I just have to share my hotel experience last night. I've been a reasonably loyal customer of the hotel for a long time: they have my profile, they contact me with special deals, I earn points, etc.
Before
I get into the details I'll explain why I am writing this.
Normally after every stay I get a survey asking me to rate my
experience. In this case, I didn't receive anything.
Sounds like gaming the system to me.
What does “managing a Customer Loyalty program” mean for your company? Managing a loyalty program requires real attention to detail to make sure you are getting the right feedback from the right people at the right time and in the right way. An effective loyalty program will create more loyal customers and provide real benefit to the company. Your program should focus on generating incremental revenue, which is a far more important goal than managing survey details and scores.
Continue reading "Get Real Business Results from your Customer Loyalty Program" »
"Does it make sense for sales account managers to be compensated on Net Promoter Scores for their accounts?"
A member of our audience asked this question during a recent Satmetrix event. In probing, the question was really about how to drive adoption of the Customer Loyalty program already in place: is it appropriate to tie compensation to customer-loyalty scores?
We’ve all heard how many of us are “coin operated” and that providing incentives around Key Performance Indicators influences those metrics. But before we all go and provide bonus compensation based purely on a Net Promoter Score (NPS), you might ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have adequate response rates to know that the NPS is “accurate” for the account? Lack of participation in the program is often an indicator itself of the strength of the relationship. Generally speaking, more feedback is better – especially from all the decision makers and influencers in the account – so that problems can be identified and solved. Make sure you have solid metrics and methodology in place in this area.
Is the program “for the field”? Sales people are generally already paid to drive sales. A good Customer Loyalty program optimizes longer-term “structural” feedback needs – such as input to improve products – with operational feedback that will engage sales people, such as identifying solution gaps that provide real up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. Where sales people see real leads that can drive their existing metrics there may be no need to make compensation more complex.
Does your program have all the necessary elements to enable front-line employees to improve the NPS for the account? In other words, if you’re holding front-line employees accountable for the score, make sure they have enough expertise, influence, participation, and authority to be able to improve the score. And make sure the right oversight is in place to prevent common gaming techniques, such as only inviting “friends” to participate in the survey.
For most companies, compensating individual employees based on individual Net Promoter Scores could drive undesired behaviors. But balance that fact with the need to drive customer-centricty throughout the company.
Let’s discuss. The question is complex, and a generalized response isn’t going to nail it. I invite you to comment using the links below.
Eureka! This powerful word means "I have found it!" and as our state motto it harkens back to the California Gold Rush. For many of our clients it's an appropriate word as it relates to their "Customer Loyalty/Feedback" program since these clients have literally struck gold when driving their program through the sales organization.
Our recent webinar Driving Customer Growth and Retention with BearingPoint is a great case in point. I
was struck by the intense focus BearingPoint has on
"operationalizing" customer feedback in the sales force. And
the results have been clear. As a global services organization,
BearingPoint has found the more they can incorporate "the voice of the
customer" into daily sales activities, the better sales teams are able to
drive growth and retain accounts. It's a no-brainer for sure. But
the magic happens by truly developing a feedback program that exists in the
field, by the field, and for the field. What BearingPoint found is that
they can integrate their Customer Loyalty Program with the things salespeople
are already doing. And by keeping the focus on making the front-line
successful, they have continued to drive year-over-year program success for
over 5 years.
