UX interviews, surveys, strategy

1. Strategy for Improving the Partner Experience
John Milanski
Senior User Experience Architect
CenturyLink

2. Tiffany, Account Consultant
Jonathan, Quote & Lifecycle
Stephanie, Project Manager
James, Owner
Anne, Sales Support Jeannie, Carrier Operations
Tim, President David, Carrier Liaison Crystal, Project Manager Rachael, Project Manager
Marcie, Client Services Troy, Sales
Lauren, Lifecycle Management
Sara, orders Melissa, orders
Tina, Orders
! 12 interviews (22 people, 1Q 2018)
! CTL Survey (140 people, May 2017)
! LVLT Survey (175 people, Dec 2017)
Claudine, Sales Manager
Christina, Owner

3. Interview: Christina (Founder/Sales), Susan (Customer Relations)
Buy-Get:
SalesForce is complex
Use-Pay-Renew
4 days to check commissions
Learn-Buy:
You are an adversary

4. CTL Survey: partners like product set, reliability, not ordering…
“We have to babysit our orders from start to finish.” (Customer CS)
“You lay all the work on the partner.” (Customer PO)
“Fix ordering processing system, or take that responsibility away from the agents entirely.” (Customer CT)
“Ditch Salesforce.” (Customer C)
Source: (confidential)

5. Level 3 Survey: partners do not like CenturyLink processes
“Century link has a VERY POOR reputation with agents.” (Icon Strategic)
“CTL expects us to be employees. They are madly frustrating to work with, complicated and single threaded
in their processes.” (BlackFin Square)
“Please teach CTL how (a partner program is) done right.” (IQ Wired)
“Level 3 has been much easier to work with than CenturyLink.” (Online Technology Associates)
Source: (confidential)

6. Order and Install Post Sales Pre Sales
Order Package Prep, Order Submission,
Order Acceptance, Service Delivery, Order
Tracking, Order Complete and move to
billing
Billing, Day 2 Support, Trouble Ticketing, Trouble Status,
Trouble Prevention, Upsell/Cross
Sell, Renewal
Prospect, Teach,
Qualify, Configure,
Price, Funnel Status,
Quote, Contract
Learn Buy Get Use Pay Renew
Partner
Pains
Partner
Activities
‘Black Hole’ of order status/No
communication
Activation delays
Last-minute redesigns
Slow quotes
Tool <> Human price
Better price teamed
No communication about planned outages (GCR)
Unplanned outages
Overbilling
Multiple, different renewal offers (margin assurance)
Who handles support (NCI-CIE)
Sign a contract
Read welcome email from PSM
Provide basic requirements
Read welcome email from who?
Provide technical requirements
Validate activation
Onboarding
Get product info
(portal, web, phone)
Get a quote
Requote for customer
Design solution
Sign a contract
Review the 1st bill with carrier
Get bill
Billing problem
Service problem
Check utilization
Respond to a rerate
Carrier
Activities
The End-to-End Partner Process: focus on order pain first