“Nationwide is particularly worthy of note, attaining a top 10 position for
the first time. It is riding the crest of a success wave for financial services
brands, and there is a growing sense that customers are regaining their
trust in the banking sector”
difficulties, though, is Utilities, which has
dropped by 0.8%. This is largely down to
the fact that much of its business is built
around meters rather than customers, and
many brands are struggling to make the
necessary transition.
One of the most fascinating insights found
was the shift in customers' expectations,
and brands are now required to deliver an
experience comparable to the best
organisations they interact with. For
example, there is increased pressure on
online retailers to deliver the same
experience as, say, Amazon, and these
higher-scoring brands are in turn expected
to improve upon their past successes.
This is known as The Expectation Cycle,
and it shows that the art of creating the
optimum customer experience is a neverending task.
The Six Pillars
However, if a brand wishes to gain insight
into its particular strengths and
weaknesses, its performance can be
assessed according to six universal
customer experience facets, known as
The Six Pillar SystemTM. This system
comprises the pillars of Personalisation,
Integrity, Time and Effort, Expectations,
Resolution and Empathy, and they are the
key principles that leading brands
consistently master.
Tim Knight, senior partner,
Nunwood
www.nunwood.com
ISSUE SEVENTEEN • NOVEMBER 2014
And whilst many brands may master these
facets to varying degrees, one pillar which
has become increasingly important to
customers is that of Time and Effort,
which takes into account the amount of
time it takes a customer to achieve their
objective, and the amount of effort they
have to expend in the process.
Companies have shown a growing
awareness of the value that customers
place on Time and Effort, and have
started to use this pillar as a weapon
against their rivals.
This was demonstrated by a recent ad
campaign commissioned by the
supermarket chain Lidl, in which the brand
stated that Morrisons, its competitor, had
"found a way" to match its prices.
Lidl did Morrisons know
Lidl proved this point by publishing the 28point process that a customer would have
to go through in order to gain a discount
on the Morrisons website, informing the
reader that they could either follow each
of these steps, or they could "just go to
Lidl" instead.
For a company to become a customer
experience leader it must consistently
adhere to all six of the pillars, and yet
apply them selectively depending on the
nature of the interaction. For example, if a
financial services customer telephoned to
discuss a particular issue, the pillar of
Resolution could apply if the enquiry led to
a successful outcome, or the pillar of
Empathy might be more appropriate if it
led to the regrettable closure of the
customer's account.
Mastery of these pillars, therefore, is
essential for improving customer
advocacy, customer loyalty, and customer
retention, and these are rewards which the
top 10 brands are already reaping.
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