Beyond satisfaction: reflections on our journey to 10/10

For all the remarkable innovation and human power that drives the freight and transport industry, I think it’s safe to say this industry is not exactly known for customer experience.

With customers’ facing so many touchpoints – from sales and customer service to claims and accounts receivable – creating a positive customer experience can be challenging. 

We know this from research, experience and anecdotal feedback.

And yet according to Capgemini, 80 per cent of consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience (CX)!

So, six years ago, when two mates (Andrew Harrington and Adam McInerny) and I – now Directors of Clique Logistics – sat down to think about what our point of difference in the industry would be, we decided to challenge the status quo.

We made sure that delivering great CX became a core value.

When you’re starting out with three staff, this was easy to maintain. After all, our livelihoods depended on it! And for a while, things were good, (or so we thought).

We grew to become a national company with a turnover of $14 million in just five years.

We won prestigious national business awards – including the Australian Financial Review’s Fast Starters in 2016 and 2017, and Fast 100 in 2018 – and had some of Australia’s largest manufacturers on the books.

But our CX was slipping.

The very thing that lay at the heart of our business was getting lost. Our intention was there, but as our team grew, we were struggling to articulate and quantify what a great CX looked like, and how to execute it. 

Ironically, it was one of our customers who helped turn this around when they invited me to a CEO Institute event, where I met Darrell Hardidge.

As a chief executive officer, customer experience strategy expert at Saguity and keynote speaker, Darrell takes an innovative approach to CX, that delivered a true ‘ah ha’ moment for me.

These were my three key takeaways:

1.    Every business is in the customer experience business

2.    Satisfaction should be the starting point, not the goal

3.    It’s 10/10 or it’s nothing – if your customers consistently give you a 9/10 or 10/10 rating, you will develop “unshakable loyalty”.

“Whenever you think about customer loyalty, ensure you remove the concept of satisfaction,” he says.

“Unshakable customer loyalty is only achieved from their appreciation of your customer service standards, and they must be designed to achieve a 10/10 experience score.”

These principles really shifted my perception of CX at Clique. Sure, freight management might be the service we deliver, but when you boil it down, we are really in the customer experience business.

The journey begins

Three months ago, we set out on our journey to 10/10.

We began by asking our customers for a rating in monthly review meetings.

We did this, because according to Darrell, “the key is knowing what your market appreciates about doing business with you.

“When you understand this distinction, you have a very powerful resource that enables you to stay ahead of the game.”

The ratings we received ranged anywhere from four up to nine – it was clear there was room for improvement.

But we not only asked for a rating from customers, we undertook some self-assessment, rating ourselves and asking whether everything we were doing internally was 10/10. 

From our people, to our relationships with customers, our freight and logistics partners – everything was put under the spotlight, which, to be frank, helped us make some big decisions, including severing some relationships and improving our technology offering.

The next step was making sure the team was clear on what 10/10 looks like.

“When a business can inspire its team to deliver predictable service standards that go beyond their competition, they enter the realm of unshakable loyalty,” says Darrell.

“Unshakable loyalty is the objective most businesses are in the constant pursuit of, yet rarely achieve. It’s the holy grail of predictable revenue, where customer retention and wallet share are firmly on the balance sheet.”

Central to this was reviewing our mission statement to make it more meaningful. After dozens of iterations, we settled on ‘Delight the customer’.

We developed a simple service promise: answer the phone within three rings, respond to email queries within 30 minutes, and the customer will never have to follow us up.

With an understanding of where we were (thanks to the customer ratings) – and where we wanted to go (a new mission statement, service promise, and improved business processes), we’ve begun our pursuit of excellence – and are starting to see results.

We have a great vibe and energy in our business right now, because we are all aligned.

Company culture is a fundamental component of CX. It’s the piece that everything else is built upon, and without it, there’s no chance of getting it right.

In the office, we talk about our 10/10 approach every day – and as I say to the management team, when every customer is a 10, I’ll shut up!

We had a new customer start in Brisbane just over a month ago. We asked for a rating in week two (the first few weeks are the most difficult) – and we received our first 10/10. The team was pumped, and we sent everyone a $100 voucher to acknowledge this and thank them for their effort.

In fact, we now send staff a $100 voucher every time we achieve a 10/10 rating. 

Next month, we’re digging deeper into our customer ratings, thanks to the help of Darrell and the team at Saguity.

The journey continues

Like any journey, our pursuit of excellence – the 10/10 – will never end. It’s an ongoing project.

If there’s one thing that's really resonated with me since our journey has begun, it’s this excellent quote from Darrell: “different isn’t always better, but better is always different.”

You can’t ignore the benefits of putting CX front and centre – for both you, and your customers, so we won’t become complacent.

We will continue to challenge ourselves every day.

Its 10/10 or its nothing! 

Tired of sub-standard customer service from your freight and logistics supplier?

Reach out to your mates in transport, Clique Logistics. 

To learn more about our customised and personalised freight management solutions visit https://cliquelogistics.com.au/.