In today’s world, customers have the power to share their opinions and experiences with businesses, making it essential for companies to meet or exceed expectations in order to avoid negative impacts. One example of this is Snapchat’s loss of $1.3 billion in market value in just one day after a negative tweet from celebrity Kylie Jenner regarding the app’s new layout. This incident highlights the high cost of failing to meet customer expectations, as US companies lost a total of $1.6 trillion in 2016 due to customers switching to competitors because of poor service.
One challenge in the journey towards customer science is the presence of paradoxes. Despite the common saying that “The Customer is King”, many organizations lack a designated individual with the authority to ensure that every customer interaction is positive. This raises questions about the roles of emerging positions such as chief customer officer or chief experience officer.
Glenn Laverty, former president and CEO of Ricoh Canada, addressed this paradox by integrating customer experience metrics into every employee’s compensation structure. By tying compensation to customer satisfaction, Laverty was able to instill a culture focused on meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
At Boeing, there has been a clear indication that production throughput metrics have taken precedence over safety considerations. Customer science can help organizations create a balanced approach by aligning everyone’s compensation with customer experience metrics.
Claes Fornell, founder of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, has highlighted the data paradox in customer science. Despite organizations collecting more customer data than ever before, there seems to be a disconnect in understanding how to use this data effectively to improve customer satisfaction. As the emphasis shifts towards customer science, it is essential for businesses to leverage data effectively in order to better meet customer expectations and prevent negative impacts on their bottom line.