What links CX to Silent Witness?
At first glance, the connection between customer experience (CX) and forensic science might not seem obvious. But it is there. And you don’t need a magnifying glass to see it.
The basic principle of forensic science is ‘every contact leaves a trace’. In today’s increasingly online world, every interaction between a customer and a supplier of products or services leaves a traceable piece of data. Collected, stored, processed and analysed, this data tells a business ‘whodunnit’ and, importantly, ‘why it was done’.
Customer experience is king
The time when customers would put up with a poor experience out of brand loyalty is slipping away – especially as the generation born with a smartphone or tablet in their hands mature into consumers. There is more competition than ever for these new shoppers, diners and drivers. Older, less adaptable organisations risk being left behind.
Plus, digital disruptors are playing havoc in practically every industry. Much of the disruption is based around CX, which is not always based on how well the customer is treated – although that plays a part. CX is based on how we (customers) feel. It includes whether we feel we are getting value for money, whether we feel that the service is as convenient as possible, whether we feel safe. In short, whether we feel valued enough for the supplier to put us (me, the individual) first. And the only way businesses are going to do that is by understanding ‘me’ through the data I leave behind.
Put bluntly, customer experience is everything, and businesses must use every tool available to make sure CX is at the heart of what they do and how they do it.
That’s why data is so important for customer experience and, ultimately, the success of a business.
"Our change++ experts understand the value of data and the importance of being able to extract maximum value from it. We have designed, developed and implemented systems that put CX at the heart of a project,” says Andy Best, MD at change++.
Safety, speed and loyalty schemes
Passenger safety is a priority for Transport for London (TfL), and an important component of the customer experience while travelling. We helped NSL, a major supplier to TfL, streamline the way details of all the drivers and vehicles used to fulfil private hire bookings each week are submitted. We developed an online tool called the ‘Operator Upload’ to ensure the data was securely and accurately submitted directly to NSL’s Taxi and Private Hire Operational Licensing Administration (TOLA) system. It gives TfL greater visibility of which firms, vehicles and drivers are compliant and allows it to act against non-compliance.
When you’re travelling on the motorway and need a break, the last thing you want to do is spend unnecessary time queuing for service or finding the fast food you’ve been promising yourself for the last 25 miles is out of stock. We built an interactive dashboard to give Welcome Break managers a daily view of what is happening, how they are performing against KPIs and where to focus attention to improve both performance and the overall customer experience.
We did something similar for Bistrot Pierre. The UK-wide restaurant chain now uses dashboards, powered by Microsoft Power BI, to test the effectiveness of promotions, loyalty schemes, pricing strategies, menu changes and more.
Playing the game
The great thing about data is that it can be sliced and diced and served up in many different ways. Businesses that use data in fun ways to ‘gamify’ customer experience are often rewarded with more repeat business and greater customer loyalty. Points are great, of course, but that upcoming, smart-device native generation is looking for a different kind of experience, one that reflects how they use technology. And that means gaming.
Brands that adopt gamification – rewarding achievements with badges and via leader boards, as well as competitions and using games in campaigns – have been said to increase engagement by 47%. Not a bad return on an innovative use of data, that customers have given you in the first place.
All good so far, but where do you start? We can help with that. Why not get in touch and see how you can make your data work harder?
