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Business processes help companies to realize their own organizational objectives so that management can review and realign as the market changes, customer needs change, products change, and strategies change. The general unfixed nature of business demands new growth because of changing legislation, global competition, and market saturation. Without a process-focused organization, employees are stomping out fires, missing out on opportunities, and generally wasting time and money because of poor planning and lack of vision.

The successful company focuses on its customers, and in order to do that, leadership has to be involved and focused on improving employees and all business processes. Senior managers have to be involved, instead of just delegating training to lower-level managers. It is the senior representatives who need to have the vision for the company, and they are the ones who need to focus on the critical processes, and in turn teach and mentor each lower level of management.

So how does a company become process-focused? First, each company has to prepare. Leaders need to get organized and have vision. Companies need a mission statement so they can identify their key processes. Think of the most successful companies operating, and review their values and key processes. It changes as the company evolves, and each step of the way, there is a plan. With the plan comes development; a crucial step towards the deployment of the plan and how it is carried out. Here are where the senior leaders are overtly involved to monitor improvements, identify problems, implement new processes, and create new opportunities to enhance the plan.

Take for instance, the customer service process for a company. A customer calls in with an order. How is it handled now, and how can another process improve the service? The process-focused organization will research delivery lead times, on time delivery from their suppliers, and their relationships with other companies. If  an improved quality and time of delivery can be implemented with suppliers, ultimately the customer will have less wait time between the time of the order and the delivery. It sure would save a lot of time for the company, the customer service agents, and especially the customer.

When a company focuses on their processes, they improve quality, lower the costs, and provide more value and convenience for customers. This is what sets one company apart from their competitors.

photo credit: lizzardo

About two weeks ago, I interviewed Doria Camaraza, who is is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fort Lauderdale Service Center for American Express. This was an interview I was excited a lot about because I’ve written about American Express a number of times and in pretty much any customer satisfaction or customer service ranking, American Express makes the list. As an American Express cardmember myself, the workings behind the 160 year old company were also personally interesting to me.

This is a pretty lengthy interview, so I’ve divided it into four parts. Part one includes an introduction to Doria and her background with American Express, a quick overview of the different service centers that American Express has around the country, and some information on how American Express hires and trains its customer service representatives (called Customer Care Professionals).

You can see part one of the interview by clicking “read more.” A preview of part two is also included at the end of this part.

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Customer focus should be at the heart of everything a company does to achieve customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Essentially there are five steps to recognizing and implementing a successful program:

1. First, we must identify who are our customers.
2. We must find out exactly what they want and what kind of services and products they want and be able to hone in on that service to meet their needs.
3. We must design our sales and service processes around the needs of the customers we have identified.
4. We must thoroughly train our employees and use whatever successful training and mentoring programs available to us.
5. We must consistently measure our service and delivery procedures and use our customers to provide the necessary feedback and improve and upgrade our processes.

From a practical point of view, the Envision 2010 Awards for Customer Excellence were awarded by Envision, a provider of workforce optimization solutions and creator of Click2Coach, a coaching team which works on performance improvement. The recipients of their 2010 Envision Excellence Awards brought some interesting information how companies can improve their customer-centricity to improve their quality and business performance or as Envision states “to think outside the box.” Winners were listed as Alaska Airlines, Delta Hotels, WestJet, and Partners Healthcare.

Delta Hotels customer service representatives trained via coach remote agents using technology to focus in on peer-to-peer coaching techniques. They have successfully worked on faster techniques to serve customers better. Delta Hotel now uses social networking on a daily basis to monitor questions and service issues.

WestJet, a Canadian airline organization has continued to work on their efficiency and effectiveness, and have relied on coaching with agent participation to improve customer service. Social media has helped the company accommodate more customer inquiries, and Twitter and Facebook helped customers during the rollover in the company’s reservation systems.

Alaska Airlines has implemented an at-home agent program where 50% of the agents are able to work from their own homes. This new innovative program has reduced the company’s real estate footprint by 32%. The work-at-home program has improved productivity, morale, and decreased absenteeism.

And finally Partners Healthcare has, according to Envision, used the coaching and developing of employee knowledge to improve the quality of interactions between employees and customers.

Can some of these suggestions work for your company?

photo credit: j.sauerzapfe

As a member of the Board of Directors for the North East Contact Center Forum, I have the opportunity to speak with a number of Customer Service Managers, Directors and VP’s across multiple industries and geographies. The most common theme among these leaders is the intricate balancing act of providing extraordinary experiences while reducing expenses (and sometimes juggling regulatory risk and/or time constraints).

I have battled with the same dilemmas myself. Over time, I have learned to ask myself and my colleagues a few questions:

• What do you coach your service representatives on?
• What are the common conversations in your team and all-hands meetings?
• What is it that your CEO/COO/VP of Customer Service is evangelizing?

More often than not, the answers sound like: call quality, customer experience, superior service, etc. Some time later, I follow up with another set of questions:

• What are the key metrics that you look at daily?
• How do you incent your service representatives?
• What are the metrics that your boss (whether he or she be the CEO or someone else) are hammering you about?

These answers usually sound like: service level, AHT (average handle time), 50-75% of incentives involve productivity numbers, expenses, cost per account/loan/customer, etc.

Things that make you hmmm.

The terms [triple/quad constraints - click each to a see a picture] and charts are typically used in project management, but apply to our quandary.  One constraint cannot be changed without altering another. Triple or Quad constraints are funny; everything cannot be the most important or the highest priority. Trying to make everything the highest priority will only drive you and your service representatives crazy. It leads to mediocre quality, often subpar cost metrics, low morale, and CEO’s/COO’s/VP’s of Customer Service breathing down your neck.

With all of that in mind, how do you move (walk) forward?

1. The first step for any recovery program is to admit you have a problem.
   1. Be objective.
   2. Ask your floor representatives what they think you say and what you really focus on.
   3. Listen to calls, review chats, and emails (are your associates rushing, taking too long?).
2. Force rank your current priorities (create the order that you believe you are presently working under)
   1. Everything cannot be equal
      1. Quality (call quality, defect management, complaints, customer incident surveys)
      2. Cost (AHT, service levels, cost per X, expenses, utilization, occupancy)
      3. Time (are new product releases critical? Service availability?)
      4. Risk (regulatory/legal, credit, reputational)
   2. Make sure you have accurate differentials – use an entire 1-5 scale
3. Have an honest, direct conversation with senior management about what is the most important priority, what is the second most important priority, and so on.

Now that you have your direction, you need to determine what you are going to change. (Hint: don’t limit yourself to the base of the box, work the edges. Read Seth Godin’s Linchpin for more on that subject.)

• People – Do you have the right people in the right places to succeed? Do you need to reorganize? How would you incent people to deliver your priority? What do you need to communicate to your associates?
• Process – What processes would you change? What metrics would you highlight? What dashboard items need to change?
• Systems – How can you leverage your technical solutions to maximize your priorities? Are you able to walk your talk? Or do you need to change your talk?

Guest Writer Bio: Michael Pace is the Director of Customer Support for Constant Contact’s award winning Customer Support Department and on the Board of Directors for the North East Contact Center Forum. You can connect with him via LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.

Image Credit: Joe

Practically everyone is online, and what they are saying about your business or services affect the perceptions of your brand. What used to be Mr. Jones telling Mr. Smith in the small town of Freehold, New Jersey about the baseball memorabilia in your store that no one else can find and folks coming to your small brick and mortar establishment from as far away as Brooklyn, New York has now changed into comments, posts, feedback, and everything about your brand and your customer service across the nation and overseas.

The internet invites ordinary users to express their opinions about your brand, your product, and the services you provide. Check out Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and LinkedIn, just to name a few. Read what people say, and know that you no longer have a choice not to participate since the ‘computer word of mouth’ has become a powerful friend or enemy – depending on how you are building online relationships.

Online Reputation Management (ORM) claims to help you with your “digital footprint.” It is designed to improve your online reputation, improve your brand image, increase customers, and combat negative feedback. Using Google, Yahoo, and Bing which are the most popular consumer websites, ORM claims to find the problem, evaluate the problem, and then strive to repair your online image. As an example, a local hairdresser has a stellar reputation in the area for her expertise in color, that is until one of her clients left her shop and felt her new red hair shade wasn’t nearly as red as it should have been. Unfortunately for the hairdresser, the unhappy client was a high-profile blogger, and before long the adverse effects on the hairdresser’s brand image began to cost her customers.

The ORM quickly began to monitor what was being said on Twitter and responded quickly with an apology and an invitation for the client to return to the salon for the color correction. Even though the client never said a word to the hairdresser that she was dissatisfied with the hair shade, the polite customer service response was to apologize and invite the customer back. Never make the customer look bad in front of anyone.

Treating customers right, selling quality services or merchandise, and great customer service preserves and strengthens a company’s online reputation, and isn’t that what works best?

photo credit: dnfisher

There’s no one immune from receiving lousy customer service. I cringe at rudeness, robotic phone systems, and general incompetence, but I have learned the business world still marches on, and great customer service does exist. Companies that have figured out exemplary customer service aren’t just about direct business to customer interactions, but instead have made CEOs approachable while creating innovative procedures and actions to benefit customers, and have pulled away from the mediocrity most of us try to avoid. Here are some of the lessons I have learned:

1. A certain amount of automation is enough. There always has to be a way to opt out of the robotic phone answering systems. Aren’t there days when we just need to speak with a human?
2. Be prompt answering me when I have a problem with your company. Email is very convenient, but if I am annoyed by a product or service, I really want an answer before 24 hours. That’s why I have to use the phone, but if I get caught up in a robotic system with no way out, I get even more frustrated.
3. I am the customer, and you keep the records because I pay you. When I call with a question about a product that you know I already own or a service you provide, I don’t want to have to remember passwords. I forget them as quickly as I create them. I expect you to know the identification number on the equipment I lease from you. Why do I have to climb around dark cabinets to repeat it? You should have my customer account number already.
4. Work with me, and develop my trust. If you want me to spend a lot of money, I need to have fostered a relationship with you first. For instance, buying a home is the most expensive purchase I will ever make, and it’s not just about writing a contract to buy a home. I want all the information you can show me to make me feel this is the right decision to make. For instance, tell me about the schools in the area, tell me about taxes and industry in the area; tell me everything about this new community I need to know.
5. Be enthusiastic about your product. I want you to make me feel you believe in the product or your company, and you’re just not answering the phone or talking to me because you are just treading water waiting for payday.
6. Provide guidance and assistance for me when I ask you, but don’t hover over me. I find salespeople following me around in a store to be really annoying, especially if I tell them up front that I am just browsing. If I need help, then I want to know someone is nearby. It’s a fine line, but I think sales people should know the difference.
7. Sometimes I need online support. I really appreciate when I can find a telephone number predominantly displayed on a website. When I purchase a product or service online, and the phone number is convenient, it makes me think the company is completely transparent, and they want me to call if I have a question or problem.
8. Train your employees to be part of the company culture. I know it costs more money to train employees, but when I see employees living the philosophy of great customer service as if they were born with the talent, I am inspired and grateful to be doing business with such a stellar company.
9. Be aware of your competition, and ask my opinion. If your competition does it better, maybe it’s time for a change. Ask your customers how you can deliver a better product, be more innovative, or provide better service. We know because your competition is knocking at our doors every day.

I want to be loyal to you if you deliver innovative products at competitive prices and deliver services to me with respect and proficiency.

photo credit: Orin Zebest

In a time when consumers have a heightened awareness of  the entire credit card industry, where there is a drop in corporate spending and where legislative regulatory changes have all made profound differences in the way credit cards are viewed, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault looks to improve customer experiences. Using the Ritz Carlton and FedEx as models of customer service, changes in American Express service strives to create deeper emotional connections with their customers.

In their three pillar strategy, entitled Relationship Care, employees from industries with hospitality and sales backgrounds as well as the use of new technology, helps customer service employees solve problems while building relationships with customers rather than the norm of how many rings until the phone gets answered or how long a customer service representative spends on the line.

The first stage of Relationship Care concentrates on existing employees and increasing their training by 20%. Classroom instruction, live training, coaches and coaching while directly responding to customers help representatives capture the mood of the customer and be better equipped to listen and know how to respond. By helping employees understand spending behaviors and customer reasons for calling, an immediate emotional and loyalty connection can be made when a customer calls to perhaps report a change of address. If the customer is a high value consumer, a customer care professional may send out a Home Depot gift card.

During the second stage of Relationship Care, hiring new representatives takes on a very centered focus. A customer service applicant might be asked, “If you worked at American Express, how would you give a hug to a card member over the phone?” The company has been hiring representatives from the hospitality and sales industries finding their experience with customers to be a vital asset when dealing with customers who need empathy and the kind of understanding not taught in any training manuals.

Finally, the technology of American Express that can tap into the a database of customer information showing their past buying activity can prompt a representative to aim future promotions, and services pertaining to a specific card member rather than a general pitch for new products. The website is also easy to navigate, user friendly, and provides information pertinent to all card members. The company has even set up a website to help consumers keep track of all activity concerning legislative action for all credit card holders.

American Express reports their customer satisfaction statistics are on the rise, and customer satisfaction rates have climbed dramatically.

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Many of us prefer to shop online. There are no crowds; it’s convenient, quick, saves precious fuel, and there are virtually no time limits as to  when we must shop. There’s naturally tons of competition if you’re a business, so finding a way to stand out from the crowd is going to be  a solid determinant of your future success. Taking into consideration and assuming your web site is attractive, easy to navigate and your prices are competitive, customer service practices and that all so sought after personal touch is what can set you apart from the e-commerce crowd.

An e-commerce business must process sales quickly, and make it easy for customers to contact you. If you use a standard acknowledgment of order response, make sure you follow-up with an actual detailed phone call or email. Personalized responses are the best, and I can attest to the positive feelings I had about an online contact lens company sending me an email when I recently had problems filling an order. A representative went above and beyond and managed to find an optometrist in my area to meet my needs. That unexpected response from the customer service agent on an online store made a profound and positive impression on me.

Why not follow-up on customers who don’t make purchases online? Why do some people abandon online shopping carts? If a company sends out a positive email and thanks the customer for visiting the site, there is then an opportunity to gather some customer feedback. Did the shopper have some technical problem completing their offer and therefore just abandoned the shopping  cart? Did the customer get distracted by someone or something and forgot to finish the order? Here’s an opportunity to converse with the customer, find out the problem, and turn the situation into a sale and new loyal customer.

It still is all about the personal touch to help customers and clients feel connected and appreciated by your business. One of the most impressive e-commerce experiences I ever had was a  hand written note in the shipment box I received when I recently ordered some signs for my real estate business. It showed the personal and human connection.

Lastly, I would never discount the customer service opportunities on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. E commerce businesses have the opportunities to engage in dialogue and reach your audience with that personal touch. We may be in the 21st century, but we still want to count as individuals.

photo credit: superdeluxesam