Efficiency = Experience

Why we need to rethink

After the many years I have spent at multiple large B2C organisations in India, I can now say that perfecting the art of great customer post-purchase experience is always a work in progress (continuous process). More so, one based on continual learning-led initiatives. It takes time, practice and several experiments to get it right, including steps based on past experiences, some based on survey findings, a few through learning from others, many based on data points, some on basic logic and others purely based on gut. Whichever way, it is a learning curve I have enjoyed scaling the most.

If I were to broadly classify the Customer Experience outcomes, it would be (with a few examples);

Focusing on inputs for great Customer Service

Relevant inputs for Customer Service typically includes measuring all the activities and processes for ‘speed’, ‘accuracy’ and increasingly important in today’s context, ‘communication’. The metrics for ‘speed’ can include, but are not limited to - time taken to answer a customer’s call, resolve a customer issue, refund money, post payment, to verify and activate. For ‘accuracy’, the metrics would include error %, complaints, repeat contacts with the customer and so on.

Lean Six Sigma has tremendously helped me focus on relevant inputs, to be able to deliver the output of great Customer Experience. Broadly, the learnings include:

1. Always be customer focussed
2. Understand how the process works
3. Improve and smoothen process flow
4. Eliminate non-value add steps
5. Review metrics and reduce variation
6. Empower and equip the people executing the processes
7. Build structured improvement plans with defined milestones

Of these, the ‘eliminate non-value add steps’ has added the most ‘value’, in my experience!

Why zero customer contact should be the end goal of Customer Service

The guiding principle behind good customer service has always been to improve business efficiency and consequently, customer experience. However, this may not necessarily improve ‘customer efficiency’, and we may even be inadvertently adding effort for the customer. In the last 5 years, with the significant increase in data and mobile penetration, we have substantially improved customer ‘self-serve’ capabilities, with a focus on reducing customer effort and thereby, cost to serve. But we still have a long way to go. It is critical to build ‘non self-servable’ activities/processes with the same amount of rigour as on minimising customer effort. Let me illustrate with an example.

Tata CLiQ is a marketplace that sells products from various categories and brands. Large appliances (AC, TV, fridge, etc.) is one of our key focus categories. It is a high-touch and high-anxiety category because of the nature of the products. These products are installed by the respective brand service teams/technicians after we deliver them to the customer. The installation process typically goes like this:

1. We log a call with the respective brands for installing the delivered product - so far so good
2. We inform the customer about the request raised - no problem here
3. We then have minimum visibility of actual installation, since it is directly handled by the brand’s service team
4. Now begins the problem. There are two ways to keep the customer updated:

I. to know/confirm whether the product has been installed, we ask customers to call a specific number - high customer effort

II. we changed this step to an IVR blast with options for the customer to choose - lower customer effort, but an effort nonetheless

The solution was to move to direct integration with the brands for real-time status of the installation. Thereby, the customer is taken out of the equation - zero customer effort!

Focusing on customer efficiency, as opposed to business efficiency, has had the maximum impact on overall customer experience. A few key things we have done to improve customer efficiency: 

1.   Keep customer informed of progress. Proactive/predictive notification/communication

a.   Through their channel of preference.

b.   As frequently as she wants.

2. Crisp and clear ‘CTAs (call to action)’ on all communications

3.   Accessing contact centre super easy.

4.   Low wait times.

5.   Always available, 'Waiting to Serve' service representatives

Now a critical metric for Customer Service at Tata CLiQ is Contacts Per Transaction (CPT). Every ‘contact’ is a customer effort and therefore, the key deliverable for the Customer Service team is to eliminate the need for customers to contact us.

Essentially, the goal is to have CPT = 0

In the last 2 years, our CPT has reduced by more than 60% and Customer Experience metrics have improved by more than 25%, further confirming that Efficiency = Experience!