got the airline back on the phone, accelerated the conversation with the reservationist who again sent me to Tech Support.  Within two minutes of – Please Wait(s) – the familiar loud noise sounded and then call disconnection, again. 

At that point I realized I wasn’t going to be purchasing my ticket from my preferred company for this trip. Deep breath.  Calmly I moved on to Plan B.   

Plan B

I’d already started my online search for another airline to purchase my ticket.  I ended up at Delta only knowing they flew to where I needed to land.  This was my first test drive of their online ticketing system, and after the last experience, I didn’t know what to expect. 

At Delta, I easily found the dates and times I wanted to fly.  As soon as I had selected my destination and dates, the screen displayed an option to have a live chat with a reservationist who could answer any questions I had.  After my previous booking experience it was particularly reassuring to know that I had live support at the click of a button, if I needed it. 

I entered necessary information, selected my seats and clicked the button to purchase.  Voila!  In less than ten minutes I booked my travel and I had confirmation my ticket had been purchased. And believe it or not, this ticket cost $48 less than the original ticket I had attempted to purchase with my preferred airline.  Again, ironically, good news.

So Plan B worked. I’m excited to have found an alternative airline that’s easy to do business with.  But let’s take a moment and look at a few elements influencing this customer experience. 

Lesson One:  The Relationship

What’s really standing out for me are the factors that combined to influence the customer relationship.  Until now I had perceived my relationship with my preferred airlines as give and take.  I needed a service, at a fair price and the airline delivered.  After a decade of being their customer, I felt like we had more than just a contract.  I thought they appreciated me as a customer, at least that’s what all of their marketing materials tell me.  But their responses to my situation demonstrated a lack of desired customer engagement with no back-up plan.  This experience shifted the scales from a mutually beneficial relationship to a one-sided relationship and ‘my’ side was positioned to seek an alternative.   

Lesson Two:  Value Decisions

I had enjoyed doing business with my preferred airline and booking my own travel online.  But the fact that customers must pay a premium to make a purchase when the remaining purchase options are less than usable displayed a lack of awareness about their customers’ values. This experience demonstrated once again that the basis of the optimal customer experience rests not only in understanding how your customers think. The customer experience is also a reflection of the level of respect a company has for their customers, including their time and their sense of values.  

Lesson Three:   Is this relationship over?

I’ll share this experience with my preferred airline privately, because they need to know about it and to have the opportunity to improve their systems and processes.  They served me well for 10 years and deserve that respect from a loyal customer. 

Will I use my preferred airline again?  I’m likely to however, I’ll go into the purchase process feeling less confident it will be successful and ready to quickly execute on Plan B.

Note…

There were numerous system and process design factors in play during this scenario impacting my overall buying experience.  They’re ripe for evaluation and their resolution will easily improve the attempted ticket purchase both online and via the telephone.  I’ll discuss those opportunities within the framework of  ‘what Delta did right’ in an upcoming post. 

Share your experiences…

Have you interacted with a company whose website or software is really easy to use? Or maybe one that’s not so easy to use?  If so, feel free to post thoughts and your comments. 

Seven Ways to Build On line Customer Trust

I was on a hunt to find blue Birkenstock sandals for my daughter. And as the holidays drew closer time to order was running short. Not finding them on the local shopping expedition, I realized my best option was to purchase them on line.  After I casually clarified she didn't want the Vegan ones, I was ready to buy.  I knew they’d be expensive so I wanted to shop around to see what kind of prices I could find.

Googling gave me a large volume of Birkenstock shopping choices. At the top of the list was my favorite on line department store where I’m a regular shopper. The trust fund there is pretty large so it was a good place to begin. Plus, being a Virgo, loyalty is a fairly significant factor in the customer experience equation. Although I found the sandals she wanted, they were pricey and no discounts applied. So despite the loyalty and trust, I continued my shopping trip.

Next stop was a Birkenstock specialty shop which was new to me. They had a good selection but I found their web site stressful and choppy to navigate.  I’m not sure if it was the Log In tab  indicating I'd possibly need to join prior to purchase, the Contact Us tab being ‘misplaced’ in the primary navigation, or wondering why there were flags were asking me for a language selection left navigation, it just didn’t feel friendly. I stayed for a moment but then moved on to a third store in search of the blue sandals.

Although the landing page of the third Birkenstock on line shop wasn’t particularly tidy, there were elements about the shopping experience that quickly helped me to feel I could trust this web store.  Highlighted are a few key elements that accelerated my willingness to trust this on line resource. 

First the home page immediately welcomed me, literally with a Welcome message:  Welcome to Birkenstock Central. I felt like they really were glad I was visiting their store.

1.) Make your visitors feel welcomed.

On the landing page there were two main choices: See All Men’s Shoes or See All Women’s Shoes. That’s all I needed --- easy.  I clicked on See All Women’s Shoes and quickly located the sandals my daughter wanted.  And that style happened to be on sale. Yes!

2.) Design so important info is easy to find and navigate.

One of my concerns about ordering on line from a company I was unfamiliar was the return policy. What if they didn’t fit her or if by Dec. 25th she no longer wanted blue in her wardrobe? Would they take them back? How much would it cost me to ship them back to the company? However, I felt reassured by the message on the web site exclaiming that exchanges were free, so I continued with my transaction.

3.) Make your Return Process and Policy findable and clear.  (Hint: 100% Guarantee increases customer confidence.)

About to select her shoe size, I realized the sizes were scaled European and I would need an American translation. Conveniently the shoe size equivalent chart was accessed via a very handy link and in one click I knew what size to order. When I selected her size, the system indicated they were in stock. There was an option to have them wrapped for a few extra dollars but why end a holiday tradition of wrapping gifts until midnight on Christmas Eve. At least I’m usually finished before Santa arrives! I clicked on the big maroon Buy Now button and made my purchase.

4.) Design the system to anticipate customer needs, be obvious and respond as customers expect.

The purchase transaction went smoothly. There were no surprises, and more importantly, no missed info that I needed to go back and fill in. I received a confirmation page thanking me for my order that contained my Order ID. The message told me an email confirmation had been sent to me with the order info, but I still saved the page as a favorite, just in case.

5.) Provide clear feedback from the system indicating what’s been accomplished. 

After I placed the order, the system asked if I would take 5 minutes to provide feedback on the purchase transaction. Very proactive, brief and I completed the survey.

6.) Clearly communicate to your customers their experiences matter to your company.

My expectation was that I wouldn’t hear from the company again and I’d likely receive a package within a few days in the mail containing the blue sandals. I felt good about my purchase decision but still had some reservations being it was a first time transaction with the company. Remember Virgo, cautious. I’d wait to see if the goods arrived as expected and then do a full evaluation of Birkenstock Central.

Well the day after I placed my order I received an email from the store providing a link to an up to the minute status of my order. Their brief note told me my order was on track and provided transparency to status info anytime and at my fingertips. It helped increase my trust in the company and confidence in product arrival. Now I‘m wowed!

7.) Transparency reassures the customer and builds trust in the company. Be an open book.

It's evident this company talks to its customers, listens to what they have to say and designs the way they think.  They've discovered what's important to me, a typical customer, transformed that information into their on line store and designed for an optimal customer experience. Everyday more companies are realizing the ROI of customer centered design.  Why? If this experience stays on its current track, not only will it influence my future purchase decisions at their web store, I'll be more likely to recommend the company to others because they've earned my trust. 

A Funny Thing Happened During the Forum

Before anyone had taken the stage, I knew that hearing from leaders like Jim Collins, A.G. Lafley and Jack Welch would certainly make for a memorable experience. Candid, wise and gutsy these lauded management gurus have earned the respect of leaders around the globe. They were among the long list of business influencers scheduled to share their insights with thousands of attendees who filled Radio City Music Hall during the recent World Business Forum eager to grasp a few golden nuggets of knowledge and perhaps, even catch a glimpse of some emerging markets. As the Part One of this series, I’ll share a few highlights from these three respected global leaders.

Jim Collins on What Not to Do

I was confident Jim Collins would be a high point of the World Business Forum for me. The author of one of my all time favorite books, ‘Good to Great’ and a Peter Drucker Fan like me, he’d definitely hold my attention. And he certainly did. Collins shared many valuable management and leadership insights. One that really resonates with me being a techno-gadget junkie is the ‘Not-to-Do-List’.

Most of us have ‘To Do Lists’, but Collins suggested creating a ‘Not-to-Do List’ and on it is an allowance for time to think through current complex issues as well as plan for the future. With the intrusion of so many electronic gadgets, Collins impressed on us the need to regularly retreat from these distractions and reintroduce the practice of ‘pockets of quiet time’ to allow for hard disciplined thinking. No email, no cell phones, completely untethered, he reserves time every week to be gadget free and submerse in rigorous thinking. I suspect this explains why I received a Monday response to the Friday email I sent him. He really must practice what he preaches.

Lesson Learned:

• The importance of pausing and reflecting in order to make progress.

Action:

• I applied the principle from the ‘Not-to-Do List’ strategy to allow for the ‘think time’ needed to complete this article.

A.G. Lafley on Being Customer Centered and Bold

My research about A. G. Lafley revealed his relentless efforts to drive customer centered product design as the standard practice at Proctor and Gamble and reinforce connections between that standard and ROI, fostering the sustainability of customer centered practices within the organization. I can’t deny I’m rather OCD about customer-centered design so I was anxious to hear what Lafley had to share on the topic. His stories were humble, suggestions actionable and his insights, brilliant.

These days many of us understand customer centered product and technology design is a win-win. However, companies often still fail to design with a full understanding of what’s really important to their customers. Lafley shared several practices he implemented to better understand P & G’s customers. For example, each time Lafley visited a different country he would select a customer to accompany on a shopping trip. He’d then share the observations made during that shopping excursion with the product development team. This information gathering process has been core to fostering the development of products customers really want to purchase.

When asked what steps he’d suggest taking to introduce customer centered design practices into our own organizations, he spoke a simple but familiar phrase: ‘Just do it’, Lafley explained. He further encouraged us to do everything we can to engage customers to get our experiment going now, and to ‘ask for forgiveness later’. There’s not a lot of downside to engaging the customer in the design process, according to Lafley, but there are lots of upsides. Mainly, we’ll end up with a better product in the short and long term, a product that customers want to purchase.

Another suggestion from Lafley was to do something bold when we got back to the office. Like Collins, Lafley had long respected the works of Peter Drucker. One day he found the courage to boldly reach out to Drucker to request a meeting with him, to which Drucker agreed. As a result of this bold action, the two met often through the subsequent years. And I got the feeling that those times spent talking with, and learning from, Drucker are among Lafley’s finest treasures.

Lessons Learned:

• Design with your customers in mind to deliver what your customers really want to purchase.
• Be humble, but ready to muster up the courage to be bold as needed.

Action:

• I continue to study, teach and help people understand the value of customer centered design.
• I didn’t cancel the interview I had with an author of a best-selling book despite the butterflies in my stomach.

Jack Welch – Authenticity in Leadership

I’m not sure I’d find anyone who wouldn’t appreciate hearing the wisdom of Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO who consistently delighted stockholders while growing the company’s $14 billion market value to $410 billion during his fourteen year tenure. From the moment Welch took the stage you could feel his dynamic energy and determination. He was so attentive to the interviewer as well as to members of the audience who asked him questions. And what clearly emerged during the course of the interview was Welch’s authenticity.

Probed about practices he implemented to ‘groom’ employees, Welch graciously explained his theory. In Welch’s opinion, one of the things currently holding back many organizations is their focus on nurturing ‘poor performers’ rather than celebrating the successes of the top 20% and helping to retain high achieving talent. He also emphasized the need to refocus on leadership development which for many reasons, including economic struggles, has been dwindling in recent years.

One of the moments during the Welch interview that still sticks with me is when he received a question from the audience that wasn’t quite clear. Welch respectfully responded with a few questions to gain clarification and then looked to the Interviewer in an attempt to further refine the inquiry. When neither of their efforts led to an understanding of the question to effectively respond, Welch apologized for not having a comment and moved on the next audience question. As the high energy exchange of audience questions and Welch responses continued, his broad range of knowledge radiated through the Forum. And his previous admission to not having an answer to a question revealed not only his self-assurance but also his authenticity as a leader.

Lessons Learned:

• There is no imposter to authenticity.
• Acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers is a reflection of open mindedness and self-assurance.

 Action:

•  I’m working toward finding my own voice in my writing, and so… here it is world. 
• Saying ‘I don’t know’ generally changes the conversation for the better.  

Summary

So these are a few nuggets that landed in my sack of takeaways from the World Business Forum already influencing my own profession practices. Although my high expectations were more than met by these three well -known leaders, what I didn’t anticipate was to be ‘wowed’ by many other remarkable presenters whose works I was less familiar. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll focus on several of the other powerful messages heard at the World Business Forum that were equally inspiring. And if I effectively implement Collins Principle of setting aside time for rigorous thinking from the ‘Not-to-Do-List’, you can expect it ready to read on October 28th.

Interested in more perspectives on the World Business Forum 2010, check out the following articles from:

Andrea Meyer:  Working Knowledge

Kathie Thomas:  Fleischman Hillard

Michael Singer:  HSM Inspiring Ideas

Terry Starbucker:  Ramblings from a Glass Half Full

Spam, Spam, Spam I am… Not

With the volume of emails I receive in my Inbox, easy access to the Spam button is a feature I appreciate.  I can quickly remove over-achieving Spam emails that have snuck past the layers of spam filters and still managed to land in my email Inbox folder, with the click of a button.  The design is efficient and intuitive.

Inbox Folder Design

So why not apply that same intuitive design to the Spam folder so I can easily select and click on email that didn’t make it past the Fort Knox of spam filters, but should have?  Then I could quickly move those Not Spam emails into my Inbox folder where they belong.

Spam Folder Design

With the current Spam-handling design, I’m unable to indicate whether an email accidentally caught in the web of filters is from a sender I actually want to hear from in the future.  And, in order to locate future emails from the wrongfully spammed sender, in addition to checking my Inbox folder, I’ll also need to check my Spam folder.  The current design adds extra steps to the process that could easily be improved. 

How can this customer experience be improved? 

Two simple steps will improve this customer experience. 

·       Design consistency.

·       Gather customer feedback to make sure it’s designed right for your customers. 

Design consistency enables customers to feel in control knowing how to complete a task, and anticipate how the system will respond when they interact with it.   Leverage the design of the Spam handling in the Inbox folder and apply it to the Spam folder.  For example, a button labeled Not Spam would be visible on the top navigation bar and the same steps to transition the selected email into the Inbox would apply.  The design consistency will help your customers feel less anxious and more in-control while they interact with your system.

Paper-prototyping is an easy way to obtain customer feedback during the design process and understand what your customers are thinking while they use your product or system.   It’s simple, low cost and done right, consistently provides unexpected insights that reduce design, development and maintenance costs in the short and long-term.  The end result is a more pleasurable experience for your customers while they interact with your product.

Applying these simple design principles reduces the need for your customer to wonder what to expect from your system.  Instead they’re able to focus on the real reason for using the system, which in this case, is communication.  

  

Design with the Customer in Mind: A Matter of Positioning

I had to drop by my favorite office supply store last week to snatch up a few ‘back to school bargains.’  Spiral bond notepads fifteen cents each, composition notebooks ten cents each, and 500 sheets of printer paper 25 cents.  Great deals, easy to find in the perfect sized store whose employees were eager to please.  

Within seconds of asking for help locating the replacement media reader for my Sony Cybershot, I had what I needed in hand and was heading toward the registers.  The Cashier was friendly, and inquired whether I’d found everything.  Of course I had found what I needed, and then some!  I was using a Rebate Credit Card I’d received as a result of purchasing a printer last spring, to pay for my loot.  I wondered if the alternative form a payment might complicate the transaction, however, it was seamless. 

Because it was a credit card type transaction, I needed to add my signature to the LCD device next to the register displaying the total of my transaction.  The screen contained few words however, it was quickly noticeable that the words displayed on the LCD were out of sequence with the actions requested. 

LCD Device Screen 

The first action requested that I indicate to the device if I was Done or wanted to Clear the transaction.  However as I read further I realized I needed to sign the screen before selecting Done or Clear.   If I need to sign the screen prior to pressing Done or Clear, why not position the Done and Clear buttons below the signature box?  I wondered how many customers attempt to press Done or Clear before signing?  And if so, does that require the transaction be re-entered? 

Then I noticed the display was telling me to hand my card to the Cashier.  Hmmm, at the start of the transaction I had handed my card to the Cashier.  I thought that was how we got to this point in the transaction.  Why is the screen telling me to hand my card to the cashier now?  Is there a different card I need to hand her?  I was quickly reassured that I didn’t need to provide any other card in order to complete my transaction.  

In this situation, the office supply giant’s efforts to deliver a positive overall customer shopping experience were evident.  However, the interface design mismatch is quite obvious and could have easily been avoided by obtaining even a minimal amount of customer feedback during the design phase of the project. 

The benefits of obtaining customer feedback, especially during the design phase of a project, are generally far greater than the cost of finding out post- implementation your design isn’t in synch with your customers thinking.   If your staff needs some direction developing or executing an effective approach to obtain customer feedback, there are plenty of interaction designers and usability specialists willing to work with you who can easily gather the answers to validate your design decisions.  Business case after business case have shown that done right, even a small investment in obtaining customer feedback, especially early in the design process, yields hefty ROI and your efforts can too.