This document describes a method for improving customer service and climbing the customer service curve through customer experience workshops. It discusses that (1) customer satisfaction does not directly correlate with loyalty and that only 15% of companies delight customers, (2) mapping all customer touchpoints called "moments of truth" is important for understanding the customer experience, and (3) workshops involving frontline employees can identify opportunities to improve specific moments of truth.

1. A Quick-Results Method
for Climbing the Customer Service Curve
Customer Experience Workshop
SHARPER CUSTOMER-FOCUS • SHARPER COMPETITIVE EDGE
147 Monarch Park Ave • Toronto • Ontario • M4J4R5
P: 416/465-0800 • E: eric@customerfocusconsult.com
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2. Climbing the Customer Service Curve to Loyalty & Advocacy
Requires a Consistently Superior Customer Experience
Loyalty => $$$
Only 15% of
NEED CENTERED Companies !
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
The Customers are supplied
with services and service, Always Being Proactive
Advocacy the way they want them,
“Shoot ahead of the duck”
Customer Behavior
when they want them
Consistently Exceeding Expectations
Relationship Leaky Point of
Satisfying
“Under-promise and over-deliver.”
Expansion Barrel VALUE CENTERED
PARTNER
RELATIONSHIP
Distinguished through
Neutral Point of Value Creation,
Consistently Meeting Expectations Delighting Product and Service
“Preach what you practice” Delight
Neutralizing Service Irritants
Diminishment “Wipe out the coffee stains”
Customer Relationship Management
Defection Attract Serve Grow Nurture
Reactive Service Delivery Customer Satisfaction Management Proactive Value Creation
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3. Climbing the Customer Service Curve to Loyalty & Advocacy
Requires a Consistently Superior Customer Experience
 The link between satisfaction and behavior is not a straight line but more like an S curve, with two points of inflection.
 The first one is the Point of Satisfying, where customer expectations for service are met to the degree that
they don’t feel the need to scale back or defect.
 Below that point the enterprise is like a leaky barrel, topped up by attracting new customers
while at the same time customers and profits leak out at the bottom.
Point of
Satisfying
Point of
Delighting
 The second one is the Point of Delighting, where customers’ expectations are exceeded through
differentiated customer service, prompting them to become an advocate for the company.
 Research by the Forum corporation suggests that only 15% of companies operate at the
Point of Delighting or higher, where their customer service actually contributes to loyalty.
 Below this level, and also in absence of an effective customer relationship management process
that provides recognized value, satisfied customers my yet switch supplier.
Climbing up this Customer Service Curve cannot happen if the day-to-day Customer Experience
is not managed by paying detailed and fanatical attention to the customer touch points (Moments of Truth)
that occur throughout the cycle of service and to developing an effective strategy for service recovery.
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4. Customer Experience Management
In today's customer  Customer relationships are built on trust, established
economy, companies' through consistent, repeated good experiences throughout the
results are increasingly customer journey or Cycle of Service.
judged by the depth and  The quality of the customer's experience determines the
value of customer customer's loyalty to a brand and to the company behind
the brand.
relationships.
Every organization has a  Most organizations do not [sufficiently] appreciate their
customer experience. Customer Experience.
It is what happens for or
 Neither do they proactively and in detail manage the
to your customers as
Customer Experience throughout the Cycle of Service.
they learn about your
company, try and then buy  Successful Customer Experience Management starts
your product or service, with mapping and detailed analyses of all customer contact
get help, and share ideas. points - “Moments of Truth”.
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5. Customer Experience Management
If you haven’t identified the  The operational silos take over in determining what they’re going to do to
opportunities that exist to the customer and when.
impact your customer’s  The customer experience happens by default…the outcome of the collision
experience, then you can’t of your silos’ interactions with the customer.
manage it.
 The “Moments of Truth” enlighten the organization to understand the stages
There are sound reasons for that form their interaction with their customers.
pushing people together to  They push the organization to create a common language and framework for
create a common language to understanding of the touch points with the customer that cross the organization.
define the stages of customer  The identification of the “Moments of Truth” inspires creativity by opening
interaction and the people’s minds to thinking through what should be delivered at key
“Moments of Truth” which intersections with a customer to deliver valued and memorable experiences.
define the customer  The process of identifying the “Moments of Truth” drives awareness about
experience. They’re valuable where a company can impact a customer relationship and customer
in driving operating strategy profitability.
and climbing the customer  The “Moments of Truth” burst across the silos and push the silos to work
service curve towards together in the optimum delivery of the experience. Building an operating
increasing customer loyalty plan for the execution of the key “Moments of Truth” clarifies the organi-
zational and operational hand-offs where so much customer dissatisfaction
and profitability. and defection occurs today (Leaky Barrel).
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6. “Moments of Truth” Create the Customer Experience
Managed successfully,
Moments of Truth help
create a positive
perception of Service
Moments of Truth happen … Quality — an “experience”
Every time a customer comes into contact with your organization or a “feeling.”
During contacts in person, by phone or other means But, each Moment of
Truth is also a potential
Planned and unplanned failure point, a negative
During service as expected experience that can make
the customer decide to
During service recovery defect to a competitor.
Moments of Truth need to
“Manage the dickens out of those unique, never-to-be be well understood and
repeated opportunities to distinguish ourselves in a managed proactively and
memorable fashion from each and every one of our intensely to climb the
competitors.” customer service curve.
— Jan Carlzon, President, Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS)
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7. Managing your Cycle of Service for Detail
Chronology of Moments of Truth and other factors which influenced
dealers’ Service Quality perceptions of a cellular telephone company
Most organizations Issuing Credits Sales Calls
do not [sufficiently]
appreciate their
Service Order Generation
Moments of Truth.
Other Factors Influencing
Neither do they Service Delivery:
proactively and in
Returns •Management Style Issues Order Processing
detail manage the Order Generation
•Distribution Channel Issues
Customer Experience •Systems Issues
•Marketing Services
throughout the •Telephone and Paging
Collecting Back Orders
Cycle of Service.
Invoicing Credit Approval
Moments of Truth
Delivery Order Picking
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8. Managing Internal Service the Same Way
Simplified chronology of Moments of Truth and other factors which
influenced employees’ Service Quality perceptions of an IT Help Desk
Most organizations
do not [sufficiently]
apply the same
Closing Ticket Experiencing
customer service Other Factors Influencing Service a Problem
Delivery:
discipline internally “Headcount”
Large # of V.I.P.s
as they do externally. XYZ Software Capabilities
This is vital for key Order Generation
Customer Service Skills Training
Managing Customer Expectations
internal service Service Level Agreements
Knowledge Management
providing functions, “Quantity over Quality”
“Treadmill/Burnout”
such as: IT, HR and
Solving Problem Calling Help Desk
Finance.
Moments of Truth
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9. Climbing the Customer Service Curve
Through the Customer Experience Workshop
The Customer Experience Workshop is a hybrid of a Moments of Truth typically
focus group and a brainstorming session — with a appear on or near the front-line
focus on the customer experience (outside-in). of organizations. Involving
those employees means that
practical, customer-focused
service improvements will be
suggested and implemented.
The Customer Experience Workshop Provides…
Chronological Inventory of Moments of Truth in a Cycle of Service The workshop involves front-
line employees from a cross-
Customer-Focused Definitions of Excellent versus Bad Service Experience
section of business functions in
Pragmatic Ideas for Changing Bad to Excellent Service Experiences
the open and honest exchange
Opportunities for setting standards and measures of ideas. Management is not
Identification of Non-Value Added Activities included and all input is kept
Identification of (Organizational) Barriers to Improving Service Quality confidential.
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10. The Customer Experience Workshop
Provides High Value-for-Fees
A Customer Experience Workshop: I guarantee a value-packed
Improves both external and internal Customer Experiences through
written report and verbal
Understanding and Analysis of Moments of Truth presentation full of
Identifies Short- and Long-Term Service Quality Improvement pragmatic improvement
Opportunities opportunities and
Brings the Voice of the Customer in Key Business Processes
strategic recommendations.
Promotes Cross-Functional Cooperation and Interdepartmental
Communication
These are based on my
Kick-Starts, Feeds, or Accelerates a Continuous Improvement Process
Creates an Agenda for a Service Quality Improvement Council or
extensive consulting
Task Force experience in managing
Provides Input for Designing Qualitative and Quantitative Customer Service Quality issues in a
Satisfaction Research Tools wide variety of industries
Provides Input into Questionnaire Design for Customer Surveys and
and companies.
Relationship Reviews
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11. Credentials Eric Fraterman
Extensive international customer-focus
consulting experience:
Clients who have benefited from the  Customer-Focus Strategy Planning,
Customer Experience Workshop: Deployment/Alignment
 Customer Satisfaction, Employee and
Building Materials Engineering Consulting Firm
Supplier Research
Performing Arts (Not-For-Profit) Mutual Funds
 Key Customer Relationship Reviewing
Cellular Telephones Advertising Media Services
 Total Quality/Service Management
Life Insurance Charitable Organizations
 Service Quality Diagnostics
Hospital (External & Internal) Law firm
 Front-line Service Quality Improvement
Computer Distribution Beverage Packaging
 Internal Service Quality Improvement
Computer Service Equipment Rental
 Leadership Values Path Development
IT Department (internal) Country Club
 Customer-Focused Organization Design
Finance Department (Internal) Alcoholic Beverages
 Quality Function Deployment
HR Department (Internal) Software
Electrical Contractor www.customerfocusconsult.com

12. Free Phone Consultation & Self Assessment
 Book a free phone consultation and click here.
 Conduct a simple self assessment of where your transactional service fits on the
S-Curve and click here.
 For more information about my services visit www.CustomerFocusConsult.com .
www.customerfocusconsult.com