Quit Frustrating Your Customers - A Guide to Frictionless Data Collection

Gathering customer data is an essential aspect of conducting business, yet it can often lead to customer frustration and dissatisfaction. I'd like to share three personal encounters with different companies that highlight the importance of streamlining data collection processes to minimize customer inconvenience.

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On a recent visit to a doctor's office, I was presented with a clipboard and a pile of paperwork to complete. This immediately signaled to me that the practice might be technologically outdated, which in turn raised concerns about the potential obsolescence of their medical treatments.

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Each form redundantly requested my personal details such as name, address, and date of birth. Replicating this information across half a dozen forms felt like an unnecessary consumption of my time.

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Weeks later, at a different medical facility, I was handed a tablet to fill out electronic forms. This was a step in the right direction, yet it still required repetitive input of the same personal data.

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The most efficient experience occurred at another doctor's office, where I was given a tablet and asked to confirm the accuracy of the information from my previous visit. This practice demonstrated a clear understanding of efficient data management by utilizing the information they already possessed.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Avoid relying on antiquated methods like paper forms, as they can create a negative first impression of your organization's technological prowess.

2. Transitioning from paper to digital forms is a preliminary improvement but not the end goal.

3. Design forms to be user-centric, eliminating the need for customers to input identical information multiple times.

4. When possible, use the data you already have on file to pre-fill forms. This not only saves time for the client, showing that you respect their time, but it also projects a sense of organizational competence and attentiveness to their experience.

Hope you found this helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions

Larry Phelps

Helping organizations go paperless and automate business processes.

www.hemingwaysolutions.net

612-382-4069