8 Stats Proving the Importance of Customer Experience

Is customer experience really that important? Well, the recent Fortune list of the world’s 10 most admired companies in 2013 includes seven that are renowned for excellence in that area: Apple, Google, Amazon, Starbucks, Southwest, Disney and FedEx. Here is some recent research by Business2community.com that proves customer experience should be a top priority for companies today.

• Dell has published internal metrics showing that 97 percent of dissatisfied customers can be rescued with proactive intervention and more than 40 percent of those people become raving fans.
• Siegel+Gale’s 3rd annual Global Brand Simplicity Index reported last year that nearly one third of American consumers would be willing to pay an average of four percent more for simpler brand experiences.
• Gartner estimated last year that by 2014 “failure to respond via social channels can lead to up to a 15 percent increase in churn rate for existing customers.”  
• Research by Temkin Group last year reported that only seven percent of the 255 large companies it surveyed could be described as reaching the highest level of customer experience maturity, although 60 percent said their goal is to be the industry leader in customer experience within three years.
• A July, 2013 Lloyd’s survey of 588 C-suite executives found that customer loss was their second biggest concern, exceeded only by worries about high tax rates. Respondents also indicated they are under-prepared to address this risk, with executives giving themselves only a 5.7 rating on a 1-to-10 scale. 
• Sixty-two percent of B2B and 42 percent of B2C customers purchased more after a good experience, while 66 percent and 52 percent, stopped making purchases after a bad experience, according to a survey of 1,000 people who had had recent customer service interactions.
• An Oracle survey of 1,342 senior-level executives from 18 countries earlier this year found that 97 percent agree that delivering a great customer experience is critical to business results, and that the average potential revenue loss from failing in this area is 20 percent of annual revenue. However, 37 percent are just getting started with a formal customer experience initiative, and only 20 percent consider the state of their customer experience initiative to be advanced.
• A survey of 2,000 adults last year found that 83 percent are willing to spend more on a product if they feel a personal connection to the company. One-fifth said they would spend 50 percent more on companies that they felt the company put the customer first.

Amanda Ciccatelli, Social Media Strategist at IIR USA, has a background in digital and print journalism, covering a variety of topics in business strategy, marketing, and technology. She previously worked at Technology Marketing Corporation as a Web Editor where she covered breaking news and feature stories in the tech industry.  She can be reached at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. Follow her at @AmandaCicc. 

Looking at The Apple Customer Experience

It's not breaking news that Apple tends to evoke strong feelings amongst their customers. Indeed, "Apple has led the market for the past few years as one of the most innovative, most loved, and most powerful companies and brands in the world." according to stock market opinion and analysis website Seeking Alpha.

Apple products tend to be innovative and ground breaking, setting the bar high, but challenges like the much-complained-about Apple/AT&T partnership and competing technology available more easily or at lower prices do arise.

It's not just the products building Apple fans. So what is it that Apple is doing right to generate this sort of emotion in its customers?

Unique, coordinated customer experiences
This video below from the Wall Street Journal offers some interesting insights into the Apple retail training process that largely controls customer experiences within the store.


Customer-facing team members such as the "Genuis Bar" employees are trained to solve problems, rather than sell, and employee handbooks provide potential scripts for a wide variety of situations. According to this article on PCMag.com "Apple Store staff is forbidden to correct a customer who mispronounces the name of a product."

The in-store experience also extends to design. Developed by executives such as Millard Drexler, formerly of the Gap, and Ron Johnson (formerly of Target and now moving to JCPenney), Apple develops different stores in unique locations, although each has certain elements in common: an open plan, curved edges, natural materials such as wood, glass, stone, and stainless steel. The stores feel like a larger reflection of the products being sold there.

What can we learn from Apple's customer experience successes? This blog post points out ways to translate Apple's innovation to the restaurant industry, and it's easy to see how a corporate culture that balances innovative ideas with highly coordinated in-store experiences can extend to any industry.

What do you think of these inside views of Apple's training policies? Will the public learning of this negatively affect perceptions of the Apple experience? Share with us in the comments!

Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a specialization in marketing. She may be reached at mleblanc@iirusa.com.

Business Week names Customer Service Champs

Business Week recently announced its Customer Service Champions. See Business Week's presentation list here.

The Top Ten:

1 L.L. Bean
2 USAA
3 Apple
4 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
5 Publix Super Markets
6 Nordstrom
7 Lexus
8 The Ritz-Carlton
9 Barnes & Noble
10 Ace Hardware

Microsoft’s Plan for In-Store Customer Service Reps

The Associated Press reports that Microsoft Corp. is planning to deploy its own customer service reps at several retail locations like Best Buy and Circuit City to aid customers in purchasing PCs.

Microsoft is going to have 155 Microsoft gurus that will answer questions about Microsoft products and PCs, as well as give demos of how the company’s products work together. Tom Pilla, Microsoft's general manager of corporate communications mentions: "Think of that as borrowing a page from Nordstrom with that retail customer experience." Microsoft seems to be following suit from this store chain that is known for their customer service.

Unlike Apple’s “Genius Bars”, Microsoft’s reps will not offer technical support on already purchased products. Will this be something Microsoft will look to provide in the future to compete with Apple? Giving customers detail information about products before the purchase can ultimately influence their buying decision and satisfaction. It will be interesting to see when other companies will follow suit.

Customer Service at Apple is Generating Sales

An article posted in AdAge.com highlights how Apple is changing the face of marketing to include customer service as a facet. Apple doesn’t wait for customers to have a problem, instead employees actively attempt to engage customers as soon as they enter the store. AdAge.com stated that Apple is showing, by example, the benefit of understanding these key points:

- Service is marketing: As marketers struggle to "engage" consumers, service may well be the easiest and most gratifying starting point -- and one with high sales conversion potential.

- Problems are opportunities: Tech support is an emotional experience -- so why not capitalize on that insight by openly and enthusiastically solving problems, giving reassurance and showing compassion for the pain and frustration. A satisfied consumer might just buy something else while making the trip.

- Employee authority and passion aids selling: When employees "walk the talk" in using the product they sell, credibility goes up -- and credibility drives persuasion. Passion and evangelism also move the needle.

Jane Buckingham, president of Intelligence group, a market research firm in Los Angeles, cited in an article in the NY Times that “Whenever we ask consumers to cite a great retail experience, the Apple store is the first store they mention.” CNNmoney.com also reported in an Apple 2.0 blog post earlier this year, that Apple retail stores were averaging sales of approximately $4500 per square foot. Competitors such as BestBuy only average $929 per square foot, and even luxury goods stores such as Tiffany’s only make about $2,800 per square foot. Both aforementioned sources provide confirmations for the findings in the AdAge.com article.