Article: How Not to Sell A Commodity Product November 17, 2010
Posted by OnProcess Technology in Customer Care, Customer Experience Management, OnProcess.Tags: differentiation, differentiation on service, maintaining margin in commodity markets, marketing strategy
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OPT Take: While written from a primarily sales orientation, the thinking is consistent with our messages to senior executives and marketing teams. Our emphasis in bold.
Original Article: http://www.bnet.com/blog/salesmachine/how-not-to-sell-a-commodity-product/13017
How Not to Sell a Commodity Product
What’s funny, and kinda sad, about this is that the dealers are clearly not prepared, in any meaningful way, to keep me from playing them off against each other. They’re in a price war for my business and have done nothing — nada — to raise the stakes and sell me a “solution.”
That’s a weird oversight, because I have a 23 year history with one of the two dealers, and even told them that in my email. So they’ve already got a leg up in getting my business to the point where I would probably have been willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars more, just to do business with them.
I think I’m probably like a lot of informed consumers (and informed B2B buyers) in that I’m willing to do a bit of research to figure out what want and what it should cost. However, I’m also influenced (heavily) by how I’m treated. One of the reasons I really like that dealership is that their service team is top notch.
Same thing with consumer electronics. I tend to buy from J&R because they’re easy to work with and because their customer service is 1) American and 2) Reasonable. I will almost always buy from J&R, even if the price is a bit higher than some other website.
Now, it could be that the dealership is waiting until I’m in the dealership to do an upsell, or perhaps to package some services along with the purchase, but it’s getting a bit late for that. On the bright side, the salesperson did email me her cell phone number, which was smart.
Anyway, the reason I’m posting this is because it’s difficult to see sales professionals passing up a real opportunity to at least use loyalty to their advantage and put the purchase into the context of a larger relationship.
The sad thing is that this is happening everywhere. The Internet is making many product categories into commodities by eliminating proprietary knowledge about pricing. In order to survive and keep margins up, sales professionals MUST raise their game.
It’s also true in B2B. Unless you’re going to compete on price, you MUST raise the bar and start figuring out how to provide more and better. If you need an example of how this is done, check out how Newell Rubbermaid is turning its consumer brands into B2B solutions for retail outlets. Brilliant stuff.
Article: Held Hostage by Service Calls November 12, 2010
Posted by OnProcess Technology in Customer Care, Customer Experience Management, Customer Understanding Research, OnProcess.Tags: at-home service, Customer Experience, customer experience research, Harris Interactive, SoundBite
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Held hostage by service calls
The last time I needed an at-home service call, I thought, “Does this company think we’re living in the 1950s? Who can be at home from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Tuesday just because they bought a new fridge?” Even for someone who works out of a home office, such service policies mean a half-day trapped at half-capacity: no field calls, no paying clients, no lengthy and involved phone conferences.
Such four- or five-hour windows are the norm in home services and have been for decades. Are service providers expecting that anyone who needs cable installed or a refrigerator repaired has a stay-at-home spouse? Or do they simply not consider the inconvenience? Either way, the idea rankled. Then I saw a survey by Harris Interactive for SoundBite Communications that made this claim: “One out of two consumers feel like prisoners in their own homes due to long service windows.” That about sums it up.
[ For a look at where tech support is going, read Christina Tynan-Wood's "The (better) future of tech support." | Frustrated by tech support? Get answers in InfoWorld's Gripe Line newsletter. ]
Maybe times were different when service companies decided that customers would be willing not only to pay for new cable service, a new fridge, or in-home repairs, but also give up a vacation day or station someone at home to handle it. Now, when we’re expected to get work done while commuting, be on call 24/7, and pull our weight in lean organizations, asking for the afternoon off to wait at home so that you can watch TV on the weekend doesn’t contribute to a reputation as a dedicated, invaluable employee.
According to the survey, 81 percent of consumers had to take time off from work to meet a service technician, and 76 percent were inconvenienced by this. The experience left 51 percent feeling imprisoned in their own homes.
All this waiting around for trivial in-home services costs American businesses a fortune, too, according to the survey. “Eighty-one percent of consumers report having to take time off from work or adjust their schedule,” says the release. “To ensure they are home during the service appointment window. This translates into more than $13.4 billion in lost productivity for U.S. businesses.”
What’s the solution? Texting, according to SoundBite Communications, a company that hopes to provide this solution.
“One thing that came out of this survey is that people are OK with taking the time out. They understand the necessity. The issue is the four- or five-hour window and the complete feeling of helplessness as you wait,” explains Mark Friedman, chief marketing and business development officer of SoundBite Communications.
The survey asked consumers if they would be interested in receiving a text alert one hour before the technician was due to arrive, allowing them to go home from work to meet the tech rather than waiting around for half the day at home. Fifty-four percent said a service like this would improve their overall satisfaction with the service and their opinion of the company providing the service.
I have found that simply asking — when I set up the delivery or service — will usually get me a phone call from the technician within a reasonable time frame before the appointment. But I concur that rather than hoping the technicians are agreeable, the system could stand a technology update to tighter scheduling and more information sharing with customers.
I know that when I make an appointment with someone, I show up on time and keep the meeting to an agreed-upon length. If my intentions are thwarted, I call to say I’ll be late. If service technicians can’t manage that for some reason, I’d prefer GPS tracking on my technician. That way, I could log on and see where he is — perhaps with a time estimate of how long he will be there — and decide if I can answer a call as it comes in, join a phone conference, or take the dog for a walk. Then again, I suppose a text message saying the tech is an hour away would be an improvement over waiting around all day.
Got gripes or questions? Send them to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com.
This story, “Held hostage by service calls,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Christina Tynan-Wood’s Gripe Line blog at InfoWorld.com.
Study: Customers Will Pay Organization More For A Great Customer Experience November 9, 2010
Posted by OnProcess Technology in Customer Care, Customer Experience Management, Customer Understanding Research.Tags: Customer Experience, Harris Interactive, research, RightNow
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We’ve been saying this for some time to our prospects and clients — here’s some more research to support that position. –sk
Customers Will Pay Organization More For A Great Customer Experience
Bozeman, Mont., 10/13/2010
According to the fifth annual Customer Experience Report, a Harris Interactive study sponsored by RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW), customer experience is playing a significant role in determining where consumers choose to shop and how much they are willing to spend. Results show that exceptional customer experience creates loyal customers and has the power to impact a company’s top and bottom lines.
Read entire Customer Experience Report
Nearly all consumers (85 percent) said they would be willing to pay more over the standard price of a good or service to ensure a superior customer experience. Of those consumers that said they would pay more for an excellent customer experience:
- 55 percent would pay 10 percent or more
- 27 percent would pay 15 percent or more
- 10 percent would pay 25 percent or more
Customer Experience, the Secret Weapon for Driving Revenue
These results show that delivering a positive customer experience can help organizations increase revenue. For example, in 2009 Cyber Monday alone generated $887 million in revenue for e-retailers. Based on the results of this study the industry could have generated an additional $87 million in revenue in just one day by providing superior customer experience.
View industry infographics in the Customer Experience Report
This year’s research also shows that a great customer service experience significantly impacts purchasing decisions:
- Nearly all consumers (82 percent) have stopped doing business with an organization as a result of negative experience and most (75 percent) do not return
- 55 percent of consumers became customers of a company based on its reputation for great customer service, and 40 percent of consumers have switched to a competitive brand simply because of its reputation for exceptional service
“This year’s report not only demonstrates the financial impact of a negative customer experience, but the real value of positive customer experiences. By focusing on delivering exceptional experiences, businesses have the opportunity to grow their customer base, improve brand loyalty and increase overall revenue.”
Greg Gianforte, chief executive officer, RightNow
The Power of Word of Mouth
Consumers not only voice their customer experience preferences with their own wallets; they also influence their peers. According to the 2010 Customer Experience Report, customer advocacy should be a key focus for businesses because:
- Customer service is still the number one reason consumers recommend an organization, more than products or price
- Word of mouth is the number one influence on consumers’ purchasing decisions (76 percent), followed by customer reviews and online feedback at 49 percent
- 79 percent of consumers that have had a negative experience with an organization told others about it, and 97 percent chose to share their experience via word of mouth
- 85 percent wanted to warn others about the pitfalls of doing business with that company and 66 percent wanted to discourage others from buying from that company
What Makes a Great Experience?
The 2010 report outlines why consumers stop doing business with a company:
- Rude staff (73 percent)
- Issues weren’t resolved quickly (55 percent)
- Unknowledgeable staff (51 percent)
Companies can improve the customer experience by providing friendly, knowledgeable support and resolving issues in a timely manner.
“Drugstore.com is heavily invested in delivering a positive, personalized customer experience and it has a tremendous impact on our business, steadily increasing our Net Promoter score and increasing sales.”
Lisa Larson, Director of Customer Care, Drugstore.com
“Customer experience is a top priority for Nikon. We work hard to quickly respond to customers’ needs no matter how they choose to reach out to the company. Our dedication to providing customers with a great experience is helping Nikon consistently achieve a 95 percent customer satisfaction score.”
David Dentry, GM, Customer Relations, Nikon
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States between June 30-July 2, 2010 among 2,217 adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris Interactive on behalf of RightNow Technologies via its Quick Query omnibus product. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Where appropriate, this data were also weighted to reflect the composition of the adult online population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
OPT Job Posting: Cost Analyst November 2, 2010
Posted by OnProcess Technology in Jobs, OnProcess.Tags: Ashland, careers, jobs, OnProcess Technology
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See the position listed at http://www.onprocess.com/About-Us-Careers.asp#CostAnalyst
