Executive Summary

Service Title

Customer Experience

The service sector of the global economy continues to grow year after year. In 2020, the service sector accounted for nearly two-thirds of the global gross domestic product (GDP). In countries like the United States, the percentage is even higher at three-fourths. As the service sector continues to grow, companies have put a lot of time, money, and effort into improving their level of customer service. Unfortunately, their investments don’t seem to be paying off. As the amount of service-related business increases, the level of customer satisfaction has stayed stagnant or has even decreased. For example, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) has identified that customers have become increasingly dissatisfied since 2017. The Q2 2022 survey resulted in the lowest satisfaction since 2005.

“American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) 2000 – 2022” image Is too small and blurry.

This is cause for concern. The service sector is increasing, and companies are focusing more effort on improving customer service, yet their efforts aren’t producing the desired results of increased customer satisfaction. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the approach to improving customer service.

The need for improvement is evident. Anecdotal stories and documented research have proven that happy customers continue to purchase, purchase more over time and tell others about the good experiences they have (positive word of mouth WOM). It just makes sense. If a person is happy with the products and services they receive from a company, they will continue to buy those products and services, try new products and services, or buy more products and services. They will also tell others about their good experiences. This equates to the best (and cheapest) form of marketing there is-social proof. Likewise, if customers have a poor experience, they will likely tell many more people about their poor experience and post reviews on several social media sites where WOM can reach thousands of people. Customers who return, buy more, and tell others about their good experiences are loyal customers. Research shows that reducing the customers’ effort to do business with an organization leads to customer loyalty. This research is detailed in the book The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty by Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, and Rick DeLisi.

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Service Methodology

Customer service is more than just talking nice to customers…the “soft skills” we often hear referred to when customer service is discussed. Customer service is also often referred to as being “common sense”. However, even our own experiences as customers tell us good customer service is not all that common and Customer Satisfaction Scores are proof of that. A 2018 report by New Voice Media estimated that poor customer service is costing companies about $75 billion annually. With customer satisfaction scores continuing to plummet, it only stands to reason that amount only continues to rise. Companies can have a significant impact on customer service by focusing on making it easy for customers to do business and making the experience enjoyable. These two basic principles can look very different among companies and industries. However, they produce the same result-satisfied customers who continue to buy, buy more, and tell others about their good experiences. After being useful, Forrester Research concludes customers want their experiences to be easy and enjoyable.

Customer Experience Pyramid image too blurry

The journey to improve customer service starts by mapping the customer journey-what the customer experiences when doing business with you. Additionally, identifying what good and poor customer service looks like along this customer journey will help identify areas for improvement. Mapping the customer journey will most surely reveal “Moments of Truth”. This idea was made famous by Jan Carlzon in the 1980s when he was with Scandinavian Airlines. This approach worked then, and it still works today. Carlzon and airline employees focused on those key critical times airline personnel interacted with passengers and implemented changes to improve those interactions. The results were nothing short of amazing. Scandinavian Airlines went from near the bottom in punctuality (rated 14 out of 17 airlines in Europe) in 1981 to being named Airline of the Year in 1983. Additionally, the airlines went from losing $17 million in 1981 to turning a profit of $54 million in 1982. Regardless of the type of business or industry, we all have customers, and we all have Moments of Truth. Focusing on improving those Moments of Truth is a winning strategy. Carlzon’s book details all his work surrounding Moments of Truth.

How does a company improve the Moments of Truth? A robust Voice of the Customer (VoC) system is a great place to start and absolutely necessary to collect customer feedback. Following a simple feedback loop for customer experience can be extremely profitable and it all starts with gathering feedback.

14, Last modified: July, et al. “Voice of Customer: Benefits and 5 Strategies to Improve Your VOC Program.” ProProfs Help Desk Blog, 14 July 2022, https://www.proprofsdesk.com/blog/voice-of-customer/.

Gathering customer feedback for satisfaction, effort, and how likely customers are to promote your business are macro-measures that are important. Digging even deeper and gaining customer insight into those Moment of Truth interactions is where a company can really make a significant difference. Improvements in these Moments of Truth will lead to improvements in Customer Satisfaction, Customer Effort, and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Constantly and consistently collecting customer feedback and connecting the feedback to improve processes, systems, and procedures used by the organization will result in improved customer satisfaction and increased customer loyalty. Once the feedback has been collected, following the remaining steps on the feedback loop will lead to an improved customer experience.

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Service Options

Companies can elect whether they just require Appleton Greene for advice and support with the Bronze Client Service, for research and performance analysis with the Silver Client Service, for facilitating departmental workshops with the Gold Client Service, or for complete process planning, development, implementation, management and review, with the Platinum Client Service. Ultimately, there is a service to suit every situation and every budget and clients can elect to either upgrade or downgrade from one service to another as and when required, providing complete flexibility in order to ensure that the right level of support is available over a sustainable period of time, enabling the organization to compensate for any prescriptive or emergent changes relating to: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Information Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing; or Production.

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Service Mission

Our service mission is to assist businesses of all sizes to improve the level of service they provide their customers. Improved customer service has proven to increase customer loyalty. Loyal customers continue to buy from companies (repeat customers), buy more products and services over time (increased share of wallet), and tell others about the good experiences they have (positive Word of Mouth). According to Gartner, the likelihood of customers doing these three things is very high if they receive a positive experience.

What does this mean for the bottom line? What’s the return on investing in customer service and experience? After all, that’s what matters, right? Watermark Consulting analyzed companies using data from 2007 to 2019 and determined that customer experience Leaders significantly outperformed their competitors. CX Leaders generated a cumulative return that was 3.4 times greater than the Laggards.

The Leaders experienced revenue growth, reduced expenses, reduced customer churn, increased employee satisfaction, and increased customer loyalty. That’s a significant return on investing in customer service and experience.

Our simple, but effective strategy and process of mapping the customer journey, identifying Moments of Truth, identifying, and implementing improvements, and capturing customer feedback through a Voice of the Customer system has proven to be effective in companies of all sizes. The result is an organization that has satisfied and loyal customers, increased revenue and profits, and reduce operating costs.

Key Issue Addressed

Our service offering addresses the key issues facing companies of all sizes and industries.

How can we differentiate ourselves from our competition?

How can we justify the ROI of investing in customer service and experience?

If customers can’t tell (or experience) the difference between companies, rationally they make a choice mostly based on price. If customers can see and experience the difference in service, price becomes much less of a factor in the decision-making process. In fact, most customers will spend more if they feel valued, and appreciated, and that they are receiving good service. Research exists that found that up to 86% of consumers said they would pay more for better service and a better customer experience. It doesn’t take much. Consistently delivering at the Moments of Truth will lead to a differentiated customer experience.

It also doesn’t require a huge investment. A methodical approach to analyzing and improving the experience at the Moments of Truth, supported by, consistent and recurring training will deliver the expected results of increased customer satisfaction, increased revenue/profit, and reduced operating expenses. As shown earlier, the return on the investment in customer service and experience can lead to significant growth for an organization through differentiated customer service and experience.

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Service Objectives

The following list represents the Key Service Objectives (KSO) for the Appleton Greene Customer Experience service.

1. Customer Feedback
   The first step in a customer experience improvement effort is to implement a customer feedback system. Peter Drucker, one of the most widely known and influential business management leaders, is often credited with the phrase “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Any effort to improve the customer experience must include key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure the experience an organization is delivering for its customers. Customer experience is the customer’s entire journey with an organization from initial awareness through to post-purchase. Traditional customer experience KPIs include customer satisfaction, customer effort, and Net Promoter Score. These KPIs can provide an overall picture of how customers view their journey with an organization. They describe customers’ level of satisfaction with the organization’s product and/or service; how much effort customers have to put forth to do business with an organization; and how likely customers are to recommend the organization to others. These are important to measure, monitor, and improve. Other KPIs are also important and are often specific to the organization itself. Measuring and collecting customer feedback at milestone interactions along the customer journey provides insight as to specific areas an organization can focus on to improve the customer experience. Focusing on these “moments of truth” was the foundation of the work done by Jan Carlzon with Scandinavian Airlines. By improving these critical points of interaction, an organization can improve the overall customer experience. Examples of “moments of truth” would be when a customer calls to schedule a service call, when the technician arrives to perform the service, and when the customer receives the invoice for the work that was done. Improving each of these key critical interactions improves the overall customer journey. Collecting descriptive customer feedback here is essential for improvement. When customers provide feedback using words like “frustrating”, “didn’t care”, “rude”, and “felt rushed”, the organization should implement solutions to correct the root cause of the problem. When customers provide feedback using words like “cared for”, “important”, and “valued”, organizations should continue to support the processes, procedures, and systems that produce this type of feedback.
2. Effortless Experience
   One of the most important indicators of a person’s intent to repurchase, purchase more, and recommend to others is how easy it is to do business with the organization. The goal of this service objective is to create customer loyalty. According to Gartner research, 96% of customers who had a high-effort experience will become disloyal compared to only 9% who have a low-effort experience. Gartner also found that low-effort interactions reduce costs by decreasing repeat calls, escalations, and channel switching (abandoning on hold on the phone to go to live chat is an example of channel switching). Solving problems quickly and making it easy to reach a representative are ways in which an organization can reduce customer effort. Nobody likes to do business with a company that makes it difficult. When a company makes it difficult, customers will choose another company. Making the experience enjoyable is another factor that contributes to customer loyalty. Soft skills, such as interpersonal communication skills, personality traits, and emotional awareness help to make the customer experience enjoyable. How an organization answers the phone, greets customers, offers to provide additional assistance, and thanks customers for their business are all examples of soft skills. Organizations that have team members that are empathetic, show enthusiasm, listen well, and are friendly often have high levels of customer satisfaction. Providing team members with feedback on soft skills is essential in any customer experience improvement effort. Identifying areas to improve individually and as a team and implementing training and other solutions to address weaknesses will produce a better customer experience. Focusing on making the customer journey easy and enjoyable will lead to a loyal customer following where customers repurchase, purchase more over time and tell others about the great experience they have with the company.
3. Personalized Experience
   The goal of this service objective is to personalize the customer experience which drives customer loyalty. The old saying is true, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”. Customers want to know that you know them and care that they are your customers. Personalizing customer interactions make customers feel important and valued and everyone likes to feel important and valued. Having a good customer relationship management (CRM) system that allows team members to have access to customer information is critical. Previous spending, lifetime customer value (LTV), issue history and resolution, and any other important customer information should be readily available to team members assisting customers. All customer interactions should be recorded in the CRM so team members can refer to them in future customer interactions. Tailoring interactions to the customer’s personal preferences and needs demonstrates the organization values them as a customer. Personalization can lead to a more efficient customer experience and drive customer loyalty.
4. Consistent Experience
   The objective of a consistent customer experience is to create customer loyalty and trust. A study by McKinsey & Co found that a consistent customer experience across the entire customer journey will increase satisfaction and build trust and loyalty. Consistency in the customer journey, emotions, and communication are areas an organization should focus on to deliver a consistent customer experience. Consistency in the customer journey requires an organization to have policies, procedures, and guidelines in place to make sure each “moment of truth” is consistent, so customers know what to expect each and every time they interact with the organization. Consistency in emotions uses soft skills training and coaching to build trust and loyalty. It’s important to note that it’s nearly impossible to “go above and beyond” for customers in every interaction. Instead, focus on the basics, do them well, and do them consistently. Consistency in communication is demonstrated by keeping promises. Customers create expectations of the experience they will have with an organization by what messages they receive. Deliver on promises, consistently, across the entire customer journey and customers will continue to do business with the organization and become more loyal. All areas of the organization must be aligned in delivering messages to customers. Mixed messages will lead to customer dissatisfaction. Consistently delivering on your promises contributes to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty and ensures customers will continue to repurchase and refer to others.
5. Adaptable Experience
   While it’s important for the customer experience to be consistent, it is also critical to be flexible and adapt when the interaction requires it. Not every interaction or customer need is going to be the same and not all will follow a policy, procedure, or guideline. Training front-line staff and empowering them to make decisions to resolve issues for customers is very important. Customer dissatisfaction is created when team members are not able to solve a problem or need approval to do so. Responses such as “that’s our policy” and “I’ll need supervisor approval for that” frustrate customers and lead to dissatisfaction. Front-line employees know customers the best. Allowing team members to make decisions, solve problems, and even make exceptions to policies, procedures, and guidelines (when necessary) will help create customer satisfaction and loyalty. Supporting team members to be creative in solving issues when needed also builds their confidence and self-worth. Team members will be engaged, feel valued, and will work even harder to serve customers. Training, giving feedback, and trusting team members to do what is right will create customer trust and loyalty. All levels of the organization should understand that there can be many paths taken to arrive at the desired destination of customer loyalty. Allowing team members to find the right path will create employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.

Testimonials

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More detailed achievements, references and testimonials are confidentially available to clients upon request.

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Industries

This service is primarily available to the following industry sectors:

Construction

The construction industry is comprised of companies engaged in the erection, repair, and maintenance of structures, buildings, and roads. Construction projects include the design, planning, financing, and delivery of the structure, building, or road. The demand for construction continues to grow as the global population grows and developing countries experience economic growth. The global market was valued at $7.28 trillion USD in 2021 and is expected to reach $14.41 trillion USD by 2030, a CAGR of 7.3% from 2022 to 2030. Challenges facing the construction market include disruptions in supply chains, fluctuating material prices, inflation, and the shortage of skilled labor to perform the work. These challenges cause delays in project completion and reduced profit margins for construction companies. It also means the price of the projects will increase as companies have to pay workers more as the demand for their skills increases. Companies will also have to pay more for materials and the transportation of the materials to the job site. Many companies are adopting new technologies (virtual design and construction or VDC and Building Information Modeling or BIM) and deploying such techniques as prefabrication and modular construction to mitigate these challenges.

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Logistics

Logistics is the management (not just the transport) of the flow of goods from one point to another-the entire supply chain. These goods can be raw materials used in the production of finished products or the finished product themselves. An effective logistics management system minimizes the costs to move goods and delivers the right goods in the correct amount when needed. Advances in technology are helping to minimize costs and improve service. Areas included in logistics are demand forecasting, storage, inspection, packaging, import/export facilitation, insurance, and risk mitigation. The logistics industry is expected to continue to grow over the next several years as the demand for goods grows globally. The global market reached a value of $4.92 trillion USD in 2021 and is expected to reach $6.55 trillion USD by 2027. This represents a 4.7% CAGR from 2022 to 2027. Much of the growth in logistics is driven by the growth in e-commerce and the sourcing and sale of goods and materials from all over the world. A challenge facing the logistics industry is the delays experienced in supply chains due to labor, equipment, and material availability.

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Transport

Transport is the physical movement of goods and people from point A to point B by land, air, and ocean. Truck and rail are land transportation methods. Container vessels move goods by ocean. Both cargo and passenger planes are used to move goods by air. Depending on the requirements for delivery time and cost, one or more of these modes of transportation can be used to meet the need. Intermodal transport is the term used when one or more modes of transport are used to move goods. An example would be a container that moves goods from India to the United States on an ocean vessel. Once the ship arrives in port in the USA, the container is transferred to the rail where it moves to a rail yard near its final destination. Finally, a truck delivers the container to its final destination. Like logistics, the transport industry is expected to continue to grow as the demand for goods grows globally. The size of the global market was $6.2 trillion USD in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.4% to a value of $7.8 trillion USD by 2027. Also like the logistics industry, one challenge facing transport is the delays in the supply chain to due labor, equipment, and material availability. A shortage of truck drivers is expected to continue to be a major challenge as 2.6 million truck driver jobs went unfilled in 2021.

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Retail

The retail industry is comprised of companies selling goods and services to end consumers. Retailers typically purchase goods from suppliers, wholesalers, or manufacturers and sell those products to consumers for a profit. The retailer is generally considered the final step in the supply chain system. The retail industry continues to grow as demand for goods and services continues to grow globally. E-commerce continues to fuel the growth in retail as consumers move from purchasing goods from traditional brick and motor stores to online retail purchases. As consumers shift how and where they purchase, retailers must focus their efforts on providing the systems and processes needed to make purchasing experiences easy and enjoyable. Total retail sales are expected to rise from $27.7 trillion USD in 2021 to almost $34 trillion USD by 2026, an annual average increase of 4.3%. The retail industry also faces several challenges. Disruption in supply chains and attracting and retaining staff are the two largest. Others include data security and developing customer loyalty.

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Non-Profit and Charities

Nonprofits and charities are organizations that raise funds in order to fulfill a specific mission in areas such as health, education, and cultural and scientific activities. Nonprofit organizations are often called non-governmental organizations or NGOs. These nonprofit organizations are not affiliated with or related to the government. However, an NGO often receives government funding in order to fulfill its mission. Charities do not receive government funding and rely on fundraising and donations to generate the needed funds to carry out the mission. The global NGO and charities market is expected to grow from $329.3 billion USD in 2020 to $457.8 billion USD by 2025, a CAGR of 6.9%. The market is expected to continue to grow to $528.1 billion USD by 2030, a CAGR of 4.9% from 2025 to 2030. Much of the expected growth can be attributed to an increase in corporate social responsibility by for-profit companies. Many for-profit companies are increasing the amount of money they donate to social causes worldwide as they see that many consumers like to do business with companies that support such causes. NGOs and charities will always face the challenges of attracting and retaining both donors and volunteers. Engaging donors and volunteers and communicating the results their donations and time are having in fulfilling the mission are critical for future support. Additionally, securing limited government funding will always be a challenge.

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Locations

This service is primarily available within the following locations:

Des Moines, IA

Des Moines serves as the capital of the state of Iowa. The total population of the Des Moines metro area has grown from just over 600,000 people in 2010 to a little more than 700,000 people in 2020. This makes the Des Moines area the fastest-growing major Midwest metro in terms of percentage of population growth. Des Moines was named the 14th best place to live and the 12th most affordable place to live in the United States for 2022-2023 by U.S. News and World Report. Des Moines is known as a large financial services and insurance hub in the United States with companies such as Principal Financial Group, Wells Fargo, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Group, EMC Insurance Companies, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Voya Financial having a significant presence. Des Moines has been named a top location for U.S. insurance companies and the third largest insurance capital in the world. Other companies that have their headquarters in the Des Moines metro include Ruan Transportation, TMC Transportation, Casey’s General Stores, Kum and Go convenience stores, Hy-Vee grocery stores, and Anderson-Erickson Dairy. Within the past few years, Microsoft and Facebook have built several data processing facilities in the Des Moines area. With its location in the middle of the U.S., Des Moines is also considered a prime location for logistics, warehousing, and distribution. The intersections of interstates 80 and 35 provide easy access in all directions. Des Moines boasts a highly educated workforce with high school graduation rates above the national average and nearly half of the population ages 25-64 have an associate degree or higher. The unemployment rate typically is lower than the national average. The unemployment rate in December 2022 was 2.8% compared to the national rate of 3.5%.

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Omaha, NE

The Omaha metro area (which includes Council Bluffs, IA) has a population of nearly 1 million people, making it the largest city in Nebraska. The area has seen steady double-digit growth in the population over the past several decades. Omaha is largely considered to have a high quality of life and low cost of living. In 2022, Livability ranked Omaha as the twentieth best city to live in the United States. Additionally, SmartAsset ranked Omaha #3 for first-time homebuyers in 2022. Warren Buffett calls Omaha home and his multinational holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has its headquarters there. In addition to Berkshire Hathaway, three other fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in Omaha-Union Pacific Railroad, Mutual of Omaha Insurance, and Kiewit Corporation. The unemployment rate in Omaha is typically below the national average. In December 2022, the Omaha unemployment rate was 2.6% compared to the national rate of 3.5%. Omaha is considered to have an educated workforce with approximately thirty-five percent of people ages 22-64 having some college or an associate degree and nearly an 88 percent high school graduation rate. Omaha is home to Creighton University and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is less than an hour’s drive from Omaha. If you’re looking for entertainment, the world-famous Henry Doorly Zoo has been open since 1894 and hosts over 2 million visitors annually. If you’re a fan of baseball, Omaha is host to the college world series which was first held in Omaha in 1950.

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Kansas City, MO

The Kansas City metro area’s current population is approximately 2.2 million people. The population has shown a slight increase over the past decade. This makes Kansas City the 31st largest metro area in the United States based on 2021 statistics. Some larger cities included in the metro are Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, Overland Park, Kansas, Independence, Missouri, Olathe, Kansas, and Lee’s Summit, Missouri. A few of the largest private employers in Kansas City include Cerner Corporation, Honeywell, Burns and McDonnell, Hallmark Cards, Inc., and H&R Block. The leading industries that contribute to Kansas City’s more than $140 billion economy include bioscience/animal health, technology, financial services, transportation/logistics/distribution, and food/beverage. The unemployment rate in Kansas City in December 2022 was lower than the national rate at 2.7% compared to 3.5%. About 88% of the workforce has a high school diploma and approximately 34% of the workforce over the age of 25 has a bachelor’s degree. There are a variety of post-high school education options including the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Johnson County Community College. The National Football League Kansas City Chiefs, Major Le