Pub. 5 2017 Issue 2

www.uba.org 16  Customer Experience: Beyond the Net Promoter Score® — continued from page 15 Even consumers who prefer to go into a brick-and-mortar store often go online first to vet products or services. They rely heavily on research and reviews when making purchasing decisions. In fact, more than 46 percent read reviews and blogs before buying, and 84 percent peruse at least one social site before making a purchase. 11 As a result, digital interactions influence 36 cents for every dollar spent in stores. 12 Today’s digital-savvy consumer demands information faster than ever before. If a financial institution doesn’t respond fast enough, the potential account holder can quickly search an alternative. Research has shown that companies that attempt to respond within an hour of an inquiry are seven times more likely to earn a purchase. 13 This is of particular concern to financial institutions — 24 percent of which take more than 24 hours to respond to online leads. 14 The proliferation of social media has given enormous power to the average consumer. Consumers can quickly and easily voice their pleasure or displeasure publicly. As a result, the question to ask in today’s market isn’t simply, “Would you recommend our product to your friends or family,” but rather “Would you recom- mend this product to your social networks?” Better Ways to Measure Customer Satisfaction While the Net Promoter Score is still a key metric, there are other effective methods of measuring customer satisfaction. Examples include the Customer Satisfaction Score, the Customer Effort Score and Forrester’s Customer Experience Index. 15 • The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), while similar to NPS, measures how satisfied a customer is with a specific transaction and if they felt excited enough to tell someone. • The Customer Effort Score measures how much effort cus- tomers felt they expended in purchasing a product or service, or in resolving an issue. • The Customer Experience Index (CX Index) measures if and how a customer’s needs were met, how they felt about it and if they enjoyed the overall experience. While each of these metrics offers unique insight, on their own they won’t tell the whole story of an account holder’s experi- ence. That’s why financial institutions should build KPIs and measurements using all three of these metrics — and others. The combination should be customized to the goals of your financial institution and measure all key aspects of the account holder experience. Financial institutions that want to broaden their customer expe- rience measurement beyond the Promoter Score should be sure to aggregate, measure and interpret feedback from a variety of sources: frontline sales, service and call center, online and mobile channels. This is the best way to gain comprehensive insight into your account holders’ experiences with your institution. The information will help you understand not only if your account holders are satisfied, but also how satisfied they are and why. Key Drivers of Customer Satisfaction Key drivers of customer satisfaction are defined by what account holders consider important. They are specific to each financial institution and possibly to segments within it. Improving key drivers will improve the customer experience and customer satis- faction, leading to stronger brand loyalty and, ultimately, better financial performance. Thus, it’s vital for banks to identify the key drivers of their specific account holder base and align them with CSAT, the Customer Effort Score and CX Index in order to evaluate how well they’re performing in these areas. For financial institutions that fall short of their customer experi- ence standards, the breadth of data provided above will inform an actionable plan for improvement. For institutions that are performing well, they can use this data to drive growth and new business. It’s vital to have the right information for developing a comprehensive plan that addresses every opportunity for im- provement. Building your own measurement model can be overwhelming, particularly for financial institutions that don’t have customer ex- perience professionals on staff. There are companies that can help conduct customer experience research on behalf of your institu- tion, but be sure to select one that engages each of your financial institution’s customer-facing touchpoints, not just the “major” or most visible one(s). The provider should also deliver statistically significant data and comprehensive, actionable insight. With 70 percent of purchases being based on how customers feel they are being treated, 16 financial institutions can no longer afford to eschew legitimate research into consumer emotions when interacting with their brand. If account holders are not satisfied with the experiences you provide, they can easily share their sentiments with others and find other options. The good news is that financial institutions that deliver a custom- er experience that meets or exceeds account holder expectations reap the benefits of increased loyalty and vocal brand ambassa- dors in the marketplace. To learn how Harland Clarke can help your bank gather direct account holder feedback and create a customer-centric culture, contact Oregon’s Harland Clarke Senior Account Executive Mike Kelly at (801) 608-2038 or michael.kelly@harlandclarke.com. 1 “Business Technographics® Global Priorities And Journey Survey, 2015,” Forrester, March 2015. 2 “Global Consumer Banking Survey 2014: Winning Through Customer Experience,” Ernst & Young, 2014. 3 Ibid. 4 Fornell et al, “The American Customer Satisfaction Index,” Journal of Marketing, Vol. 60, No. 4, 1996. 5 Beaujean M, Davidson J, Madge S, “The ‘Moment of Truth’ in Customer Service,” McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Company, February 2006. 6 De Wit R, “Customer Experience Metrics and Measurement — Beyond CSAT and NPS,” i-scoop.eu , May 6, 2015. 7 Borowski C, “What a Great Digital Customer Experience Actually Looks Like,” Harvard Business Review, Novem- ber 9, 2015. 8 “Net Promoter® Score Calculation,” Survey Monkey, 2016. 9 Ibid. 10 “Measuring Customer Experience: Why Net Promoter Score Is Not Enough,” Beyond the Arc, 2014. 11 “40 Amazing Online Shopping and Ecommerce Statis- tics,” selz.com , April 2014. 12 “15 Mind Blowing Stats About Online Shopping,” CMO.com, May 7, 2014. 13 “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads,” Harvard Business Review, March 2011. 14 Ibid. 15 Lanoue, Spencer, “Customer Experience Metrics: A Brief Guide On How To Measure CX,” User Testing Inc., May 19, 2016. 16 Borowski C, “What a Great Digital Customer Experience Actually Looks Like,” Harvard Business Review, November 9, 2015. 17 De Wit R, “Customer Ex- perience Metrics and Measurement — Beyond CSAT and NPS,” holder feedback and create a customer-centric culture: i-scoop.eu , May 6, 2015. Key drivers of customer satisfaction are def ined by what account holders consider important.