Embrace the NPS Culture

As those that follow me know I am not a very big fan of educating and measuring customer service to metrics. I do not think that you should base a world class customer experience on metrics that companies seem to be constantly changing to try to “fix” service issues. These metrics are also constantly being argued over to which one is of the most "importance". Not a great way to define service.

The companies that measure this way are ignoring the two main groups that decide a great experience, the customer and the associate, and put all the time in money into the measurements that are in between them. This makes little sense to me.

The process (notice I did not say metric) that I believe truly can show great service is using a Net Promoter Score process. Net Promoter programs are not traditional customer satisfaction programs, and simply measuring your NPS does not lead to success. Companies must follow an associated discipline to actually drive improvements in customer loyalty and enable profitable growth.

WOW! A program that does not just depend just on First call resolution, SLA, Average Talk Time or hold times to tell a company they are offering great service. As I have been saying for many years, these metrics should be used to diagnose and put service issues and techniques under the microscope, not be the goal.

Net Promoter Scoring programs basically ask one simple question and work from there— How likely is it that your customer would recommend your company or product to a friend or colleague? To get this score you survey your customers with the "Would You Recommend” question. The actual process can be found everywhere online if you are really interested in a more in-depth take on it.
What I am here to stress today is that:

WORKING TO GET YOUR NPS SCORE IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS EMBRACING THE PROCESS!

Embrace the Net Promoter Scoring Process…How? Remember, the goal is to get your customers to recommend you. Let's look at some basic recommendations that would include:

• Look at the whole call process. Are their wait times, annoying IVR prompts, bad self-service processes?
• Are you are utilizing multi-channel (voice, email, chat, self-service APPS/IVR’s, social CRM) interactions with your customers. Are you letting your customer interact on their terms or is it the other way around?
• Are your associates trained not just on how to navigate screens but on treating your customers like family? Delight, empathy, not fake “I’m so sorrys” but true engagement with a customer? Too many service centers just assume associates will do this even though it is trained very poorly.
• Is your call center the “fun” place to work in your company or is it the “corrective action” place. Show me a quiet call center and I will show you one with poor quality and high turnover.
• Do you have an organized monitoring platform that gives instant feedback? Do you educate poor calls and CELEBRATE great calls or do you punish the poor calls and ignore the good ones?
• Are you using metrics such as FCR and SLA’s as the measure of great service? If you are its time to realize they are a tool and a tool only.
• Stop the annoying wait “infomercial” and belittling self-service “tips” that we think will lessen calls to the Center and costs. Embrace the chance to talk to a customer. Don’t waste the opportunity by being petty.
• Most importantly, BE DIFFERENT. Since when did the standard for service become bad self-service, infomercial wait messages and typical service?

Net Promoter Scoring makes your company develop a culture of service. In the era of social media your customer can be year greatest ally or your biggest headache. Don’t just look at numbers and metrics; develop a culture where your customers become your evangelists and their loyalty grants you more customers.
Lets celebrate the proper things!