DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES FIRE CUSTOMERS

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The social world has reset customer expectations.

Customers’ expectations today are remarkably different from the seller-dominated marketplace of just a few years ago. The way companies and consumers interact as a result of a social, mobile, and global marketplace has put the customer in complete control.

Customers expect companies to not only meet their every day demands, but anticipate their future needs before they even have to ask. If companies don’t take the special care necessary to meet customer needs, they’ll be dropped—a phenomenon that’s happening more every year.1

Customer service is as important as price.

Today customers have the power to influence your reputation as never before—for better and for worse. They demand more from businesses than product relevance and a 1-800 number. Today’s marketplace has made it not only impractical, but unrealistic for brands to differentiate themselves based on product or price alone.2

Therefore, consumers want—and expect—a delightful experience; one that develops into a thriving relationship. Customer service employees—whether they are on the phone, on the retail floor, or online—must intently listen to consumer concerns, immediately resolve their issues, and do all of it in a way that resonates as genuine.

Universally, when it comes to finding and keeping customers, customer experience and price tie for the most important factors—far different from yesterday’s marketplace.3

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BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO The U.S. economy left $1.9 trillion at play in 2013 as a result of failing to improve customer satisfaction rates and subsequently losing customers.

By improving customer experience, the U.S. airline industry could have earned an additional $8.94 billion. U.S. wireless carriers missed out on $14.65 billion as a result of poor customer experiences.

(Accenture)

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It’s time to put customer service on a pedestal.

Customers are the new market gurus: their demands and ideas need to be the driving force behind your business goals, rather than the other way around. The global marketplace has changed and it’s time for businesses to respond.

Here’s what you need to know about the modern consumer:

1. YOUR REPUTATION IS COMPLETELY IN THEIR HANDS. Before you even know they’re interested, consumers already know everything there is to know about your business, that’s relevant to their purchase, regardless of your PR strategy or your tightly locked R&D lab. They’ve Googled your products and services for price and quality, reviewed your customer service faults and follies on Yelp, and researched your corporate culture on Glassdoor.

Word-of-mouth continues to be the number one influencer of purchase decisions (84 percent of consumers are swayed by word-of-mouth offline and online)5, and consumer “communities” are expanding rapidly. Today, more customers take to their social networks to solicit and express opinions about experiences with brands. More than a quarter of U.S. consumers (26 percent) have posted a negative comment on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter after a poor experience, influencing hundreds, more likely thousands, of friends and followers.6

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PUT EMPLOYEES FIRST TO WIN CUSTOMERS.

Most companies (other than a few celebrated exceptions) have a lot of work to do in their customer service departments before they can be considered a loveable brand. That’s because service workers are, on average, the least engaged part of your workforce, meaning your customer-facing employees are the least likely division to give their all on the job, go above and beyond to solve customer issues, or stay long enough to develop meaningful relationships with your customers.4

Putting employees first will foster stronger relationships between you and your employees, and in turn, inspire your employees to go the extra mile for your customers. By engaging, aligning, and recognizing your employees with the Achievers Employee Success Platform™, you can join a growing group of top-tier employers committed to engaging employees to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction and greater business success

More than a quarter of U.S. consumers have posted a negative comment on social sites like Facebook and Twitter after a poor experience.

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By focusing on generating positive social media “press” from repeat customers through exceptional customer experiences, you stand to earn millions in otherwise lost revenue.7 Create a band of customers who promote you (“like” you) to reap the benefits of wider social communities. A one-star increase on a business’s Yelp page can equate to as much as a five to nine percent increase in revenue.8

2. THEY’RE WELL-ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR COMPETITORS. Your business does not exist in a vacuum. Your customers are well aware of what an exceptional customer experience looks and feels like. If they haven’t purchased from Amazon or Apple, they’ve certainly flown with Southwest, been catered to by Trader Joe’s, returned products for free with Zappos, or fallen in love with Nordstrom’s people-focused policies. As more and more companies start investing in providing excellent customer experiences, your customers are wondering why you don’t – just before they call the other guys.

These brands represent the gold standard for customer service, and their balance sheets reflect their efforts. Brands like Apple and JetBlue with exceptional Net Promoter Scores (a key indicator of excellent customer service levels)9 have 20-60 percent higher growth than their competitors.10 Take a cue from Zappos CEO and author of customer experience bible Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, “If you figure out how to make employees happy and customers happy, then the business just kind of takes care of itself.”11

3. …AND YOU HAVE MORE COMPETITION THAN EVER. The new social and mobile economy has made global connectivity commonplace. Companies on different continents are now rivals. Consumers can get any product or service they desire from just about anywhere. Geography is no longer a competitive advantage.

Modern companies are reacting to customer feedback in-the-moment, reinventing the way business works by the minute, and finding ways to make products and services better, cheaper, and easier to obtain. In order to win against competitors a world away, and beat the technologically- enabled brands popping up on a daily basis (Lyft, Washio, Task Rabbit!), delighting the customers you already have and creating a clearly superior customer experience for future customers is paramount.

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Brands with exceptional Net Promoter Scores (a key indicator of excellent customer service) like Apple and Nordstrom have 20% - 60% higher growth than their competitors.

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The “Switching Economy”

As a result of changing customer demands and increased access to information about businesses and their competitors, we have entered what consulting firm Accenture has coined a “Switching Economy.” Companies aren’t keeping customers satisfied enough to hold on to them. In the past year alone, 51 percent of U.S. consumers, and 66 percent of consumers globally, switched companies they do business with, up five percent and four percent respectively from the previous year. The number of consumers who switch providers has risen each year for the past ten years and show no signs of slowing.12

It’s not price or product that’s driving them away. Poor customer experiences are sending them running into the arms of competitors—81 percent of consumers who switched said the company they left could have done something other than drop prices to keep their business.13

Let’s break it down: why do customers fire their providers? Today’s customer frustrations leading to break-ups run the gamut of customer service issues:

In the same survey, 79 percent of U.S. consumers said they expect customer service and support to be easier, and 2/3 expect customer service reps to be better at their jobs.15 In fact, 57 percent of consumers say company reps are “clueless,” and that customers know more about the company than the representative.16

81% of consumers who switched said the company they left could have done something other than drop prices to keep their business.

Most at-risk industries of customer switch due to poor experiences:

Consumer goods retailers

Cable & satellite providers

Retail banks

Landline phone companies

Internet service providers

(Accenture)

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of consumers become frustrated by contacting

a company multiple times for the same issue

91%90% 87%

become annoyed with being put on

hold for a long time.

gripe over service that’s unfriendly

or impolite.14

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Become a customer service powerhouse

Opportunity exists in today’s cringe-worthy customer service landscape. Only one percent of consumers in 2013 reported that their expectations for customer experiences were always met. And they’re clamoring for positive experiences: 89 percent of consumers claim they would do business with a competitor after receiving poor customer service, and 86 percent are willing to pay for a better experience.17

What customers demand is simple—great, authentic care from customer reps who:

Respond to their needs in a timely manner.

Know the answers to inquiries, or find them the answers immediately, the first time.

Solve the issue on-the-spot.

Execute with a smile.

Provide them with an easy outlet to provide feedback, both positive and constructive.18

Make your call center, retail floor, or front desk the first and only option and watch your competitors’ ex-customers flock to you. By mastering the art of exceptional customer service with happy, knowledgeable reps who go the extra mile to “deliver happiness,” take a shortcut to the winner’s circle.

A foundation of employee engagement boosts customer happiness.

Delighting customers is imperative if you want to thrive in today’s marketplace. The faces (and voices) of your front line represent the most intimate and emotional connection you have with your customers. In order to drive repeat customers, your employees must be engaged, aligned to the company values and business objectives, and recognized for displaying exceptional behaviors that move the needle for your brand. That means prioritizing employees and putting their engagement first. Engaged employees are emotionally connected to the brand, committed to the company’s success, and enthusiastic about the business’s mission. They work harder: 96 percent of highly engaged employees always or almost always try their hardest at work, compared with only 71 percent of disengaged employees.19

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1% of consumers in 2013 reported that their expectations for customer experiences were always met.

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Unfortunately, front-line workers tend to be the least engaged employees workforce-wide—only five percent of customer service workers report feeling passionate about their work.20 In order to truly thrive in today’s service-oriented marketplace, you’ll have to bring engagement scores up—way up—and inspire your customer service team to deliver exceptional experiences.

Why your front line is disengaged—and how to fix it Employee needs and desires are changing right along with consumer attitudes and old-school engagement strategies no longer work. Over-supervised and under-motivated employees don’t feel compelled to go above and beyond to solve customer issues, or display the sort of care and service today’s customers expect.

Here’s why your employees are disengaged, and how you can turn them into your biggest fans:

1. THEY FEEL DISCONNECTED FROM THE COMPANY’S MISSION. Only 37 percent of employees understand what their company stands for and why, a key element to engaging employees.22 Amp up your employees’ enthusiasm by defining your company’s mission and values clearly and communicating them to your workforce at every opportunity. Have managers meet with employees to make sure each individual has a clear idea of where and how they add value.

2. THEY’RE MICROMANAGED, NOT EMPOWERED. Holding employees to strict policies makes them feel unappreciated and ineffective. Develop frameworks that align to your company values and encourage overall business results. Then, let them run. They’ll feel empowered to do the right thing for your company, and drive results along the way.

3. THEY DON’T FEEL VALUED. Employees today need to know they’re doing a great job if you want to motivate them (the number one reason employees leave is because of a lack of recognition).23 Show them their value by recognizing results as they happen (as opposed to in an annual review), and connecting their accomplishments with the business’s success. They’ll show their appreciation by working harder.

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According to a study of more than 200,000 workers, often-times “the sales associate or customer service rep operates within tight rules that prevent them from solving any problems.” (Bain)

In this scenario, a feeling of “powerlessness” takes over—leaving employees frustrated, invaluable, and ultimately, disengaged.21

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4. THEY RESENT THE CORPORATE LADDER. Today, bureaucracy is a motivation killer. Employees want to be able to share their insights, feedback, and praise with any-one in the organization, including peers, managers, and leader-ship. Promote communication across hierarchical boundaries and you’ll create an environment that encourages ideas, coaching, and cross-functional teamwork.

Today’s employees are looking for more than a paycheck: they want to have impact and feel empowered to exercise their own judgment to help drive the business. Happy employees are well versed on the company’s value proposition, goals, and strategies, and understand how their roles and activities add value to the business’s success. By providing customer service employees with the tools they need to feel empowered, valued, and connected, you’ll create engaged employees who are more committed to delivering customer happiness. Every day.

Make it happen with an employee success platform

The Achievers Employee Success Platform engages, aligns, and recognizes employees, boosting customer happiness by motivating employees and inspiring them to live your company values daily. The Platform acts as a 360-degree communication hub, increasing visibility for every employee, as well as tracking and measuring connections, milestones, and company results. Employees have insight into the business results that they influence, as well as the value they add to the company.

Social employee recognition is encouraged in every direction: peer-to-peer, manager-to-leader, and everywhere in between. By tying recognitions to your company’s core values, you reinforce the importance of those values and repetition of those behaviors through positive reinforcement, creating a stronger, more sustainable culture that truly lives up to your brand promise. By recognizing accomplishments and business results, you bring employees into the bigger picture, and empower them to solve customer problems on-the-spot, using means that make sense for the business’s overall goals.

The Employee Success Platform also enables customizable, automated programs that are tied to specific business results, like customer service, sales, retention, or loyalty. These programs can be managed for a week, a quarter, or a season, motivating employees to display specific behaviors that achieve business results by recognizing and rewarding employees for their efforts. That makes them feel good—and amazes your customers.

Transparency and communication matter for employee engagement.

An alarming 50% of employees think that a lack of transparency is holding their companies back.(Forbes)

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SAVE MART DELIGHTS CUSTOMERS WITH THE EMPLOYEE SUCCESS PLATFORM

Save Mart, a growing supermarket group with 221 stores across northern California and Nevada, knows that its employees are the key to shoppers’ exceptional experiences in its stores.

In order to improve service scores and increase customer satisfaction, Save Mart utilized the Employee Success Platform to inspire employees to provide excellent service, motivating employees through recognition.

As a result of the program, Save Mart realized incredible growth in customer satisfaction ratings in the service-focused Mystery Shop program, with a nearly 100% increase in stores achieving passing scores throughout the first year following launch. Additionally, the company saw its first full district hit a 90% rating in Q4 2012—a feat the region was able to repeat the following quarter. This translates into 112% growth in customer satisfaction across all stores, a massive business success for the organization.

Customer happiness starts with employee happiness. Achieve them both.

The first step to making your customers happy is making your employees happy. Engaged employees are committed to serving your company’s business objectives and strategies, specifically by displaying the behaviors that make your customers smile, buy, and come back for more.

They’re also more empowered to meet customer demands when they arise, either in-store, over the phone, or via chat, before, during, and after a purchase. When they’re empowered, aligned with the company’s goals and values, and appreciated through recognition, they’re more likely to go out of their way to happily solve a customer issue and thank customers sincerely for their business. And now, you can move on to step two: business success.

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See how Save Mart aligned its employees with the company’s initiatives, objectives, and vision.

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Sources1. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey: Global & U.S. Key Findings. Accenture. 2013.

2. 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report. Oracle. 2011.

3. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey: Global & U.S. Key Findings. Accenture. 2013.

4. Sager, Ira. Forget Employee Engagement; U.S. Companies Need Passionate Workers. BusinessWeek. 19 Sept 2013.

5. Under the Influence: Consumer Trust in Advertising. Nielsen. 2013.

6. 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report. Oracle. 2011.

7. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey: Global & U.S. Key Findings. Accenture. 2013.

8. New Study Reinforces Value of Yelp for Businesses.” Yelp. 2012.

9. Measuring Happiness.” Bain. 2012.

10. How is Net Promoter Score related to growth?” Bain. 2012.

11. Measuring Happiness.” Bain. 2012.

12. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey: Global & U.S. Key Findings.

Accenture. 2013.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report.” Oracle. 2011.

17. Ibid.

18. Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey: Global & U.S. Key Findings. Accenture. 2013.

19. Temkin Employee Engagement Index (TEEI) Temkin Group. 2013.

20. Sager, Ira. “Forget Employee Engagement; U.S. Companies Need Passionate Workers. BusinessWeek. 19 Sept 2013.

21. Trapp, Roger. “Poor Customer Service Explained By Lack of Employee Engagement. Forbes. 19 Dec 2013.

22. Covey, Stephen. The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. Free Press. 2004.

23. Sylvester, John. The Number 1 reason employees leave a company is from lack of recognition. HR Zone. 19 July 2011.

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Achievers delivers the only true cloud-based Employee Success PlatformTM, a powerful new way for companies to engage, align,

and recognize employees, enabling remarkable business success. Every day.

Learn how your company can change the way the world works at www.achievers.com.

91%

MEMBER SATISFACTION

83%

MEMBER ADOPTION

110

COUNTRIES SERVICED

81

NET PROMOTER SCORE

98%

CLIENT RETENTION

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