No matter business is Big or Small, No matter Revenue is few hundred or Billion $s, No matter staff is few or many etc… etc… Improving Customer Experience is critical to success.

Customer service is measured by customer satisfaction. But measuring customer satisfaction may not be as straightforward as surveying customers about their satisfaction levels. Neither can it always be captured in statistics related to key performance indicators (KPI) performance.

Services might be GREEN if SLA adherence reports are published but it doesn’t assure 100 % Customer satisfaction. Why So?

SLA’s are green for consecutive Years/Months, but it doesn’t guarantee reduction in Customer Churn. Why So?

Try to follow Golden Rule – “Bad News should flow @ the same pace like Good News”.

What does it mean????

It’s human tendency and natural behavior to share emails, phone calls highlighting achievements like Project delivered on time, Small Change delivered before committed date, Teams are working on the weekend to address delivery, Cost reduction offered etc.. etc.. to Customers.

But if any of above-highlighted items are deviating from committed timelines, most of the cases it’s not properly communicated. Invalid reasons are being shared which are difficult to digest or it’s being informed at last day of delivery dates. It leaves Customer really frustrated and hampers Customer Experience.

But if BAD NEWS like delay in delivery, increased cost with valid reasons, timelines change are communicated well in advance Customer feel connected (and not cheated) and that helps in building confidence on Service offered and build positive perception. Service Lines need to accept faults upfront by timely communication and help with clear, revised plans which are accepted by Customer (Operation Excellence to avoid the same issue in future will definitely help). Customers are also human and they can EMPATHIZE if deviations are communicated on time and with valid reasons.

Customer perception is one of the most valuable aspects of a company. Managing that perception in all its forms should be a top priority and is the responsibility of every single person in the organization.

Give a try –

“Bad News should flow @ the same pace like Good News” + Design Thinking + Continual Service Improvement + Lean Thinking + Adhering to SLA’s continuously. 

Disclaimer :The views expressed by the author in this article/blog/note are personal and have nothing to do with their organisation, or ITNext(a part of 9.9 group pvt ltd)