With the benefits of effective customer insight studied at length and the importance of understanding the integral role played by data analysis activities presented; it is also vital to understand that how you manage your data is an important business decision.
Data management is one of the more utilitarian aspects of customer insight, concerned with actual design, development and hosting of databases. Ultimately, well managed data can be analysed as efficiently as possible and as such, data management tools form the building blocks of improved customer relationships, better business strategy and overall, enhanced performance.
Essentially, after a range of different customer insight activities have returned reams of information, a place in which to store, manage and analyse the data is needed, this is where data management tools offer a very real and extremely useful resource.
Typically data management tools will utilise relevant technologies in order to deliver the greatest amount of added benefit to the client. Functionality which grants efficient and effective access whilst allowing sets of data to be fully understood should always form the backbone of any data management service.
Data management tools may also incorporate the physical hosting and maintenance of databases. Frequently referred to as data warehousing, anyone looking to utilise such resources should note the inclusion of secure access features, efficient search and query functions and also the practical application of data management principles.
If a company is to make the most of its customer insight activities it can be worthwhile to obtain an integrated solution from a single service provider; one that offers a strategy for obtaining insight, demonstrates how data will be effectively stored and finally can provide systems to break down data so that it can be analysed.
Ultimately the foundations of effective customer insight can be found within the right data management tool set; if the choice of services is correct, a company is given the greatest opportunity to benefit from customer insight activities.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Customer Insight – More Than Purely Metrics
Whilst customer insight processes can rely heavily on sets of data in order to present levels of satisfaction, retention and behaviour, it is a fundamental element of customer insight to look beyond the numbers and take something tangible away from the figures. With the right customer insight service at your disposal it is possible to make on-the-spot and strategic decisions that can significantly change operating procedures and customer interactions. In essence, customer insight has the potential to revolutionise customer services for the better.
At the operational level, having effective customer insight by intelligently analysing and using metrics can lead to much improved customer handling procedures. It is through breaking down data and seeing where deficiencies lay that it is possible to recycle this understanding into training procedures. This training in turn helps to improve specific customer interaction activities such as up-selling and complaint handling and ensures that all procedures are relevant and appropriate to a company’s customers.
As well as increased capacity to resolve issues reactively; the improved training that results from customer insight activities allows a company to instigate proactive measures, which help to solve problems and identify opportunities in the long term. The result of these procedural changes is an increase in productive customer relationships and a decrease in those that are stagnant or degrading.
Whilst it may have been explored previously the assistance that customer insight can provide in the formulation of strategies for the business is invaluable. This applies to not only upcoming marketing campaigns, to ensure they are effectively targeted but can equally apply to new products and services, to ensure that they are in the interests of a company’s customer base.
Fundamentally customer insight data and initiatives should change the entire outlook of a company, to one that is far more customer centric and focussed towards providing the best service possible. It is by employing customer insight strategies that it is possible to instigate this change, improving not only customer loyalty and retention, but also allowing a company to understand the delicate balance between customer satisfaction and revenue.
At the operational level, having effective customer insight by intelligently analysing and using metrics can lead to much improved customer handling procedures. It is through breaking down data and seeing where deficiencies lay that it is possible to recycle this understanding into training procedures. This training in turn helps to improve specific customer interaction activities such as up-selling and complaint handling and ensures that all procedures are relevant and appropriate to a company’s customers.
As well as increased capacity to resolve issues reactively; the improved training that results from customer insight activities allows a company to instigate proactive measures, which help to solve problems and identify opportunities in the long term. The result of these procedural changes is an increase in productive customer relationships and a decrease in those that are stagnant or degrading.
Whilst it may have been explored previously the assistance that customer insight can provide in the formulation of strategies for the business is invaluable. This applies to not only upcoming marketing campaigns, to ensure they are effectively targeted but can equally apply to new products and services, to ensure that they are in the interests of a company’s customer base.
Fundamentally customer insight data and initiatives should change the entire outlook of a company, to one that is far more customer centric and focussed towards providing the best service possible. It is by employing customer insight strategies that it is possible to instigate this change, improving not only customer loyalty and retention, but also allowing a company to understand the delicate balance between customer satisfaction and revenue.
Friday, 28 January 2011
Service and Value Differentiation
I spoke to a friend recently who has just started a new job at a large digital print company. They’ve been very successful for a number of years but are now finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate themselves from the competition.
It’s not because the quality of their service and products has dropped or because they are too expensive but because the competition has found ways to add value to their offering and move away from a commoditised model.
I’ve spoken to a number of print businesses recently who are facing the same challenges and are therefore looking at ways in which to diversify their operations. They have all realised that competing on price alone cannot be sustained and that they must offer clients a full service approach to marketing communications by moving into data management, email marketing and online communications, often through forming partnerships with experts such as EWA.
Personally I think this is down to a number of factors some of which are not unique to their industry. The changing demands of clients themselves are one of the main reasons. Many are increasingly using procurement professionals as a means to extract every last ounce of value from a new contract, both in terms of price but also in the scope and quality of services provided.
The same can be said of us as consumers, we all want to achieve what we perceive to be a good deal although this doesn’t always necessarily mean the cheapest (and I think perception is the key word here). We’re happy to pay a premium for products or services that offer just that little bit more than the competition, whether it’s in terms of quality of service, speed of delivery or customer support, both pre and post purchase.
And customer service can be a simple and cost effective way of gaining competitive advantage and standing out from the crowd in a saturated marketplace. You may sell the exact same products as your competition for the same price or perhaps even a few pence more. If your customer service is exceptional and you strive to add value to each and every purchase, then your customers’ experience will be a positive one and they will be happy to spend that little bit more, hopefully becoming advocates of your business as a result.
In today’s digital world, news (good or bad) spreads fast. Social media has opened up a whole new world of communication and information sharing between groups of like-minded individuals. Where previously recommendations would have been limited to an individual’s peer group or family network, people (i.e. your customers) are now much more comfortable sharing their opinions and feedback online. Such feedback is given almost in real-time and becomes viral in its own right, propagating across multiple social networking sites and the World Wide Web for consumption by other potential customers.
So in summary, good customer service and adding value to each purchase, whether real or perceived by the customer has the potential to make your business a success, attracting new customers who in turn will help spread the good news.
It’s not because the quality of their service and products has dropped or because they are too expensive but because the competition has found ways to add value to their offering and move away from a commoditised model.
I’ve spoken to a number of print businesses recently who are facing the same challenges and are therefore looking at ways in which to diversify their operations. They have all realised that competing on price alone cannot be sustained and that they must offer clients a full service approach to marketing communications by moving into data management, email marketing and online communications, often through forming partnerships with experts such as EWA.
Personally I think this is down to a number of factors some of which are not unique to their industry. The changing demands of clients themselves are one of the main reasons. Many are increasingly using procurement professionals as a means to extract every last ounce of value from a new contract, both in terms of price but also in the scope and quality of services provided.
The same can be said of us as consumers, we all want to achieve what we perceive to be a good deal although this doesn’t always necessarily mean the cheapest (and I think perception is the key word here). We’re happy to pay a premium for products or services that offer just that little bit more than the competition, whether it’s in terms of quality of service, speed of delivery or customer support, both pre and post purchase.
And customer service can be a simple and cost effective way of gaining competitive advantage and standing out from the crowd in a saturated marketplace. You may sell the exact same products as your competition for the same price or perhaps even a few pence more. If your customer service is exceptional and you strive to add value to each and every purchase, then your customers’ experience will be a positive one and they will be happy to spend that little bit more, hopefully becoming advocates of your business as a result.
In today’s digital world, news (good or bad) spreads fast. Social media has opened up a whole new world of communication and information sharing between groups of like-minded individuals. Where previously recommendations would have been limited to an individual’s peer group or family network, people (i.e. your customers) are now much more comfortable sharing their opinions and feedback online. Such feedback is given almost in real-time and becomes viral in its own right, propagating across multiple social networking sites and the World Wide Web for consumption by other potential customers.
So in summary, good customer service and adding value to each purchase, whether real or perceived by the customer has the potential to make your business a success, attracting new customers who in turn will help spread the good news.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Choosing a Contact Centre Outsourcer
Choosing an outsourcer for your contact centres requires a considered and conscientious approach. Essentially when you are selecting someone to operate your customer or client contact you are choosing a face for your business, a service that will reflect on your brand. As such this decision needs to be based on fact rather than supposition.
One of the first questions you should ask any potential outsourced contact centres provider is about their previous and existing clients. Fundamentally it is by understanding how the provider treats their existing clients that it will be possible to gain an idea of the effectiveness of their services. It can also be worth asking the contact centre provider whether they can offer references and examples of their work in your specific industry sector, this can highlight how they implement industry specific strategies and demonstrate their success at maintaining working relationships.
It is worth remembering that choosing a contact partner is a big step for any business. The benefits are myriad, but only if your partner has the ability to implement contact solutions that you require. A contact centre should typically offer services along the lines of:
* Customer Services (including after sales support and advice)
* Technical Support (in accordance with your products and services
* Outbound Telemarketing (in both B2B and B2C sectors as lead generation
* Customer retention and relationship management (to develop customer loyalty)
These services are only a small cross section of what can be offered but give an idea of what a contact centre provider should be capable of.
When choosing your partner for outsourcing contact centres it is also a good idea to visit the facilities at their disposal. It is only by seeing them in action that it is possible to ascertain the services on offer, at this stage looking at training programmes, staff management and the technology being utilised will provide valuable insight into how your customer or client contact will be administered. It should also give an idea of how they intend to communicate with your company representatives and how they may instigate any of your campaigns or programmes. More general points to look for in a contact centre outsourcer include financial stability, effective service level agreements and metrics within SLAs that are suitable and appropriate.
Choosing an outsourcer is about finding a partner with whom it is possible to build a solid and effective working relationship. Get this choice wrong and you could be sacrificing your reputation with customers and clients; get this choice right however and your company stands to receive significant operational and financial benefits
Monday, 20 December 2010
How Customer Insight Can Improve Customer Relationships
It has been established in previous blogs just how instrumental customer insight is to today’s marketers in the creation of marketing campaigns. However, it should be noted that it is only through effective and thorough database management that it is possible to take advantage of the greater customer insight and make this knowledge work for greater profits.
Customer insight is only one side of the coin, after all having and using the knowledge of customer behaviour are entirely different processes. Essentially it is the ability to make sense of the data that results from customer insight projects that leads to more effective business relationships.
One way in which this is possible is by compiling data that around customers’ order lag. The frequency of orders is a vital piece of information in understanding the patterns in which customers place orders. By studying these patterns it is possible to identify which customers are lagging in their orders and which are simply maintaining their regular ordering behaviour, subsequently indentifying the customers that could need contacting to encourage future purchasing.
It is through developing a Critical Lag formula, based upon customer ordering behaviour that it is possible to interact and communicate with customers at the right time. When this is combined with effective customer segmentation prospects can be readily identified and targeted to make the most of existing business relationships. The results of effective communication based upon a solid understanding of a customer base are less customer churn, and greater revenue generated from each customer.
Fundamentally customer insight is a highly valuable business tool. It is however only through efficient and effective database management that it is possible to make sense of the data extrapolated through customer insight activities and use this information to formulate customer relationship and retention strategies.
Customer insight is only one side of the coin, after all having and using the knowledge of customer behaviour are entirely different processes. Essentially it is the ability to make sense of the data that results from customer insight projects that leads to more effective business relationships.
One way in which this is possible is by compiling data that around customers’ order lag. The frequency of orders is a vital piece of information in understanding the patterns in which customers place orders. By studying these patterns it is possible to identify which customers are lagging in their orders and which are simply maintaining their regular ordering behaviour, subsequently indentifying the customers that could need contacting to encourage future purchasing.
It is through developing a Critical Lag formula, based upon customer ordering behaviour that it is possible to interact and communicate with customers at the right time. When this is combined with effective customer segmentation prospects can be readily identified and targeted to make the most of existing business relationships. The results of effective communication based upon a solid understanding of a customer base are less customer churn, and greater revenue generated from each customer.
Fundamentally customer insight is a highly valuable business tool. It is however only through efficient and effective database management that it is possible to make sense of the data extrapolated through customer insight activities and use this information to formulate customer relationship and retention strategies.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
The Value of Customer Insight to Marketers
Customer insight is rapidly becoming a vital component in any business strategy; after all, who can afford not to know who their customers are, how they behave and how their loyalty can be assured? Put simply customer insight employs the collection, analysis and use of data, allowing businesses to create customer acquisition, development and retention strategies.
Customer insight can play a massively important role in planning and implementing marketing campaigns, helping marketers to extract the greatest revenue from limited marketing budgets. It does this by creating best match profiles for potential, loyal and the most profitable customers.
Fundamentally greater customer insights allows for more effective targeting. It has been a long known fact within marketing that a campaign can stand or fall on its ability to target the right type of people. A misguided campaign can be a costly mistake; conversely a well targeted campaign can court potential customers, produce profitable relationships and develop future prospects.
Understanding where targets should be focussed is only possible through in-depth analysis of data. Data is one of the most powerful tools at the marketer’s disposal and an integral element within modern customer insight services. In most cases, this data is easily accessible and gives the opportunity to identify profitable prospects, rather than pursuing customers that will provide little if any return on investment.
Existing customer data creates massive up and cross-selling opportunities. The profiles created using segmentation and modelling help to identify precisely which customers should be targeted through a greater understanding of their purchasing behaviour, the types of products they are likely to buy and an idea of their likely spend.
Understanding the behaviour of customers means marketers have the knowledge to implement campaigns that target these profiles in a very specific way, taking into account when and how they spend their money in order to extract the greatest revenue. It is this potential that attracts so many marketers to customer insight services; understandably, having the knowledge of how your customers spend their money is an extremely valuable asset in business.
Customer insight can play a massively important role in planning and implementing marketing campaigns, helping marketers to extract the greatest revenue from limited marketing budgets. It does this by creating best match profiles for potential, loyal and the most profitable customers.
Fundamentally greater customer insights allows for more effective targeting. It has been a long known fact within marketing that a campaign can stand or fall on its ability to target the right type of people. A misguided campaign can be a costly mistake; conversely a well targeted campaign can court potential customers, produce profitable relationships and develop future prospects.
Understanding where targets should be focussed is only possible through in-depth analysis of data. Data is one of the most powerful tools at the marketer’s disposal and an integral element within modern customer insight services. In most cases, this data is easily accessible and gives the opportunity to identify profitable prospects, rather than pursuing customers that will provide little if any return on investment.
Existing customer data creates massive up and cross-selling opportunities. The profiles created using segmentation and modelling help to identify precisely which customers should be targeted through a greater understanding of their purchasing behaviour, the types of products they are likely to buy and an idea of their likely spend.
Understanding the behaviour of customers means marketers have the knowledge to implement campaigns that target these profiles in a very specific way, taking into account when and how they spend their money in order to extract the greatest revenue. It is this potential that attracts so many marketers to customer insight services; understandably, having the knowledge of how your customers spend their money is an extremely valuable asset in business.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Outsourcing Contact Centres – A Path to Reduced Costs?
Outsourcing has always been presented as an excellent way for companies to save money and reduce their overheads. With the current economic situation now is the time to make the most of outsourcing contact centres, eventually granting more freedom for a company to manoeuvre. But whilst using the correct outsourcer will help to save money, precisely how will outsourced contact centres reduce overall spend?
This is fairly self-explanatory but essentially, if a company reduces the amount of work it must do for its customer contact operation, requires less hardware and infrastructure and reduces the number of staff devoted to the task, they will save money. Outsourcing practically eliminates the low-value work and tasks that add up in terms of hours and cost. Fundamentally, the Service Level Agreement and metrics provided by an outsourcer offer return on investment without draining company resources indirectly.
Similarly, whilst the workload is reduced, the amount of spending needed to achieve the same or better results is also reduced. This increased efficiency per pound spent is a result of the professional set up of the outsourcer and the fact that their contact centres are filled with highly trained, dedicated customer service professionals that are highly capable and deliver predefined results.
Fundamentally, by combining these two features of outsourcing it is possible to reduce costs. These costs can be reduced by downsizing the number of people dedicated to customer service within a business; by removing the need to employ so many contact workers. In addition, the reduction in infrastructure and IT spend also reduces the investment needed in comparison to an in-house solution.
With the right outsourcing provider considerable savings can be made when it comes to running and maintaining contact centres. Vitally however, it should be recognised that reducing costs should not mean sacrificing standards, ideally an outsourcer should be able to provide services that are equal or better than what would be possible in house, at a price that is also cost effective.
This is fairly self-explanatory but essentially, if a company reduces the amount of work it must do for its customer contact operation, requires less hardware and infrastructure and reduces the number of staff devoted to the task, they will save money. Outsourcing practically eliminates the low-value work and tasks that add up in terms of hours and cost. Fundamentally, the Service Level Agreement and metrics provided by an outsourcer offer return on investment without draining company resources indirectly.
Similarly, whilst the workload is reduced, the amount of spending needed to achieve the same or better results is also reduced. This increased efficiency per pound spent is a result of the professional set up of the outsourcer and the fact that their contact centres are filled with highly trained, dedicated customer service professionals that are highly capable and deliver predefined results.
Fundamentally, by combining these two features of outsourcing it is possible to reduce costs. These costs can be reduced by downsizing the number of people dedicated to customer service within a business; by removing the need to employ so many contact workers. In addition, the reduction in infrastructure and IT spend also reduces the investment needed in comparison to an in-house solution.
With the right outsourcing provider considerable savings can be made when it comes to running and maintaining contact centres. Vitally however, it should be recognised that reducing costs should not mean sacrificing standards, ideally an outsourcer should be able to provide services that are equal or better than what would be possible in house, at a price that is also cost effective.
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