The Random Thought Generator (RTG)

By Elisabeth Watson

“Your hold time will be approximately 87 minutes.”

Who likes to hear that? Certainly not your customers.

We spend so much time (or we should) on training customer service people or sales reps or both. We study our potential customers’ responses to every possible method of engaging with them. We tweet, we follow, we friend, we call, we don’t call, we do whatever we think is possible to convert a prospect to a customer.

And then we put them on hold.  Or process their return in 4-6 weeks. Or refer their questions to someone who has no understanding of the product or how they use it.  After the romance of the sales cycle, that is more than a little abrupt.

We’ve done the hard part, convincing someone to buy from us, but then we often drop the ball. Revenues, especially new revenues, are the Holy Grail and it’s easy to forget that the cheapest and the easiest sales come from our existing customers.  And no matter how relevant our collateral or how effective our message, referrals are our most credible sales resource. It’s vital that we make it easy for our customers to pass along those referrals, long after they’ve signed the contract and committed to our products and services.

So how do we ensure that our customers have a great experience throughout the lifecycle?  By applying that old management adage, what gets measured gets done.  We need to evaluate each aspect of the customers’ experience from their perspective and look at how it impacts the customer experience—from that first call through every interaction.  We forget that our cost centers touch the customer, too. As Nigel Blair-Johns, Operations Manager at HP often reminds me, “Paying the bill is part of the customer experience.”  If our invoices are inaccurate or not timely, paying us can cost the customer money, not to mention frustration.

I know, I know, you can’t spend money and time on those cost centers. You need to focus on revenue. This economy is brutal.  I understand.  But.  Yes, but.  You can start with something as simple as your attitude.  Look at each of your processes from your customer’s perspective.  Just for a minute, stop channeling your accountant and consider ALL of your organization’s customer touch points.  Are any of those customer experiences less than great?  If so, that experience is hurting your customer retention, not to mention your brand.

Are you thinking that good service costs more than bad service?  Maybe, maybe not.  A customer-focused invoicing process, supported by reasonable technology, might mean fewer interactions, electronic funds transfers, and improved DSO (Days Sales Outstanding). That translates into lower costs and faster access to cash, which will enable you to return to channeling your accountant.

Reviewing, analyzing, and updating your processes, in the context of your customer experience, could not only improve your top line, but will help your bottom line as well.  What if you cut your fulfillment and invoicing costs by 20%?  What if accounts receivable process made your cash available 3 days sooner?  What if you cut an FTE from your invoice processing staff?  Or redeployed that FTE from problem resolution to reporting or fulfillment?  What if you could cut your accounting error management by 5%? That would be good news, but what’s even better?  Lots of pleasant encounters with—and, maybe even a few referrals from—those people you worked so hard to sell, your customers.