Improving Customer Experience Management by Copying Others

Successful customer experience management requires creativity and ingenuity to play important roles to create unique, successful programs. When brainstorming ideas for customer experience management programs, many fail to consider how the successful customer experience management tactics other industries utilize can be applied to their own industry.

In her article, Improving Customer Experience Management by Borrowing Ideas, writer Lynn Hunsaker points to a panel discussion she participated in for a healthcare center that was interested in improving customer experience. The panel realized that many customer experience management tools commonly used in the airline industry could also be used within a healthcare center to make attending doctor’s appointments a more positive experience.

For example, Hunsaker cites the fact that almost every major airline uses self-serve kiosks for the check-in process. These kiosks allow passengers to check into flights, select seats, pay for baggage or purchase upgrades without having to stand in line. The panel realized the process for checking into a flight is similar to checking into a doctor’s appointment. The healthcare facility realized that by putting a kiosk with similar functions in their clinics, patients would experience a speedier check-in process, shorter wait, and a more positive experience.

Another prime example of “borrowed ideas” is the use of mobile apps for ease of customer experience. Up until recently, the majority of mobile apps were created solely for the purpose of checking email accounts, playing games or accessing social media accounts on-the-go. Many brick-and-mortar stores began to realize that mobile apps could be used to improve customer experience management. Many major pharmacies, for example, have begun creating mobile apps that allow customers to scan a barcode on their prescription in order to easily order refills on-the-go.

No matter the industry, Hunsaker points out that by keeping an open mind and using a bit of creativity, many companies can apply the customer experience management programs of other industries in ways that will surprise and delight their customers.

Customer Experience Management: What Is It?

Customer experience management has been having more emphasis placed on it in the past decade than any other time before. Customer experience (commonly referred to as CX) is generally defined as the sum of all experiences that a customer has with a brand or organization over time. These experiences can include visiting a website, speaking with a customer service representative, attending a brand-sponsored event, engaging in a transaction or simply using a product.

The goal of customer experience management is not just to keep customers satisfied; rather, it is to make satisfied customers loyal and turn loyal customers into active brand advocates. In addition to creating loyal customers, CEM is also quite effective in recovering potentially lost customers as well as reducing the cost of new customer acquisition. To create a customer experience management plan, five key points should be assessed: the customer, the environment, the brand, the platform and the interface.

The first step in building a CEM plan is to identify, understand and create a profile of who the target customer is, including basic demographic information as well as their needs, wants and desires. Once the customer has been profiled, assess the environment and identify every point of contact a customer has. It is also important to assess both your competition as well as market conditions.

Brand assessment, as it relates to customer experience management, focuses on the valuation of features such as pricing, attributes and benefits. Determine what attributes are most innovative and what differentiates your brand from the competition.

The platform analysis focuses on the inner-workings of the company itself. Assessing and improving processes, procedures, policies and employee satisfaction sets the stage for success within the interface stage. In this stage of the customer experience management process, a brand analyzes, assesses and improves points of contact as defined in the environment stage.

While improving customer service is its own reward, successful customer experience management programs offer a great deal of return on investment, not only through recovering lost customers, but also engaging existing customers, reducing new customer acquisition costs, and even reengaging employees.

Ethics of a Mystery Shopper Visiting an Assisted Living Center

Having a mystery shopper visit an assisted living center may seem questionable, ethics-wise, to some, but it can actually play an important part in the quality and operations of the center.

We get it. Running an assisted living center is a big job. You and your employees are caring for a large and diverse group of people with varied needs; you’re providing their food, basic medical care, entertainment and many other things. So, with so much to juggle, is it ethical for a mystery shopper to visit an assisted living center, given the fact that your staff’s attention may be drawn away from the tasks and people they should be caring for in helping mystery shoppers?

From my perspective, it’s absolutely ethical — and, in fact, it may be unethical not to.

Back in 2008, the AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs endorsed the use of the mystery shopper in medical practices: “Physicians have an ethical responsibility to engage in activities that contribute to continual improvements in patient care. One method for promoting such quality improvement is through the use of mystery shopper ‘patients’ who have been appropriately trained to provide feedback about physician performance in the clinical setting.”

The same goes for assisted living centers, which also deal with the health and well-being of people who have chosen to use your services. At its most basic level, you’re running a business with employees you pay for doing good, reliable work. You need to know how well your staff performs to ensure your business runs as smoothly as possible.

Second, employees are on their best behavior when the boss is around, but a mystery shopper campaign will help you to determine whether your residents are receiving the highest-quality care around the clock, even when you aren’t physically present. Retailers and restaurants do it to ensure their customers’ satisfaction; it makes sense that an assisted living facility would do it too.

Finally, you’re already required by law to measure customer satisfaction in some way to maintain your state licensing — you might as well do it right, using an impartial mystery shopper who knows the right questions to ask and will report their findings accurately and completely.