returns , as whatever internal customers tell external customers , they are bound to believe wholesale without doubt . Correct information boosts confidence and incorrect information erodes it mightily . Recovering from communication omissions has ramifications of the brand looking disconnected that is often difficult to recover from .
Yet another outcome of customer experience case management root cause analysis studies , exposes a communication loophole where the flow of critical information is stemmed . Strategic deliverables which often have customer matters at the center , are discussed in board rooms at board retreats , in closed door meetings with management and leadership teams , in the ivory towers of top leadership corner offices and in high power meetings with the top echelons of corporate governance .
What is often found at the base of this pyramid is that the cascading process to the shop floor , to the operatives , and those that are in direct contact with customers is left hanging in a vacuum , with no specific actionable thread by which to lower the information into the abyss of the organization ’ s internal streets .
These discussions that have a direct impact on performance and the direction the organization is taking , are many times inclusive of major changes that directly affect customers . When the whys and wherefores of these are not shared with those responsible for customer interactions , they are left ill equipped to handle customers .
How often is it that customers are told by those they are in touch with that ‘ the policy has changed ’ or ‘ this is the new policy in place ’ or ‘ our policy now does not allow ’ and on further enquiry the brand representative is unable to articulate the factor or rationale , that has inspired or is responsible for the effecting of that change or new direction ? Customers are left with a terrible taste in their mouths when policy is thrown at them and the immediate feeling of disconnect or that there are some ‘ higher ups ’ that would better serve them then starts to show up .
This communication rift often causes
Insufficient and unplanned communication flow results in service failure situations and disenfranchised internal and external customers . Internal customer service that is disjointed owing to communication failure , cannot be the recipe for delightful customer experience and very often recovery from these communication gaps takes quite a while to turn around .
customers to want to ask to see a team leader or supervisor or manager and start demanding for the same ‘ can I see the person-in-charge ’ who in their mind ’ s eye can handle them better or provide better information . The net effect of this is that , the team leader or persons in charge shift into fire fighting mode and the team member on the ground is deemed by the customer to be incompetent or not adequately empowered to handle their situation .
It is in beautiful order for leaders to interact with customers , check in on them , spend time on the ground and have an appreciation of the customer journey . This though should be planned as a customer delight strategy , and not as a result of customer demand when there is an issue at hand . Insufficient and unplanned communication flow results in service failure situations and disenfranchised internal and external customers . Internal customer service that is disjointed owing to communication failure , cannot be the recipe for delightful customer experience and very often recovery from these communication gaps takes quite a while to turn around .
Significantly , communication shortcomings feature as the main root cause of challenging customer situations , be these under or over communication , withheld communication , mis or misleading communication ; and if the communication strategy was righted and properly installed , these would turn around quite fast and quite impactfully .
Top leadership who set out and have monitoring and evaluation frameworks for strategy development and implementation , need to have a specific communication flow action plan to be followed through . There are very many outward facing ,
customer directed communication blue prints but much fewer internal customer ones .
Organizations need to start making provision for internal staff communication , awareness and advocacy programmes both from a budgetary and time allocation perspective . The same drive provided to have marketing and brand awareness campaigns for products and services , needs to be first directed internally and polished to a fault , before external campaigns .
The true measure to determine if an external communication campaign would work , is once the internal customers are enthused and have great understanding and buy-in , then it is a sure win . Once internal customers have understood systems , processes , procedures , policies , guidelines and work instructions , then only can the organization claim to be well on its way to customer success and the follow through to sustainability .
Just as customer effort score ( CES ) and employee effort score ( EES ) are measured during customer satisfaction and employee engagement surveys that determine strategic decision making , so should there be a bid to specifically measure and aim to reduce the internal and external communication effort score .
Carolyne Gathuru is the founder and director of strategy at LifeSkills Consulting . She has several years of experience in customer experience strategy development and training . You can commune with her on this or related issues via mail at : CGathuru @ life-skills . co . ke .