Customer Experience Roundup, February 26, 2019

Customer experience is all-encompassing. A company might place a large emphasis on in-store customer interactions, but if the website is outdated or the call center is rude, it can still ruin the entire experience. This week, three stories from the news showed just how widespread customer experience can be. There are a lot of things to think about, and they are all important to finding and retaining customers.

Study Finds More Companies Are Using AI

If your company invested in AI, you’re not alone. COPC Inc. recently released its 2018 Corporate Edition of the Customer Experience Management Benchmark survey. One of the biggest takeaways was that the number of companies using AI for customer experience has exploded in the last year. Brands see the necessity of providing automatic and convenient ways to meet customers’ needs.

This survey solidifies what we’ve seen across all industries. From chatbots to contact center automation and intelligent call routing, AI is everywhere. There are countless ways the technology can be applied to customer experience, and most customers seem excited for brands to find new ways to use technology to make their lives easier.

Risqué Ohio Nail Salon Name Gets People Talking

Where’s the line between drawing attention to your brand and being inappropriate? A nail salon in Ohio is getting all kinds of attention for its unique—and risqué—name. The owner wanted people to remember her business, so she named it Hand Jobs Nails and Spa. Her tactic worked—the salon made national news with its unusual name. Employees and customers like the unconventional approach, but some neighbors and community members don’t think the name is family-friendly or appropriate. The owner doesn’t have any plans to change the name and will appeal if she isn’t allowed to put the name on a sign.

The name of a business definitely adds to its brand and appeal. Using an attention-grabbing name can get people to pay attention to your business, but the customer experience still has to be there to back it up. Community relations are also important to building a strong reputation, and the suggestive name put that at risk.

TM Changes Procedures After Customer Complains

A wheelchair-bound 89-year-old man having to travel to a company’s headquarters just to cancel his subscription isn’t a great customer experience or the kind of publicity a company wants. Telekom Malaysia, the provider of telecommunications services for Malaysia, came under fire after a customer complained on Twitter about the difficulty of cancelling her elderly father’s fixed line. Because of the company’s rules, the father himself had to go to the building in person. No one else could represent him, which angered his family and caused them to complain.

This story is an example of a procedure that doesn’t consider customers at all. It’s probably easier for the company to cancel lines when customers are present, but modern technology makes it possible to get the job done without requiring customers to go out of their way. I like the resolution to this story: the company immediately reached out to the woman who complained, and the CEO and other executives visited the family personally to apologize. The company also announced it will change its procedures to better serve customers. Although TM made a mistake, it owned up to it and made changes so it won’t happen again.

Every area of customer experience is important. Companies that master customer experience realize they have to create a high-quality, consistent approach across all channels.

Blake Morgan is a keynote speaker, futurist and author of “More Is More.” Sign up for her weekly customer experience newsletter here.

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